PB145B’s finds

[CC_333]

Excellent!

c

 

[PB145B]

I have made great progress on this Inspiron 8100! I have straightened out the bent frame, replaced the optical drive, and replaced the fan assembly. Here’s some pics of the original.



These were worn out and incredibly noisy. This fan assembly can be had NOS for about $6 or $7 on eBay.

And just for the hell of it, I put Windows Longhorn on it (the build number escapes me, but it is apparently one of the more “stable” versions of Longhorn if there ever was such a thing). I do know it’s a pre-reset version though (Google that if you’re not sure what that means). I really need to put more memory in this though. 256MB is not ideal for any version of Longhorn, and I suspect with 512MB it should run better. It currently takes it quite a while to boot up.

 I’ve had a few issues with this (which is to be expected from a beta I suppose). The startup/shutdown sounds don’t play (even though they are set and work fine when you manually play them). I also haven’t been able to get it to connect to the internet.

Messing with beta versions of Windows is something that I’ve been meaning to do for a long time, and now that I’ve started, I’m hooked! Windows “Whistler” (XP code name) is going to be the next OS I try on this machine.

So, here are some pics of Longhorn running on this beast!

I was shocked that i8kfangui worked on Longhorn! i8kfangui is a utility I highly recommend to anyone with an Inspiron 8000 series machine. It is an excellent fan control utility that keep these things running very cool! IMO these 8000 series Inspirons just let them self’s get too damn hot before kicking the fans on (to the point where it is uncomfortable in your lap). I think that running i8kfangui on these will definitely extend their life.

BTW I do have another drive for this machine setup with a Windows 2000/XP Home Editon dual boot. That is the primary drive I use with this machine.

 

[EvilCapitalist]

And just for the hell of it, I put Windows Longhorn on it (the build number escapes me, but it is apparently one of the more “stable” versions of Longhorn if there ever was such a thing). I do know it’s a pre-reset version though (Google that if you’re not sure what that means). I really need to put more memory in this though. 256MB is not ideal for any version of Longhorn, and I suspect with 512MB it should run better. It currently takes it quite a while to boot up.

Oh man, Windows betas.  That takes me back to my days at the OSBA forum and trying out just about everything I could get my hands on.  Since that says it's a 2003 build I'd guess it would be either 4015 or 4029, both of which were pretty stable.  I'm definitely more of a fan of the 4xxx builds (pre-reset).  Tried 5048 later on and was not impressed, and I continued being not impressed for the rest of the 5xxx builds (just not a fan of Vista overall).

Messing with beta versions of Windows is something that I’ve been meaning to do for a long time, and now that I’ve started, I’m hooked! Windows “Whistler” (XP code name) is going to be the next OS I try on this machine.

As for Whistler builds, try 2250 and 2410.  Also, just for the heck of it give Neptune 5111 a go.

 

[PB145B]

As for Whistler builds, try 2250 and 2410.  Also, just for the heck of it give Neptune 5111 a go

Thanks for the suggestion! I was really kind of clueless about which version to try (there's so many!). And yep, definitely going to give Neptune a try! Also gonna try NT 5.0 (Which is what later became Windows 2000).

 

[CC_333]

I've never actually tried any of these!

I think I tried an early build of Chicago once, or maybe I just saw screenshots of it? Nevertheless, it was a weird beast! It's UI was kinda like an odd-looking hybrid of Windows 3.1 and what eventually became Windows 95 (aka Windows 4.0), and it possessed a peculiar set of features common to neither (instead of a single, unified start menu, most of its functionality was split across three buttons and a folder on the desktop).

c

 

[EvilCapitalist]

You might be thinking of Chicago build 58, that definitely had a lot of 3.1 in it.  Build 73 wasn't much different, and it wasn't until Beta 1 that you could "Start" (heh heh) to see what the finished product would look like.

Thanks for the suggestion! I was really kind of clueless about which version to try (there's so many!). And yep, definitely going to give Neptune a try! Also gonna try NT 5.0 (Which is what later became Windows 2000).

Chalk it up to not having played around with these builds in a long while but I should have suggested build 2257 not 2250.  They're much the same but 2257 is a bit more polished and less likely to eat it.

 

[PB145B]

Chalk it up to not having played around with these builds in a long while but I should have suggested build 2257 not 2250.  They're much the same but 2257 is a bit more polished and less likely to eat it.

Ah, ok. Cool! Thank you once again for your suggestion!

 

[PB145B]

Got this beauty off of eBay for $25!



It’s a Compaq Presario 5600i!

If you want to know more about it, please read my write up about it on the Vintage Computer Forum here:

http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?64969-Compaq-Presario-5600i

 

[EvieSigma]

What the heck? Only $25? How?

 

[tanaquil]

Sweet find! I love the cheap-as-free tag sale scores. They are so much rarer than they used to be. 

That one is in very pretty shape too. 

 

[PB145B]

What the heck? Only $25? How?

Just a very generous seller I suppose  

I should mention that the shipping was not free. It was about $25 shipping. So about $50 all together, not bad IMO.

Sweet find! I love the cheap-as-free tag sale scores. They are so much rarer than they used to be. 

That one is in very pretty shape too. 

Yeah I couldn’t believe when this thing came up for this cheap! I was prepared to pay quite a bit more for one.

It’s so amazing to have one of these again. 

 

[PB145B]

Here’s my latest acquisition. A Dell Inspiron 8200! This is my new primary Windows XP machine.



I had been wanting one of these for quite some time now. It’s such a nice Windows XP machine. It has a 1.8GHz Pentium 4M, 768MB of RAM (going to upgrade it to 2GB), and an ATi Radeon 9000 64MB graphics card. Oh, and it has a miserable 30GB hard drive, which I’m upgrading today to an 80GB, which is soooo much better. The drive is slow as hell too.

This machine also has an incredible 1600 X 1200 UXGA display with extremely vibrant color! Seriously, it’s one of these nicest displays I have ever seen. 

 

[Unknown_K]

They made a high end P3 with the same screen.

 

[PB145B]

They made a high end P3 with the same screen.

Yes, they did. I actually have both versions (they did two P3 versions, the Inspiron 8000 and 8100). And now I have the 8200, so my Inspiron 8000 series collection is complete! I’ve even got the low-end 2500, which uses the same chassis.

 

[PB145B]

BTW, the screen on this 8200 is brighter and has more vibrant color than my 8000/8100s do. I was literally shocked at how vibrant the blue was on the Inspiron splash screen when I first turned it on. That being said, the 8000/8100 displays are still incredible and crush most other laptop displays from that time. These are definitely my favorite early 2000s PC laptops.

 

[Unknown_K]

I have an 8000 in my room and another one forget the model in the basement. The 15" screens are nice. If you like large screen vintage laptops try and get a Gateway 2000 solo 9500 series with the 15.7" 1280x1024 screens.

 

[PB145B]

I have an 8000 in my room and another one forget the model in the basement. The 15" screens are nice. If you like large screen vintage laptops try and get a Gateway 2000 solo 9500 series with the 15.7" 1280x1024 screens.

Didn’t know about those Gateways! I’ll look into that.

 

[Unknown_K]

The screen looks huge and 1280x1024 is perfect for older Windows games that can do that resolution pre widescreen.

 

[PB145B]

The screen looks huge and 1280x1024 is perfect for older Windows games that can do that resolution pre widescreen.

Nice!

 

[PB145B]

I'm also shocked at how well this machine handles the internet! For a machine from 2003, it's pretty good. Should be even better once I get a faster hard drive and more RAM.

I also went ahead and installed an intel mini-PCI WiFi card, so I don't have to mess with the PCMCIA card anymore.

Edit: Also going to try Windows Vista and Windows 7 on this machine!