# Solved: What to do with this computer?



## Abriam26 (Jan 25, 2011)

Hey,

I found this really old computer in our garage.
Specs:
Pentium S - @133mhz (Socket 7)
16MB EDO RAM (where 1MB goes to the video memory)
Harddrive 1275MB harddrive
8x CD-drive (685A)
Windows 95
SiS5596
200W power supply

Computer works perfectly.
Only Windows 95 is missing files (a lot of .vxd files)

It has a 3-number digit display on the case of the the computer (for numbers..)
It also has a turbo switch on the computer.
If the switch is on then the digit screen shows 133
If it's off then it shows 16
I thought it displayed the CPU clock, but I'm not sure.

What can do with this computer?

Thanks in advance,
Abiram26


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

wow. Not much, I'm afraid. I've got a similar box that I ended up giving to a school or some such. Unfortunately, nothing currently will run on that rig; it's just too dated. 

You could donate it, set up a small linux OS on there, or start a museum. According to my wife, that is what I did with mine.


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## Abriam26 (Jan 25, 2011)

Can Windows ME work on it?


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## SUEOHIO (Jan 30, 2007)

Windows ME wont work on it because its way to old and doesnt have enough ram. the best you could try might be windows 98.and finding ram for a computer that old will cost a lot more than that computer is worth.as was advised donating it might be your best option.


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## Simba7 (Feb 7, 2013)

I'd suggest a Linux install, but 16MB is kinda pushing it.

I have an old Vectra VL with a P166 in it. I threw on 384MB of EDO RAM (thanks to the HX chipset) and it runs rather well with Linux and FreeBSD.


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## Abriam26 (Jan 25, 2011)

Is it possible to have file sharing? Since the computer has a working network card... I think it should be possible
It doesn't have USB though.
I tried an USB PCI card, but the BIOS didn't detect it... It's an Award BIOS thingy.
I want to move the files on the 1275MB harddrive to my Windows 8 computer. Since I have some valueable pictures on it...
Which OS is best for file sharing? I hoped for Windows XP.... but it is way too slow for that.

(Also, since yesterday I'm having CMOS checksum errors at bootup.. It loads default settings automatically... Do I have to replace the CR032 battery)


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## SUEOHIO (Jan 30, 2007)

What you can try to do is remove the hard drive and use a usb sata/ide connector and hopefully salvage what you dont want to lose and then put it on a cd so that you will have whats valuable when needed.it sounds like the CMOS battery needs replaced but i dont think its worth it to put any more money in a computer that old even tho those batteries arent that expensive.


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## Simba7 (Feb 7, 2013)

Abriam26 said:


> I tried an USB PCI card, but the BIOS didn't detect it... It's an Award BIOS thingy.


The BIOS wouldn't detect it (doesn't have a ROM, etc), but the OS would.

A BIOS that old wouldn't be able to boot from USB anyway.


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## Abriam26 (Jan 25, 2011)

Hmm, in that case I'm going to donate it to a museum or something. It's useless anyway


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

Pretty much. they are nice to keep around as museum pieces, but other than that, the functionality is pretty shot.


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## Abriam26 (Jan 25, 2011)

Well this thing is useless compared to modern computers...
The funny thing is that the computer is actually older than me 
My dad is going to donate it


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

awesome. 

wait until you get my age; one finds ANYTHING older than I and I have to respect it's longevity.


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## Simba7 (Feb 7, 2013)

valis said:


> wait until you get my age; one finds ANYTHING older than I and I have to respect it's longevity.


I still have my old Atari 800XL with its 1010 and 1050 drives. Still working like a champ after all these years.


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

niiiiice.......

somewhere we got the old 2600 laying around; surprised the kid hasn't dug it out yet.


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## Abriam26 (Jan 25, 2011)

Simba7 said:


> I still have my old Atari 800XL with its 1010 and 1050 drives. Still working like a champ after all these years.


Wow, that thing has an about 1MHz processor lol


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## Simba7 (Feb 7, 2013)

Abriam26 said:


> Wow, that thing has an about 1MHz processor lol


What's funny is how they're making it do 3D games with 64k of memory.. something never heard of in the 80's. Go check out Yoomp! @ http://yoomp.atari.pl/. There's a few YouTube videos of gameplay.

A bit impressive on an 800XL and 64k of RAM.


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## Abriam26 (Jan 25, 2011)

How much harddrive space does it have actually?
It's very impressive for an 80's machine


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## Simba7 (Feb 7, 2013)

Abriam26 said:


> How much harddrive space does it have actually?
> It's very impressive for an 80's machine


Heh.. Hard Drives? Nope.


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## Abriam26 (Jan 25, 2011)

Floppy? Those big ones?


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

or magnetic tape, more likely.


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## Simba7 (Feb 7, 2013)

Abriam26 said:


> Floppy? Those big ones?


Well, not 8", but 5.25". They're getting harder and harder to find lately.

Eventually, I'll have to do an SD Card (or CF) mod or use an old Pentium box (I have a few) and run a disk emulator on it with a SIO2PC cable.


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## Abriam26 (Jan 25, 2011)

Good luck with that  haha I understood nothing of that lol


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