How to turn an old "junk" PC into a nice workstation

[spystyle]

How to turn an old junk PC into a nice workstation

Forward:

"Windows CE" is evidence that very low spec computers can be handy devices to check your e-mail, chat online, do simple word prosessing, and surf the web. Some of the Windows CE devices have processors that clock well below 100mhz. Yet desktop PCs of the same caliber are destined for the scrapyard - why? Because Microsoft and Intel would go out of business if people who wanted to perform these simple tasks could do it on an old "junk" PC - therefore Microsoft does not release Windows CE as a "simple to install OS" that gives life to these old PCs.

But someone else does - Linux.

"Linux" is a fear inspiring word to Windows users (myself included), thoughts of spending frustrating hours trying to learn a new and complicated OS are unpleasant. But recent versions of Linux are just as user friendly as Windows - and some work on very old computers (DSL runs on any Pentium class PC with 16 MB of RAM) Turning "junk" PCs into nice devices to check your e-mail, surf the web, chat, and more.

Especially "Damn Small Linux", named that because it's default install uses only 50 MB of hard drive space, and in my testing uses only 10 MB of RAM.

Testing:

I found a "junk" PC with the follwing specs :

200mhz Pentium, 32 MB RAM, 500 MB hard drive, NIC card, and CD-Rom (note : DSL Linux can be installed without a CD-rom drive, like a single floppy + NIC, see the forums : http://tinyurl.com/7lb33) 

This PC is not very capable, it can't run a Miscrosoft OS made less than 10 years ago well. I could install an old Microsoft OS but it would be much nicer to use today's software and turn it into a nice modern workstation, so I install DSL Linux.

Below are the steps I used to install it. The result is a nice workstation that runs solid and fast, with an intuitive desktop similar to Windows (see attached pic)

Hopefully these instructions will save a few old PCs from the landfill. I would rather see old PCs working well and go to the poor, rather then to the city dump.

Cheers,
Craig

------------------------

Download the DSL Linux CD image:

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/download.html

(I used "dsl-3.0.1.iso")

Preparing the hard drive:

I booted the DSL CD with boot option dsl 2. 
From the command line I typed:
fdisk /dev/hda
(This brings up the Linux version of "Fdisk") I made two partitions, hda1 type 82 100Meg (for swap) and hda2 type 83 for the rest. 

Then I typed:
mkswap /dev/hda1
mkfs.ext2 /dev/hda2
swapon /dev/hda1

Installing DSL linux to the hard drive:

1. Boot the computer from DSL Linux CD, at the prompt press enter
2. Once DSL linux has started and you see the desktop - right click the desktop, choose Apps > Tools > Install to hard drive
3. When asked what partition type hda2, answer yes to start install
4. after install is done it asks if you want to install the boot installer > yes
5. When asked what boot loader press "L" and enter
5. after that it asks if you want to reboot > yes. Remove the DSL Linux CD from the CD-ROM drive

Once booted from hard drive I right clicked the desktop and chose "window manager > switch to JWM"

It changed the desktop to JWM and shows the RAM usage as 9.4 MB (out of 32 MB)

Done

-----------------------------

Here are some advanced instructions to turn the PC into an even better workstation :

When it reboots, you have a very simple machine. A few web clients, VI (a crippled Vim), several other apps. Enough for simple computer usage, but not what you'd call a real desktop machine.

The installation does not have a functional apt-get or dpkg. You need those if you want to do anything more than browse the net and get email. To enable them, be sure your Internet connection is working and connected, then right click the desktop, then Apps->Tools->Enable Apt. The computer will take quite a bit of time downloading more stuff.
 
