Hardware which has either been succeeded by more modern hardware, is at a state where malfunctions and errors might occur or has been discontinued by the manufacturer/company.
1
vote
1answer
440 views
Accessing an ATAPI Zip Drive via a USB-ATA bridge
I have an old Iomega Zip100 drive (labelled as ATAPI) which I'm trying to access via a USB-ATA/SATA bridge. Under Windows 7, plugging it in brings up an error in Device Manager (USB Mass Storage ...
1
vote
0answers
128 views
Need technical info on NEC FC-9801V “factory” computer
A friend has an obsolete Japanese CNC metal-working machine which is built around an NEC FC-9801V "factory computer". The FC-9801V is a V30-based machine similar to the very popular (in Japan) ...
1
vote
1answer
125 views
Downgrading gaming pc to NAS box
I currently have an old gaming pc which I wish to turn into a NAS box.
Im aware and understand the way to install, im more interested in reducing power consumption.
I thought if i removed the ...
0
votes
1answer
173 views
Computer Restart : it shutdown but it never power up
I am seeing an used desktop computer with MSI motherboard and runs Windows XP,
the problem is when i restart the computer using Windows >> shutdowns >> Restart, the computer shutdown but never power ...
37
votes
10answers
3k views
Which malfunctions cause old computers to slow down and crash?
I've had a few computers of my own break after a few years of use, and I've seen computers owned by friends and family do the same thing. They either slow down (even running the original software ...
1
vote
2answers
81 views
improving an old pc - using two HDDs
I have an old Athlon machine with 1.5GB ram and two HDDs and will install Windows 7 on it (for my mom to browse and mail). Can I get some extra performance out from the two disks? I see two scenarios:
...
0
votes
2answers
478 views
Best old PC Operating System [closed]
(According to Windows Vista), I have a Compaq Presario C500 laptop with a 32-bit Intel M 1.6 GHz processor. I have 502 MB of RAM and 30 GB of hard disk space free.
I don't care about frequent ...
0
votes
4answers
129 views
Install Linux on this Computer
I have an old desktop computer which I am trying to install Linux to. It looks Dell-ish to me. So far I have tried Linux LiveDVD (I have no LiveCDs) and the computer only has a CD drive. The BIOS is ...
0
votes
1answer
146 views
Linux for Cyrix 6x86 and 32MiB RAM
I have really old computer with Cyrix 6x86PR200 processor and really low RAM. And I want to place some kind of linux on it. What good and preferably not really old distro can you suggest? The low RAM ...
0
votes
4answers
2k views
Can I directly open an MMF Cash Drawer through RJ-11 port?
My aunt bought this cash drawer at an auction recently and has tasked me with figuring how to open it via a computer. We have the key (pictured) and can open it manually, but I'd like to be able to ...
4
votes
1answer
151 views
Can data tapes be recorded/played on a standard cassette recorder? [closed]
I just bought a TRS-80 PC-1 pocket computer with a tape deck interface.
The tape deck has 2 standard 1/4" Mono jacks (input [speaker] and output [mic]) and 1 smaller one labeled "Remote".
None ...
1
vote
3answers
231 views
Will ie9 run faster than ie8?
I am trying to get an old computer running Vista to browse the internet faster. From the point of view that the resources on the computer are slowing things down.
Currently IE8 is installed and ...
1
vote
1answer
952 views
Computer freezes after watching Youtube videos
I had Windows 7 installed all september. But I installed Windows XP Professional back because my computer couldn't handle the new OS. Click on my profile to see my full specs.
After first boot I ...
0
votes
1answer
365 views
Minimal Gnu/Linux distribution to run only Firefox and Thunderbird
I usually run Ubuntu on my notebook, and I'm pretty happy with it, execept for the boot time : my laptop is pretty old, and Ubuntu takes about 50 seconds to boot.
Of course, that's not bad compared ...
0
votes
2answers
415 views
Can a PCI-X card be used in a PCI-E slot?
Does anyone know if a PCI-X card can be used in a PCI-E slot?
1
vote
1answer
133 views
Is “Ultra320 LVD SCSI” the correct name of the interface?
I have a HP Ultrium 960 tape drive, but I can't figure out what the SCSI interface is called.
The white paper doesn't mention it
According to this site it is called "Ultra320 LVD SCSI".
I can't ...
