Entertaining ½ hour

D-Dan · May 21, 2009, 20:22:05

A friend (computer virgin) had been given a laptop - which they admitted was not the most up to date model, and asked me if I'd set it up so that they could browse the net, join facebook etc. "No problem", I said, knowing that a Linux distro set up on it would be adequate for their needs and more responsive on old hardware than Windows would be.

Tonight, I picked it and brought it home, took it out of the case, plugged it in and turned it up. The manufacturer's splash screen came up and it obediently booted to Windows 98, asking for the login (details I don't have) but since I only wanted to make sure there were no documents I should backup before wiping it, a quick boot into safe mode to set up a new user, and I'm in.

Having checked, there was nothing worth saving, so I popped in the ubuntu CD and rebooted. Imagine my surprise when Ubuntu kernel loader complained about lack of memory, so I decided to investigate further. Remember, this machine displays a splash screen rather than POST, so a trip into the BIOS was called for.

Wonderful - 28 Meg RAM (4 Meg shared video), 4 Mb hard drive.

This can't be right, so I popped off the memory cover to check the capacity, and nada. "All" the memory is on board.

A little more investigating around the machine, and it doesn't have an ethernet port (though it does have a CD-Rom), which to me dates it at around 1999, and in it's current state, practically useless even for light internet usage.

I almost called Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. What a find. Apart from a missing key cap on the keyboard, it's in superb condition. Having said that, my calculator is more powerful.

I'm sure I could probably find a lightweight linux distro that may work (Puppy Linux or Damn Small Linux come to mind) but what's the point lol.

I've had an entertaining half hour thinking back to how we had this level of computing power on office desks the world over only 10 years ago

Steve

Sebby · May 21, 2009, 23:28:40

Nice story. I bet that was a shock when you saw Windows 98 booting! 28MB RAM? 4MB HDD? Nice! 8)

Lance · May 21, 2009, 23:32:14

I seem to remember that often enough on Windows 98 you could just click cancel on the log-in screen an it let you in

Sebby · May 21, 2009, 23:40:55

Those were the days. None of this kernel hacking nonsense.

Rik · May 22, 2009, 09:13:56

Doesn't he sell fried chicken?

Sebby · May 22, 2009, 10:23:24

They're not allowed to call it chicken for legal reasons.

Rik · May 22, 2009, 10:35:05

Having tried it, I can understand that.

Sebby · May 22, 2009, 10:36:44

Have you seen the new advert? It makes it look great!

Rik · May 22, 2009, 10:39:32

What's an advert, Seb?

Sebby · May 22, 2009, 10:42:04

So true!

David · May 22, 2009, 10:46:54

Quote from: Rik on May 22, 2009, 09:13:56
Doesn't he sell fried chicken?

How that got passed the censors I dont know

Rik · May 22, 2009, 10:52:58

Ray · May 22, 2009, 12:19:13

Quote from: badpianoplayer on May 22, 2009, 10:46:54
How that got passed the censors I dont know

Got to agree with you on that one, David, seconded.

Rik · May 22, 2009, 12:20:28

I try.