Installing IceWM
The Fluxbox window manager is nice, but if you're like me you prefer a taskbar and start button. The IceWM window manager is almost as efficient as Fluxbox, and it has a start button, task bar, and network and CPU monitors on the taskbar. Install IceWM as follows:

apt-get install icewm

The computer will download and install IceWM. To enable IceWM, edit the /home/dsl/.xinitrc file. Comment out the line that runs fluxbox, and substitute the following:

# set mouse speed
xset m 5 2

# start xterm by default
xterm &

icewmtray &

# silently check if icewm is in your $PATH and start icewm when found
# or a red colored xterm when not found or execution of icewm fails
which icewm >/dev/null 2>&1 && exec icewm || exec xterm -bg red


The result is a rather hard to see black version of IceWM. You need to change the theme. Do so by creating a .icewm directory under the home directory, and creating a preferences file containing the following:

ShowThemesMenu=1 # 0 / 1
Theme="Nice/default.theme"

[Ken Layton]

This is good information. I too don't like to see perfectly good computers go to waste. I'm going to print this out and save it.

Oh yes, something else people should do with an old computer: blow out all the dust/dirt accumulation in the power supply fan and case vent slots.

[spystyle]

Truely,

I vacuum them with a 1" tube connected to a regular home vacuum

[spystyle]

Also be sure to check out the DSL Linux Wiki, it has all the documentation

http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

[spystyle]

Here is a review of DSL Linux with pictures. Googling for a review of this OS returned nothing but positive. It's very popular.

http://tinyurl.com/znn52

[ChadTower]

That is definitely good stuff. 

Last year I built my mother a 366 with Win98 so she could learn Office apps for her job.  Put Office 97 on there for her, set her up with an ISP and all that.  It was good and the machine was running well.

I specifically instructed her not to install anything without asking me first. 

A week later I get a call, the machine takes a half hour to boot, won't dial in, Office doens't work anymore.  She got an AOL install disc in the mail and installed it... it completely crippled the old box, introduced 10 or more driver issues, and was basically way too pervasive and new for a 366.

I could only imagine what would have happened with a Linux box.

[abrannan]

The nice thing is that with Linux, you could have denied her the ability to install anything from the CD.  Disable CD booting in BIOS and the system becomes fairly bulletproof against the casual user. 

[ChadTower]

Well, clearly, the install would have failed because it's Linux and not Windows.

But in any case, CD booting isn't in the BIOS and she probably knew enough to double click the "install" icon rather than using the autorun splash.

[Matthew Anderson]

Shoot I was cruising the web from my p2-400 with windows98 yesterday....

And if you come and visit and want to go on the internet you get to use my pentium 233 mmx with windows 98 running on my wireless network (hardware firewalled). Runs fast enough once firefox is running.

Personally I was hoping to see a candy apple red pc, with lots of neon.

But thanks very much for the tutorial, I just might try it soon!

[leapinlew]

That is definitely good stuff. 

Last year I built my mother a 366 with Win98 so she could learn Office apps for her job.  Put Office 97 on there for her, set her up with an ISP and all that.  It was good and the machine was running well.

I specifically instructed her not to install anything without asking me first. 

A week later I get a call, the machine takes a half hour to boot, won't dial in, Office doens't work anymore.  She got an AOL install disc in the mail and installed it... it completely crippled the old box, introduced 10 or more driver issues, and was basically way too pervasive and new for a 366.

I could only imagine what would have happened with a Linux box.

ahh... imagine that. Looks like me and Chad are brothers.

[spystyle]

If you are all set with M$, groovy. Do it. If your hardware runs it poorly this is a great alternative.

I have a Pentium 133 laptop with 24 MB RAM (those are only as fast as 486 desktop) and it ran 98 so slow it was inpractical and unusable (I am a speed freak) I am confident DeLi Linux would make it nice.

It's a shame Windows CE isn't available as a simple install disk, but these should be just as fast and just as usable - Linux has an alternative to every M$ software - like OpenOffice as an alternative to office. Firefox as a much better alternative to IE (I am using it to type this) and more - all free, so you don't have to steal or buy it.

Cheers,
Craig

[ChadTower]

I'm tempted to change my kids' PC to Linux just so they aren't pigeonholed into MS stuff at school.  The problem is they often want to use the same apps at home that they use at school and those apps don't have Linux ports.   

