Should I dump my PC?

muffler

I have an old (ish) Dell Dimension 5000 desktop PC with XP operating system that is now no longer needed. Its still going reasonably well apart from from the odd bouts of whirring it does on its own every now and then - must be the fans going into overdrive and the browser using too much memory.

That aside it's nearly too good just to throw it out and I cant sell it as it was used for work and would have had a lot of personal details on the hard drive. Im not into the technical end of things but I believe that XP cant be reinstalled now and in order to wipe the hard drive it would entail removing the OS...maybe Im wrong in that.

So would it be worth while trying to sell bits of it like of the memory modules (or whatever they're called - 4 x 1gb) and the DVD writer and/or any other parts?

Or should I just remove the hard drive, smash it up and take that and the rest of the PC to the local recycling centre?

Thanks in advance

Alanstrainor

That computer is essentially worthless, there is no parts value to it at all. There are some charities that would take it (a lot will melt them down to remove the gold from them!). But essentially you are in the category of throwing it out really.

Now you can install a new light weight OS onto it. Some form of linux (xubuntu or similar perhaps?). You could have a grand machine for browsing and basic office tasks.

Essentially Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft. They will not release any more security updates for home users. Which makes it unsecure to use on the internet.

PropJoe10

I dont see the point in throwing a machine like that out. If you'd use it for general browsing and Internet use, then why not install a Linux-based operating system on it?

Windows XP is out of support for two years now, but you could always replace it with something like Lubuntu:

http://lubuntu.net/

You probably have a Pentium 4 processor in that so you'll find it slow enough no matter what you do, but you might be pleasantly surprised at how much better it'd run with something like Lubuntu on it. If you want, give it a download, burn it to a USB stick and boot from the USB - you can try it direct from the USB, and then install it if you want to (you can select to keep the XP partition or delete it).

Just be sure to have your files from the XP partition backed up, if necessary!

Any questions, just shout!

muffler

Thanks guys, plenty to think about now.

I have all my important files either removed or backed up so I suppose I cant go wrong with attempting a new OS install so. I do have other little things which aren't really important and aren't backed up such as software to convert images to word docs and pdf's and vice versa, backing up DVD's, PC maintenance programmes etc etc. Should I remove them before installing a new Linux OS?

Just one other little thing in relation to this

(you can select to keep the XP partition or delete it).................Just be sure to have your files from the XP partition backed up, if necessary!

How do this partition thing work?

PropJoe10

muffler wrote: »

Thanks guys, plenty to think about now.

I have all my important files either removed or backed up so I suppose I cant go wrong with attempting a new OS install so. I do have other little things which aren't really important and aren't backed up such as software to convert images to word docs and pdf's and vice versa, backing up DVD's, PC maintenance programmes etc etc. Should I remove them before installing a new Linux OS?

Just one other little thing in relation to this
How do this partition thing work?

For the first part - so long as you have any important files backed up, then you should be good to go. It's important to note that Windows programs do not work out-of-the-box in Linux-based operating systems - however, there's free alternatives that would work fine for the purposes you mentioned so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Regarding the partitions - when installing the Linux OS,the installer will give you an option to either install the new OS alongisde the existing Windows XP installation, or to overwrite everything. Unless the hard drive in the computer is very small, it'd probably be best to install it alongside XP for now. You should see that option during the installation process. This isn't a manual process - it's just a matter of selecting the right option during the installation wizard!

jca

If it has 4Gb of memory it will run W7 easily. I'm running W7 on my Dimension 3000 P4HT processor which only has 2Gb(the max supported by the MB). I just use it for browsing etc and it's fine.

riclad

use this to delete all data on the drive ,
http://www.dban.org/

That pc will run windows 7 or most versions of linux.
https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=38

this runs fast and has menus similar to windows .
http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/the-beginner-s-guide-to-linux-mint-1058555
Move programs you don,t use to make extra space on the drive.

Linux runs alot faster than windows on older pc,s .
for a p4 pc you might get 30 euro hardly worth selling.

200motels

jca wrote: »

If it has 4Gb of memory it will run W7 easily. I'm running W7 on my Dimension 3000 P4HT processor which only has 2Gb(the max supported by the MB). I just use it for browsing etc and it's fine.

