So Just How Old Are Your Computers?

It struck me the other day that not only were our computers, like me, "getting on a bit" but that I had no real interest in updating them either. OK, so my laptop takes well over a minute to get to a working desktop but so what - works fine once booted. This is all so different from the 1980s, when I just had to have the latest and to hell with the expense.

I had a look back -

Medion tower, bought November 2006, currently happily running Win 10 32 bit on 4Gb without issues

Two Lenovo Thinkpads bought February 2013, running Win 10 64 bit on 8Gb, also no probs, and -

UK 6 year old custom built i5 tower running Win 10 64 bit on 8Gb without issues and acting as file server for the others via the LAN.

It all works so well I can see it soldiering on for quite a few years yet and, while I occasionally think about moving on, I just can't see any worthwhile gain, especially as my smart phone is so unbelievably clever at doing all the stuff the computers can't.

It's a shame really, as I used to get a hell of a kick from keeping up with it all, whereas it all now seems so commonplace. Ah well, c'est la vie, but I'm sure I'm far from being alone.

 

2002 TO 2019?9 or 10

i dont care much anymore

i guess i like lenovos

 

Running with 3 'GoodWill' pc's right now so don't know their original dates.



This one I'm on is the little one. My main is the big one. The wife's is a different model but would be like the middle one.


My main is huge. Look
at the usb inputs! 4 hard disk bays. 2 optical. 6 sata on motherboard.

Hewlett-Packard HP Compaq 8000 Elite
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Processor 3.0-GHz, 6M L2 cache, 1333 MHz FSB with vPro Technology

Next pc will probably be GoodWill also. They get some good donations.

 

I think my next time consuming projects are going to be memory related. I'm looking at some of the NVMe related drives of various interface option along with external enclosures with sata connections. So final top
speed is limited by choices and pc's capabilities.. But with pciE ssd's in an external I see some cool combinations.
I can't walk or carry my larger cases. Shopping in stores is limited. This market is supported on internet sites fully and the packages are easily handled. I'm gonna have a pocket full of memory!

 

when i turned my modem off i think my health got a little better and rash maybe cleared up..ive downsized to small smart phone hotspot

maybe ill keep 2 laptops and travel

 

I have an HP laptop Win 7. How old? I do not remember or care. It works sorta. It must be 7 years old.
I also have two dell desktops. Both are a little over a year old.

 

Buy One Get One Free deal?

 

Bought one at an estate/yard sale new in box. The second one the next day cheap used.

 

Had a friend wanted to buy his wife and himself a new HP AIO @ a local Sam's Club where they shopped for their business. A bar. The cashier only hit their credit card for 1 system. A BOGO deal (F)rom (H)ell (A)nd (B)ack'''''''''''''''''''
''''''''''''''''''''''''*fhab* don't work in the urban dictionary>

 

For hardware, I've stuck with IBMA's computers and never had a problem. My current, old faithful, an IBMA (Australia) "ThinkPad" (64bit OS Laptop) fills my needs nicely - had it for years - housekeep it regularly and software updated. Never had a problem - boots up fast - won't see a need for change until the latest software updates demands new hardware. Then I'll upgrade. Guess it's how and for what one uses/needs a computer.

 

im using an old XP one because the aduacity seems to work ok

i can never seem to use audacity recording with the win 1o and where do i find old version of seamonky? oldversion .com hardly works

https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

 

All this old gear still in daily use all around the world, nice for users but Microsoft's huge market dominance and the need for compatibility must have seriously slowed up innovation, both for software and hardware. Can't see how the world breaks out of this stalemate.

 

My computers go back 20 plus years, I keep a Win 98, XP, and a Win 7 around, besides Win10. Sometimes you just need the old hardware to do something. I just made new ones at Christmas for my son and I for gaming. I will say I have way to many computers around here - desktops and laptops. Also have a Commodore 64 clone "the C64".

 

My HP laptop will not age anymore.
I turned it on last night and got a POOF of smoke and the unmistakable sound of a mother
board becoming a crispy critter.

 

Yeh Bob.....they never respond well once you let the smoke out!

 

Can't say I've heard of that happening before...so long as you're safe... sounds like your computer has now joined that cloud in the sky...

On a positive note, does your "House and Contents Insurance" cover it? If yes, nice way to get a new computer.

 

I live in a mobile home. The insurance is way different. The deductible would kill the deal.
I did

get $10.00 for the AC adapter. No questions asked or answered.


yes I was using a surge protecter

 

Well done!

 

Laptop is a ThinkPad W510 circa 2010 . Core i7, 8GB RAM and 1GB nVidia GPU. $300 refurb in 2013. Living room TV has a Dell XPS 8300. Spare room has a Dell Studio case gutted with a Rampage III system board.

All still run just fine...

 

Still have a P4 on the shelf.
Lord, the old crap on the shelves in the garage...

 

My 2013 Toshiba laptop needs a new keyboard. I ended up refurbishing my old Dell 1520 from....2006? 07? because I really really liked the keyboard. That's what I am typing on now. Upgraded the memory, the hard drive, and the OS. So far, so good.

