Having used my work laptop and smartphone phone for a decade, I have ignored my perfectly good home pc which sits neglected upstairs. It has bucketfuls of memory, but, it uses Windows Xp. Can anyone tell me if it can be upgraded to whatever the latest home system is, please?
The system info stuff tells me it’s based on an Intel (R), which I presume I’d the processor

If it's been sitting for 10 years, I'd get a new motherboard, memory, CPU and whichever OS you need.

Apparently, Windows 10 only needs 1GB of RAM and a 1GHz processor, assuming 32-bit operation. Details are on this page -

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-10-specifications

I have run W10 on an old laptop with about 4GB RAM and a 2GHz processor. It was usable, but pretty slow! I have now migrated to the world of fruit-based computing though....

Running XP implies a PC pre 2007 when Vista came along. Borderline for Win10, which you need for latest security updates (assuming you are connecting it to the internet...).
Per https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...ows/310e06a4-b181-45ec-ae6d-ee93a1632932 it suggests running the Win8 compatibility tester.

For the record my 10 year old PC (an i5 CPU, upgraded to SSD and 12Gb RAM, new graphics card etc) is now reaching the end of its life as some software I use is demanding a more recent CPU... dang! But 10 years is a good run: I will likely go for an updated i5 or AMD Ryzen equivalent, M2 SSD, and re-use my old HDDs...

I would guess that you might be running a 32bit version of Windows which is now obscolete, and even if the Win8 compatibility tester says you are good to go you may find some other issue. I would suggest a new PC is the way to go - Win10 preinstalled, modern CPU, etc. Or even a Mac! Or if you want a hobby, install a free Linux distro. Good luck regardless...

Thanks very much for the advice chaps. It looks like I should replace it. It rather hurts to replace an old chassis with functioning components just because the world has passed it by. Oh that rings a bell....

Both Windows and Mac now run only 64 bit programs.
I had to scrap my version of Adobe CS5 fowling the last upgrade of the MacOS.
Irritating, to say the least.

Computers have a 10 year life at best, unless you are happy to run an old machine using legacy software.

Yes, if you're happy using the old computer with the old software, then that's a possibility. But it would be very risky connecting such a machine to the internet, due to lack of security.

That (security) really depends what you want to use it for.

In reality a computer that was developed for XP was superseded by 2007. Even if it has heaps of memory and a had a fast processor at the time it was purchased it is not really capable of handling updated software. Even the hard disk will be slow and very much undersized by today's standard.

I have a PC that was purchased just at the time that Windows 10 was released, I have since upgraded both memory and the hard disk. I mainly needed Windows for accounting software that I was running but I also occasionally use video and photo editing software, oh, and also the mapping software for the Omex ECU in the Morgan. As of the last financial year I have no more need for the accounting software, or at least I hope not because if I do it will be because the Australian Tax Office wants to review my income and GST (VAT) declarations. I have to say I am pleased to be finished with trying to manage business affairs on the other side of the world

I have some doubts as to whether or not I would buy another PC. I use the Samsung Android tablet, with the optional keyboard for most of my browsing, banking, and email needs. If I do update it will probably be something more compact. The only reason for sticking with some sort of Windows system would be to use existing software that I have.

My daughter recently purchased an Asus ZenBook and she is very happy with it and I suspect that I would get something similar if I decide that the existing PC has arrived at the end of its useful life.

Get a new machine. Laptop.
I just junked my old desktop that was a few years old but running W10. Slow. Unhappy about updating software and security.
I use a tablet or laptop depend on what I need. Photo stuff on laptop for example.
I have two external hard drives storing photos, music, documents to keep etc for backup.
I use iCloud, Wallet etc for the tablet/phone for portability and had my TOTH tickets on the phone for scanning.
Printing? Just trying out the HP package for free ink. We don’t print much these days. Started on 15 free pages a month and so far have the unused carrying over. On a rare occasion when more is needed it is not expensive. We have had one delivery of a free cartridge so far.
Re junking the PC. I formatted it to clean it then removed the hard drive. The magnets have been salvaged...powerfull.

Good point - NEVER give away your old PC without dealing with the disk... if you are a computer tech you might just do a disk clean a few times with specialist software, but safest is to just drill the casing to destroy it. Take care with dismantling as the platters inside can be glass