>>and I was able to upgrade it somewhat so I could install Windows XP on it.

First thing is first. Uninstall XP. For a computer that old XP is not a wise choice. Windows 98 would be ideal for it though. The coomplexity of the OS is gonna create sslowdowns also the drivers it comes with is meant for year 2000+ computers and also the fact that it was made for at least a 500Mhz (and that isn't fun to work on either)

If I were you I would keep it. I am using my 550 Mhz computer to post right now. As a spare to connect to the internet whether the other one is in use or broken it is a great backup and sometimes asking a question here or in a chat or a quick google search on a computer that works can save your ass and $$$. Keep it for a spare and also to do simple tasks.

 

If you gave it a bigger hard drive you could use it as a fileserver

 

I have a 233 MHz with Windows XP Pro installed.

I used it as a test computer.

 

I would say keep it too but if you don't want the pc100 ram i'll gladly accept it.

 

I'd keep 98SE on it but the drivers for some of the hardware are...Blah.

No bass boost options on the SB PCI mixer under 98, and it seems alot more sluggish under that OS anyway. XP Pro runs surprisingly well, and it does meet the minimum requirements by Microsoft(233 Pentium is the lowest recommended). The only problem is the media player is a big CPU usage problem. Can't I listen to some phat beats while surfing the web with this thing?:lol:

Duke: I'll trade rigs with ya. LoL.

 

I was running windows xp under p2 333megahertz with 128mb of ram. It was fine for me. I could run media player and one internet windows screen. Its good for simple tasks, but not multiple. Certain games like halflife ran great. The only problem i had was memory. Maybe you should get more memory. I think thats whats holding your system back.

 

Try Winamp 2 for audio and Global Divx player for video, both are very CPU friendly, especially compared to WMP. They are what I used to use on my 466 celeron, and still use on my 1.8 p4. The winamp I have, 2.91, can do video too, but I like GDivx better, plus it has the same winamp-style controls (ZXCVB).

 

donate to a philantropic institution

 

Really XP ran good on your guys' systems. Hmm thats news to me. Anyways I havn't had much luck but if it workd better with XP than by all means stick with it. Well a good browser system seems good to to me like I posted above.

 

eh? win98 used to take 5 mins to start on my old Pentium II 333 Mhz , 32 Mb RAM and 6 Gb HDD rig. If there is anything helping winXP run decently on your rig, it would be because of the 160 Mb RAM you have.

Yours,
-Elly

 

Linux rig =)

 

I'd put Windows NT4 Workstation on that rig. You would be able to find good solid drivers for all of that hardware on the internet. You would also be able to play all your music and most videos I'm sure (The video card sucks @ss though ). Internet Explorer 6.0 runs perfectly and is supported fully in NT4. Believe me NT4 is like rock solid and VERY fast. Unless you need USB support or Directx 5+ (which I doubt on that rig) use NT4. Believe me I've had a lot of good experience using NT4 on a rig with a Pentium MMX 233Mhz and 48Mb of EDO ram even. It ran totally quick with those specs running Winamp 5.0 (Classic Skin) and IE6. NT4 is a lot like Windows 95 without all the bullshit instability. :lol:

 

dude....Media Player Classic in Overlay mode for video and Winamp 5 (like Esturk said) for audio. at least make sure you have drivers for video too (are there any XP drivers for your old ass videocard?

 

You coulod try bsplayer. Its very cpu friendly. Alternatively try mpc but it consumes more resources.

 

I would use it as Firewall/Router. Alternatively, a Linux or test rig.

 

I'd slap slackware on it, software raid the two hard drives to 4 gigs mirrored, the other 6 to be ignored. Slap an ssh and ftp server on it, run samba, and put all my truly critical documents on it. Put it directly on the internet connection, run a firewall, and suddenly be able to access your most critical documents from anywhere with internet access (password protected, of course).

Should be able to handle the job with no problems (except maybe needs a 2nd ethernet card unless you actually use that modem).