[clanggedin]

I have always wanted to build a linux box and this looks like the way to get started. I have 4 older pcs sitting in my storage at the office that would be great to run DSL.

Thanks for all the great info!

[spystyle]

(I found a list of similar distros)

"Small or lightweight distributions for use with older machines"

http://tinyurl.com/y845l9

[ChadTower]

Once you got Linux on those 4 PCs... what would you use them for?

[shmokes]

Truely,

I vacuum them with a 1" tube connected to a regular home vacuum

Don't you run some serious static electricity issues doing this?

[spystyle]

Never had a problem, never noted any static, the tube is plastic, which leads down a plastic flexible tube connecting to the vacuum which has a steel turbine inside that spins and creates the suction - why would that produce static electricity?

[shmokes]

http://www.pcmech.com/show/troubleshoot/827/

Here's an article entitled: Destroy Your Computer in 7 Easy Steps.

One whole section is dedicated to vacuum cleaners.

Ah, yes, the vacuum.  A great tool for cleaning your house, but not your computer.  I decided that when I was working on my computer that it would be a good idea to clean it while I had it out of the case.  I pulled out my vacuum, flipped the switch, and inevitably doomed my computer.

While vacuums may work fine for cleaning the case, and may get the dust out of all the nooks and crannies of your motherboard, they are very dangerous. Vacuums can cause a great amount of static electricity (the bad stuff we learned about earlier).  This could shock your computer and destroy the circuits.  In addition to that danger, there is another risk.  Unless you have very small attachments for your vacuum, the hoses and nozzles are very big and clumsy.  You could easily knock a capacitor loose or break it off.  This would cause major problems.  While this might be less likely to happen than the static shock, it is still a concern.

Don't worry, though, there are other ways to clean your computer.  If you are wanting to remove the dust from the small places in your motherboard (or any other small places in the computer), feel free to use canned air.  Canned air provides a very low risk of static shock and is also less clumsy.  Canned air can be found at an office supply like Office Max or Best Buy.  It is fairly inexpensive at about 6 USD a can (they go a long way if used sparingly).  I highly suggest using canned air as opposed to vacuums.

For what it's worth I have fried a motherboard by touching it without grounding myself to the case.  I'd worked on so many computers I just got careless.  The inside of the case lit up for a split second and the computer never turned on again.  Not a vacuum, but I've seen ESD in action.

[spystyle]

Thanks for the link Shmokes, but I did not read it (maybe later)

I am an uncertified PC tech of nearly 10 years, no matter who writes what - the vacuum cleaner I use with it's extension tube does not kill PCs

What does? In my experience bad PSU - I test every PSU that comes through my workshop (I fix peoples computers almost weekly) and I find that to be the major killer. I find bad PSU often and it makes the computer act anomalous. I tell them to use good surge protectors (nothing labeled "temporary tap" on the bottom)

Another recent problem I've seen is "PC chips" motherboards that go bad, I'm becoming curious if they are a poor brand.

Cheers,
Craig

edit : OK I read his blurb about the vacuum - he makes it sound like we all rub a shop vac hose *against* the motherboard and suck capacitors and jumpers off the PCB - duh! I place the tube a few millimeters away from the parts. Also he says vacuums create a ton of static? I don't know what vacuum he is using my mine certainly does not. It's all plastic with a steel turbine at the end, how would that create loads of static?

edit2 : Well I don't know the dynamics of a vacuum cleaner in relation to ESD (I'm not a vacuum cleaner physicists) but I did google this up:

http://www.keysan.com/ksu1713.htm

It's a vacuum cleaner that does not produce ESD. That would imply that some do. Perhaps by chance I have a vacuum cleaner with similar properties? I tell you, I've vacuumed about 100 PCs with mine. It's the "Kirby Tech Drive G 5"

I never would have thought in a million years I'd be posting the model # of my vacuum cleaner in the BYOAC message boards! This is very funny

[ChadTower]

I must ground myself accidentally all the time or something.  I have worked on hundreds of PCs without any thought to static... used a vacuum on a large % of them... never wore a wrist strap or any discharge device and I've never static fried anything.  What I have done is given myself plenty of jolts working on a machine plugged into a nongrounded outlet.  That often times will cause the metal chassis to carry juice and if you have a path to ground in your body, zzzzap.  Some miracle that I have never shorted that current to a component either.

