I have an old Dell dimension 9100 that I bought in 2003 that was a faithful friend until about 2009 when I switched to Mac. I don't use it anymore but have given it to my daughter to play with and my mother when she comes to visit and needs to spend 3 hours or so checking her email. It has also been helpful for checking cross browser compatibility on older machines.

 

My daughter has of course been complaining that it is slow but I didn't realise how slow until last time I used it and I've decided to either fix it up a bit or get her something more modern.

 

My question is is it worth installing new memory and perhaps Windows 8 (I can't even reformat it because I've lost the disk and it's Windows XP) or should I just get a new one? It seems a shame to chuck it out just because it is old.

Simple answer, get a new one! You will simply kill it if you install Windows 8 on it. Also the RAM you will have to insert will probably bee DDR RAM remember DDR3 is the current standard

 

There comes a time for every computer owner to realise that his old and much loved machine has to "die". It's a sad place to be, I've been there myself, but you will fast begin to love your upgrade. For me speed is essential and is a must for my machines. Therefore if I want to keep an old machine alive I simply install Linux on it. Windows will simply kill your mahcine slowly..

 

I know that you will have to use some extra money to buy a new one (they aren't that expensive anymore if you just want a machine for your daughter and mother). In the long end it will only benefit you all. If you still want to keep your machine alive you could install Linux on it

Thanks for your answer. I suspected as much. I'm not sure my mother could cope with Linux. Maybe I'll install it for my daughter and see how she does with it.

If it's just for your daughter (depending on age - I'd assume a teen would be hard to please ) and your mother checking emails, the cheapest solution would be to strip down the existing computer a bit and optimise it in general or a clean install. Maybe Windows 7 on the cheap?

 

I bought a netbook in 2009 as needed something portable to write on. It came pre-installed with Windows XP in Japanese. As I couldn't get a local version of Windows in English I installed Ubuntu. Good free alternative and pretty fast to run but I think for the non-savvy, it's a little tricky to use if you encounter problems/not used to another OS UI. I liked it but encountered a few errors where I needed to sort the issue out in a terminal environment. Not great for family members not interested in geeky stuff! I use Mac as well and prefer them but both my wife and mother get frustrated with them as they're used to Windows and MS products.

 

If you can budget for it, a netbook is a good alternative. Pretty cheap and nice specs for 'checking emails' and HD streaming YouTube and stuff. No need for a big snazzy desktop.

Thanks 4li4s,

That is what I originally intended but it turns out I would have to buy extra RAM as I only have 500mb! I was thinking of installing Ubuntu and just holding my Mum's hand until she gets to her email page. My daughter isn't a teen yet but she's getting there. Luckily she's pretty tech-savvy so it might not be a bad environment for her to learn.

 

Otherwise we'll probably need another PC eventually so I might just get her a little Acer or something. I presume she could attach it to my external display if she wanted a larger screen.

500MB? Ouch! Yeah, that would probably need an update for Windows 8. The netbook I have is an EeePC. Perfect for what I needed at the time, but I have used it once or twice in the past 4 years - mostly for testing and for installing an extra gig (runs at 2gig RAM). My wife is happy with it, but I had to take Ubuntu off and put Windows 7 on it. To be honest, she could have used Ubuntu as it's pretty fast but it wasn't worth the hassle at the time. Give Ubuntu a try and see how you get on. I think the best way to install it is from a USB. That was the most frustrating bit at the time. There should be better installers now

have a look at the XFCE version of mint (based on ubuntu) or even the mate version : will run on 500mb - it idles at around 180-230 MB and with firefox open less than 300mb. http://www.linuxmint.com/ (link to 32-bit mate as torrent http://torrents.linuxmint.com/torrents/linuxmint-15-mate-dvd-32bit.iso.torrent )

 

ubuntu is nice but takes too many resources for older computers. my wife's mum uses it and she has next to zero experience with computers - other than using an ancient pc with windows millenium (eugh) on it and dial-up! she manages fine with it (mint mate is reasonably similar to windows in layout - not a huge jump for the user)

 

why not try a live dvd (just burn the iso on a dvd/dvd-rw) and boot it up on the old pc - it won't be as fast as isntalling it on the HD but you cna get a taste of it first before you decide whether or not to install it. for emails and general surfing it should be just fine and if at the end of the day she/you dont llike it then all you've wasted is a dvd and a little time should extend its life for a little while - even if it's only to give you time to find a new replacement. one thing it will struggle with is playing full screen video but if that's not important then just go for it and have fun!

500MB? Ouch!

I remember thinking that was rather a lot at the time

 

why not try a live dvd

 

I think I will try the live DVD then, assuming I can find one before I lose motivation.

 

I remember thinking that was rather a lot at the time

 

Yeah - know how that feels. I remember upgrading my old Amiga 500 to 1Meg RAM thinking it was a supercomputer!

 

Hope the DVD works out for you and your family

Yeah - know how that feels. I remember upgrading my old Amiga 500 to 1Meg RAM thinking it was a supercomputer!

 

Ah, those were the days...

 

Argh! It just so happens that it doesn't read DVD's (it does read CD's however) and the disc drive on my Mac doesn't work either. I can't find a way to boot linux mint from a usb key.

assuming you've checke the boot order in the bios (usually press F2 or del key or similar when bootting to enter bios) ... (sometimes those old machines jsut wont bloody boot from usb

 

make a bootable usb with http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/ or look for similar on mac if you can't do it on the pc...

 

then burn a cd with plop on it so you CAN boot from usb

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16822/boot-from-a-usb-drive-even-if-your-bios-wont-let-you/

 

lubuntu supposedly fits on a cd too http://www.lubuntu.net/

 

 

 

bit of a departure from windows ... but for a tiny distro (that will - easily - fit on a cd) i think slitaz is pretty good http://www.slitaz.org/en/get/ though it takes a little time to get used to it

http://www.slitaz.org/en/get/

Edited August 19, 201312 yr by dap

Thanks again dap. It looks like my disk drive is pretty much cooked. It doesn't seem to recognize cd's unless they are already formatted (I'm just guessing but anyway it won't recognize a blank cd). And of course I can't format them as I don't have a machine that recognizes them. I think the gods are against me on this one.

 

My daughter is thrilled at the prospect of having a laptop so it looks like I'm going to have to say goodbye to the old clunker. Maybe I'll light a candle for it

lucky for your daughter