 

First thing is first. Uninstall XP. For a computer that old XP is not a wise choice. Windows 98 would be ideal for it though. The coomplexity of the OS is gonna create sslowdowns also the drivers it comes with is meant for year 2000+ computers and also the fact that it was made for at least a 500Mhz (and that isn't fun to work on either)

I'd recommend Windows 2000 or Linux for that machine, both should run fine considering he has a pretty nice amount of RAM. I use a similar setup for a file server, works very well.

[]s Badaro

 

Forgot about Win 2000. That isa very stable OS that still has great support from Microsoft also.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys, and keep em coming.

I'm surprised no one suggested I eat it.:laugh:

Anyway, I'm scared of Windows NT for some reason, probably because my older brother used it so much and had it on all his computers. I couldn't play my emulators under it, and that's what pissed me off.

Anyway, I'm gonna go try out Winamp with the classic skin and see how good Emulation works on it.

BTW, Anyone got a spare Geforce MX/ATI budget PCI card laying around?

 

Anyway, I'm scared of Windows NT for some reason, probably because my older brother used it so much and had it on all his computers. I couldn't play my emulators under it, and that's what pissed me off.

Meh... I wouldn't use a 233Mhz rig for an emulator machine. That's what your main rig is for am I right SzL? Heh, my secondary rig is now a Pentium III 500Mhz with 128Mb ram. My mom is using it right now instead of the P233, until I get another desk to put the PIII into my room. She only uses it for internet and Winamp so NT4 does the job and does it really well too.

No need to be scared of Windows NT, it's an awesome OS. Sure it lacks Directx 6+ but who cares, that's not what it was designed for. The only reason I suggested NT4 was because it appeared it was just for music and internet. I didn't know you were gonna attempt to play any emulators on it.

 

Intel Pentium With MMX Technology @233MHz
160MB of PC100 SDRAM @ PC66

I would say buy a new motherboard, memory and cpu. Replace your current one. Then install XP.

 

you should eat it... j/k

a 233mmx is good for running a small file server, or just as a b1tch box for just testing stuff. If you are going to use it for networking I recommending using either Fedora or mandrake Linux, if you want to stick with windows then I recommend going with win98. At 233Mhz I'm not sure what you could run on it except for some snes and genesis emus.

 

You could do what I did to my P233 box: use it for DOS gaming. Just slap Win98 on it and it should work quite well. Mine does DOS gaming decently even with the tiny amount of RAM that it has (I desperately need to get more). I don't think Gens would run full speed on it though, my mom's P200 (non MMX) ran Sonic and Knuckles at 35 FPS in a 320x240 window with no sound.

Thoughtless: That would probably defeat the purpose of the computer. He's trying to see what he can do with it for little to no cost. Buying new components would cost too much money.

 

When I was in your situation and had an older computer, I sold it and bought myself a new graphics card and RAM for my current comp since there wasn't a lot of space in my room for the two of them.

 

WinXP can give better with performance then 98se. you just have to know how to modify the OS.

Me and the guys at the computer lab benchmarked a system with a 233mhz (MMX) Pentium 1 with 64mb of RAM (EDO)

Then we used a 400mhz AMD K6-3+ (MMX and 3Dnow) in the same system.

(The Video Card we used was a Geforce 2 MX200 PCI)

This is how we set it

Win98se, with a 233mhz Pentium 1 (Average)

Vs.

Win98se, with a 400mhz AMD K6-3+ (Average but crushed the Pentium 1)



WinXP Stock, with a 233mhz Pentium 1 (Total Loser compared to everything else)

Vs.

WinXP Modified, with a 233mhz Pentium 1 (better then average of win98 and it match the Stock AMD in Most things except 3D games)



WinXP Stock, with a 400mhz AMD K6-3+ (beat out the 233+98se. match 233+XP-Mod (except in 3D) and it lost to the 400+98se)

Vs.

WinXP Modified, with a 400mhz AMD K6-3+ (crushed everything in the test)