Arch Linux

haxit

Member

From: /home/haxit

Registered: 2008-03-04

Posts: 1,247

Website

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Lol done it hundreds of times when I worked as a coop at Alcatel

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techprophet

Member

Registered: 2008-05-13

Posts: 209

Re: Just recieved old computer!

I just got an older computer as well. One that was junk when bought. Now I run SSH/FTP/HTTP/MediaTomb w/DynDNS on it so that I can access any of my computers from anywhere, without exposing my whole network to the internet. (HTTP/FTP is for my webdev)

vinegaroon

Member

Registered: 2008-05-21

Posts: 23

Re: Just recieved old computer!

You could still use it as a torrent/download box, just set up nfs or samba and have it save the files on to another computer with a bigger hard drive

iphitus

Forum Fellow

From: Melbourne, Australia

Registered: 2004-10-09

Posts: 4,927

Re: Just recieved old computer!

If its noisy, find out what the noise is -- you might just be able to replace some fans for cheap.

Replace the hdd with a nice big (quiet) one, and it ought to be a pretty good server box.

I'm eventually going to set one up as a compile/ssh/http/mpd/file/media server.

Last edited by iphitus (2008-08-30 07:01:54)

techprophet

Member

Registered: 2008-05-13

Posts: 209

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Get a nice 640GB HDD from Newegg. I got a nice QUIET one from there (Western Digital) for ~$100

haxit

Member

From: /home/haxit

Registered: 2008-03-04

Posts: 1,247

Website

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Lol. Sounds great guys. I will try pulling somethign together with it.

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whargoul

Member

From: Odense, Denmark

Registered: 2005-04-04

Posts: 546

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Get a nice 640GB HDD from Newegg. I got a nice QUIET one from there (Western Digital) for ~$100

But BIOS might not support such a big disk.

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esters

Member

Registered: 2006-11-04

Posts: 173

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Huh, I don't think that an really old PC has SATA connectors

haxit

Member

From: /home/haxit

Registered: 2008-03-04

Posts: 1,247

Website

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Haha, good thinking esters

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insane

Member

Registered: 2006-06-04

Posts: 106

Re: Just recieved old computer!

What processor and how much memory does it have? I guess if it's not that old you might be lucky and reach up to 80GB hard disk with a Bios update.

haxit

Member

From: /home/haxit

Registered: 2008-03-04

Posts: 1,247

Website

Re: Just recieved old computer!

64mb of memory. The processor I am not sure. But its quite old, its the ones that stand perpendicular to the mobo I'll find out soon tho.

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moljac024

Member

From: Serbia

Registered: 2008-01-29

Posts: 2,676

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Sounds a lot like my old Pentium I

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The day Microsoft makes a product that doesn't suck, is the day they make a vacuum cleaner.
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ThomasBisset

Member

From: Nairn, Scotland

Registered: 2008-07-16

Posts: 22

Website

Re: Just recieved old computer!

whargoul beat me to it - I was going to suggest removing the fans, running the following command:

:(){ :|:& };:

and then seeing how long it would take to - say for example - make yourself some beans on toast using only the heat from the processor?

BTW, don't run that - seriously... http://www.arsgeek.com/2008/08/28/thing … inux-ever/

haxit

Member

From: /home/haxit

Registered: 2008-03-04

Posts: 1,247

Website

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Lol, I am not a nub, I know what that does

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SiC

Member

From: Liverpool, England

Registered: 2008-01-10

Posts: 430

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Sounds like an old pentium 2, as they were the ones that tended to use Slot1 connectors. The original pentium used a normal socket, some early P3s and celerons used the same slot connector iirc, but after that they migrated back to the standard socket format.

quetzyg

Member

From: /home/quetzyg

Registered: 2006-08-03

Posts: 130

Re: Just recieved old computer!

If it's a Pentium2 machine, it should handle big disks without problems. Just do a BIOS update.

I've got a Pentium2 with a 250GB hard drive, and while on the BIOS it shows only 132GB (BIOS limit, I suppose), Linux can find and use all the space in the disk.

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insane

Member

Registered: 2006-06-04

Posts: 106

Re: Just recieved old computer!

If it has a CD-ROM drive you could run a live distro and then do a "cat /proc/cpuinfo" to see what kind of processor it is

haxit

Member

From: /home/haxit

Registered: 2008-03-04

Posts: 1,247

Website

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Its a pentium III coppermine.

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ThomasBisset

Member

From: Nairn, Scotland

Registered: 2008-07-16

Posts: 22

Website

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Lol, I am not a nub, I know what that does

I didn't think you were. I just wanted to make sure any newbies don't run it and blame me for messing up their system!

Last edited by ThomasBisset (2008-08-31 20:39:36)

moljac024

Member

From: Serbia

Registered: 2008-01-29

Posts: 2,676

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Lol, I am not a nub, I know what that does

I didn't think you were. I just wanted to make sure any newbies don't run it and blame me for messing up their system!

Don't stuff beans up your nose

Last edited by moljac024 (2008-08-31 20:54:01)

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The day Microsoft makes a product that doesn't suck, is the day they make a vacuum cleaner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But if they tell you that I've lost my mind, maybe it's not gone just a little hard to find...

insane

Member

Registered: 2006-06-04

Posts: 106

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Its a pentium III coppermine.

So you could try to plug a bigger disk in there and try to make a torrent box with rtorrent and the web frontend That Denacke suggests here http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php? … 06#p409906

Edit: I just realized that you said it is very loud for 24/7. Maybe you could try to clean the fans or maybe you could replace the CPU fan. That is usually the noisiest.

Last edited by insane (2008-08-31 21:00:35)

haxit

Member

From: /home/haxit

Registered: 2008-03-04

Posts: 1,247

Website

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Ye I will look into that right now.

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haxit

Member

From: /home/haxit

Registered: 2008-03-04

Posts: 1,247

Website

Re: Just recieved old computer!

It seems the problem is 1) The hardrive is extremly adding to the noise.2) The PSU.
So for now, I will test with it. When I get extra money, I might just spend some for the computer.

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jordanwb

Member

From: Ontario, Canada

Registered: 2008-07-01

Posts: 151

Re: Just recieved old computer!

+1 for the music server

dav7

Member

From: Australia

Registered: 2008-02-08

Posts: 674

Re: Just recieved old computer!

Assuming it has a display and all, setup X on it, and then plonk its screen next to your "main" box's screen. Install Synergy on both machines so moving your mouse to the edge of one screen magically moves the mouse onto the other, and run small apps like IRC, IRC bots (if you have/use any), reference pages for programming on it, etc.

Dual-screen ftw. And since you aren't on the box 24/7, turning it off at night isn't an issue.

-dav7

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