My father's giving me an old laptop

[lizziegrace]

Compaq, 5 years old. Knowing my father, it had every option available at the time. It runs Windows ME.

I wanted a laptop to use with a wireless router so I can write and surf somewhere other than my desk at home. He's going to dig it out (in his own good time) to see if it has USB ports and a wireless card.

So do y'all think this is worth getting or should I try to find a used laptop on ebay that runs XP and has built-in wireless?

:shrug:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear lizziegrace!

Hey...it's free, right?

Take it!

And see if it works!

If you need to buy one, I'd save up a little and get a new one. I love my Lenovo...

And I got it on sale, online

I would not buy a used one. No telling what you'd end up with, quality-wise.

:hug:

[fizzgig]

2. do you know what the model is?

i've got a compaq that is about that old, it's got a usb port and a slot for the wireless card. maybe see if, instead of buying a laptop online, if it might be cheaper to buy a copy of xp and a wireless card

[lizziegrace]

3. Thanks!

I'm waiting for him to send me the specs. I have no idea how much memory it's got or how big the hard drive is. It may not support XP.

I've stayed away from the very low-end Vista machines. I don't need the headaches associated with trying to get the peripherals working...

[fizzgig]

4. i don't have a whole lot in the way of memory

i can't remember how much right now, but it's got an 11 gb hard drive and supports xp fine.

good luck

[VenusRising]

5. See what your dad has first.

If you don't think it will suit your needs, you can always get one that does.

I got mine the day after Christmas last year for less than $500 and I LOVE it.

:hi::hug:

Having a good weekend?

[lizziegrace]

6. Thanks...

he's mailing it after the first of the year... :shrug:

Why I'm not sure. It's been in a closet for 3 years now. ;)

[Madrone]

7. LIZZIE!!

Hi!!! :hug: Mostly I just popped in to say HI!!! And that I've missed you. And that I hope your life is going well!

But... I think the laptop is definitely worth getting too. ;) You can always buy a wireless card if it doesn't have one - cheaper than a new laptop.

[lizziegrace]

8. Free is always good!

:hug:

You've been missed too. Hope life with your teenager has evened out a bit. And if not, you get some much-needed rest from the stress. :pals:

[Madrone]

9. Wellll..... the teenager is gone.

Her dog, and everything except her clothes are still here, however. She left the day before Thanksgiving. I miss her, and feel like a huge burden has been lifted - all at the same time, ya know?

My dog misses her a lot too - but he's enjoying the hell out of the little dog she left behind. LOL

[lizziegrace]

10. Kick for opinions

I know nothing about Windows ME.

[PeaceNikki]

11. If it has ME, it's older than 5 years old.

And the chances of it having wireless on board are almost zero.

It may be worth formatting and installing Win2k (upgrade/licensing costs involved). However, I'd be real surprised if a machine that has ME has the memory needed to run it. You can upgrade that memory pretty easily and fairly cheaply (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_slc.asp?CatId=150). You can also add a PCMCIA wireless card (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=367)if USB is not present. Installing and using on ME might prove impossible.

It's really hard to say whether the machine is worth spending money on to upgrade. Initially, I'd say - maybe. I am always a fan of recycling as opposed to buying new. But, you will need some technical expertise or a good friend with it.

[GirlinContempt]

12. If it runs ME, do something about that before you touch it.

If I had to pick the worst ever microsoft product, it would be ME. And I'm not alone in that.
HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE

[DarkTirade]

13. You can't uninstall evil.

[datasuspect]

15. you can however, wipe it

and run some flavor of linux.

[DarkTirade]

16. Y'know, I actually managed to completely crash linus when I had it installed.

Found out later that the harddrive I had installed it on was failing. Up until I found that out, I just thought I was REALLY talented.

Unfortunately the act of finding out that my harddrive was failing ended up losing a lot of files that I would have much rather NOT lost. :(

[datasuspect]

14. see if it can run win2000

that vintage should have pcmia slots and all that jazz, i'm sure you can configure it for wireless.

might be a solid little machine for legacy type software: you'd be able to run office 97 and stuff like that.

i would look into it. there is a lot of functionality you can probably get out of it. just don't expect it to be a "modern" machine.

but definitely wipe ME.

[Turbineguy]

17. Deleted

Deleted. I should read the entire thread before I respond...

[lizziegrace]

18. Thanks for the input

I believe it has a wireless card, not wireless built in. He was going to check (in his own sweet time) if it did indeed have a wireless card and USB ports.

I don't want to run ME but I'm not in a position financially to pay to have anyone else work on it.

I need it to surf the net and for word processing.

[hunter]

19. I have an old Dell with a wireless card running Windows 98SE.

That's my use-wherever-I-want-to machine.

It works great for that.

My main machines run Linux. I've never used XP on my own machines, so if Windows 98 is missing anything that XP has, I don't really notice.

Windows ME is essentially Windows 98SE, but with fins stuck on to make it look like a rocket. Whatever you do, don't upgrade or even use internet explorer, that's sure to break it eventually. Use a good anti-virus program like AVG, and firefox.

http://www.grisoft.com (look for the free version}

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox

[lizziegrace]

22. I already use Firefox

and through the university, Lelapin can get all kinds of anti-virus and spyware programs.

I'm just tired of being stuck at this desk when I want to surf or write. I'd like to go out to a coffee shop or sit out in the yard.

:hi:

[KitchenWitch]

20. That sounds great. I will echo what the others have said about WinME

You would almost be better off going back to Win 98 SP whatever the latest service pack for 98 was.

That being said, I am really fighting the urge to copy cat this thread.

:hi:

[lizziegrace]

21. Go with your urges...

:evilgrin:


;)

[KitchenWitch]

23. It would sound all wrong coming from me...

:evilgrin:

[lizziegrace]

24. PM it to Retro

The self-admitted lounge slut. He'll post damn near anything. ;)


:evilgrin:

[KitchenWitch]

25. ...

:think: