Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Howard Fosdick
(C) 2008 FCI
V 1.0
Who Am I ?
* Founded Database User Groups (IDUG and MWDUG) * Author of Rexx Programmers Reference
Geek !
My hobby -1. 2. 3. 4. Get PC donations Hardware Software (verify / rebuild / fix) (verify / anonymize / install)
Topics
Outline
I. What can old computers do
II. Hardware III. Steps to revitalize an old PC IV. Windows V. Linux (and other free Oss) VI. Where to get a Free computer (and where to donate one) VII. Free Computing VIII. Resources
?? ? ?
Free
Useful
Fun
* Old computers improve capabilities yearly * Save the planet --> reduce e-waste * Appropriate technology -- is not always the latest technology Example -- P-II laptop giving this presentation
-- 400 to 600 million PCs yet to be disposed of in attics -- Avg PC lifespan < 3 years
III
IV +
Office
Word Processing Spreadsheet Presentation Graphics Graphics, images Web surfing Research Wireless Social websites
Fast Internet
(Broadband)
Slow Internet
(Dial Up)
Multimedia
Games
III
IV +
Office
Word Processing Spreadsheet Presentation Graphics Graphics, images Web surfing Research Wireless Social websites
Fast Internet
(Broadband)
Slow Internet
(Dial Up)
Multimedia
Games
Specialized App servers Routers Firewalls Print, File, or Network server Email station Word processor other single-use Run old programs (compatibly) Business programs (eg: Instrumentation, Farming) Retro gaming box Act as terminals (Linux Terminal Server Project - LTSP) Run Free software on Free hardware
Summary
Pentium III does everything else Pentium II fine for many uses but -
Dial-up
Turnover Events
Technology Examples -
-> flat panels -> USB thumb drives -> newer machines
Marketing Examples -
New releases of MS Office Vista What happens to PCs that cant run Vista ?
II. Hardware
Generations of PCs
Pentium
IV + III II I
pre-Pentium
(486, 386, 286/AT, XT, PC)
Simplified View
Typical Hardware
P P d ac P P P P 8 8 8 8 88 IVa d sys s III II I MMX I CPUSp d . s v a . Typi al M m y M aby s M s v aG 8 G 8 8 C t C L wc s f F F F F F F C c ab
8 .77 8
<
CPU Speed (mhz): 400 3.6+ ghz 266 2.9+ ghz 150 200
* Memory varies widely * Desktops versus laptops * Maxed out versus what shipped * Celeron and Xeon mean nothing
Source: Toms Hardware, other web sites
Typical Hardware
AMD Equivalents
Pr cess r: Opter At l At l Dr At l T At l K K / K K A x A A PU . . . er ir . . . . . z ee ( z z z z z z):
Memory
SDRAM PC 66 PC 100 PC 133 66 mhz 100 mhz 133 mhz
DDR (aka DDR1) PC 2100 PC 2700 PC 3200 266 mhz 333 mhz 400 mhz
DDR2 PC2 3200 PC2 4200 PC2 5300 PC2 6400 400 mhz 533 mhz 667 mhz 800 mhz
--- Usually --* Use one level slower as next level faster * All in group cost same -> buy fastest !
128m P-I
256m P-II
varies P-III
What Is Free ?
Pentium
IV + III II I
pre-Pentium
(486, 386, 286/AT, XT, PC)
10% P-I 70% P-II 20% P-III
Mix changes yearly Capabilities of old computers constantly increase Where you get free PCs shades the mix
Laptops ----Fewer out there Higher priced Free is less common More proprietary
Apples -- Proprietary -- Parts --> even across the Apple line ! --> expensive, hard to find
Software is Windows 98
Virus / malware clean Registry clean * Programs work * MSCONFIG and daemons
More at -- www.Desktoplinux.com/articles/AT6185716632.html
* * * * *
Office support (word processing etc in MS formats) Presentations (in MS format) Email (dial-up ok) Web look-up (dial-up acceptable) Run common Windows and Linux apps
Conclusion -> Keep Windows Install Linux and run from RAM Buy 128M for $20 --> 256M UpgradeMemory.com KingstonMemory.com
P-II
P-II+
P-III
Goal -- heavier multi-tasking --> Upgraded memory to 256M --> Windows tune-up
Goal -- heavier web use --> Switched to free P-III --> Added $10/month AT&T DSL Goal -- OS outdated --> Added Ubuntu
Easy-to-Fix Problems
Windows + Viruses / spyware / malware + Registry or software corruption + Slow and needing software tune-up
-> Defrag disk, remove malware, prune start-up list (msconfig & Runlist), check daemons & Services, erase index.dat & other temporary, set-up, internet, cache, & junk files, cookies, URL history...
Hardware + Broken or replaceable device + Slow due to needing memory + Random shutdowns -> Overheating - check fans, redo heat sink, clean PC + Wont boot -> Check wires, card seating, loose screws + Bad device driver
O S
OS determines --
* OS overhead on limited computer resources * Your Apps * How easy or hard they are to find * How much they cost or if free
+ Easiest + Drivers included + Age-appropriate software -- Cleanup required -- No MS fixes or support -- License & COA required
+ No malware + Simplest install + Linux benefits -- Drivers? -- Loses value of the installed software
+ Benefits of Windows and Linux + Linux co-exists with Windows -- Effort -- Requires 1/2 G disk
Windows Benefits
(versus Linux)
Compatible file formats Easy to use Efficient GUI on 486 to P-II Device drivers Comes on the computer
+ Faster than Linux GUIs on 486 or P-I + More user-friendly ! + Retain this software on 486 to P-II
Example -- 486-DX2 @ 25 mhz / 8M ram / Windows 3.1 / WordPerfect 5
Examples
Windows 98 SE plus Office 97 Windows 98 plus Office 97 ** P-I 90 mhz / / 32M P-I 90 mhz 32M * P-I 166 MMX mhz / mhz / 64M * P-I 166 MMX 64M
Both work great Both crawl if you add--- Virus and spyware scanners -- Firewall and intrusion detector -- Plus try downloading anti-virus updates with dial-up !
Vers on
PU Minim / Recommen e
3.1 95 9 9 -SE2 E
B B/ B / 24 B / 24 B B / 32 B B / 256 B / 12 B B B B B B B
entium @150 entium entium @ 133 entium @ 133 Hz @ 550 entium @ 233 @ 300 Hz entium @ 00
Win o N 4.0 Work t tion Edition Windo Edition Windo Edition Windo Windo 2000 ro e ion l 2003 R2 St ndard Home Edition i ta
Produc : VG Free nti-Viru , Square or ClamWin - ware SE Per onal, S y ot Search & e troy
Purpose: Free anti- iru anner . ll three u ort at h anning. VG al o an email an file acti ity in real-time. S yware / malware canner . Eliminates Win ows's history of your acti ities, inclu ing the in e . at file that kee s track of all the we sites you isit. Eliminates lists of your Most Recently Used ( files. iny Firewall is small an light. Zone larm works great ut may e a it weighty for some ol er com uters. Shareware that isplays memory use. Controls what software loads at start-up time (an alternati e to the msconfig comman present in some ersions of Win ows) U)
How to Secure Your Windows PC Using Free Software by H. Fosdick at DBAZine http://www.dbazine.com
Free nternet Win ow Washer U laster iny Personal Firewall, Zone larm emWatcher StartUp Cop
****************************************** or ******************************************* Remove personal info Registry (First name, last name, organization, user id, etc) (Do this for all users, in both Keys and Values) Spash panels (Product Options, Registry, Office 95/97 binaries) Locate & delete personal files (in My Documents & elsewhere) (*.doc, *.xls, *.ppt, *.txt, *.rtf, *.wab, *.acl, *.pwl, *.pcb, *.pst, *.pps, etc) Address book files (Outlook, Outlook Express, IE) Email (*.mbx and *pst files) Web history (index.dat files and Registry) -> PurgeIE and manual Virus / spyware / malware scan -> AVG, A-2, Clamwin... Delete Temp, Internet Temp files, cache -> CCleaner, FIWW Delete MRUs, product histories, IE history, cookies -> MRU-Blaster Delete user ids and their files Delete info embedded in products (registration, user ids, etc) Defrag then overwrite unused disk (inc slack, swap & dir.) -> BcWipe or Eraser
Rescue Disks
(To Fix Windows or Linux)
ubcd4win.com
ultimatebootcd.com
Linux
+ Biggest family + Most software + Most popular
Minix BSD
+ Fast + Small + Bug free rep + + --Very lightweight Inspired Linux Limited apps Less popular
Others DOS
+ + + -+ BeOS + OS/2 soon? + New Deal -- Not popular
Linux Benefits
(versus Windows)
Co-exists with other operating systems No Registry or DLL problems No viruses, spyware, malware
No privacy issues
No WGA, Product Activation, or stealth updates
No licensing issues
No artificial lockout from current software
1. 2.
