Buying Spare Parts For My Old Computer

[patrick88]

Well Im sorry for forgetting the upgrade thing with windows. I only ran xp for 1 yr before i stopped running windows. I think this was one of the many reasons I didnt like it. I was always adding n removing things. lol I think i tested a bunch of video cards n audio cards. Plus trying crap loads of anti viruses. What a head ache.

[DonL]

Well Im sorry for forgetting the upgrade thing with windows. I only ran xp for 1 yr before i stopped running windows. I think this was one of the many reasons I didnt like it. I was always adding n removing things. lol I think i tested a bunch of video cards n audio cards. Plus trying crap loads of anti viruses. What a head ache.

I know that XP SP3 was supposed to fix the problem of hardware upgrades, But I did not like the Spyware that XP SP3 has.

XP SP2 works with little spyware and I do not think that any XP versions are supported anymore, as far as I know.

I have tested Windows 8, but I have not determined if it is any better than Win 7 yet, More spyware I would guess.

Big Brother is controlling, and not just watching anymore...

[patrick88]

Yea love the fact Windows reports everything you have on your pc.

[Kiko]

Kiko,

Howehvuh, if you replace the motherboard and CPU with the exact,very same items as the originals, and no new device drivers are needed, I think that XP will not balk if the Hard Drive and everything else were OK before. Anyway, if you do have the original XP CD, you can, if necessary enter the licence key. If you do not, and the computer will still boot up, you can download and run Magical Jellybean Keyfinder (I kid you not), which will show you on screen the key number of the installed
Windows.
http://download.cnet.com/Magical-Jel...-10079600.html

some antivirus software thinks this a virus, but if you download it from CNET as in the link, it will be clean for sure.

I hope this is helpful to you.

By the way, Don's last sentence is Supreme. I realize you said you are out of work right now, and if I had an old working PC, I would send it to you as a gift.

Actually, my old HP is still humming along just fine.
I made a "recovery" DVD, when I first bought this and there is a separate hard drive with the same thing I think.

As for replacement parts, I found the exact CPU for 10.00, the exact motherboard for 30.00, the exact power supply for 30.00, but I could not find the exact hard drive. That could be a deal-breaker if it is too expensive. The best thing would be to find a clone of my computer somewhere and then I could cannibalize it, whenever something goes bad.

I was also wondering why you couldn't just replace whatever burned out on the motherboard, without replacing the whole thing. The compute repair guy said that no one in the repair business does that because there is no money in that. Once they remove the motherboard, they just go ahead and replace it, regardless if it is just a bad capacitor, resistor, etc. I have a nice soldering iron and I'm sure I could unsolder and resolder a cap, etc, if I knew which one was bad.

[Chad Schloss]

" I have a nice soldering iron and I'm sure I could unsolder and resolder a cap, etc, if I knew which one was bad. "

good luck with that..

there is no money in that. i used to repair playstation 2's for sony. they canned us all and shipped them to mexico to be cannibalized and 'repaired' there. component level troubleshooting is a loosing venture, unless you have very expensive things to repair.

[jimbo]

and I do not think that any XP versions are supported anymore, as far as I know.

.

Well, that is not quite right:
End of support

End of support refers to the date when Microsoft no longer provides automatic fixes, updates, or online technical assistance. This is the time to make sure you have the latest available service pack installed. Without Microsoft support, you will no longer receive security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software that can steal your personal information. For more information go toMicrosoft Support Lifecycle.

Desktop operating systems	Latest service pack	End of mainstream support	End of extended support
Windows XP	Service Pack 3	April 14, 2009	April 8, 2014
Windows Vista	Service Pack 2	April 10, 2012	April 11, 2017
Windows 7	Service Pack 1	January 12, 2015	January 14, 2020

[aquadood]

Well, that is not quite right:
End of support

End of support refers to the date when Microsoft no longer provides automatic fixes, updates, or online technical assistance. This is the time to make sure you have the latest available service pack installed. Without Microsoft support, you will no longer receive security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software that can steal your personal information. For more information go toMicrosoft Support Lifecycle.

Desktop operating systems	Latest service pack	End of mainstream support	End of extended support
Windows XP	Service Pack 3	April 14, 2009	April 8, 2014
Windows Vista	Service Pack 2	April 10, 2012	April 11, 2017
Windows 7	Service Pack 1	January 12, 2015	January 14, 2020

I believe don means that its unsupported by software publishers. If you try to get support for windows XP from microsoft directly, they will tell you to upgrade to windows 7, vista is the same story. After working with Microsoft for so long its obvious that they don't want people using older products.

