Laptop Upgrade

[Jeffrey]

Ok. I asked a similar question about a year ago...

I have a laptop. Pentium 1, 133. 800 MB HD. 16MB Ram.

I'd like to wipe the old harddrive clean and revive it. It is too slow and has too much garbage on it. I think a clean sweep would be fun. First, I'll reformat the drive...

Now what OS options do I have? I have an old Win95 CD, but I am not sure if I need the Serial Number to load it. The CD is not the one that came with the system. And I don't have the original case. Can I get the SN somehow before I wipe the drive? or is it needed at all?

Second, should I consider other options? With such low specs, I don't know what's available to me. The system will probably only be used for typing as it has no USB ports... the only major consideration is that it be able to use my pcmcia modem.

any suggestions as to how I can make a new computer out of this old toy?

 

[RitualOfTheTrout]

Yes you will need the SN to register the software when u try to reinstall.

If you lost the serial number id imagine maybe microsoft could help you out. Also considering win 95 is probably no longer really generating much sales and you do actually own the software maybe just finding a serial on the web would be easier and less of a hassle.. im not sure though.

 

[Jeffrey]

actually, I bought the laptop used a long long time ago. Tracking down the serial would be impossible as I do not know who it was originally registered to... 🙁 Am I screwed?

Can linux or other free os run on these low specs?

 

[Curtis]

You could run Linux on that machine. The X Window system would be painfully slow, and you could be stuck finding a video driver that will drive the display properly - even the plain vanilla VESA driver is flaky with many laptop display cards.

95 is probably the best OS for a machine of that vintage. None of the integrated browser stuff to worry about. At most, go with 98 and use 98Lite. If you are worried that your modem will work, check to see what drivers are available before you install any OS.

 

[IceDigger]

I would just stick with windows 95, nothing higher.

 

[Link Hylia]

Belarc Advisor should be able to tell you Windows 95 serial number for your computer, among a gazillion other software versions.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

 

[mtxblau]

I had a machine like that with similar specs (Thinkpad 365X). Windows 98 ran fine on it.

 

[racketboy]

Originally posted by IceMan2k@Jan 13, 2004 @ 01:37 PM

I would just stick with windows 95, nothing higher.

Win98 (with 98lite) would be fine

Beef up the RAM though.

Will make a world of difference for not a lot of money

 

[mtxblau]

Depending on the laptop, anywhere between 32 and 48 is the max. On some, even 64.

Windows 98 is optimized for 16bit. There's a remarkable difference in speed when it runs on a 256 screen (which isn't unreasonable for a P133).

If you do install win95, make sure to note the video driver your laptop uses. Win95 has terrible video adapter detection, which could easily crash the installation (which means you have to deselect all the drivers in the auto-scan except the one that belongs to your laptop - if it's not listed, stick with the 640x480x8 until you can get the regular drivers loaded).

Win98 has no such problem.

If you do run Win98 on such a machine, make sure you have a 3rd party memory manager running concurrently (there's literally hundreds at download.com).