Small distro
3.
V e rs io n a mn S ma ll inu up p y
s e m R e q ire m e n s inimum re q uire me nt is a 4 6 ith 1 6 B me mo ry. R uns ully in me mo ry o n ma c hine s ith 1 2 B . lso o o ts ro m S B thum d ri e o r ro m a li e . 50 B d isk o o tp rint. e ta ils he re . " up p y ha s e e n te ste d o n a e e ry o ld ma c hine s ut o r e st re sults..." use a e ntium @ 1 6 6 H z ith 6 4 B o r re le a se s B o r re le a se s sinc e e rsio n 1 .0 .2 . B e p rio r to 1 .0 .2 , a nd 1 2 sure to c re a te a sw a p p a rtitio n o n syste ms w ith le ss tha n 6 4 B o me mo ry, o the rw ise no ha rd d isk re q uire d . " e a the r sho uld e a b le to run o n a 4 6 w ith 1 6 B o R , b ut o nly in c o nso le (no n- gra p hic a l) mo d e . o use , 2 4 B o R o r mo re a re re q uire d ." R e q uire s 3 6 B to b o o t sla x, 9 6 B to run W ind o w s w ith luxb o x, 1 4 4 B to run W ind o w s w ith E. 4 6 o r b e tte r p ro c e sso r. sugge ste d syste m ha s a minimum e ntium @ 2 6 6 H z a nd 1 2 B me mo ry. N o ha rd d isk re q uire d . he S ta nd a rd Ed itio n re q uire s o nly a 3 6 o r b e tte r p ro c e sso r w ith 16 B o me mo ry a nd 3 5 0 B o d isk sp a c e o r a ull insta ll. he S O H O (S ma ll O ffic e / H o me O ffic e ) e d itio n re q uire s e ntium o r b e tte r, 1 2 B me mo ry w ith 2 5 6 B re c o mme nd e d , a nd 3 fo r the O S o n d isk . "O ld e st syste m te ste d so fa r: ... e ry slo w b ut wo rk s" 5/ 5, 64 B R , 130 B S wap Hz
e a the r
W ol i
e c to r
4 6 o r gre a te r p ro c e sso r, 1 6 B me mo ry w ith 3 2 B sugge ste d . d d itio na l ha rd w a re re q uire d to run the . 1 00 - 5 0 0 B ha rd d isk is minima lly re q uire d w ith 3 .5 fo r a full insta ll. e ntium @ 1 0 0 H z minimum, p lus 2 4 B me mo ry a nd 4 5 0 B o n d isk fo r "N o e sk to p " syste ms, o r 6 4 B a nd 1 d isk fo r syste ms "w ith the e sk to p ." 64 B fo r te xt inte rfa c e , 1 2 B fo r . 400 minima l insta ll, 2 fo r a "W o rk sta tio n" insta ll. B ha rd d isk fo r
e b ia n
Red Hat
Some Linuxes
1. Live CD -- To verify product, video, drivers, etc -- To evaluate and learn product 2. Full Install -- o-exist with Windows -- Needs its own partition -- ost inuxes recognize Windows -- They create boot selection list -- ittle disk required ( ontinue to use Windows partition for your data) 3. Frugal Install -- Stores inux as file(s) in existing Windows partition 4. Windows Program -- con on Windows desktop 5. USB memory Stick -- eaves Windows un-changed 6. Updatable CD or DVD -- eaves Windows un-changed
Linux includes the Partitioning, Boot Selection, and Windows-recognition tools you need free
1. Verify Windows disk is good (My Computer | Properties | Tools | Disk check) 2. Defrag Windows volume 3. Live CD to boot Linux 4. Resize Windows partition smaller if you need space 5. Create new Linux partition 6. Create Linux Swap partition 7. Install Linux 8. Verify boot selection menu (/boot/grub/menu.lst)
Lite !
