Old computer... any suggestions?

[STK]

ok i have an old dell, P3 2.4 or 2.6(ill look and get back to you guys), 12GB hard disk, 512 memory. any ideas of what i should do with it? first i was thinking of making a server for games (CS and BF1942 mostly as i have a good cable connection), but my uncle suggested taking it apart, and maybe upgrading it(im not sure if this is a great idea as i am buying a used computer off my friend, but i do like tinkering and stuff of the sort). any other cool ideas... i am open to them all. i get PC mag, and they had an article and 1 suggestion was making a fish tank, which i dont think is a good idea either as i dont plan on owning fish anytime soon. :haha:

Thank you, STK

 

[young&wild]

Hehe...Well you can't do much with Dell PCs anyway. They are not upgrade friendly. They require specially made motherboard and memory. Their PSU is slightly modified from ATX.

 

[agissi]

I wouldnt upgrade it, but if its old, and its a P3, its not 2.4Ghz or 2.6Ghz.

the ram would be SDRAM (wouldnt it?) so it wouldnt be that good.

Im not sure if it would be worth while making into a server, cuz it probably wouldnt take the load too well with its great specs.

so a) sell it
2) make it into and internet/email machine
#4) do a or 2

 

[STK]

ok thanks, uhh out of them i would rather sell it but im not sure anyone would really want to buy it, so i might be forced into option 2.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

If you have the time, patience and inclination, why not stick Linux on it?

 

[STK]

ha didnt think of that, to me that sounds like a great idea. umm i am going to talk to my parents about it and maybe i could get some help with the process.

thanks alot, STK

 

[RealBlackStuff]

If you have a broadband connection, you can D/L for free from various websites, like www.mandrake.com (3 ISO-files of about 730MB each, to be burnt onto 3 CDs of 700MB size)
Buy RedHat/Corel/Suze or others in a shop for $ 30-60.-

 

[BrownPaper]

Yeah try linux out on that machine. It should run pretty fast since most linux distributions are not quite as bloated as windows xp. Make it a print or file server for your home network or something. Old machines can still be quite useful if you can find a niche for it. Just do not try to play Far Cry on it.

Guiness man, are you sure you don't mean SuSE?

 

[LNCPapa]

I'm sure that's what he meant - just a typo I think.

 

[Nodsu]

With 512 megs of RAM a P3 will run any Windows fine (and all the unixoids even better) unless you have to play games or do some multimedia stuff.

Put in a bigger HD in if needed and use the machine for anything you like - it will do fine unless you require too much horsepower.

 

[STK]

if someone would like to tell me the files that i need to download i would appreciate it.
thank you, STK

 

[me(who else?)]

Depending on what flavour of Linux you'll be using, you'll need 3 - 4 .ISO files. My personal fav is Fedora Core 2, but SuSe is good. If you want a taste of Linux, you could get the kernel and the basic system files on a floppy and not use installer, although eventually you'll have to.

edit: Try fedora.redhat.com for the fedora core 2 .ISO files.

 

[Masque]

If you want to shop around for you favorite flavor, you could always try LinuxIso.org .

 

[STK]

k im downloading Suse to a CD then i am going to run it on my other computer. if there is any problems i will be back

 

[STK]

k well there is a new problem now. i was saving the Suse to a CD and now the CD drive wont open. hopefully i get this solved before i need to insert a CD... any help would be appreciated.
thank you, STK

Edit: Ok so i was looking through preferences and settings and it turns out my computer isnt reading the CD drive... if the CD drive did get disconnected, is this something i could do at home or do i need to take my computer somewhere to get it fixed?

 

[young&wild]

Nope i dont think you need to get it to a shop. All you need to do is open up your case to check if cable from the motherboard is connected firmly to the back of the CD-Drive.

 

[STK]

woohoo should i start another post about taking apart an alienware? i hafta say this looks easier then my dell, i tried my dell got the first three screws out, couldnt find the rest. put the screws back in and came here lol and now if i can get the CD out it should have my linux OS on it for that computer.

 

[young&wild]

Dells modified their cases so that its really hard to reach the hardware unlike standard ATX casing. They can be a pain to work with.

 

[STK]

ya i noticed that. but i think i will try to fix the CD problem tomarrow. ill check back and let you guys know what happened.

 

[STK]

umm do you think i should get tech support from alienware first? its pretty new. if i open the case does that mess up my warranty?

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Check for a very small round opening in the front-panel of your CD-rom. Carefully stick a paper-clip (that needs to be bent straight first) in it and push gently. The tray should now open.

 

[STK]

umm how hard do i have to push it in? i pushed it gently but nothing happened.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Push in until you meet resistance, then push in further 1-2 cm (about 1/2"), maybe more, depending on make/model.
Push until enough of the tray comes out, that you can grab it with your fingers.

 

[STK]

k thanks alot for that helpful hint, now i just need windows to detect the drive.

 

[STK]

I just opened the case and unhooked/rehooked all the wiring, so my CD drive is being detected now. Thank you to all that helped me with this little problem.