what os to install

[chickenhq]

i have an old compaq contura 420c & right now it has win95b but i do not like this os and im trying to figure out what to install on it next win2k pro, win98se, or win nt 4.0. i have been to microsoft site to see the requirements but some people have told me that they have seen pc's with less spcec's than mine and are running some of these os. i just want to know what you guys think.

win98 se
486DX/66 MHz or higher processor
24 MB RAM; more memory improves performance
requires 210 MB of available hard-disk space, but may range between 190 MB and 305 MB, depending upon system configuraiton and options selected

win2k pro.
133 Mhz
64 megabytes (MB) of RAM recommended
2 GB hard disk with a minimum of 650 MB of free hdd

win nt.
Intel-based systems-Pentium or faster;
16MB - 32 MB recommended
110 MB of available hard disk space


my specs:
486
24mb ram
396mb hdd

[Master]

Stay with win95/98....the rest is a no go for you.....

you may try linux (without gnome or kde)
or go back to win3.1 (just a joke)

[dx]

Windows 98SE should will be O.K. for you...but nothing more. Look at the specs for Win2000 bud. Your HD alone can't fit the O.S.

But if you can get more ram into that computer (64-128mb) it will help you a great deal more. I would think your Mobo takes EDO Ram and you could probably find a list member that would GIVE some to you.

The hard drive space is also a concern as you won't have much left after the 98SE install. You are blanking (reformatting) this drive, right?! If upgrading...you won't have any space!

If you are upgrading the RAM and the hard drive, your money would be better spent buying a used computer or at least a low end Celeron system at your local computer shop. It would probably cost you the same.

[chickenhq]

arrg i installed nt before i saw any of your responses but i managed to get nt on it but i dont like the slowness so ill try 98 i was looking around on compaq's website it seems this computer can only go up to 32mb of ram and i have 24mb ram..

stats on nt
used 127mb
free 269mb
capacity 396mb

23,796kb ram

i have 13 processes running
explorer 15228k
taskmgr 1240k
nddeagnt 976k
control 628k
services 600k
spoolss 500k
rcpSs 304k
csrss 216k
system 168k
lsass 164k
winlogon 132k
smss 120k
system idle process 16k
*cpu usage 100%

[dx]

Originally posted by chickenhq
arrg i installed nt before i saw any of your responses but i managed to get nt on it but i dont like the slowness so ill try 98 i was looking around on compaq's website it seems this computer can only go up to 32mb of ram and i have 24mb ram..

The slowness will NOT go away with Win98SE. It will be equally slow. 24mb is the bottom spec that Windows allows for it to run. Bottom spec = slow performance. Win98SE really needs 64-128mb to run with acceptable speed. If you want speed for this 'puter...stick with Win95b.

Seriously bud, you should look into a newer computer...this one's a dinosaur!

[netman]

exactly what do you want to do with this machine? these guys are right in that it's not suited for much. it is, however, a perfect machine for a gateway to the internet. there are several dedicated versions of linux that will run just fine on this machine. for most you will need to up it to 32mb of ram. there is one called sme server (i think) that is quite good and the one i've been playing with is smoothwall, from /www.smoothwall.org. they are usually free.

this machine will run win98se as a proxy/gateway machine but that would be about all it could do in that respect. no ftp or web services.

[shadoe_phantom]

yes agreed. With those specs for your hardware, there are only a few options you have for a smooth running OS.

Win95b (even then not too great)
win3.11
BeOS
Linux

(go in reverse order for best results *start from linux up)

[elpresidente]

like shadoe said .... I think for this config ...DOS/windows3.11 !!! would be the best choice *lol*

... take win 95 !!

üsse