horrably old computer.. what to do?

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by LordV, Sep 9, 2006.

  1. LordV

    LordV Member

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    I have an extra piece of s**t computer, any suggestions on what to do with it?

    I dont know the exact specs, but its old (maybe 5 or 6 years) and its win 95 (i believe, maybe 98) and its a compaq.

    I was thinking of turning it into a server of some kind, any suggestions.
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2006
  2. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    read the forum rules above about posting & language. post & title edited. also reduce your sig to forum specs of 50k & 500x200. what is the model # & name of the compaq to see what you have?
     
  3. LordV

    LordV Member

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    Herm... Its a compaq prolinea 4/33s...


    Cant find serial, bit its got those huge connectors, not agp or pci, its like 2/2.5 times bigger than agp, cant get a pic cause my camera's flash wont flash :(


    EDIT!:

    I seem to have found a ethernet card that matches the slot specs, i will be installing this now to see if it works ;)
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2006
  4. Jallan

    Jallan Regular member

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    Linux + NIC + large HDD(s) + low watt PSU = NAS
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2006
  5. LordV

    LordV Member

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    Lol, im trying to install linux, but this comp wont boot from cd. Right now it has windows 98 on it.
     
  6. Jallan

    Jallan Regular member

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  7. LordV

    LordV Member

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    Thats not actually the problem, the problem is that the computer is set to boot from cd, and i cant seem to change it.
     
  8. Jallan

    Jallan Regular member

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    So, your computer;s 1st boot device is your optical drive, but won't?

    Do you get the "Press any key to boot from CD" thing?

    What happens if you let it try to boot on its own without touching anything?

    Can you get into into your BIOS? (to change boot sequence)

    Does it have a floppy drive?

    Does it try to boot from floppy before HDD or optical?

    *thinks*

    Answer those questions for me and we'll see what's doable.
     
  9. LordV

    LordV Member

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    Q:So, your computer;s 1st boot device is your optical drive, but won't?

    A:It boots from disk them HDD

    Q:Do you get the "Press any key to boot from CD" thing?

    A:No

    Q:What happens if you let it try to boot on its own without touching anything?

    A:Boots to hard drive (win 98) unless theres a disk in the drive

    Q:Can you get into into your BIOS? (to change boot sequence)

    A:I tried but i cant seem to (or im not hitting the right key...)

    Q:Does it have a floppy drive?

    A:Yes

    Q:Does it try to boot from floppy before HDD or optical?

    A:Yes
     
  10. Jallan

    Jallan Regular member

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    The common setup menu keys are del, f2, f8, or f12. Turn on the comp and just press -one- of those repeatedly until you get into CMOS (BIOS). If you see the win98 load screen, go ahead and reboot and try again with the next button, etc etc etc.

    There -should- be text that says which to press to enter setup menu. (usually on the system/motherboard splash screen).
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2006
  11. dazila

    dazila Regular member

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    Turn it into a server it will have less of a use as a normal pc as the specs for it are horrible it can only support up to 56mb 72pin simm ram dam my old pentium 3 had 128mb ram and was horrible i upgraded to 512mb and its cool now

    by the way what is the cpu??

    if it has like a pentium 1 which i think just make it a server it will give you better value then it is now
     
  12. elokito

    elokito Regular member

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    dazila lower ure sig to 50kb then stack the pics 1 on top of the other u cant have the 2 of em next to each other
     
  13. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    that computer is a 486-33mhz.
     
  14. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

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    maybe put some kind of Linux on it and use it as an old router or firewall then
     
  15. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    hello creaky!!
     
  16. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

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    hey ddp, just popped in, sat outside on front deck of boat in the hot sun :)
     
  17. LordV

    LordV Member

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    Ok, il update once i try f12 cause ive tried the rest, there is no splash screen either. Just a memory test. So il try that later.

    Update: after the memory test it says it loading Ontrack:Dynamic drive overlay, and it says tro press spacebar to boot from diskette, but i have a cd :(
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2006
  18. Jallan

    Jallan Regular member

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    So, make a linux boot 3.5 disc from one of the webpages in the link i posted and see what happens when trying to boot from a floppy.

    Personally, though. I don't think a 486 has much use for anything today outside of watching demos or listening to .MOD / .S3M music files. I don't even know if it can run linux.
     
  19. LordV

    LordV Member

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    lol, i dont know, I dont know how much time i want to put into it, its junk
     
  20. Jallan

    Jallan Regular member

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    Well, by the time you made your most recent post, it could have been up and running for alittle over two days.
     

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