Bad
OpenOffice 1 (64M) OpenOffice 2 (128M) Firefox, Mozilla GUI apps Gnome, KDE Newer releases of the same products
Linux
Windows
Office 97 Office 2000, 2003, 2007 Notepad Word K-Meleon IE (any version), Firefox ImgBurn, FinalBurner Easy CD Creator, Nero TinyFirewall, Sygate ZoneAlarm Ad-aware, AVG ClamWin Windows 98, 3.1 GUIs Vista GUI
Free BSD
NetBSD NetBSD is a h ig h ly co n fig u rab le n ixlike o p en s o u rce OS th at is h ig h ly p o rtab le acro s s s y s tems . Datin g b ack to 1993, it ru n s o n man y res o u rcelimited co mp u ters . n o th er h eir to BSD, reeBSD may b e th e mo s t p o p u lar g en eral-p u rp o s e BSD s y s tem. Ru n s d o wn to 3 6s an d is s mall en o u g h to ru n o n emb ed d ed d ev ices . Details h ere.
reeBSD
ers io n s p rio r to 5.x req u ire at leas t a 3 6 with at leas t 16 memo ry an d 60 d is k fo r s tan d alo n e s y s tems . 5.x an d later req u ire at leas t a 4 6, with 24 memo ry an d 150 d is k. Details h ere.
BSD requires minimal resources for older versions -- originally released in 1993
Minix 3
Inspired Linux Fast and light (down to 486s) Apps cover all the bases... but not as many as Linux Open source
CTLALTDEL
Free DOS
Tons of apps Best on really old equipment (486/386/286/XT/PC) Great for non-GUI systems Some GUIs available Modern DOS overcomes old DOS limitations 1. FreeDOS 2. OpenDOS 3. DR-DOS Learn about todays DOS at -www.devedia.com/dosghost/dos/dosw31.asp Collectable Computers -- www.vintage-computer/vcforum
Also: www.ltsp.org
FreeSharing works !
($5-10) ($10-40)
AT&T / Yahoo DSL is $10 / month !
Where to Donate a PC ?
Works?
Environmental Protection Agency
www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/recycle/ecycling/donate.htm#local
Craigslist.org, FreeSharing.org, FreeCycling.org, rummage sales Peoples Resource Center (www.peoplesrc.org) Wheaton
Resources?
VII.
Wintel monopolizes U.S. computer market Over 50% of Microsofts revenue is from Windows & Office They have to force you to upgrade Each release soaks up new hardware for new functionality This Planned Obsolescence is artificial Conclusions - Word 97, 2000, 2003, 2007. Who cares? Non state-of-the-art PCs are useful Vista -- a great example of a needless upgrade
High
Low
US Automotive Industry
PC Industry
Free software
End of Monopoly
Laptop Projects
Household appliance
Consumer PC
VIII.
Resources
Peoples Resource Center (www.peoplesrc.org) Wheaton -> 500 mhz or better -> Give away > 5,000 computers in Dupage Country -> 100 / month -> Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR)
Alameda County Computer Resource Center (www.accrc.org)
-> Linux on old PCs (Suse or Ubuntu) -> Give away 5,000 to 10,000 / year Re-use, then Recycle Obsolescence is just a failure of imagination -- James Burgett
Recommended Resources
Free software websites-Windows-- TheFreeCountry.org MajorGeeks.com Download.com Linux-SourceForge.net Freshmeat.net
Hardware books-Where to get Drivers--
Upgrading & Repairing PCs by Mueller Complete PC Upgrade & Maintenance Guide by Minasi
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