Putting up with a sick computer is a pain - especially if 95% of the time it’s fine. I upgraded the video card drivers and hoped it would help but didn’t expect much. I didn’t get much either.
Basically, things are fine when I view web pages or do common Windows tasks. Certain videos and online sites cause color distortion and “artifacts”. 3D acceleration of any form is DEAD.
It looks like I will miss the COH Halloween event this year.
The big question is whether the comp will last until I can buy a new one (hopefully before xmas).
When I get tired of surfing and blogging I switch some cables and power up my old Pentium 2. After six years of hibernation it still runs Age Of Empires very well. Killing things is good for frustration relief.
Meh, technology.
1 year ago
Working with old computers can be a challenge. As I mentioned previously I decided to use my USB mp3 player to transfer files from an old computer. The files have been sitting on the computer for at least four years.
The computer is a Pentium 2 and doesn’t have a CD-rw drive. It has an LS-120 drive but that format became obsolete years ago. The computer had over 200 mb of music, art, and other files that I wanted to keep. I ended up saving the whole computer in my storage room.
Getting the old computer to run was a bit of a pain. Luckily I had an old serial mouse and a keyboard around. My modern ones wouldn’t work.
Booting into first edition Windows 98 was a blast. Everything looked slightly clunky. The computer clock assured me it had updated to daylight savings… January 1, 1999. Uhuh.
I poked around, checked the files to transfer, and then attached the USB. Windows recognized it but I couldn’t access it.
Luckily I had a Knoppix Linux live CD. I could access the USB through Knoppix and managed to transfer files once I relearned some linux commands. The biggest problem I faced was running out of RAM. The old computer only has 256 megs. That meant rebooting, remounting the USB drive, and copying until another lock up.
Once I returned to my current computer I found many of the files were corrupted. Copying between Windows and Linux, and back again, seemed to be the problem. I really wanted to save the mp3s and videos so a better solution was needed.
I searched online and found a site offering generic USB drivers for Windows 98. This allowed me to directly access the USB drive and I transferred my music and videos without a problem. What a relief!
I have more files to transfer but things should go smoothly. As I review my art and music I will post some of the better items here.
1 year ago
I’m juggling several things at the moment. I want to push ahead with Followr by sending out emails promoting the site and posting new blogs. I also want to make a decision about getting a Vesta Gamer Z2400 from NCIX.com. I also want to unplug my computer and connect my old Pentium so I can save some files to my USB stick. All three goals are doable but the third might mess up my plans for the other two.
The problem with number three are the games on that computer. I may get lost in X-com Apocalypse and other games I can’t run on XP. Sometimes change is good but sometimes I miss old skool games and apps.
1 year ago
