Just how do you define an "aging computer"? Is it the same thing as an "old computer"? Not necessarily. I consider an old computer as one that has the old-type of memory chips. You remember those, don't you? You know, 64 MB of RAM, capable of running uh… Windows 3.11? An aging computer, in my opinion is one that isn't up to running the latest software or hardware, but still works fine with the software on it and the computer peripherals attached to it. These days, in my opinion, an "old computer" isn't worth much more than a doorstop. An "aging computer" on the other hand, can still be used effectively. Heck, I'm using an "aging computer" right now.
Mistakes have been made, and I'm naming names.
My name, of course. Yesterday, I did something incredibly stupid. Of course, that was a couple of days after doing something else that was incredibly stupid. I had my "aging computer" set up nicely until I made a mistake.
The "C" drive is on the first on the chain and the "E" drive is the second, with the DVD drive in-between. The DVD drive is a slave to the C drive and I suppose that's why it's the "D" drive. Oh well, I don't pay much attention to all that technical stuff much anymore since I memorized device numbers, device names and other associated minutia involving computers a long time ago. Microsoft calls them one thing in Windows and other operating systems call them something else. Anyway, the C drive is the 250 GB drive which came with my desktop computer. The E drive is a 750 GB drive that used to be a portable, external hard drive.
When I bought the desktop computer back in 2007, I had to install my own copy of Windows XP on it because I bought it without an operating system. After I added the other drive, I installed Ubuntu Linux, although it was much later in the game (not even a year ago). I still have the original CDs for both operating systems. This desktop computer, despite my abuse, still operates in much the same manner as it did when it was new. The next desktop computer I buy won't have an operating system already on it either, if I have any say in the matter. Even in the Philippines, most desktop computers are sold with one version or another of Windows on it.
The original mistake I made was in trying to upgrade the Ubuntu Linux installation to the latest distribution. I must not have been paying attention or something, because things went horribly wrong and applications starting crashing left and right. To make a long story short, I couldn't reinstall the version I had on disk, try as I may. I'm not a computer idiot to say the least, but I'm not a full-fledged, pocket protector wearing computer geek either. Somewhere in the process, I nuked that hard drive and it caused me to be unable to boot up Windows on the other hard drive. In the end, I started running Windows XP on the second drive and I'm waiting until I buy another PC to use Ubuntu Linux (or some other flavor) again.
The point to all this is…
I can do almost everything I need to do with a PC that's over three years old, despite messing with the operating systems and hardware. It came with an LCD monitor, the hard drive I talked about, the DVD drive I talked about, a computer desk (that's falling apart), a wired keyboard and wired mouse. Yes, the computer peripherals were cheap, but I didn't pay a lot for this desktop computer system. I spent less than $500 for everything — the trip to buy it probably pushed it to the $500 mark.
So what if notebook computers, tablets and smartphones are all the rage right now? I do everything I need to do (and everything I want to do) with this desktop PC. That's what I call using an aging computer effectively. If you don't, why not? Of course this computer won't last forever. Who cares?
While there are some people willing to spend thousands of dollars on the latest and greatest computing devices (like gaming computers) or fancy cases that are cooled in other ways than electric fans, I'm willing to spend the least amount I can and get the biggest bang for my buck. I don't need Windows 7. I don't even need Ubuntu Linux (or the latest Wary Puppy Linux) to take advantage of my older hardware. The USB drives (and I have three if you include my USB flash drive) all work fine, as well as my flatbed scanner and other computer peripherals that I can't think of right now. Even my video camera works with it (the mass storage function). What more could I possibly want right now?
I don't believe in throwing anything away that could possibly be of use in the future, by anyone. I still have remnants of old computer systems stashed away and I recycle the parts as I find uses for them. In my opinion, the disposal of old computers is unnecessary for most people, as long as you have some place to store them — recycling them yourself is a lot more convenient than taking them someplace where they specialize in recycling old computers. I guess my whole point is that you don't need the latest and the greatest to do what you do everyday, despite what the computer manufacturers (and Microsoft) would like you to believe. Use your aging computer effectively and you can probably make it last as long as I intend to make this one last, which is at least five years. Isn't that about how long they're intended to last?
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This article is published as: How to use an Aging Computer Effectively
Although I don't use a PC quite that aged – with 2 kids I have to reuse older computers and Linux is an excellent option to make it run nice and smooth.
Kids are quite adoptive when it comes to learning something new ;-)
Alex Sysoef recently posted..Improve WordPress Website Conversions Using Widgets
Three years old is not so bad for a computer, we managed to use a six-year-old laptop until it finally gave way. It's just the emergence of new models left and right in the market that make computers look like they age faster than they really do.
MicroSourcing recently posted..MicroSourcing Launches MS University
Well, if you consider how cheaply made this computer was, you would understand why it really is an aging computer. It's not even close to consumer grade.
I have my 6 years old laptop, and give it to my 4 years son to play around.
