Refurbished Laptop Needed for 98SE

[HoppaLong]

I'm running a leaned out version of Vista Ultimate_SP2 on a couple

of desktops and a laptop. A close friend wants to clone his 98SE

system onto a refurbished laptop. My friend has good and logical

reasons for using this old system. Not everyone lives at the bleeding

edge of computer technology, like a lot of us "geek" types do.

I've never purchased used or refurbished computer gear, so I need

help finding something reliable.

I found a Dell refurb that seemed perfect for under $300.00. The

problem is it doesn't have a floppy disc drive, which is important

because my friend will not give up his floppy discs!

I'd like to recommend a laptop that has the following specs:

512 MB memory - (Do a quick Google search and you'll see why this

amount of RAM is close to the maximum for 98.)

20-to-40 GB hard drive

CD player and/or burner

Floppy Disc Drive

56K Dial-Up Modem

At least two USB ports

The processor type or speed really doesn't matter. I'm only guessing,

but a processor that runs too fast may have compatibility problems

with these older Windows systems.

My biggest fear is that I'll point my friend to a refurb that will be a dud

right out the box, or malfunction after a few weeks. I'd feel better if

I knew the laptop had been tested by the retailer, before selling it to

the public. It seems like anything can be labeled "factory refurbished"

but that doesn't mean you won't regret buying the darn thing.

Are there online retailers that have a good track record with refurbished

laptops?

[awergh]

I think you should have a good look in the 9x section of MSFN because they will have a good idea of what hardware can be used.

[Tripredacus]

Indeed....

[jaclaz]

512 MB memory - (Do a quick Google search and you'll see why this

amount of RAM is close to the maximum for 98.)

Actually on MSFN we actually WRITE the results of Google for that search.

Personally I don't think much of the "refurbished", on laptops.

I mean the source of a "refurb shop" is usually large companies that trade-in their "old set" of laptops and buy a new set.

You don't know how the machines were used, how many hours they were used, if they were subject to temperature drops or falls, all factors that may influence residual "life" of a notebook.

I would first try a few of the local PC shops, often they have some trade-in that is perfect, and very little used, coming form someone that has bought a laptop just to have a smaller PC in-house, that never traveled with it, and only used a little to surf the internet.

A typical checklist for a refurb (mind you I am not talking of "exceptionally good" refurbs, I am talking of the "average" that you are likely to find):

1. Check the following:
   
   • is external case "sound", without cracks? Yes/No
     
   • does video work? Yes/No
     
   • does backlighting work? Yes/No
     
   • does keyboard work? Yes/No
     
   • does touchpad work? Yes/No
     
   • is RAM OK? Yes/No
     
   • is HD OK? Yes/No
     
   • do ports work Yes/No
     

[*]If any of the ansers above is No, goto next PC in the lot.

[*]When all PC's in the lot have run, check those remaining that have a "No" in the chcklist and replace part with another - as well used - part from another in the batch.

[*] Try to reassemble the biggest number of laptops this way.

[*]Throw away the rest.

[*]Clean the case.

[*]Clean the fan.

[*]Sell as refurbished.

The whole point is that there is no way to know if a component that today is perfectly working, will blow out tomorrow, the only exception being (maybe) the hard disk, that may show signs of premature wear, but even on hard disks there is no reliable way to predict their residual life.

Some refutrb firms give a warranty, that is the thing you should look for.

Also you should go exactly the other way round, when offered a Make/model, search with google if the particular make/model has a record of breakdowns of problems, if it has, stay clear of it, and find another refurb.

Just as an example, Acer Aspire 136x and 152x series - which are otherwise good laptops - are reknown for a defect in their video card, a GeForce Go that has problems in the soldering of the GPU.

The replacement part is very difficult to find (please read impossible) at a decent price, the alternate fix of reballing is costly, and you are likely to have a perfectly working laptop that suddenly dies on you with a black screen.

jaclaz

[Ponch]

I'd like to recommend a laptop that has the following specs:

512 MB memory - (Do a quick Google search and you'll see why this

amount of RAM is close to the maximum for 98.)

20-to-40 GB hard drive

CD player and/or burner

Floppy Disc Drive

56K Dial-Up Modem

At least two USB ports

A floppy drive will get you back to the years ~2002 or before, that means one or two USB 1 ports, and 256 Meg Ram or less (maybe upgradable).

