I Need A New Computer

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 3:53 am

icarus wrote:Okay if you assembling your hardware from parts why not get a real OS?

And build/compile a customised kernel for your home-built hardware yourself while you are it?

Think Linux ... don't look back ... leave XP on there as dual boot in some tiny little prison space on the hard-drive ... just in case.

Fedora 12 is not too bad, Ubuntu is kind of bossy and overbearing, CentOS has had some good noises ... got some money Novell SUSE on a HP is pretty hard to beat.

I have used Linux in industrial settings. So that would be fine. However I need a machine that can run DOS applications. I have some (like my Z-80 simulator) that I do not want to jettison.

Diogenes · Post by **Diogenes** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 4:00 am

MSimon wrote:
icarus wrote:Okay if you assembling your hardware from parts why not get a real OS?

And build/compile a customised kernel for your home-built hardware yourself while you are it?

Think Linux ... don't look back ... leave XP on there as dual boot in some tiny little prison space on the hard-drive ... just in case.

Fedora 12 is not too bad, Ubuntu is kind of bossy and overbearing, CentOS has had some good noises ... got some money Novell SUSE on a HP is pretty hard to beat.
I have used Linux in industrial settings. So that would be fine. However I need a machine that can run DOS applications. I have some (like my Z-80 simulator) that I do not want to jettison.

What do you need a Z-80 simulator for? Support for past projects? (Only thing I can think of.)

For new projects, there's so many new processors out there to choose from nowadays.

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 4:33 am

In fact yes. I have customers for some old Z-80 stuff I produced in the early 80s. Not many customers. But some. And I was in the process of writing a new FORTH that would be easy to port to new processors and I was using the Z-80 for my first version. I have a nice assembler and a CPM simulator it runs under.

Thus I could get it up and running with free resources and then port it to other processors.

BenTC · Post by **BenTC** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:08 am

MSimon wrote:Thanks. Industry is still in love with XP. And I have the drivers I used to use included in my full (disk image) backup.

My input might be beyond your requirements, but I don't know the local market and this is what I can contribute.
First some queries just to round out the problem definition.

Q1. Has your machine crashed?
Easiest path might be to search ebay for the same hardware. If its just a white box then you could search ebay for the motherboard, the name of which should be written somewhere on it.

Q2. What software do you use to create the backup image?

Now some thoughts...

The drivers on the backup of your current machine will NOT work on new hardware. In particular, its highly unlikely that the backup image restored to different hardware will boot at all This prevents changing the drivers to match the new hardware. For a backup image to work cross-hardware you would need to have run something like SYSPREP before making the image.
Alternatively you could used something like this: http://www.acronis.com/backup-recovery/ ... store.html - but, in the case that your system has crashed, I don't know if it can be used to jumpstart an existing image created by other software.

An further alternative to trying to get Windows XP on new hardware is to go with Windows 7 "Professional", which comes with a license to run Windows XP in a virtual machine. This apparently works in a way that allows the Windows XP application to be run transparently from Windows 7 - but I haven't got to playing with this yet. (Note, if your original system came with Windows XP pre-installed, that is, an OEM License rather than a boxed Retail License, then it is technically illegal to transfer your image to another machine since the OEM License is "tied" to the original machine only) You would still have to work around the issue with different drivers, because virtualised hardware will be different to your original machine. Unless you are missing the install media for some critical application, it might be worthwhile doing an install from scratch. I do this occasionally just to clean out my system of malware that virus scanners REALLY DO NOT prevent.

Another alternative is to convert your existing hard drive to a virtual one using http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/. Then you can run it on http://www.vmware.com/products/player/. This really simplifies future cross hardware migration and restore. If your machine has crashed and you only have your backup image, this might be your only way out - but the "cold cloning" option is part of the paid Enterprise Version, rather than the free Starter Edition.

BenTC · Post by **BenTC** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:19 am

Ahhh, Linux is an option? Go For It Babeee...