I have done other dumb things like using a boot floppy to create partitions... taking the disk out, performing a couple more operations, then putting the disk back in to find it not reading properly.  Swap out the disk drive, same thing.  Go buy a third, same thing... only to finally discover that the sealed box I was putting the floppies on contained large unshielded speakers.

[Vigo]

Here is the static electricity deal as I know it.

Static electricity is simply caused by friction, aka rubbing of two objects. Things like dust can create a great deal of friction when it is slipping across any component. When you vacuum dust off your computer, the dust will rub and create electrical static as it is being sucked into the vacuum.

A can of air isn't as risky. There still is potential of Static charge, but it is much less, since when you are blowing, a pocket of air is created underneath the dust, and the air acts as a buffer to prevent the friction.

The same act is not created during vacuum suction. The dust will actually be drawn towards the computer as it makes its way into the vacuum.

Does this sound pretty close?

[ChadTower]

It's one part of it.  Also consider that everything always has some type of charge.  So, even if you haven't rubbed your brush up against anything, maybe your wife did when she vacuumed the rug upstairs last week.  That brush could be holding a strong (for plastic) static charge that has been sitting there all week.

Same goes for anything, really.

[spystyle]

I've never had a problem with static.

I wonder if the humidity makes a difference - maybe someone is Maine would have less trouble than someone in Texas?

[ChadTower]

It is probably a factor.  There isn't much static in MA either.

[Vigo]

Yeah, the more dry the air, the more static.

In WI, static gets really bad each winter, but in the summer it is not very noticable.

[spystyle]

ChatTower, you are in Mass? I am in Maine, we live a 3 hour drive apart and neither of us has ever static fried a PC - Maybe the bad weather we endure is good for something after all.

[Vigo]

ChatTower, you are in Mass? I am in Maine, we live a 3 hour drive apart and neither of us has ever static fried a PC - Maybe the bad weather we endure is good for something after all.

You may appreciate the lack of static, but I still feel bad for you.

I don't think I could live in an area with  around me.

[spystyle]

Well, in my opinion

New England : Humid as hell in the Summer, cold as hell in the Winter. But Spring is good, Fall days and Summer nights are nice.

We are close to the ocean but it's too cold to swim in (Atlantic ocean). We don't get earthquakes, tornados, or floods. And there is nothing of military importance here so we won't ever get nuked.

And we're close to Canada if we should ever have to flee the country

Plus the bonus of being able to vacuum our computers

It's not so bad I guess

[DrewKaree]

I have no idea how it ends up happening, but a vacuum (not the machine, the suction) through plastic can build up a tremendous amount of static electricity.  Perhaps not as severely with a shop vac, but I know that dust collection systems for tools need a grounding wire run through the ducting so you don't blow your house up (or cause a fire or whatever else can go wrong with a static discharge within the closed confines of a dust collection system.  I work as a landscaper, and the newer blowers we picked up this past year also have a wire running through to the end of the plastic tubes.  Stihl 4Mix models.



Thanks for the writeup too.  What options are there for a Linux Mame setup on something like this, or is that beyond the scope of such a machine?

[spystyle]

Howdy Drew,

For MAME on a P1 I recommend DOS. Either Fraggal's boot CD or mine will get your P1 running Dig-Dug in 20 mins.

The scope of this thread was to create workstations from P1 computers. Honestly - how many parents today walked into Wal-Mart and put down $400 on a PC so their kid (or themselves) could browse the web, chat, and do word processing? DSL Linux makes that possible on a $10 computer.

I found it while looking for an installable version of Windows CE. You *can* install Windows CE on computers but it is super expensive for the liscence ($400-$1000) and extreamly difficult in the install process (like debugging and writing drivers) - what a drag.

