What would you do with 200 Mhz and 64MB of RAM?

[diablo75]

I don't have a need for it, but I would like to experiment with it somehow. What the hell would you use it for? :)

[forrestcupp]

A museum relic next to the Commodore 64.


Seriously, I probably would have already thrown it away.

[SonicSteve]

I would be trying out some of the small linux versions. I know for a fact though that it can make a good firewall. I'm using the Leaf/bearing linux firewall on a 166mhz 32mb ram.

[markp1989]

would it be posible to use as a file or web page server?

[bufsabre666]

network firewall?

[kostkon]

You could install Xubuntu on it. Also, you could make it a headless server and install, for example, Ubuntu server edition. As a server it could have many roles like a proxy, web server, file server (for small files, I don't mean for media files), firewall, etc.

[kerry_s]

i'd go with DSL-> http://damnsmalllinux.org/
frugal install and a 960mb swap.

[gn2]

Given the amount of electricity it will consume for a very limited amount of functionality the best place for it may be in the re-cycling bin.

[LaRoza]

I would install Arch on it, and use it for a command line system.

[Bungo Pony]

I used an old Pentium 133 with 36M Ram to make a jukebox with 3 DVD ROM drives, I put in a USB 2.0 card in so I can use USB flash drives, and Damn Small Linux. Works really nice :)

I've got another old PC in a server box that I'm planning to turn into a CD duplicator. It's got 8 bays for drives, all I need is the drives. I wanna write a script to do all the work. However, that project won't be done for a long while.

I'm REALLY trying to find uses for plain old CD-ROM drives and analog modems, but I keep drawing a blank as what to do with them besides toss them into computers I'm giving away.

[koenn]

would it be posible to use as a file or web page server?
probably
I run a file server (nfs & samba) and a web server (lighttpd) on something similar : 233 mhz CPU, 128 MB ram, runs just fine.

[funrider]

install ******* 98 and play some old dos games?

[Christmas]

You can use Damn Small Linux and even Debian 3.1 Sarge with KDE will work on it, but extremely slow. What to do with it?

You can listen to music, use it as some kind of fileserver on a local network, backup (if you have a decent hard disk for it), play old games. What I recommend? You can always just install CLI, grab some UNIX tutorials and learn how to use it only in CLI. You'd be amazed how many you can do only using CLI tools.

[azimuth]

install ******* 98 and play some old dos games?

If you want to play Dos games maybe http://www.freedos.org/ would inspire you. Same goes for anyone with a collection of dos programs.

ps. My wife of 40 years, calls me a packrat, I prefer collector. I have large boxes of dos software that I preserved from the Dos haydays.

[hessiess]

web server

[chrisccoulson]

I have an old 133 with 64MB of RAM, and I use it to run IPCop.

[apfsdsdu]

X terminal and/or a mpd server.

[Solver]

1. Try Linux from Scratch - http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/ . It will teach you quite a bit about the system and having an old, obsolete PC is a good way to experiment.

2. Install a reasonably big hard drive in the machine and connect it to the local network - then you can use it as a place to send backups to, automatically.

3. Choose a small Linux distribution with no GUI and learn to use it as such. You may like it and it may well make you more productive on your main computer, too.

[Andrewie]

I would install KDE 4 and see how long it takes me before I smash the computer

[Christmas]

I would install KDE 4 and see how long it takes me before I smash the computer
Or get stunned on how fast it loads it :lolflag:

[forrestcupp]

You could pull out the motherboard and cut it into thirds long ways. It will give you 3 nice back scratchers. All of those solder points can really take care of an itch.

[chris4585]

i'd install ubuntu minimal onto it and make a system using possibly fvwm-crystal or openbox possibly, or maybe just a command line system

[swoll1980]

I would throw it in the trash but thats just me

[qazwsx]

Excellent way study basic CLI usage.
You can do lots of things in text based environment.
Actually I think that I could easily go over 90 % of my computing in text based.
:guitar:

[kerry_s]

grab the latest dsl 4.2.5-> ftp://ftp.oss.cc.gatech.edu/pub/linux/distributions/damnsmall/current/dsl-4.2.5.iso

just got mine from a friend, it's looking pretty sweet.

pic-> http://ubuntuforums.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=58226&d=1201818136

[jrusso2]

http://www.serverelements.com/naslite.php

This will make you a nice file server out of even a 486 and it runs on a floppy and you can use any size hard drive.

[K.Mandla]

I'd use it.

http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2007/03/16/ten-things-you-can-do-keep-an-old-computer-useful/
http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/things-to-do-with-an-old-computer/

And if you don't see a use that appeals to you, find someone (like me) who's willing to give it a home.

But don't throw it away. :D

[Mateo]

ubuntu server edition + wmii = you're the most l33t person on your block.

[zmjjmz]

I fifth (?) the DSL idea.
I have an older one that runs DSL just fine.
(132MHz, 32MB RAM)

[init1]

I have a laptop with similar specs. I installed FreeDOS, TTYLinux, and Minix on it. All three run great :D
www.minix3.org
www.freedos.org
www.minimalinux.org/ttylinux/

[maxino]

After installing a minimal distribution, perhaps it could be somehow turned into some sort of home security - alarm system - after having found a way of interfacing a loud siren, reed switches, passive infrared detectors, and so on. I seem to remember that parallel ports have inputs and outputs that may be used for this purpose.