I'd go for a more recent machine (up to 2005 maybe), it won't be more expensive, then get external (USB) floppy and CD/DVD burner. Those you can still share on an other PC if needed.

[iamtheky]

http://www.discountelectronics.com/

These guys sell pretty much old dell stuff exclusively (i imagine it has something to do with the close proximity of Dell HQ)

but they have C series for $199 and bonus floppy for $9.

[submix8c]

If it's for Win98, even an old one would do, unless there's a sacrifice/loss between new/old. BTW, have you considered transferring the Floppies to Images and using Floppy Virtualization? Heck, just get an External USB floppy... As long as there's no sacrifice or an improvement, the world is kind of wide open for Win98... No need to go spend-crazy unless it's a kind of Christmas/Quanza/Hanukka Gift (did I spell those right?). Try eBay too (but beware the bad seller).

What method is being proposed for the "clone" operation?

BTW, RAM/CPU/HDD is not really a limitation... browse the forums and you'll see why.

edit - and may I point out that if the original PC is Win98, then chances are the USB ports are v1.1, not v2.0 - a bonus if you check the "newer refurbish" specs.

Edited December 12, 2009 by submix8c

[HoppaLong]

Electronics was an all consuming hobby when I was kid, so computers

were a natural transition for me when they took over the world.

I'm know many incredibly smart people who use computers because they

have no choice. My friend, who is a professional writer, earns enough to

support his family. I don't know anyone, except this one person, who can

write articles from his home office and support his wife and three children.

The problem is he hates computers! He uses the web to send and receive

emails. That's it.

You guys are right, the only laptops that have internal floppy drives are

likely to be older models, in very poor condition. My friend has a stack

of bootable floppies, that's why I listed an internal floppy drive.

I've offered to spend a few hours with my writer friend, so he wouldn't be

so fearful of moving on to a newer system, like XP for example. Except

for the XP logos when the system boots, he would hardly know the difference.

I almost forgot that many MSFN members practically recreated 98 with your

unofficial service packs.

I'm not going to find what my friend is looking for. Besides, refurbed computer

gear gives me the creeps! Several years ago I ordered a new vacuum cleaner.

The company accidentally sent a refurbished model. We tried it for a couple of

days until the motor sprayed a shower of sparks. It could have caused a serious

fire in my home.

I'll have to figure out something to make my friend happy. He's been a great

neighbor for many years.

[Guest wsxedcrfv]

Electronics was an all consuming hobby when I was kid. I'm not going to find what my friend is looking for.

Having a floppy drive (or not) should be of no consequence.

When I install an OS on anything (desktop, laptop. netbook) I remove the drive and slave it to one of my desktop PC's and copy all necessary files directly to the drive. I'll format the drive first (always with FAT-32, even if the OS is going to be XP). Then copy the installation CD of the OS in question directly as a sub-directory on the target drive. Do the same for any application programs that also come on CD. Then seek-out any drivers I'm going to need, utilities, updates/patches, etc. Basically load as much stuff onto the drive as I'm going to need, then install it back into the target machine and start the install process. That way the target machine doesn't need a floppy drive and not even a CD drive.

[Kelsenellenelvian]

I have a dell c840 that fits your descriptions almost exactly. It is really a good laptop. If I was going to suggest 1 to you it would be from around that era.

[thydreamwalker]

A CHEM PC-AVENIA LP6613 IS A LAPTOP SMALL FACTOR COMBO MOBO-WITH 40GBHDD,256MB/SDRAM,450MB/PENTIUMIII,ONBOARD ATI RAGE AGP,WITH ADDABLE MONITOR,lotsa extra's ;This MoBo reallly rocks with 98SE and older Operating Systems,even XP and 2000.Have not tried with Win7;but with a huge pagefile anythings possible now a days:} It's kinda hard to find one!Mitac was MoBo seller Edited December 20, 2009 by thydreamwalker

[Guest wsxedcrfv]

A CHEM PC-AVENIA LP6613 IS A LAPTOP SMALL FACTOR COMBO MOBO

Umm - that's a small form-factor desktop PC that's *10 years old*. I thought this thread was about win-98 compatible laptops... ?