I can pretty much say that newer software will not work 100% on windows XP due to the 4GB limitation, processor limitations and other limitations. Though there is a 64 bit version of XP, its not a general consumer product as it a professional version.

[DonL]

I knew that XP SP3 would be semi supported but most hardware manufactures may not support its use, as it makes a computer more like a vista machine. And they can sell you a new computer.

SP3 makes many older computers unusable, because of all the Overhead that XP SP3 requires.

The Swap File will normally Triple using SP3, and with the Lack of RAM you are using your hard drive for memory.

Then You realize You need to buy a new computer, So you can watch You Tube Videos.

IF a person likes XP SP3 then they should just buy a new computer with Win 7 on it.

And keep the old computer and run XP SP2 on it for something useful like a Video Security System, or a UNIX based system to play and hack with.

SP3 will screw up a good computer that was Only designed for XP SP1. But SP2 normally works without problems.

Win XP 64 should not have a problem with SP3, because the hardware is made for it, and you can add RAM.

Win XP SP3 is a Joke on a x86 32 bit system. At least that is how I see it.


Win XP SP3 is just a Teaser to make you buy a new computer. And it works most of the time.


Send me your old computers. lol

[BobL43]

I knew that XP SP3 would be semi supported but most hardware manufactures may not support its use, as it makes a computer more like a vista machine. And they can sell you a new computer.

SP3 makes many older computers unusable, because of all the Overhead that XP SP3 requires.

The Swap File will normally Triple using SP3, and with the Lack of RAM you are using your hard drive for memory.

Then You realize You need to buy a new computer, So you can watch You Tube Videos.

IF a person likes XP SP3 then they should just buy a new computer with Win 7 on it.

And keep the old computer and run XP SP2 on it for something useful like a Video Security System, or a UNIX based system to play and hack with.

SP3 will screw up a good computer that was Only designed for XP SP1. But SP2 normally works without problems.

Win XP 64 should not have a problem with SP3, because the hardware is made for it, and you can add RAM.

Win XP SP3 is a Joke on a x86 32 bit system. At least that is how I see it.


Win XP SP3 is just a Teaser to make you buy a new computer. And it works most of the time.


Send me your old computers. lol

Actually Don, The PC I use at work (one I'm on right now) runs XP pro SP3. It has only 3 GB of RAM and the pagefile is set to half of that. I have always liked XP including service pack 3, and never had any problem with it at all. My PC's at home run Win7 64 Bit, which I also like very much, but I have several programs that just will not run well, if at all on 7 even in XP compatiblity mode, one is my forever favorite photo program Compupic Pro (from 2003) lol. Nothing new I've tried do I like as much as that one.

I tried the Win 8 trial and absolutely hated it. I don't have enough time to play with that piece of crap as it is and try to customize it. It is, even to me, who is an experienced, but not expert user, very unintuitive and ugly as hell. I restored my win7 image back on to my laptop after messing around with 8 for maybe 2 hours or so. I said "WTF" to myself and wonder how Microsoft intends to make it more user friendly and prettier. Again WTF? Have you tried it out?

[DonL]

Bob,

XP Pro and Media Center systems may be a different story.

I was meaning Home and that flavor of XP. Even XP Pro is missing a lot compared to Pro Vista and Win7.

The original XP Home used a much smaller swap file and SP3 can use a lot of your ram just loading the register file. Just look at how much space a Restore Point takes.

I am working on a compatible app for the WinForce Control Panel that will make the older XP software work on the new systems. The Win Compatibility is a Joke, and I have yet to see it work for running a 32 bit app on a 64 bit machine. Please let me know if you have had better Luck.

I have been able to make all of my older software run on newer systems using some software tricks and reg edits.

Running Win98 apps on Windows 8 can be done, But I have removed 98 software support because very few people use it, and I had to write too much code just to support it.

I just hate how they make you buy something that you don't really need.

If you have good hardware, You can make the software work.

When you run win 98 on a new computer it takes about 3-6 seconds to boot.


Wonder if the new OS's have a little overhead ?

[nicho]

My desktop computer was state-of-the-art back in 2005, and it really meets all of my computer needs. I would like to keep it going for as long as I can by buying spare parts and fixing it as stuff goes bad.

I located nearly identical used CPU's as mine online, going for $10-$15. I have not located any used mother boards, however. I'm wondering how you even find an exact match for a motherboard, or do you just have to have one custom-built to match my old one, once it goes bad?

Also, how exact does a replacement CPU have to be, in order to use the same motherboard?

First need to match the interface. And the motherboard should be renewed with CPU together as nowadays these equipments develops fastly.