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This series is going to show you how to take an old computer that has been
gathering dust and turn it into a usable machine for writing your novel.
 | This project plans to turn a low-powered computer into a useable machine by
replacing all the old software. |
| Many machines have been relegated to the
cupboard because they did not run the latest software. |
| They have become
clogged with applications that interfered with each other, making the machine
unstable and leading to the classic Windows freeze or crash. |
Word-processing does not require much processing power. So with a makeover the
old computer can be rejuvenated.
The starting-point
You need:
1. A Pentium-type computer. An Intel 486 will do, as will many of the processors
from the likes of AMD. In date terms, you machine will probably have been made
after 1994. You will find a date stamp on a number of items ‘in the box’.
2. A display. These are very standard and interchangeable so you just need one
that works. Do not automatically go for the largest one you can find – a small
one can work fine.
3. A keyboard that looks as if all it needs is a good clean. Just make sure that
the plug on the keyboard matches a socket to connect it to the back of the
computer. Keyboards are interchangeable provided the plugs fit, although you can
find adaptors. Modern models with fancy buttons might need a disk to make them
work properly.
4. A mouse with a plug to match the socket in the back of the machine. The mouse
might also benefit from a good clean.
5. Some leads to connect the screen to the computer and to bring power to
computer and screen.
6. The original manual and a box of disks for all of the bits inside the
computer is a bonus.
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Why a Pentium?
Processors, like people, can be placed into generations or eras. We are on the
Post-Pentium Plateau and it looks as if we are going to stay here for a while
yet. The Pentium era allowed information to be processed in bigger chunks than
before and much modern software will work on any processor of this era. Modern
machines are just very much faster and better at handling graphics.
Pentium is a proprietary name of Intel Corporation. There are a number of other
firms that now make processors of similar performance but Intel used to have a
near monopoly of the PC CPU market so it will probably be a ‘Pentium inside’. |
Computing on the Cheap
to come:
Economical printing
Money saving tips
Print technologies
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