Lucky for us, the Linux devs have nothing to gain from keeping us in "the perpetual upgrade cycle" so they make full featured operating systems that run on 486DX and up. I find that very respectable.

They also have interesting features like running the OS entirely in RAM (for mad speed) and multiple desktops (in Windows we get explorer shell only).

Interesting distros like GeexBox - a boot CD that supports TV out and loads in RAM so you play divx CDs on your TV without installing anything. and it's all free - surf on over to openoffice.org and get a full featured alternative to Microsoft Office for free, no 30 day trial, no CD-key. Totally free. It's cool.

I'm not implying you should completely ditch Windows (I still use 2K and TinyXP) I am saying take a look at Linux distros, there are so many you're bound to find one that suits your project.

Cheers,
Craig

[spystyle]

You can "test" installing or booting Linux distros (or Windows OS) on your computer "virtually" using "MS Virtual PC 2004"

See the list of compatible OS:
http://vpc.visualwin.com/

Download MS Virtual PC 2004:
http://tinyurl.com/fokbj

Cheers,
Craig

[ChadTower]

We are close to the ocean but it's too cold to swim in (Atlantic ocean).

It's better that way.  Nothing in there to stab/bite/poison you.  Be a man and take the cold.  I used to live in NS.  The water there makes MA's beaches feel like Florida.

And there is nothing of military importance here so we won't ever get nuked.

In the event of an attack that lage, Boston is actually one of the most likely population centers in the US to get hit, given its accessibility as a seaport, it's symbolic importance in US history, and its proximity to NYC and DC.

It's not so bad I guess

Well, we do have the scourge of Kennedy.

[spystyle]

As for the scourge of Kennedys.

Is that bad? I am not familiar with how they affect New England. Do they play "The Dead Kennedys" punk rock music at all hours? Do they rise as zombies and try to bite you? (I'm glad zombies are so slow)

I guess it wouldn't matter - anyone reading this message board is too poor to buy an arcade (not an arcade machine, an arcade building) therefore too poor to live near the Kennedys.

So I guess all BYOAC members are safe from Kennedy zombie attacks

[ChadTower]

Don't know about actual zombies but Kennedys have been known to get blitzed out of their minds, pass out on the sidewalk, and wake up with no memory.  Various members of the family are in and out of rehab often enough to have standing reservations.

[clanggedin]

Once you got Linux on those 4 PCs... what would you use them for?

I plan to build Karaoke servers with a couple of them. I'll either use DSL or Win98. They are 400Mhz-600Mhz computers. There is a program called PYKareoke that I'm going to try and use on DSL.

I have 40GB of Karaoke music so I have plenty of songs to select from. I am just missing some Poison and Megadeth for me to sing.

[ChadTower]

Interesting.  I've seen a lot of old PCs repurposed with Linux but not with Karaoke apps.

Old Linux boxes just like marionettes swaying to the symphony of destruction.  Cool.

[crashwg]

Interesting.  I've seen a lot of old PCs repurposed with Linux but not with Karaoke apps.

Old Linux boxes just like marionettes swaying to the symphony of destruction.  Cool.

You'd be hard pressed to find a Karaoke version of Symphony of Destruction. 

[ChadTower]

I am just missing some Poison and Megadeth for me to sing.

Dude he's the one who said it!

[spystyle]

Don't know about actual zombies but Kennedys have been known to get blitzed out of their minds, pass out on the sidewalk, and wake up with no memory.  Various members of the family are in and out of rehab often enough to have standing reservations.

They get paid for that? Where do I sign up! That describes my teen years to a "T"

[ChadTower]

You have to have been born a Kennedy.  Sorry.  Patrick Kennedy (House rep for RI currently), for example, has been in two drunken car accidents in 2006 alone yet somehow is not in jail.  He has been in rehab multiple times, for alcohol as well as cocaine.

You'd think being Ted Kennedy's son would be enough.