 

I bought a Medion desktop from Aldi, it was like my 4 or 5 computer and that thing had really good spces for the time it was released, it was a very solid PC. Its still on a shelf somewhere.
My first PC was bought at a Sams warehouse it was a 133 or 166, then I got an IBM 350MHz from CompUSA, then had a local shop build a 700 MHz AMD desktop (couldn't find many off the shelf PCs using AMD), following the "Moore's Law" I doubled each upgrade. The Medion was next.

 

Yep, back in the '00s ppl used to look at me sideways when I told them I had bought both my PC and my laptop from Aldi but, unlike the groceries, both were well ahead of their time, particularly the Medion PC, but for me the real star was the German made Gericom Ego notebook I bought in 2004. Not in use now but so beautifully made I've never been able to bring myself to part with it.

 

My "newest" computers are the one in my sig (Acer, 2015 I think) and the one I bought last year, only because this one wouldn't charge (was the port, too expensive to fix, I just have to be careful plugging in and check the light...also even a plain extension cord slows the charging)...this "newest", by the way, was a 17-year-old refurbished Lenovo laptop (now 18 years old).

It just have been expensive at the time!

Actually, someone "donated" an old Dell to me, which I accepted just for ha-has. I don't even remember how old it is! (It might be older than the Lenovo.) I tried to replace the 2nd memory stick (with the biggest allowable) and it wouldn't recognize it. Best Buy insisted it was the same as the original even though the markings on the chips looked different...this is how I found out they "refurbish" memory chips! Now it won't reconize the original second stick if I insert it...so it only has half its former memory!

I made the mistake of using Puppy Linux w/option to use RAM disk and now I cannot even wipe it as it is using it (Puppy is the only Live CD small enough to boot on this)...but I found out how easy it is to set up an ISO server with PXE on Puppy, so it actually turned out to be quite useful!

Unfortunately, I now live in an apartment converted from an old house, and discovered that "flaky" power (due to old, thin wiring) will prevent my UPSes from charging (sometimes) and powering devices (always). So stupid, that's kind of the purpose of a UPS (in addition to emergency shutdown)!!! So I don't dare use my desktops...I have a nice homebuilt I can't use , and I don't dare plug any in even to wipe data (old ones I don't care about).

 

I had the same issue with a Toshiba I really loved...happened on the only computer I bought a warranty for, 1 month after the warranty expired.

 

My first computer was an HP from WalMart with Windows ME installed. I loved XP and hated Vista, but I actually loved 7 the most...I hate Windows 8, and 10 even more. My first Linux was Xandros which confused the heck out of me until I discovered it didn't have bash. Then I moved on to others. But I have 2 programs that need(ed) Windows (have to check up on that) -- Anki and now I forget the other one. I was ready to ditch Windows back then...and if I find all hardware have Linux drivers, I will this year.

 

Have you tried Classic Shell?

 

I've worked myself out of my last older pc. Have palsy to a certain degree. Had an older lift off desk model using it with the top off checking memory modules. Also the disk drive came in a push in no screw mounting situation. Had tape holding it in place. So I was looking for a screw-down point. Now the palsy... Had my nose over the top, looking in........my hand holding the coffee between us..... one good bounce the coffee went up and about 1/2 went straight down and other 1/2`in the pc.

Had to buy first off the shelf I could get to. You know it had ten for sure. Haven't put Classic shell on it yet, I did put O/O shut-up though. Got a few of my regular programs over. Got a 'my computer' 'my desktop' 'control panel' and a few other choice short-cuts on the older start/menu page.

Eliminated half of the metro. Slowed downed ip traffic a bunch. I could see using 1o in full mode if over a hot wire connection, but not for a lot of pc's,

 

Oldest computer i have is a http://www.computer-specifications.com/specifications/Compaq-Presario5220-Specs.html

It just sits there gathering dust.

MMM maxed it out years ago to windows 95.And it ran windows 1.1 originally not even sure if it turns on any more.

 

http://obsoletecomputermuseum.org/

 

Like many people here - I have a lot of computers. Two laptops (XP and 7) and some small computers (mainly running 7). Then my main computer (i7 with 64GB of memory) but my love is still my Apple //gs. Maxed out. I also love running the free alternate OS emulators. Like BEOS, C64, Apple ][+, //e, //c, //gs, Lisa Mac, and others. Used to work at NASA - now retired and just getting Social Security. I also run CP/M OSs, DR DOS, and many others.

 

I call apple stuff over priced paper weight .

Current specs
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 84 °F
Pinnacle Ridge 12nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1066MHz (15-15-15-36)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING-CF (AM4) 78 °F
Graphics
ELEFW2217M (1920x1080@59Hz)
Hanns.G HW173ñ (1440x900@60Hz)
8192MB ATI Radeon RX 570 Series (MSI) 79 °F
Storage
223GB KINGSTON SUV400S37240G (SATA-2 (SSD)) 85 °F
931GB Western Digital WDC WD10JPVX-11JC3T0 (SATA ) 81 °F
931GB Western Digital WDS100T2X0C-00L350 (Unknown (SSD))
931GB Western Digital WDC WDS 100T2B0B-00YS70 SATA Disk Device (SATA (SSD)) 76 °F
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

 

I have several that I have salvaged over the years. It was a bit of a hobby for me to rescue PC's that are destined for a landfill and try and repair them, or part them out for spares for another rescue. I give them to people that need a PC for word processing, spreadsheets, etc. and can't afford to buy one or are in-between computers due to divorce, etc.