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/VirtualBox

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DOSBox

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/VMware/Player

BenTC · Post by **BenTC** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:24 am

btw, if you go the virtualisation route with old hardware, it helps to have support in the CPU.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/window ... ,7709.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-cp ... ,7739.html

btw2, random ebay sample. I haven't correlated virtualisation support.
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=hp+des ... &_osacat=0

DeltaV · Post by **DeltaV** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:14 am

MSimon wrote:I have used Linux in industrial settings. So that would be fine. However I need a machine that can run DOS applications. I have some (like my Z-80 simulator) that I do not want to jettison.

On my previous computer I had set up a multi-OS boot. I had DOS and two different Windows versions (I too had some old DOS code I'd written and didn't want to abandon). It defaulted to the newest Windows in 20 seconds unless I selected one of the other two. Separate disk partitions for each OS. I got the multi-boot setup instructions from Microsoft's web site (!), but that was years ago. Running the DOS programs on the DOS partition worked fine. Running the DOS programs on the Windows partitions was problematic, as Windows is far more Big-Brotherish. The younger crowd knows nothing about computing freedom as in the old days.

choff · Post by **choff** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:25 am

I just bought a new laptop with Windows 7 home premium, it's like a simpler version of XP except for the visual effects. My old one dual booted XP and Fedora 9. So far no problems to report, except for some old Windows 95 programs that won't run in compatibility mode.

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 10:56 am

I looked at Acronis back-up and at Paragon (both at Amazon since I make a few bucks a month pushing Amazon books) and decided on Paragon based on Amazon reviews.

We shall see soon if I made the right choice.

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:07 am

Running the DOS programs on the Windows partitions was problematic, as Windows is far more Big-Brotherish. The younger crowd knows nothing about computing freedom as in the old days.

True. Or the fun (and I mean that sincerely) of writing your own drivers. But is Sally Housewife interested in such esoterica? Nope. She just wants the recipe file to come up when she hits the icon.

But that is why I like to play with controllers. It is still simple enough that one person can understand what is going on.

Or as I was told when working for Zenith Computers - software failure? We don't care about software failure. What do you think the reset button is for?

So when was a Windoze system considered adequate? When playing the most complex games available the system didn't need a reboot oftener than every 8 hours.

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:14 am

Anti-virus:

AVG is good. Watts Up With That uses it. They get about a million hits a day. With a corresponding number of e-mails and links to outside sites.

Malware Bytes has gotten me out of more than a few jams.

Spybot Search and Destroy also does file protection and browser protection.

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:23 am

What ever I do is going to be done locally as I haven't kept up the way I used to. I'm going to visit the hacker (used computer shop) and see what they have to offer.

I have used Vista and 7 so I'm not totally out of the loop. And I'm going to add partitions for some of my older stuff.

My Z-80 simulator worked fine under XP with no disk partitions.

MrE · Post by **MrE** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:06 am

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136320
Western digital 500GB hard drive w/ 5 year warranty. $69.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131406
Asus motherboard w/ directX10.1 integrated graphics. $82.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231319
G-Skill 4GB ddr3(2x 2GB) $109.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103704
AMD Athlon 2 2.8Ghz quad -core. $99.99

No tax for your state, $8.71 shipping to your house. Total order: $371.67
(Reuse your case, optical drives, input devices, and your monitor.)

I did not include an operating system in the costs, if you were to buy one I advise Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit. an additional $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116754

I have encountered situations where a computer appeared dead and non recoverable when surveyed by technicians. Once it was a matter of chkdsk run, in another instance it was a simple matter of removing the motherboard battery so the bios is set to default values. Those two immediate recollections are of friends of clients of mine that both were persuaded to purchase new machines by the technician that so conveniently also sold computers.

I know you don't know me, but I am willing to attempt to assist you to resurrect your existing machine over the phone. I am on your facebook list and the polywell facebook list.

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:39 am

MrE,

I replaced the CMOS battery (it was reading 2.25V) that didn't fix it.

There were no POST Codes. No video out. At first it tried to boot. (disk activity) now there is nothing.

I got your Facebook message. I'll get to it in a bit.

BenTC · Post by **BenTC** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:57 pm

Any beep codes?
http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

Some troubleshhoting ideas...
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000607.htm

...and one of my own, a random weird case I came across once.
Rather than reboot with the power button, actually disconnect the power plug from the wall for a few minutes.