Cheers

[sujoy]

add a decent HDD, install arch and rtorrent and use it as a torrent slave

[Blue Heron]

just free yourself and throw it away

[sujoy]

throwing off results in too much junk around the globe, maybe we all can try re-cycling a bit

[LaRoza]

throwing off results in too much junk around the globe, maybe we all can try re-cycling a bit

I agree. I just got an old computer for $15 and gave it some hardware and now it is a decent computer. It was destined for the trash (no hard disk, no NIC, 192 MB RAM, 600 Mhz processor), but I had saved an old hard disk that was "dead" (the FAT was corrupted...) and got a NIC on amazon for $0.97 and a stick of RAM for a few bucks and now it runs Debian Lenny better than it could run a Windows based OS.


just free yourself and throw it away

Don't do that, PM me, and I will pay the shipping...

[madjr]

jukebox and file server sounds good

[ShodanjoDM]

throwing off results in too much junk around the globe, maybe we all can try re-cycling a bit

+1

If I have such old but still perfectly working PCs, I'll find ways to put them into good use. Infact I've asked a friend who's working as an IT staff in a company whether her department has old and unused machines that I can buy - or better, that her company wants to get rid of them for free :D.

Let's see... If I get one PC, I'm planning to build a router. If I get two, I'll use one of them as my experimental box. If I can get more than three,...

...Cluster computing, perhaps? :lolflag:

[macogw]

Set up an Asterisk phone system for the house.

[Tundro Walker]

There's companies that scrounge up computer scrap in bulk for recycling. See if you can find one near by and just drop it off. They can shred it, pull any valuable metals out of it and we can all sleep better at night knowing this kind of hardware is out of the hands of dangerous, hardened criminals who might be trying to misuse it out on the streets. :)

[arashiko28]

Install DSL which uses as minimum as 16MB of RAM, 50MB of hard drive installation and has many applications, like firefox, make it useful at least to try and recover lost files from corrupted hard drives.
Note: in case you do not know, DSL stands for Damn Small Linux

[era86]

Write your own OS on it? That would be a fun way to learn..

[ryry46d9]

I don't have a need for it, but I would like to experiment with it somehow. What the hell would you use it for? :)

(I know this is old but it came up in my asterisk search)

OK if you still got that box what proc is it just a 200 or mmx is it a P-PRO AMD? that is a question no one asked back then also 72 pin or does it have the 2 slots for 168 pin ??????????

I would run www.openbsd.org on it light weight and easy on ram granted its UNIX like but hey you wouldn't have linux if it wasn't for it

you could even run BLACK BOX as your desktop I have the P-PRo200Mhz OC'ed to 233 with 128MB ram 64X32MB 72 pin that I used to use as my router / back up desktop also good for dhcp server and bind9.

to all that think its junk I think you should be stuck with a 286 sx-12 for a month. so you can get a feel of what a real computer was .... not this junk you use nowadays :lolflag:

[MaxIBoy]

Make sure it has IDE a vacant IDE port and an optical drive, possibly buy a PCI SATA card, then keep it lying around in case you ever screw up a system and need to manually fix up the hard drive.

[billgoldberg]

I don't have a need for it, but I would like to experiment with it somehow. What the hell would you use it for? :)

Toss it in the bin.

[myusername]

use it as a test machine to help the devs

[brunovecchi]

Given the amount of electricity it will consume for a very limited amount of functionality the best place for it may be in the re-cycling bin.

I agree. It's not worth the hassle.

[dirtylobster]

I have a 450MHz/256MB running weechat (cli irc client) 24/7 to which I SSH from everywhere. 200/64 would do just fine.

[executor]

i run SmoothWall Express 3.0 on a pentium 233, 96 MB ram

[bergersau]

200Mhz 64MB - describes my email server perfectly...

[ankursethi]

I had a friend give me a system with similar specs, but he took it away after a few weeks. Right now it's running Windows 98 and doing all the basic tasks I use my behemoth desktop for perfectly. It runs an old version of Microsoft Word, along with a few IM clients and a web browser. It's a bit slow, but it works okay.

In the few weeks I had it, I used it to check out other people's hobby operating systems (http://osdev.org). I also installed Haiku, Gentoo and Arch on it. Since it didn't have a NIC, I couldn't play with Arch or Gentoo much. Then I went ahead and installed SuSe 9.0 Professional :). Surprisingly, it worked perfectly (albeit the right click menu took 15 minutes to appear).

Your options so far :
1. A jukebox. Buy a compatible sound card, get a larger hard disk and some tower speakers. Blast away.
2. Web server.
3. Testbed for your very own OS.
4. Lightweight Linux/Minix/Haiku box.
5. Firewall.
6. Backup server.
7. Sell it to LaRoZa.

[mikjp]

I don't have a need for it, but I would like to experiment with it somehow. What the hell would you use it for? :)

For learning Minix or NetBSD. Or maybe as a terminal. Or for playing DOS games with FreeDOS.

mp

[K.Mandla]

Let's call that necromancy. Closed.