It is just like a babysitter, my son can watch cartoon from Youtube, and learn how to type.
David
http://www.buy-solarpanel.com
RT,
I think the only thing that may cause one to need to upgrade (assuming you can still get security updates for whatever operating system you have) is internet technology. I have some older systems that I run the tried and true Windows 2000 SP4 on, and I love them… until I have to connect to the internet. Some sites running certain newer technology can't be viewed correctly in Windows 2000, others not at all. For example, the last time I tried to access my Twitter account on a Windows 2000 machine, there was a long delay between the time that I would type a word and when it actually appeared on the screen, even though typing in other applications worked just fine – and that was back when we still had the old Twitter! I can't imagine what it would be like now with the new Twitter!
Cloud technology is also a possibility for the sake of performance, if you're geeky enough to tie in the power of your computers together. Of course, by the time you do that, you're using so much electricity that you'd have to buy stock in Meralco to make it all worth while!
By the way, just a note, you'll find that your machines work better if you keep your DVD and CD drives on a different IDE channel than your hard drives. Most CD/DVD drives operate a a speed of ATA 33, while hard drives are commonly ATA 100 (or Maxtor's pseudo ATA 133). Hope this helps!
Rick Upshaw recently posted..Social Media Revolution
Well, I have the DVD drive as a slave on the channel I'm not using now, until I do something with that drive again. Right now, I have 750 GB for Windows XP and it hums along with tons of free space.
Windows XP is what Windows 2000 should have been and Windows 7 is what Windows Vista should have been. I have no desire to upgrade ever, but I suppose it depends on if I can get a new PC without an OS or not.
"Somewhere in the process, I nuked that hard drive and it caused me to be unable to boot up Windows on the other hard drive. In the end, "
I'm not sure whether to offer this advice or not because in many ways you know a lot more about computers than I do … Or it may be that you just know a lot more about programming than I do. In any case the first thought that came to my mind was, are you sure you really wiped out that partition?
Many times, if you haven't already looked into this, the primary problem in these situations is the boot loader.
Admittedly I read this article quickly so I might have missed an important point. Without having more specific information I would first offer this as a solution. ? http://3.ly/fixboot
But exercise the usual precautions before following my advice.
Otherwise just wait until, as you suggested, buy another PC.
Tim G. recently posted..Personalizing My Domain Name Servers
I had had problems with that drive before and it was just a matter of time before I would have to do something about it anyway. The partitions are still there and no amount of boot trickery will let me in the normal way. I can access most of the drive from this other drive, so any obscure data or software that I might need in the future is still accessible.
No, setting up a new computer is a much better idea. I'm just having a hard time finding a white box computer lately.
I would build one if I were you. These days it's really not that hard to do so, and in my opinion, you get a better computer at a cheaper price. When you buy an already-assembled box, especially in the Philippines, it's really hard to know what you're getting. If the price is low on such a box, almost invariably you're getting cheated somewhere… maybe low-performance memory… maybe a cheeseball motherboard… something. Building one yourself is the only way to know for sure what you're getting, provided you trust the supplier of the parts! lol
You have to understand the law of diminishing returns. I'd be extremely lucky to get half the parts locally, and I'd probably have to go to Manila. When you add the tolls, the gas and the headaches, I probably wouldn't save anything over just getting an HP or something.
I suppose it depends on where in the Philippines you are. I'm only familiar with the market in Manila, Cubao, and Marikina areas.
And after about four weeks of pretty serious research and trekking around I found there was only a couple hundred pesos difference between getting the parts that I wanted and assembling it myself versus having someone else assemble it for me.
As far as knowing what you are getting you have to be the a research freak like myself. I asked the make and the model of the motherboard, I wanted to know the processor, the front-side bus, etc. I actually ended up going to an area off of Aurora blvd called Gilmore. There are at least a hundred tech stores there and lots of competition.
I got a vanilla box from a computer company whose name I could dig out if someone really wanted to know. I chose an ECS G41T-M2 mother board that gave me a good bang for the buck with a 2.7GHZ E5400 chip. … and I walked across the street to save P300 on a 2Gig Kingston memory module :-)
Tim G. recently posted..Personalizing My Domain Name Servers
Actually, I know exactly where to get a good PC. The problem is that it's in Pampanga, at the SM City Mall. The Olongapo mall is currently being rebuilt by SM and may have some of the same stores, so I'm holding out for as long as I can.
Duke Nukem Forever – the best reason (for me) to actually get a new computer!
Duke Nukem or anything else is always a good enough excuse to buy a new PC if you can afford one. After all they are all outdated in a year or less.
I'm running a 2 yr old viao with relatively good specs…once were top of the line. And I feel as if its aging or may even be old despite all i can do with it. I cant wait to get a new one. but one thing you might consider for your desk top is just hitting the local computer show, buying some ram and give youre computer a little face lift.
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This machine can't hold more than 1 GB of RAM. I tried to upgrade it further already. Nope, I think it's time for a more modern PC.