Comments on: Howto: Pick out an old computer http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/ K.Mandla's blog of Linux experiences Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:19:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: mrreality13 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40521 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:25:15 +0000 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40521 Hi ya
This post helped me to decide on a laptop in pristine condition its a Toshiba Satellite 2535CDS with p1@300 mhz /32 megs on board ram/1 usb1.1 /floppy and a cd drive
I could use some help in my searches it says it can use up to 160 megs ram.
I have a small local pc shop im on good terms with that has ram for it -I tried a 128 pc66 stick ,it wont see it in bios or in puppy linux.
My question is should I get a pc100 128,or – 64meg pc 66 or pc 100.
thanks in advance.:)

]]> By: Kyle http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40517 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:58:04 +0000 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40517 I’ve got a small nit to pick with “Batteries are pointless”.

Batteries are awesome. Some of these old laptops only pull 5 watts of power. Many will easily run eight or more hours on a new battery. I’ve had very good success getting new batteries from
http://www.batteryrefill.com

They have a exchange/discount program, so the old battery can save you $10.

One really useful point you should add. Every time I see you talk about an old laptop with an 800Mb hard drive, I cringe a little. $15 gets you an IDE-CF adapter, and $10 will get you a 1-2GB compact flash card. I run this arrangement on two of my old laptops and have been rather pleased by these lowbrow SSDs.

]]> By: Doug http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40510 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:09:00 +0000 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40510 Even “bricks” can be valuable if free. I received an old Vaio with bad KB and other issues that made it uneconomic to repair.

However, the memory and HD, as well as some accompanying PCMCIA cards were put to use in other ancient laptops. Turned out to be quite valuable as a parts machine.

]]> By: Jean-Pascal Rignault http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40509 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:25:14 +0000 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40509 There are some USB floppy drives that can be convenient, if the target machine can boot from these.

Puppy can be booted / installed using a floppy. Convenient if your laptop doesn’t have a CDRom drive. You can boot from the floppy, then use a USB memory to load the rest of the OS.

]]> By: Josh Miller http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40493 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:30:42 +0000 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40493 Something else, if it’s cheap enough but there is a problem w/ the monitor or something. It may be worthwhile for parts. I always strip hard drives and memory from laptops and desktops.

]]> By: ArmorNick http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40492 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:21:59 +0000 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40492 Or whether they actually still sell floppies ;)
It’s been at least six years since I saw one.

]]> By: K.Mandla http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40491 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:07:30 +0000 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40491 True, that’s something worth mentioning. As DVD technology matured, the different formats became standard on drives. But before that, it’s possible to run into drives that support one type of disc, but not another … or worse, pressed but not home-burned. Thanks for the reminder. ;)

]]> By: K.Mandla http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40490 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:04:46 +0000 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40490 You’re right; USB 1.1 and 2.0 are night and day. I should have made a point of saying, “If you have the choice between 1.1 and 2.0, for god’s sake, take 2.0.”

I must plead innocent though; it’s been so long since I had USB 2.0 in the house, I have almost forgotten it existed at all. …

]]> By: K.Mandla http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40489 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:01:23 +0000 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40489 I think Debian still has a floppy network installation image, or at least I know I downloaded one as recently as six months ago, and gave it a try. It might have been an out-of-date one though.

There are floppy-based distros too, although more and more those are just eccentric little exercises in minimalization. I don’t know of anyone who uses them beyond the occasional experiment. Please tell me I am wrong though. … :|

]]> By: Gen2ly http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40488 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:49:06 +0000 http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/howto-pick-out-an-old-computer/#comment-40488 You can really still install from a floppy? Haven’t seen a floppy img in years. Perhaps even a better question is if you can find a floppy drive that works. When I did have them, they never sounded like they ran well, and had a few go out on me.

Good post.

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