re: Another "Lightweight", it's K-Meleon.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Windows 98 Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by Kiwi
(2228 messages posted)
I haven't been particularly careful with some of the old stuff, but either there
is some undocumented aging factor for components you can't examine visually, or the
same lack of care has permeated the eBay sellers' attitudes. Compared to newer hardware,
the failure rate has been very high, but we're still not talking about much cost
above the shipping.
In the case of the Abit BX-6, there's something going on I can't track down. Before
downclocking, Windows 98se was running "normally", and Windows2000 was having constant
memory errors. After downclocking from 400 MHz (100 MHz memory X4), W2K is just
fine, normal speed. Windows98se is the one hesitating, delaying, wasting time.
As I told Gewg, I'll use a different setup for any potential testing of whether a
Linux plus its WINE runs the first test game happily (it's Descent: Freespace).
I have Intel's own SE440BX, and I'd forgotten about an "LX" board from Asus (hardware-wise,
in between the HX and the BX, but I'm not real sure about its geneology).
Incidentally, I'm back in here (in my shop) with the PC that I put a Tekram MVP4
board into, and tested Ultra with already. It's quite comfortable, with no A/C,
no heat, just a small fan. Summer in south Texas is not merely three months, it's
more like five, and this year was a bad one, with hot weather starting in April.
We set a new record for days reaching 100 Fahrenheit, 59 days. We also suffered
through two years of drought. I always make allowance, all year long, except our
short six weeks' worth of winter, for unseasonal, sudden very hot days in fall and
spring. I'm wearing shorts and one of my pocket-T shirts. That's my at-home wardrobe
about ten months of the year, and it takes something special to get me into long
pants when it's not relatively cool weather.
.
Kiwi
**
On Friday, October 9, 2009 at 8:49 pm, Arminius wrote:
>Kiwi,
>
>I am like you in that I don't like throwing away components that still work. If
you
>enjoy tinkering with them it is a satisfying way to pass the time.
>
>I have amassed a collection of over 30 old games designed to run on Win9x made from
>the mid 1990's to the early 2000's that I have not got around to playing yet. For
>that reason I intend to have at least one box running 98SE well into the next decade.
>Or as long as the hardware lasts.
>
>A couple of years ago I was looking for a 1GHz Slot1 Pentium III CPU with a 100MHz
>FSB to replace my old PIII 550. They were uncommon at the time so when one would
>appear on ebay the bids sometimes approached $100. It didn't make ecomonic sense
>so I settled for a PIII 850 for $13 plus change shipping included.
>
>Later on I could not resist buying an entire computer with a Socket 370 1GHz PIII
>and an Intel D815EEA motherboard for $15. Local pickup, no shipping costs.
>
>It is hard to say how long my old motherboards will last. They were all manufactured
>in 1999 or 2000 and don't have any swollen or leaking capacitors. By contrast, I
>have seen motherboards made in 2001 ready for the trash heap.
>
>With Pentium III computers being so cheap these days I wonder whether your very
oldest
>hardware is really worth investing time in, especially with the problems you have
>getting the OS to run at a reasonable speed.
>
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