I think the oldest computer I have is a PII based system which is in my PC "museum" (My wife calls it hoarder central - and she's not really wrong lol). It would still work if I set it up right now . . . but even for me that's too old to be much use anymore. I keep planning on setting it up just for kicks and running some of the old games on it I have.

PC's, Tablets, and the like have become pretty cheap these days, and there isn't much call for an older system anymore. I have pretty much stopped taking old PC's . . . though I did build a decent Linux based server out of an i5-750 with 6GB of ram someone was going to toss out. Its a decent server for free, and it's ran flawlessly for 3+ years. I have other computers that I've decommissioned and put in mothballs as it were - PIII, P4HT, some early dual core . . . but the PII board is my oldest now that works.

 

Sorry! I'm not ignoring you! I wasn't online last week, then yet more Internet outages this one. Do you mean for Win or Lin? Gotta go, barely got to do anything once Internet outages were resolved.

 

have a sony with 2 dvd drives in it -pretty heavy and smallish it came with half a gig of ram but i added it to 1 gig

if i added 4 gigs but it only can handles 2 will computer not work?

 

My first PC was a PII and lasted 16 years before finally resigning from duty. It's last service was to print my resume.

 

It all depends on what your motherboard will support. You could put 4 gigs in it, but if the motherboard only supports 2 gigs it won't show up (be addressed by the board) or could cause it not to boot. Check online for the motherboard specs.

 

Gotta love the old tech. The PII board I have was still working when I decommissioned it, and I have no doubt it would work again. I had three PII CPU's but I gave two away several years ago to someone for a system controlling some kind of farming equipment.

The first system I built was a PIII computer for my son so we could play LAN games. It still works also. Only supports 512gb of RAM, but I upgraded it (for free) to a 1GB processor. It's still alive but decommissioned.

 

For the XP system, have you considered Linux? I've found Audacity works pretty well with several distros of Linux. There is in fact a media centered version available, but I'm not sure of the system requirements for it.

As for Windows 10, I've had no issue running Audacity on it. Currently running Audacity 2.4.2 on, Win 10 Version 20H2.

 

i have a dell with Linux on it-its sat around for 5 months unused

does your win 10 one let audacity record a radio show too or just the mike?

 

It don't know about that computer specifically...but my first was an HP desktop with the same issue (except the limit was 2GB). Sometimes they will run, but just not recognize the extra 2GB. [EDIT: it won't use more than the limit, though!] FYI, if it won't run at all, swap the sticks, or insert just the new one, that may force it to "recognize" the new one. Then insert the old one.

Trick taught to me on the phone by an HP support person years ago, when HP was good.

 

Well, If I get my Acer wiped, and you need parts, I could ship it to you for the cost of shipping. The motherboard and/or wireless card are shot. Right now it works fine except the wireless, so if you need it for parts...see my sig.

FYI, this is the post where I'm trying to wipe it:
https://forums.majorgeeks.com/threads/how-to-get-acer-sw3-013-to-recognize-bootable-usbs.323404/

 

Then it can't be the motherboard.
Buy a Wi-Fi dongle.

 

I think I tried, but maybe I better check. There's only 1 port so maybe I didn't have it with me.

 

My laptop used to be my work laptop, so it's only a year old. I got it as part of the severance package. Sweet thing, ConceptD 5 Pro with a 4K screen that's got Pantone validation on it. Really sweet gig. Boot time is only 5 seconds. Specs are very good as well - Core i7 9750H, 32GB DDR4, 1TB M2 SSD, Nvidia Quadro T1000.

Desktop is mix and match really. Case is brand new (Corsair Graphite 780T), rest of the components are as old as 10+ years (mainly the BR player and HDDs that refuse to die and some peripherals like the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic keyboard). From memory it's got a Core i5 9600K, 32GB DDR4 (Corsair), MSI Radeon RX5700 XT and 2x Samsung 840 EVO SSDs (256 or so GB, ridiculously small for todays games).

All in all, with having two kids now, I spend the little spare time I have on my laptop. The desktop can go weeks without being turned on.

 

Sorry! Just saw this . . . I don't make it here much anymore. Yes, it does . . . not had any issues with it at all.

 

Sorry - just saw this. I don't get on here much anymore.

Thanks for the offer, but I don't refurbish systems anymore. I still have a good few motherboards I can't give away at this point . . . I've mothballed them and will keep them in case they are ever needed for anything. I have actually taken a good few components to be recycled, as I had run out of room for stuff.

Technology has moved on so far that older systems are becoming less and less useful. Even using parts off of dead boards for repairs has become less possible. If I were you, I'd just decommission it and store it for emergency use. Even an outdated PC is handy when your main fails and you are waiting on repair or replacements! Been there!

 

Do Commodores count?