I am looking to buy my mom a cheap PC. She will only do dial up AOL for email. (try not to laugh) She has the $9.95 account from AOL and her old computer is just about shot. I checked newegg, geeks and frys. Looks like they will all be over 200 if you include the OS. Any other ideas?
Cheap PC for mom
- Thread starter TLCNORM
- Start date
Rupp
Senior Member
Is $200 to much? I'm not too sure your going to beat that price.
rocco
Active Member
Do you need to include an OS?
If you intend on trashing the old computer, you could transfer the OS over to the new one if it isn't prior to XP.
Or, since she is only using AOL, you might try one of the good free OSes, like Ubuntu.
roussell
Active Member
You can also check out your local Salvation Army, Good Will, or other thrift stores. You can usually find a choice of computers that are a few (to quite a few) years old for well below $200. As an example, Last year I picked up three HP PIII 866 desktops for $30 each. They even came with Windows 2K, 256K and CD writers. I know an PIII 866 processor and Win 2K doesn't sound too exciting, but it would be more than enough for AOL. You can't always find good deals, but the larger your city, the better chance you have.
Along those same lines, check out your local classifieds for people getting rid of their old systems, probably some good deals there too.
Terry
Along those same lines, check out your local classifieds for people getting rid of their old systems, probably some good deals there too.
Terry
I can't imagine that her computer is too slow if you are going to be using dial up. Now, there might be a bunch or crap installed on the computer now that is slowing it down, but I think I would try to do a clean install of the OS on the old computer and see if that speeds things back up.
Thanks for the responses. After several hours I manged to get the old machine up and running. I switched out the modem, re installed AOL and cleaned it up a bit. I couldn't get her to go for the extra $5 a month for DSL or a new PC. Maybe it will be a good Christmas present from the family this year. I use a cable modem at home. Brought back some bad memories using my mom's dial up.........S...................L.....................O.......................W..
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roussell
Active Member
An ISO is a CD or DVD image that can be copied to a blank and then booted. What you end up with is an install CD/DVD fo the product. For easy Linux distros check out Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS or Fedora. There are other good ones, but the ones above (especially Ubuntu and PClinuxOS) are targeted at Home desktop users and are "windows-easy" to use. That does not mean the're feature limited, you can use any of them to build a full-on server. They just start out with a user-friendly desktop slant.
Hope this helps,
Terry
Hope this helps,
Terry
rocco
Active Member
Many Linux ISO images, Ubuntu, Linspire and Asterix come to mind, allow you to boot and run directly from the CD. When you boot the CD, they ask whether you want to install or run. If you run, you can try it out without copying anything onto your hard drive.
It may not be the fastest way to run Linux, but it makes it easy to determine which variant you prefer.
SnyperBob
Active Member
If you are interested in going Linux, check out the $99 PC that I posted about here:
http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showtopic=8706
They have affordable monthly plans that you can get that includes trouble shooting and support if she ever has problems.
I'm not sure if you can do dial up in Linux. I'm sure it could be done. Maybe someone here can chime in about dial up in Linux
http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showtopic=8706
They have affordable monthly plans that you can get that includes trouble shooting and support if she ever has problems.
I'm not sure if you can do dial up in Linux. I'm sure it could be done. Maybe someone here can chime in about dial up in Linux
ver0776
Active Member
I get Dell GX260's for $145 from my local computer stores. I use them to run my HA system in other people's house. I even play Command & conquer 3 on one (with an upgraded video card of course).
Sometimes geeks.com, pacificgeek.com, microcenter.com and other sell these machines too. Last week Geeks.com had a GX270 for $150, I should have jumped on that, I got a refurbed Gateway instead, which had great stats for $495, but now I am dealing with a defective 500gb hard drive =(
Vaughn
Sometimes geeks.com, pacificgeek.com, microcenter.com and other sell these machines too. Last week Geeks.com had a GX270 for $150, I should have jumped on that, I got a refurbed Gateway instead, which had great stats for $495, but now I am dealing with a defective 500gb hard drive =(
Vaughn
