What Would You Do With an Old P.C

What Would You Do With an Old P.C Suggestions on useful activities?

#1 JJ2K

Forum Regular

Group: Members
Posts: 162
Joined: 23-January 09

Posted 23 January 2009 - 07:30 PM

Hi,

I have this old P.C monitor, keybord, mouse, pentium II tower (2 CD drives + 1 CD/Rewriter added to it) with Windows 98 installed on it.

However I don't use it as I have a newer P.C and also a laptop, can anybody give me any suggestions on anything to do with it?

Because my parents are suggesting taking it to the tip but i'm assuring theres better alternatives!

If it is pretty useless then how can I completly wipe it before I take it to the tip so theres no trace of anything !!

#2 lhamil64

Forum Regular

Group: Members
Posts: 189
Joined: 18-November 07
Gender:Male
Location:United States

Posted 23 January 2009 - 09:05 PM

well, you could use it as a tinkering machine for Linux distros or something.

if you want to whipe it completely, you can use DBAN
try googling for the link, I would post a link but I'm on an iPod touch right now and there's no copy&paste lol

-Lee
@lhamil64
My website

#3 boopme

To Insanity and Beyond

Group: Global Moderator
Posts: 48,761
Joined: 10-September 04
Gender:Male
Location:NJ USA

Posted 23 January 2009 - 09:29 PM

Maybe keep it as a printer server.

How do I get help? Who is helping me?
Staying Updated Calendar of Updates.
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear....
Become a BleepingComputer fan: Facebook

#4 raw

Bleeping Hacker

Group: BC Advisor
Posts: 2,299
Joined: 14-April 04
Gender:Male
Location:Texas

Posted 23 January 2009 - 09:44 PM

I have to agree with lhamil64. Learn Linux. An older PC is a perfect candidate
for the Linux operating system.
Linux not for you? That's OK. Consider donating it to help out someone
who can not afford one.
Wipe the drive(s) first. Dban works excellent.
http://www.dban.org/

HOSTFix only works on XP,no longer maintained

#5 JJ2K

Forum Regular

Group: Members
Posts: 162
Joined: 23-January 09

Posted 24 January 2009 - 03:28 PM

Thanks i'm interested in learning Linux, but i'm not very sure on what it does or is!
Is it a programming language and what can it be used for in the real-world?

#6 lhamil64

Forum Regular

Group: Members
Posts: 189
Joined: 18-November 07
Gender:Male
Location:United States

Posted 24 January 2009 - 08:42 PM

Linux is an operating system (sort of like windows)
Unlike windows though, most distros are free. For an older computer I would recommend Xubuntu or if you want you could try Ubuntu (they are the same basically except Xubuntu is lighter)

http://xubuntu.com
http://ubuntu.com

-Lee
@lhamil64
My website

#7 raw

Bleeping Hacker

Group: BC Advisor
Posts: 2,299
Joined: 14-April 04
Gender:Male
Location:Texas

Posted 24 January 2009 - 11:42 PM

In the "real world" i can surf the net, answer your posts,
send/receive email, import photos from my camera, edit
those photos, create a photo album for my site. http://www.rawcreations.net/gallery/TO/

I can rip/burn/play music, burn DVD's, encode movies for my PSP, watch TV, instant message friends.

Oh yeah...I can make my desktop look like Windows XP.

I can also run AOL

With Linux you are only limited by your desire to learn and your imagination.
TinyMe is a light-weight distro aimed at older hardware. It will run on 400Mhz CPU and 128 RAM.
http://tinymelinux.com/doku.php/home

HOSTFix only works on XP,no longer maintained

#8 JJ2K

Forum Regular

Group: Members
Posts: 162
Joined: 23-January 09

Posted 25 January 2009 - 06:28 PM

Thanks, but i'm still confused on why I would install Linux, as in what would I do with it once it's installed?

#9 funnytim

Distinguished Member

Group: Members
Posts: 619
Joined: 27-April 06
Gender:Male
Location:Vancouver, BC, Canada

Posted 25 January 2009 - 06:49 PM

Linux is an operating system, just like Windows.

So by installing Linux, you would be able to learn how to use another operating system. I believe Linux is pretty different compared to Windows, but someone here can confirm that.

It's more of a enhanced-knowledge experience so you can learn more than anything else really.

Thanks.

#10 JWebb

New Member

Group: Members
Posts: 7
Joined: 21-January 09
Location:Florida State

Posted 25 January 2009 - 07:13 PM

I'd make an entertainment machine out of it. It would be perfect if it had a DVD drive.

Use a stripped down operating system - Win98 Lite or a light Linux.

Add a music player (Winamp) or use the built in player.

Add a video player (VLC) or use the built in player.

Add a bunch of "light" games (easy on the CPU) like DOSBox and some old DOS games, MAME and a few standalones.

Jim

"This used to be a hell of a good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it." - George Hanson, 1969

A bad day at golf is better than a good day at the office.

Posted Image

#11 thcbytes

Bleepin' Teacher

Group: Malware Response Instructor
Posts: 12,271
Joined: 09-December 08
Gender:Male

Posted 25 January 2009 - 08:32 PM

I was going to configure a Virtual Machine on my current pc and use Linux as its OS......but now I think you gave me a great use for my old Win98 machine!!

Thanks,
t

Proud member - Unified Network of Instructors and Trained Eliminators
Posted Image

I do not accept personal donations for assistance provided. I would ask that you instead consider donating the greatest gift - Organ Donation. Your organs are of no use to you when your gone. You will save a life that would otherwise be lost!

http://organdonor.gov/index.html

#12 funnytim

Distinguished Member

Group: Members
Posts: 619
Joined: 27-April 06
Gender:Male
Location:Vancouver, BC, Canada

Posted 26 January 2009 - 02:21 AM

thcbytes, on Jan 25 2009, 05:32 PM, said:

I was going to configure a Virtual Machine on my current pc and use Linux as its OS......but now I think you gave me a great use for my old Win98 machine!!

I would do that to my old ME comp sitting downstairs too, except I have no more space for it...all taken up by new comps :thumbsup:

I'm stuck with VM for now, lol.

Oh and to the OP, maybe you could hook it up to your tv so you can watch movies, etc. Maybe even do some web browsing on the big screen.

Thanks.

#13 BSeward

New Member

Group: Members
Posts: 2
Joined: 17-January 09

Posted 26 January 2009 - 06:01 PM

Hell, send it to me! Sounds better than what I am using - and I like Win98!

#14 silverojo

Member

Group: Members
Posts: 15
Joined: 27-January 09

Posted 27 January 2009 - 02:12 AM

You didn't specify the specs of your motherboard or how much RAM you have, but it's likely that your PC could handle either a "live CD" or a smaller Linux distro like Puppy Linux.

I'm using Puppy right now, since I can't get online with my Win98SE installation. :thumbsup:

It's easy to run from a live CD--just make sure your BIOS is set up to boot from the CD before the hard drive--and then you just pop the Puppy CD into the drive, let it do its thing, and follow some simple instructions. It gives you the option to save your settings (a "frugal installation"), or just exit Puppy without saving.

In other words, there's no hassle of partitioning your hard drive for installing an actual Linux OS, because Puppy runs off the two files it saves onto your Windows partition. It's the easiest way to install a Linux distro onto your older machine! :flowers: