Laptop with Windows 98 SE

Community Forums/General Help/Laptop with Windows 98 SE

Yue(Posted 2013) [#1]
Hello, a question as to a desktop and a laptop. which is better, I are selling a laptop with Windows 98 SE, 20 gigabyte hard drive and 256 ram, that good?

It would not be for great things, only be to connect to internet and study and things like that.

I thought a laptop would be easier to care for because they would not face problems with what happened with my old pc.

Greetings.


Yasha(Posted 2013) [#2]
I assume you mean "buying", not "selling"?


It is not "good", no. But the only way to give you a more detailed answer than that would be to know what programs you intend to run on it. Web browsers capable of displaying text and images can run on a device that old, so if that's all you need, that's all you need. Although I'm surprised that that's the best device available for any budget no matter how low.

Laptops are not in general any easier to care for than desktops. Also, they are for the most part not user-serviceable. You can open and fix a desktop if one part breaks; with a laptop you often have to replace the whole thing (certainly with one that old - it's probably not made of standardised parts, and it has a very high chance of breaking very quickly).


Windows 98 is a non-issue. Don't use it; it is unsupported, not secure, and won't run modern Windows programs properly anyway. Better to replace it with a Linux distribution. (If you don't want to use Linux, your only option is to get a better PC.)


Captain Wicker (crazy hillbilly)(Posted 2013) [#3]
DONT DO IT!!!!!!!
There are plenty of laptops on ebay with at least Windows XP on them.


D4NM4N(Posted 2013) [#4]
What they said.

I can do you a 4y/o HP laptop that can run Windows 8 quite happily for $70+whatever the freight is from sweden to wherever you are.


GfK(Posted 2013) [#5]
Dan - whats the spec on that? Could be interested if it's crap enough (but not too crap!)

[edit] give Yue first dibs though - don't want to poach!


Ginger Tea(Posted 2013) [#6]
my toes are curling reading 256mb ram


Yue(Posted 2013) [#7]
@D4NM4N

What I say is 70 dollars or 70 euros. In Colombian pesos are:

70 = 140,000
70 Euros = 210,000

The downside I think is money and to buy online I think you need a credit card, bank account, but I opened a bank account but I accept it by pay pal and would cuendo shipping to Colombia, that must be a lot of money.


*(Posted 2013) [#8]
Yue one thing about the windows 98 machine is dont get it, hold out for at least a windows xp machine. 256mb ram isnt enough you might get blitz3d on it but it might not work at least with xp it will. Linux isnt an option iirc you use blitz3d which is windows only


Derron(Posted 2013) [#9]
With older integrated graphics (I tested SiS chips) you get problems with BlitzMax - if you intend to use that: be aware of that problem.

Desktop PCs of 2006-7 should be faster than your laptop but available for <10$. The only advantage of the notebook is the screen which is included.

Like others said: you will have to get "xp" run on that pc (or linux, but then you loose blitz3d) as win98-support was removed by most current software releases (firefox etc). Also you will run into unicode-issues (there are special libs you have to install for older windows').
And as "reactOs" isn't in a usable state, you have to get a "newer" os. XP should run on 256mb ram.

Do you know what kind of cpu is in? It could range from older than an 1GHz PIII up to 2GHz Celeron machines which were made for secretaries.


bye
Ron


RemiD(Posted 2013) [#10]
I suggest to have a pc with Windows XP at least.

And this time, take the time to buy or to build a bag for your laptop so that it is not damaged by humidity or dust when it is off.


Yue(Posted 2013) [#11]
@Derron
Pentium I 250 MHZ :(


Captain Wicker (crazy hillbilly)(Posted 2013) [#12]
@Edzup:
Actually, Blitz3D works perfectly for me, using Wine.


craigmon(Posted 2013) [#13]
I'd like to mention that any WIN 98 system that is connected to the internet would be easily compromised by much of the modern malware that's out there. There simply isn't patches available for WIN98 to stop it. I don't think you'd want those kinds of problems.

-craigmon


Captain Wicker (crazy hillbilly)(Posted 2013) [#14]
.


matibee(Posted 2013) [#15]
Please CW, is that necessary? The poor guy's down on his arse and is asking for help in picking a PC that must be one step from landfill. How the fcuk do you think your smart arse list helps AT ALL?? Do yourself a favour and just stop posting crap like this -- they're telling us much more about you and your technical nouse than you might realise.


Captain Wicker (crazy hillbilly)(Posted 2013) [#16]
How the fcuk do you think your smart arse list helps AT ALL??

they're telling us much more about you and your technical nouse than you might realise.

I have autism...
:{


Yue(Posted 2013) [#17]
:( Best continuing saving ...


http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.co/MCO-404405656-computador-portatil-core2duo-26ghz-camara-inegrada-_JM


matibee(Posted 2013) [#18]
Yue,

(Simple grammar for the sake of google translation)

Things will change. One day you will have a PC again.

If you want to make video games then take this time to learn game design. Make board games to play with your family, or card games, or pen and paper games. Invent any kind of game that has rules and strategies. Study what works, and what becomes fun.

You don't need money for this. It will prepare you for when you start coding again.

You will not make the next GTA. You might make the next Angry Birds.


Derron(Posted 2013) [#19]
You do not need such a "modern" pc like the one you linked (that 2.6GHz core2duo).
To be able to "code" and "test" one would like to get access to a 1+Ghz processor - or some lowspec turion/celeron processor for mobile computers.

Such laptops (escpecially when bought used - and some workaround-things like bad battery) will cost way less than new ones.

But you got it already told: a desktop pc will be more likely an affordable solution (buy a used office desktop... should be available for <100US-Dollars including shipping). Only need for you is: having a screen/keyboard/mouse-combo - sometimes even these are included).

Used laptops just have a "minimum" price and therefor you have to have luck to "shot" one for 50 dollars while meeting some really "bottom aligned" requirements. I am not able to do some ebay-research for you, somehow ebay does not want me to search for laptops "worldwide" or "us only" (0 results - when clicking on "laptops & netbooks").

Instead of buying an "heavy but slow"-laptop please consider a desktop - you will even be able to consider reusing parts of your old computer.


bye
Ron


D4NM4N(Posted 2013) [#20]
Gfk.. Not sure to be honest. I think it is a centrino duo with intel gc. Will dig it out and have a look.

ed: is an nx7000 series centrino duo.


ima747(Posted 2013) [#21]
If you're willing to scrape the bottom of the barrel for something cheap, check your local newspaper, craigslist, etc. for a used netbook. They're out of fashion, they came into vogue after windows XP so will have a far more usable OS, and even though they're hardware is quite poor, especially graphics cards, they're better than an older full sized laptop.

I would urge against a desktop at the bottom end because you will need a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. You're not going to get all of that for as cheap as you *should*. People think their barely functional 12 year old monitor is still worth at least $100 even if they know the desktop it's connected to is only worth $20. They'll throw in the keyboard and mouse, but that's only saving you maybe $15... you should be able to get a used netbook with windows XP for ~$50-$75 in decent condition, the battery might even still work.

It is worth noting that if you could afford to buy more than just the cheapest used thing, desktops are a MUCH better cost to performance/lifespan choice than laptops. You can upgrade them for performance gains for minimal investment, you can re-use your monitor for years and years on new systems, and the performance is far more cost effective. A $100 graphics card for a desktop will blow away all but the most expensive gaming laptops *and* you can replace it whenever you like without having to get a whole new system. But, if you're looking at used, legacy systems people will gouge on a desktop monitor because they can (it still works after all) but with a laptop, it's just one thing in a box in their closet taking up space, so they just want it gone, and you can save money as a result.


D4NM4N(Posted 2013) [#22]
Tbh i would not reccomend anyone using an xp machine either these days.


Captain Wicker (crazy hillbilly)(Posted 2013) [#23]
D4:
I use XP in vmware and am never going to upgrade! I took XP off of my laptop and replaced it with Ubuntu 12.04 last night because disk got fragmented and didn't feel like waiting four hours to defragment. Lol


D4NM4N(Posted 2013) [#24]
You should after next year it is basically open season on any machines using xp (that is... even more open season than before) and VMs are no more secure than real pcs if you use them to log in to anything important or data mine-able.

I really do not understand the clingon factor to these old creaky osses. Sure the new ones are bloatier, but so is the hardware. And anyone who thinks win 98 or xp runs better than 7 on new hardware are kinda wrong.


GfK(Posted 2013) [#25]
For developers, old operating systems are a necessary evil. I still have to support XP for casual game sites (which is bizarre, because I don't have to support 12-year old versions of MacOS).

Not sure how much longer that trend will last for, though. Windows desktop and mobile are coming closer together so I think these massively different iterations of Windows will come to and end one day soon, and all we'll have to worry about is supporting Windows, without fretting about 3 or 4 wildly different versions.

</rose-tinted glasses>


*(Posted 2013) [#26]
will it will only last till April 8th 2014 as XP is retired then according to M$, Vista is retired in April 11th 2017 and 7 in January 14th 2020 :)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/products/lifecycle