| Author |
Message |
    
eliz
Citizen
Username: Eliz
Post Number: 576
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 11:08 am: | 
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I have a couple questions that I hope one of you computer gurus can help with. We are a mostly Mac house with 2 iBooks that both have airport cards (airport connected to Comcast modem). We also have a PC that we hardly ever use but we are moving it in to our playroom for our 5 year old to save wear and tear on our iBooks and to run Disney Princess games and Reader Rabbit etc. The PC is an HP Pavilion 8275 that is currently on Windows 95 (factory installed). It has 48 MB ram and Pentium Pro processor. I'm adding 256 MB RAM to hopefully speed up this painfully slow machine. We would also like to upgrade to a more current Windows but HP won't tell us definitively which version of Windows we can go to (the machine is only guaranteed to work in W95 blah blah blah). The info from MS is also a little confusing. These are the product specs
http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?reg=&lc=en&cc=&prodId=pv8275&docName =bph04013&cat=prodinfo
Also, can we add a linksys card or something that can let this computer connect to the airport?
Help! |
Iaowks Reingold
Citizen
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 358
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 11:13 am: |
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Any version of Windows should run on that. And I expect you can add a Linksys card to connect to the airport. I suppose you want to do this because you don't want to run an ethernet cable from your router to the PC? This is a fine idea.
If you can afford it, upgrade the computer to 512 MB of RAM. It might make a difference. The graphics that games and the web use take up lots of memory.
Be careful of wireless networking. Use at least one form of authentication so that strangers in the neighborhood or passing by in cars can't snoop on your activities or freeload off your cable modem connection.
Another alternative is to buy something newer and faster. New spiffy computers now cost only $600, so maybe you could get something two years old for $300 or less.
But your approach of adding RAM is a good one.
Tom Reingold
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eliz
Citizen
Username: Eliz
Post Number: 577
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 11:51 am: |
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Thanks I would love to have 512 MB but it tops out at 384. We will probably add another 128 to max it out but we want to see what our options are before we put too much $$$ into it. I don't want to junk it - it's hardly been used and cost a fortune at the time (1998) - my old boss bought it for me when I went on maternity leave hoping I'd do work while on leave....he was a little delusional.
We can't run an ethernet cable because the only slot goes from the cable modem to the airport. The airport is password protected. |
Iaowks Reingold
Citizen
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 361
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, August 8, 2003 - 12:58 pm: |
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If the RAM costs the same as or slightly less than a new computer, then the original cost of the old computer is irrelevant. Investing in it to keep it going could give you a worse computer at a higher cost. But of course, it all depends on the prices of your options, which I don't know. I just would hate to see you throw good money after bad. Computers are not like cars.
Good luck, and let us know how it works out.
Tom Reingold
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mtierney
Citizen
Username: Mtierney
Post Number: 387
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 15, 2003 - 5:02 pm: |
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I am being disconnected from Aol frequently the last week or so. Message says disconnect is due to perhaps someone pulling the plug, picking up the phone, etc. None applies.
My 3 year old IMac has an internal dialup modem. Can this be upgraded? How? |
C Bataille
Citizen
Username: Nakaille
Post Number: 1514
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 8:48 am: |
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Tom, I'm under the impression that ram is amazingly cheap right now, isn't it? I think I added about 256K to my HP two years ago for well under a $100 and that the prices have dropped still further.
Cathy |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 1861
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 10:00 am: |
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Mtierney:
Did you check to see if the cable leading from your modem port was in securely? A loose cord could produce the problem you are describing. |
mtierney
Citizen
Username: Mtierney
Post Number: 389
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 10:00 pm: |
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No disconnect that I can see. Checking a Mac help line I did see some discussion on modem upgrades, that's why I thought this might be my problem. |
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