Calza Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 A while back I was given a old pc that wasn't being used, I accepted thinking I would be able to install Linux on it and mess around with it. The thing was Ubuntu wouldn't install so I pretty much gave up on it. I gave it another shot today and I defragged it and cleaned it up a bit but then I looked at the specs. 400Mhz and 128Mb of ram, which obviously shows the reason why I couldn't install ubuntu but I'm wondering if it would be of any use at all? It's hard drive is 12Gb while not a lot is more than enough for back-up's of documents so I was thinking I could just hook it up to my router but it does not have a ethernet port, just an RJ45. So now I'm thinking I just need to buy a new network card, install that (if I can) and maybe find a really small Linux distro such as DSL etc. What do you guys think? Worth it? All I'm saying is that it is damn hot in here with two pcs and a 360 on.
Emasher Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 Take out the hard drive buy a case for it and take the rest to a depot that disposes of old electronics.
DCK Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 What C-Dawg said ^ Get some lightweight Linux on it, install the server apps you need, and you're good to go. I would.
Calza Posted January 5, 2008 Author Posted January 5, 2008 Could I really do that with such a (for lack of a better word) weak machine? About the network card could I just buy any such as this and it will work as soon as I plug it in? I was thinking about using it as a server but what actually would that mean I could do with it? Emasher although definately the easier solution I reckon I can get a bit more out of it than just keeping the hard drive and dumping the rest.
Konfucius Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 These are the specs of my Dad's PC - seriously! It should run Win 98 just fine but don't expect much else from it. You could however put it in a fridge and try to overclock it :P
Sanchez Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 I would have thought Ubuntu would run on something that old. Try Xunbuntu..
DCK Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 Could I really do that with such a (for lack of a better word) weak machine? About the network card could I just buy any such as this and it will work as soon as I plug it in? I was thinking about using it as a server but what actually would that mean I could do with it? Emasher although definately the easier solution I reckon I can get a bit more out of it than just keeping the hard drive and dumping the rest. As long as you don't invite too many to use the server's services you'd be alright. You could use it to download stuff for you, set up an FTP server to share your stuff with others, host light games, run websites on it... There's a lot you can do with a server. You should check if it has the required PCI slots for the network card.As for the OS, I hear good stories about Feather Linux, although I'm a Linux noob.
Emasher Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 You also have to remember that you need a really good upload speed if you want to host a website.
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