5
votes
3answers
177 views
Does the 6502 put FF in the stack pointer register as soon as it gets power for the first time?
I'm reading about the 6502 processor's instruction set from the many links at 6502.org, and one tutorial states:
The stack pointer (S) points to a byte on Page 1, that is, to a byte whose address ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
Reading old 5.25" floppies
Summary: Having problems reading some old 5.25" floppies. Looking for advice on what else I can try before declaring the disks un-retrievable and giving-up.
Details:
I recently found a box of old ...
0
votes
1answer
731 views
Is there a reliable IDE to SATA converter?
I got a cheap PATA to SATA converter on eBay because my box doesn't have any SATA ports left for the SATA Blu-ray writer I recently purchased. It only half works, which of course is worse than a ...
0
votes
2answers
463 views
Legacy Scanner; can I run XP inside of VMware or VirtualBox for support?
I have a legacy hp scanner that I am trying to run on my windows 7 machine. I've explored VirtualPC, but it appears that my processor doesn't support that. I'm now exploring other options.
I'm ...
1
vote
3answers
77 views
What could be bottlenecking me?
I have a rather old motherboard/processor and I'm trying to install a nice lightweight linux on it. However, I can never get through the installer because it's so slow. It took me over 400 seconds to ...
0
votes
3answers
347 views
Windows XP minimum requirements [closed]
I've just seen a clean Windows XP Home Edition installation crawling on a Celeron with 666 MHz and 128 MB of RAM (and sufficient video card and HD). There were no software installed, just SP3, all ...
2
votes
2answers
185 views
Is my Network Interface Card faulty?
I've got a Dell Optiplex GX240 running Windows XP, and am having network issues with it. I downloaded and installed updated drivers from DELL, but the issue is not resolved. Windows Device Manager ...
5
votes
1answer
120 views
What do I need to get an old 100MB Zip drive working?
I have a need to retrieve some data from a zip drive, but I cannot remember what I need to get everything working.
What I have:
Old PC with IDE controller running fresh install of WinXP SP3
ZIP ...
2
votes
1answer
275 views
Service for retrieving data from old Macintosh floppies
I have a bunch of old Mac floppies, from whatever System was common in 1995. I've been wanting to get this data off of these floppies for some time but feet dragging has led to the current state ...
1
vote
1answer
76 views
What to do when I notice symptoms of mechanical printer failures?
I have a HP Deskjet 9300 connected with USB to a Jetdirect 175x box. The 9300 is kinda old. Its been here since prior to 04/2007. The Jetdirect was installed in 2008. The users of this printer have ...
2
votes
4answers
1k views
How do I get old footage off an old (tape-based) video camera?
I am wondering what cheap ways there are for getting old footage of a old video camera (that uses tape) onto my computer?
The camera does not have FireWire or anything like that, just the video ...
8
votes
2answers
227 views
Full hardware emulation
I want to emulate some old desktop PC in order to run my application there (the emulated machine) as a stress test.
Is this possible? I looked around and some people mentioned Qemu, which is Open ...
0
votes
2answers
84 views
How should I dispose of all of this old hardware? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the best way to dispose of non-working computer equipment?
I've got several boxes of hard drives, CD/DVD drives and expansion cards which I've collected over the ...
-3
votes
3answers
656 views
What can I do with an old modem [closed]
After watching this video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9dpXHnJXaE it made me wonder if there is anything I can actually do with some old 56k modems I've got from old computers.
Obviously I ...
2
votes
1answer
793 views
How do I find out if my computer's hardware is compatible with Ubuntu?
I'm going to switch OS. From Windows 7 to Linux (Ubuntu, I think). Problem is that I'm not sure about my computer's hardware. Will it be suitable and there will be working drivers for it? For example, ...
2
votes
3answers
208 views
Is the cooling fan on a 2004 graphics card really necessary?
I have an old GeForce 6600 card in my computer, circa 2004. Recently the fan has started playing up and making loud irritating noises. I've tried oiling it with no luck. This is the second fan I've ...
0
votes
1answer
195 views
How to repair a very old laptop?
I've got a laptop which is something around 30 years old, and I like to just run that old machine again, but the problem is when I press the power button, it only lights up the screen and beeps at ...
1
vote
2answers
267 views
What is written on the side of the 'mystery key' on a IBM PC 3180 keyboard?
