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Old Pc Suggestions Wanted


MBJ

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I have a very old PC at school that my advisor wants to use for basic tasks such as data entry. Here are the specs: I'm not sure of the processor but I'd guess that it's around 200-300Mhz (AMD K6). It has 64 MB RAM, a 20 GB hard drive (noisy too!) and it is currently running Windows 98. All that we currently run on this machine is MS Office. My problem is that we're moving away from using floppy disks and this machine has no USB ports and our network doesn't support any Windows operating system older than xp/2000. Because of this it's hard to get files off of the computer without resorting to the dreaded floppy disks (no it doesn't have a CD burner either).

We don't really want to sink any money into this clunker at this point so upgrades/add ons like USB cards, additional RAM, or bigger hard drives are not options. Does anyone have any suggestions?

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First of all install win2k. Trust me it will work better than win98. You could make a game machine with it. Add some GB and NES roms to it. Or build a small arcade machine. With the same roms. It could run Snes and Genesis roms too. I would partition the drive so you only keep the OS on the main drive. That way it will stay fast for a while. Try not to install MSoffice or other software that may slow down the machine since you only have 64MB RAM. It will run Win2k fine as long as you don't install av or spyware software, or anything that crowds startup.

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why doesnt your network allow OS older than win2k? having win98 should allow you to connect to the network. its the fastest way for file transfers. you can even use win98 for internet browsing. if you're not really willing to sink any money there(even a dollar or two) then thats really just the only fast way for file transfers. just install the necessary network protocol(TCP/IP)

or use one of your old and slow laplink cables if you have those(serial to serial, parallel to parallel cables). or just spend a few dollars and install a usb card or even just serial to USBport. those things doesnt cost too much nowadays. much better than using floppy or just throwing away that PC.

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It has a LAN card. It's not on a home network, it's in a building at a university and the Netwprk Administrator forbids any OS older than Win2K. I don't exactly know why this rule exists but I don't really have a way around it.

Also, because this machine is in use at school I can't really turn it into a gaming machine or a file server. I think that my best option at this point is to try to find a cheap USB card as my main concern is being able to get files onto and off of this machine for data entry. My problem at this point is that it has an early version of Win98 and most cards that I'm seeing only support Win98SE.

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About the problem with getting files back and forth. You could get a program I know of called Link Maven and make (or buy, but I know you don't want to spend any more money on it) a laplink cable. It goes into your parallel port, looks like a regular parallel cable, but is wired differently on the inside. I made my own makeshift cable by getting some solid-core wire (not stranded), following a pinout and wiring from the back of an old pc into a female parallel cable. :fear: (yes, I'm a ninja)

1000123cs1.th.jpg

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The solid core wire is flexible and will stay put. But, I guess a more permanent solution is to get two cables (1 male end/1 female end), wire up the two female ends and secure the patched wires with an adhesive or tape wrappings. If you need more information, I'd be happy to help.

That's one solution. The other (which I've just done this past week with an old 233mhz) is to buy a USB card. On pricewatch.com, I bought a 4-port USB 2.0 PCI card for $9.00 w/free shipping (came in like 4 days).

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  • 11 months later...

I'll send you a USB card for the cost of shipping ($4-5). I've got a couple I'm not using and I'd be glad to help out. I've also got some CDRW drives (again, for the cost of shipping, although it'd be a bit more cuz they're heavier, maybe $6-7) if you want to go that route. If you decide you just want to ditch it, send it to me, I'll pay for shipping and I'll scrap it out for parts. I run a legacy PC parts business so that stuff is like moldy gold to me ^_^

-russolini

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