Old PC New OS

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November 19th, 2005, 14:15 PM
Avalon

Old PC New OS

I have just put together a PC usin old stuff.

Problem. Cant install XP. It fails part way through the install.
Have overcome the large HD problem with Maxblast Overlay.

Installed Windows 98se which works.
TRied upgrading from 98se to xp, still fails.

On win98se it wont install the gfx card, says no nvidia gfx card detected.
Device drivers says Standard VGA Adapter.

Pentium 2 on Dtec Mobo MBP2BA
128 MB mem. 100MHZ

60 gig maxtor HD
GForce 2 GTS

Any ideas guys?

I was hopin to use this as a server, or spare PC networked to my other.
November 19th, 2005, 15:11 PM
Conan

XP definitely won't install on that processor speed. You can try Windows 2000 but I can't guarantee that it'll install either.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000...qs/default.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...g/sysreqs.mspx
November 19th, 2005, 15:51 PM
blackhat

Old bios, old mobo. XP? no way. If you got 98 on it successfully, keep it that way.(It's still a stretch). Those old machines only want to recognize a 512mb partition. With an extended Bios,2gb. I upgraded a Pentium II (200mhz) and it recognizes a full 4gb disk. Did you end up with multiple 2gb partitions? How many Partitions did you have to take?
I dont think XP will install on a Pentium III (750 mhz) either. At least there are alot of used boxes out there with PIII and Win 2000. DRB
November 19th, 2005, 15:59 PM
gamedango

Actually in my experience windows xp/2000 should install on it just fine. Pentium II. It will run pretty horribly but you can tweak it to run decent. I used to create XP images for Pentium I 166mhz. :o They were dells however, using older intel boards. Now they ran horribly but where I worked at that time it's all they had in some places. I was able to tweak it and turn off enough that it actually worked ok. What you can try is start the install on another PC. When it gets to the first reboot where it detects plug-n-play hardware, put it back into the old PC. This may get you to the right spot. Can't guarentee that this will work but I have done alot before.

As far as using it as a server, IMO that's not the best idea for that system. Depends on what kind of server I guess.

During the install, what error specifically do you get if any? I'm sure it's hardware related. If you have another video card you may want to try that as well. If you can find any kind of bios update for that board, that may be required as well.
November 19th, 2005, 16:38 PM
Devil

I have a pc running with XP-Pro-SP2 on:
P2 400mhz
384mb Ram
Asus MB (I dont remember the model)
30gigs IBM HD.

It runs smooth.
Of course, I use the w98 skin and all the "eye candy" is off, but I can even run photoshop on that rig and its kinda slow, but flawless!
November 19th, 2005, 16:43 PM
rik

I too have installed XP on worse procs than yours. Most recently on an old C-300a and it worked. Not great but it did work. Have you considered running a Linux distro on the old PC instead of Windows? You might find it to run better as long as the hardware in the system is all supported.
November 20th, 2005, 18:05 PM
Avalon

Hmm

Ok guys, ive abandoned Xp for 98 which runs ok, hjowever, do you have any idea id it run the Gforce 2 gts gfx, it sez it cant see it, i do have a tnt card to try.

Thanks for all the feed back :)

BTW i have no clue on linux, never used it.
November 21st, 2005, 00:02 AM
efc

This might be a good place to install Linux. After trying many distributions, I recommend XandrOS. LINK
November 21st, 2005, 00:36 AM
lankan_man

Quote:

Originally Posted by efc

This might be a good place to install Linux. After trying many distributions, I recommend XandrOS. LINK

Shall I install that on my 266Mhz
November 21st, 2005, 04:35 AM
efc

Hardware requirements. LINK
November 27th, 2005, 18:01 PM
mikee286

Those are just the reccomended requirements, i got xp to install on a p1 mmx 133mhz with 128mb ram and 5 gb hdd but it was really slow.
November 27th, 2005, 20:19 PM
lankan_man

Quote:

Originally Posted by efc

Hardware requirements. LINK

Mine are in the minimum requirement the recomended one is a 400MHz, but I guess that if my 266Mhz is able to run an XP then it probably should do the job for Xandros, one other thing, am I supposed to use commands to out the network onto my old pc?
November 27th, 2005, 20:54 PM
efc

Quote:

Originally Posted by lankan_man

Mine are in the minimum requirement the recomended one is a 400MHz, but I guess that if my 266Mhz is able to run an XP then it probably should do the job for Xandros, one other thing, am I supposed to use commands to out the network onto my old pc?

I have installed XandrOS twice. Each time it gound the network and established the proper connection automatically.