To start with, I probably won’t be giving it away. At the very least, I will be putting it in my room to use for typing school reports and such (it has Microsoft Works, version 3.0).
Specs:
Packard Bell Legend 2036 (486)
4MB RAM
326MB Storage
Windows 3.1
MS-DOS 6.2
Microsoft Works
Microsoft Money
Various other programs which I will probably get rid of.
Currently, of the 326MB, there’s only 25 or so free, but I will be cleaning it out, so that would increase. Does anyone have any ideas of cool things I could do with this? Like I said, at the very least, I’ll put it in my room and use it to type school reports, but I’d like to do more.
With MS Money, you should be able to keep track of your bank accounts. When not busy with your reports, you could turn it into a museum for old games. There’s lotsa abandonware stuff that would be right at home on a 486.
I think I had the same one (Legend 2036) - if so you upgraded the HD. When it started it was:
486sx25, 170mb HD, 4 mb ram, 512k? interlaced only video, 5.25 & 3.5 floppy. 2400 or maybe 9600 modem - no sound. Win 3.1 dos 5
When I finally retired it it was:
486 dx-2 66, 1gb hd (it cound only take 980mb/s of it w/o a drive overlay but most couldn’t go higher then 512mb), 20 mb ram, 1 mb accelerated video, 5.25 & 3.5 floppy. 28k modem - Sound blaster ASP. Win 95 along w/ os2 warp (which btw could see the entire HD)
Ahh the old days… BBSs, EMM386 (extended AND expanded RAM), LOADHIGH, etc. Brings back memories, hehe. I have a bunch of old games and spreadsheets and stuff out in my garage, still in sealed packages, from a place called Shareware Testing Laboratories (where I used to work). I’d be happy to email some of these to you. Remember when you debated the worthiness of downloading a file that was 200k(!)? Well, all this stuff comes on BOTH 5-1/4 & 3-1/2 floppies, so nowadays it’s no big deal. 1.4 meg at the most. If I remember right, Commander Keen is a pretty cool game. But then, are the Oak Archives still there? Downloading that kind of stuff from there would be even easier.
Actually, while attempting to update the BIOS on my not-so-old (3.5 yr) PII 350, the update program erased the old BIOS, and then, refused to put the new one on. Hmmm, -okay. First time for screwing up everything, I guess. So it’s at a repair shop this week. (Grrr…) So I am using an old 586 to get my net fix. (-the UT fix is a lost cause here)
I haven’t found anything it’s really good for, except internetting (non-flash only ands minimal gif’s, please). - MC
Upgrade the memory as high as you can and install a copy of windows 95 (not '98, windows 95).
Believe it or not, it will run on a 486 and office 97 will work fine.
Alternatively, use it as an abandonware station and keep it under win 3.1. In any case, upgrade the memory. Memory for old systems like that doesn’t get cheaper or easier to find as time goes by.
Exactly, Microsquish started phasing out DOS compatability with 95. I have 98 and some of my great old DOS games have decided not to cooperate with it anymore, which is why I picked up a (free) P133 and bought a KVM switch.
Yeah. I actually have in my office here a 486DX66 w/32MB RAM running win95. It is a little sluggish but it gets the job done. It will be retired soon, along with it 14.4 modem and Trident video card.
Well, I’ll second cranking up the RAM as high as it’ll go. Never know when you’ll need it.
Check into getting a video capture card and turning it into a screen capture maker. IF you do fanfic or want pictures of TV “personalities”, it’s a pretty good way to do it.
Alternatively, you can crank the memory, partition it and install a distro of Linux to see what a different OS is like. And since Linux is based on some UNIX functionality, it is of course compatible with alien ships, useful for running dinosaur theme parks and will make your feet smell good.
No, really, it’s cool. Also useful for freaking people out who’ve never seen anything other than Wintel or Macintosh.
Yup. There’s a couple of 486/66’s and 486 dx/100’s lying around where I work that I’ve been tempted to snag and use as a print server/jazz jackrabbit-playing machine.
A couple of lines down is an address that will ruin your life. A place to download a program which, while it will fit on a floppy, has the capacity to destroy your sanity, drive away your friends, and make you dread the phrase “Wizard needs food, badly!” It will make you say things like “Man, I’ve got a ton of blank scrolls. Now all I need is a magic marker.”
Don’t go to the address listed. Don’t download the program. Don’t do the fix on the text file that makes it come up in the cool tile format. Don’t play it. Really.
Like when you choke to death on royal jelly, or when you’re wielding a cockatrice corpse and you fall down the stairs, or dying from kicking a wall, or dying from trying to get on your horse and failing. (Yes, I’ve seen all of those happen. I suck.)
Ummmm…yes. Of course. A KVM switch. Of course, I know what a KVM switch is, and youknow* what a KVM switch is…but, just for the sake of those lurkers who don’t, why don’t you just go over one more time what a “KVM switch” is.
It’s a Packard Bell!! Take it to the nearst crossroads, stuff it full of garlic, and bury it deep, up-side down. That’s the only known way to properly deal with one of those monstrosities…
The max ram you can get into that box is 4, 4mb simms (30pin) along w/ the 4 soldered onto the board giving you 20 total. IIRC they did make greater then 4 mb simms but I don’t think the board supports it. Also no good on the dx4’s the motherboard only will reconize a 2x multiplier. You might be able to find a upgrade kit processor that has a built in multipiler.
KVM = Keyboard Video Mouse. Allows the user to hook up one keyboard, montior and mouse to multiple systems, saves space. Yes, the 133 was free, the previous owner (Angie’s brother) didn’t need it anymore and gave it to me. I have no idea what’s in the box because I got the wrong cables for the switch.
I donated my old PB Legend 10 CD to a techie friend of mine. He runs Linux on it and uses it as a backup server. It’s been purring along happily for the last few years. It must have been the last 486 box in town when I bought it, as I got thank you notes from the guy at Campo for months after that.
