Ancient Hardware

[#1]

Hi,

I have a really old Samsung Netbook N210 plus 2GB of RAM. I have been using it ofr around 2 years as a dedicated music server running Windows 10. I's useless for general purposes but up to now has been fine for this purpose. it's started to be more unreliable so I think it might be about to expire. I naively thought I could pick up a second hand windows laptop/netbook that was about 5 years old for not very much money second-hand or refurbished but am struggling to find anything.

Any recommendations for buying cheap second-hand PCs?  

[#2]

eBay always has a lot

[#3]

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@the_groundsman wrote:

Hi,

Any recommendations for buying cheap second-hand PCs?  

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Hi 2nd hand/used laptops have increased in value quite a lot since children have been working from home  

What size do you require with what processer /RAM /hard drive and how much do you want to pay

HD

[#4]

@the_groundsman 

Do you mean PC in the conventional way or Laptop? Have you thought of using a NAS or even repurposing an old PC base unit into a NAS? See  https://www.howtogeek.com/190835/how-to-turn-an-old-pc-into-a-home-file-server/

Is your current netbook struggling because it's trying to run Win 10? If so have you considered taking Win 10 off and installing Linux? I recommend the Cinnamon version of Mint 20 as it's very easy to use and the desktop is very similar to Windows.

[#5]

Thanks for the input. I'm not  averse to Linux in fact i used to have lubuntu on this netbook for a while when i used it to access the internet. The issue is that it crashes from time to time so I suspect there is an intermittent hardware fault that is only going to get worse. I have around 120 GB of music and a media server on there so I have considered a Linux based music os like Daphile but found windows ran OK so reverted to that.

I could get a Raspberry PI based solution for around £100-£120  so i guess thta the budget but prefer the flexibility of Laptop/netbook with a screen and keyboard. I do like to tinker a bit so it easier to install updates and plugins that way. Therefore the spec would be a HDD of at least 150GB, 2 GB  of RAM. Processor type and speed  isn't an issue given what I'm using it for.

EBay looks full of junk - so I'd be concerned that stuff wouldnt work. I was really wondering if there were any reputable refurbishers out there but the refurbs I found are only selling on quite pricey machines with modern specs.

I think it will the RPi or a microPC like this,  Though I would need to have a keyboard mouse and monitor on hand for updates.

Thanks for your input

[#6]

If you are "not averse" to Linux.... and want the use of a Windows operating system... Preferably an earlier one than W10... such as W7 or even earlier....

Have a go with ZORIN15... download.. install... then run "any" windows type program... e.g. Irfanview... ZORIN will autormatically download and install WINE 6 or whatever is the latest version... once that has been  done.. it then installs the windows type program you tried to install using the normal windows     .exe  file......

after that.. it`s "almost" like windows in use ! ..#

 Also. what about the problem being associated with an OLD HDD  ?   perhaps a new one will improve things ? ? ? 

[#7]

@shutter Zorin 15.3 does not include WINE by default - but it is available in the Software Centre.

OOps - sorry misread your post. Ignore me, @the_groundsman  - most people do, anyway.😀

[#8]

@jab1   Hee Hee......  (gotcha ! ! ! )