If it has a single core processor on it it will struggle big time with 7.

beauf

For me anything under a high end Core2Duo is too slow now.

muffler

Sorry guys I misread the specs earlier. It has actually got 3GB memory - 2 x 512mb and 2 x 1GB. I initially thought it was 4 x 1 GB

It has a single Pentium 4 processor - 540 3200 MHz

PropJoe10

muffler wrote: »

Sorry guys I misread the specs earlier. It has actually got 3GB memory - 2 x 512mb and 2 x 1GB. I initially thought it was 4 x 1 GB

It has a single Pentium 4 processor - 540 3200 MHz

You've got plenty of RAM, it's the processor that will hold you back. As others said, I wouldn't run Windows 7 on a single core processor. It'll jam up the whole time and be really frustrating.

Alanstrainor

Also worth considering with these older machines, is how much power they consume. All the while barely being able to be used for modern tasks.

muffler

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Also worth considering with these older machines, is how much power they consume. All the while barely being able to be used for modern tasks.

That's a big big factor here. I spent a while over the last day or two uninstalling all types of old rubbish I had accumulated and I will end up installing one of the operating systems mentioned earlier.

Personally I don't need the PC now but I was intending to give it to my little grandson who watches quite a lot of cartoon type videos on youtube but if power consumption is an issue then I certainly don't want his mum (my daughter) having higher bills.

I have spent about 10 minutes or more searching for another thread I had about the PC from a year or two ago and I cant find it. I might have piggybacked on someone else's thread and that's why I cant find it. But essentially the problem was/is that the browser is hogging 100% of the memory especially when videos are being viewed. Firefox is the worse but IE isn't a mile behind it. I never got a resolution to that problem so I might have to just dump it if its going to be a huge strain on the auld electric supply

beauf

Considering you can pick up a used machine with a windows licence like a i3 for 100 or so, and a core2duo for 50 or so. Its makes zero sense to keep these old machines going.

You could even get a netbook and plug it into your monitor and keyboard and end up with better experience, and almost no power use.

riclad

I Have an old pc,dual core 2.oghz, 4gig ram, hd 300gig.
its fine for using a basic pc,youtube,email, basic web browsing, An its completely silent.
running linux ubuntu.
Its feels fast at least for browsing the web.
my old netbook is slow ,sony vaio, windows 7, 1gig ram .
It cant be upgrading apart from installing linux on it.
Windows xp is risky as it does,nt get updates.,for security,
if you use a credit card or online banking on a windows xp you are at a high risk of getting hacked ,
pin no, credit card info stolen ,eg any hacker could acess your bank accounts .,credit cards etc

I never buy anything online, i don,t have a credit card ,
i just use the old pc, for music,youtube etc
I don,t have any online bank accounts at all.

beauf

Your old netbook is probably a single core with a weak gpu.

The new netbooks are quad core, with gpu optimised for video and the browser can use for hardware acceleration.

For example a

Intel® Celeron® Processor N3150 passmark of 1704 - 4 cores, TDP 6W (graphics -Intel HD cores 12 - 320/640 MHz)
Intel Core2 Duo E4400 @ 2.00GHz passmark of 1153 - 2Cores, Max TDP 65 W

The old Core2Duo might be just ok if it has a graphics card, but if its using onboard graphics its likely to be abymal at video and it will have an impact on rendering webpages. The celeron graphics will run rings around it and playback HD video without breaking a sweat.

I don't think ram is that big an issue. I have two laptops with core2duos one with 2GB of RAM the other with 3GB. I never run out of ram doing basic tasks. But they have SSD's which makes a big difference.

A high end old Core2Duo will be a lot better
Intel Core2 Quad Q6700 @ 2.66GHz 4 cores Max TDP: 105W passmark 3336
Intel Core2 Duo E8500 @ 3.16GHz 2 cores Max TDP 65w passmark 2310

or
Intel Core i3-2120 @ 3.30GHz 2 cores Max TDP: 65 W passmark 3877


http://www.passmark.com/index.html

Musketeer4

Here, don't throw it out. I'll take it off your hands if you want.