What is written on the side of the 'mystery key' on an IBM PC 3180 keyboard?
To be more specific, I'm talking about the text seen here...
2
votes
5answers
2k views
How to know which RAM I can/should buy for my PC?
I have a relatively old PC (5 years or more) which has only 1GB of RAM. I'm running on Windows 7 and unfortunately it doesn't like being so senile...
I have a Gigabyte mother board but I have no ...
4
votes
1answer
170 views
Installing Windows 1.04
I have Windows 1.04 on seven 5¼" disks, and I have a Dell from 2000 with a 5¼" floppy drive connected up.
Now with the first disk in, and with the BIOS set up to boot from A:, after the normal Dell ...
17
votes
6answers
1k views
Formatting a 5.25" floppy disk
So after the massive trouble of finding a 5.25" floppy drive and a connecting it up, then changing the BIOS so it's set as my A: drive, I tried to format a couple of high-density 1.2MB floppy disks ...
0
votes
1answer
378 views
Often My Laptop Doesn't Work: Only Shows Blank Screen With the Cursor Flashing
My rather old Dell C840 started behaving strangely. When I try to start it up, it doesn't do anything, just shows a blank screen with the cursor flashing. It has nothing to do with booting. It doesn't ...
1
vote
1answer
257 views
Combining several boot floppy disks into one HD floppy
I have a bit of an obsession with old operating systems, and while teaching myself to use UNIX and about operating systems I came across Minix 1.1. I want to install this on an old Dell setup, and ...
3
votes
1answer
65 views
Poor rendering: is my computer about to die?
Recently, my computer has begun to render some websites really poorly. Example:
This mostly happens in Firefox, but sometimes also in Chrome; it can usually be fixed by updating the page. However, ...
1
vote
3answers
752 views
How can I connect a Syquest EZ135 drive to a modern computer?
The drive and disks are over 10 yrs old so I have little hope, but what kind of cable could I use to make this drive readable on a modern PC (Vista)?
Is there an adaptor that has to be used?
For ...
0
votes
2answers
356 views
NetBSD Networking
I have an old Toshiba Satellite 4015CDT, with Pentium II MMX, 32MB RAM, 4GB HDD. It also has one USB 1.0 port, parallel and serial ports, a 3.5" floppy drive and a CD-ROM drive (probably almost dead). ...
34
votes
9answers
3k views
How can I read a reel-to-reel tape from the 1970s?
A close friend of my mother worked at DEC in the 1970s and 1980s. She recently passed away, and in sorting through her estate, my mother discovered some reel-to-reel magnetic tape. We are curious ...
3
votes
1answer
247 views
The maximum hard drive capacity for Intel 80286 based PC
I got myself an Intel 80286 based PC. It has 40Mb hard drive installed. What is the maximum hard drive capacity that this PC can handle?
0
votes
2answers
326 views
How to fix regular hanging/restarts in my windows XP SP3
My computer system has two Hard disks (One on 320SATA(boot disk with one partition) and one on 80Gb P-ATA(C:,d:,e:,f:)),1Gb SDDDR1 RAM, an Nvidia 6600 graphics card, a Gigabyte motherboard and a ...
8
votes
2answers
1k views
Linux Live CD for old computer
I have a pentium II (that's right, pentium II) with a scant 200MB of ram. This was a high-end workstation in it's day. The machine currently runs dos on a raid array, and I need to pull some data ...
0
votes
1answer
634 views
GIMP tricks to make an image that looks like an old code printout
I want to create an image in GIMP that looks like a code printout from an old line printer or dot matrix printer. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I'd like to find a monospace dot matrix font ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
What is the form factor of a Dell GXa?
I have an old school Dell GXa sitting around. All the hardware is obviously obsolete but the case is in good shape. I would consider purchasing a newer motherboard (P4 or better) for it and giving ...
0
votes
2answers
266 views
Mount ancient PATA disk (from a 386) to restore files (ATA 1, or older)
I have a PATA disk from a 386 laptop (1995?) which I would like to get files off.
It is a Seagate 9096A, and is working. Using the old laptop is not possible.
I have tried a USB - 2.5" PATA ...
2
votes
4answers
110 views
How can I exterminate my private optical disks easily?
I have been storing some private data (mostly documents) in CDs and DVDs for a long time. Now they have become obsolete and unnecessary, so I am going to throw them all to garbage can.
What I want ...
