The things people throw away.....

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by megamaced, Dec 19, 2005.

  1. Anti-Trend

    Anti-Trend Nonconformist Geek

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    Sure, it'd run no problem. The memory expensive thing in Linux, like Windows, is the heaviness of the GUI. But unlike Windows, in Linux one has their choice of which GUI to run (if at all). There are GUIs, for instance WindowMaker, which take up only 4mb RAM to run. That leaves you a lot of RAM for actually running software. Of course, running a heavy GUI like KDE in 48mb of RAM would be equivilent to running XP on that thing -- just nasty.
     
  2. megamaced

    megamaced Geek Geek Geek!

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    Can you explain how this works? From what I gather, you sign up for the news group and wait for someone to email offering free computer hardware? Then all you do is pick it up? Sounds to good to be true! Whats the catch?
     
  3. Anti-Trend

    Anti-Trend Nonconformist Geek

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    No, that's pretty much it. I've also found that asking around at large companies, universities and other such places which cycle through a lot of PCs will often donate some PCs to you if you ask nicely. I got about a dozen HP Vectra workstations from a major university here in SoCal.
     
  4. megamaced

    megamaced Geek Geek Geek!

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    As it happens, we a FORCED to use HP Vectras here at Yahoo! They are P3 500MHz and 128MB of RAM running Windows NT - Terrible for a workstation!

    Out of interest, what have you done with all those Vectras?!
     
  5. Matt555

    Matt555 iMod

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    There is no catch, basically it's stuff people don't want anymore, I happen to get those PC's because the guy who wanted to get rid of them was moving to another country and didnt need them, those 5 monitors I was going to pick up were from a company that recently upgraded to TFT screens and therefore had loads of CRT's they needed to get rid of.
    It's not just computer stuff, there's lots of other stuff as well, basically anything people don't want and they think is able to be used by someone else they give away, you just e-mail them if you want it and then if they say you can have it you go and pick it up! It's a great idea.
     
  6. Nic

    Nic Sleepy Head

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    Yeah it is im a long time member but i have nothing because mi cant drive and nobody will take me to the items.
     
  7. Impotence

    Impotence May the source be with u!

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    unlucky Nic :(, most of the communities say all the items must be free, but for some reason the glasgo one has to state:-

    "Our main rule: everything posted must be free. Please read the user's guide to find out how to use it effectively, and what isn't permitted (heroin and Kalashnikovs aren't allowed, free or not)."

    loooooooooollzzzzzzzz :p
     
  8. harakim

    harakim Big Geek

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    Mail me the celeron! : )
     
  9. Anti-Trend

    Anti-Trend Nonconformist Geek

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    Some were converted to IPCop or m0n0wall firewalls, some were refirbished into Linux Internet stations, and some were donated to a local community center.
     
  10. megamaced

    megamaced Geek Geek Geek!

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    ... And I bet you've got a PC for every room in your house. A PC in your kitchen, for when you're doing the washing up/cooking. A PC in your dining room, for when you're eating your dinner. A PC in your lounge, for when your 'entertaining'. A PC in your bathroom, for when you're sitting on the toilet. And a PC in your bedroom.........I won't go there :D
     
  11. Nic

    Nic Sleepy Head

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    Thats like us..except for the bathroom. I wanted a pc for the bathroom in the tiles above the bath so I could watch movies while in the bath. Eventually they agreed but it wasnt poosible :( but i still want more. I love having pcs to tinker with.
     
  12. Anti-Trend

    Anti-Trend Nonconformist Geek

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    [ot]
    Pay the shipping and it's yours. As-is though, as I don't feel like building it up enough to test it.[/ot]
     
  13. megamaced

    megamaced Geek Geek Geek!

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    I remember when I first opened up this Compaq, I saw a strange white slot on the motherboard, near the processor. I have since found out it is called a COASt socket - short for Cache-On-A-Stick! Apparently, they were a really common sight, especially on Intel boards, back in the days of the P1

    This Compaq was a low cost option back in 1998 - can you believe $700 was considered enty-level back then. Anyway, to cut costs, this PC was manufacturered with NO onboard level 2 cache! This explains why the PC is so damn slow, when it shouldn't be!
    I've since bought 512KB (probably overkill for this computer) of Cache RAM, and now it's flying!
     
  14. Big B

    Big B HWF Godfather

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    That last line about 512kB made me chuckle.

    But, yeah, for practicing, dumpster diving can be a nice option, plus you may be able to accumulate spare parts...like me and my dad have. I can see you're learning quite a bit in your PC adventures too.
     
  15. megamaced

    megamaced Geek Geek Geek!

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    That put some dirty images in my mind :D
     
  16. cybergiest

    cybergiest Geek Trainee

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    the other great thing about the 2240 is it has a built in speaker system, if your cd rom drive is of the two button variety it will play cds while the computer is turned off (power supply button on). the volume controls work too. you can also upgrade to 233mhz in either AMD OR intel.
    megamaced does yours have a heatsink and fan or just the big heatsink??
     
  17. megamaced

    megamaced Geek Geek Geek!

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    hehe, yes it's got a built-in JBL speaker system! The CD-ROM doesn't have any special play buttons though, although it is the generic Sanyo that comes with the PC.

    The CPU has a heatsink but no fan, and the motherboard has no fan header either! The processor seems to run quite hot, but I guess it's always run like that, so hopefully thats normal.
    I was thinking about upgrading it to the fastest AMD available with a 66MHz FSB (which i think is 350MHz), but there is no point really. If I started to upgrade bits, I'd end up with a completely new machine! After all, it can only support 48MB RAM, theres no DMA modes and the hard drive is only 4200RPM!
     
  18. cybergiest

    cybergiest Geek Trainee

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    i think the fastest we ever got this one to go was 233. it only has multipliers up to 3.5. plus if you go intel you will need to change the voltage jumpers. the voltage jumpers are on the left side i think. been awhile since i had mine opened. i had to put an itel 200 in mine because we fried the amd in another machine. :(
    mine also came with that big fanless heat sink, think i still have it in a box somewheres. if you look around i bet you can find an old cdrom that is the two button type. we found out by accident that it would play cds with the computer off. mine also came with the factory install 16 meg dim that is the same chips that are on the motherboard. at 1 point i was considering soldering them on the blank spots on the board.:eek: but never got around to it and gave the ram away.
    it has 1 pci slot, we populated it with a 100tx nic and had it hooked up to a comcast cable modem, that was fun.:)
    my favorite thift store find to date is a pent3 800. has a nice 40gig maxtor in it and 256meg ram all for $5.
     
  19. Impotence

    Impotence May the source be with u!

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    thats quite a deal! thats about £2.50/£3.... that wouldnt even pay the shipping!
     
  20. megamaced

    megamaced Geek Geek Geek!

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    Do you have a PDF manual for the Intel motherboard? I need to know the jumper layout!

    I'm not sure if this is normal, but whenever I shutdown the computer, It seems to restart again! It never switches off! There is a sleep button on the front, so maybe i'm missing something here? Does this happen on your Presario?
    I've installed Windows 98SE on it.
     

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