Scored a Compaq Presario 1245 w/broken monitor..now what?

**jeeplaw** · 11-30-2004, 03:29 PM

I was planning on building a slim computer which would allow me to put which upgrades i wanted hardware wise..but, just found out my girlfriend has a perfectly good (older) laptop with a cracked monitor. But as you would assume, I'd just be using the vga out to a lilliput or something of that nature.

The laptop has 160megs of memory, a 333 mhz chip and a 3.2 gig drive. How well can this run xp? Anyone here running an older laptop for their car computer?

**nzKAOSnz** · 11-30-2004, 04:07 PM

im running an xp setup on a 350mhz wif 128mb and a 2(?) gig hdd
Not in car, but yea.

The only reason my car comp isnt on xp yet is because the its only got a 3 gig hdd, and xp isnt too small.

There is a few things you can use to cut xp down. But there shouldnt be too much problem.

Dvd's etc may not be a gd idea - no idea bout gps, but for mp3's - should b sweet

**Chairboy** · 11-30-2004, 04:07 PM

A 333 will be pretty anemic for running XP, but it can't hurt to try. It's really better suited for Windows 98.

If it has 160 megs of RAM, you might be ok for running XP, but don't expect a speed demon.

If you DO use it, consider getting an external USB drive enclosure for holding MP3s. That way you can use a cheap desktop drive.

**jeeplaw** · 11-30-2004, 09:32 PM

Yea, I was thinking of a usb external drive too. But then again, I'd need to get a usb hub so i can attach several usb devices..soundcard, etc..

**cdougyfresh** · 12-01-2004, 01:06 AM

i have a 450 mhz p3 with 128 megs of ram, im gonna try runnin xp on there i think, hopefully it can do dvds.

**Yuriy** · 12-01-2004, 01:07 AM

I'd use 98 SE on that.

**dingofarmer** · 12-01-2004, 10:29 PM

I have an old PII 366 Laptop and it ran 2000 ,just fine, No way in Hell in regards to XP, 98 would be fine and faster than 2000. I ran into the same problems, Divix movies lagged alot to.

**0l33l** · 12-01-2004, 10:33 PM

Windows 2000 for slower machines. I'm never going back to win9x

**dingofarmer** · 12-01-2004, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by 0l33l

Windows 2000 for slower machines. I'm never going back to win9x

Agreed, I got so desparate with my old setup that I tried 98, Worked great untill I realized that all my external gear had no driver support. I'm running XP and I'm thinking of going back to 2000, free up some more resources.

**0l33l** · 12-01-2004, 11:27 PM

Originally Posted by dingofarmer

Agreed, I got so desparate with my old setup that I tried 98, Worked great untill I realized that all my external gear had no driver support. I'm running XP and I'm thinking of going back to 2000, free up some more resources.

Yeh, go back to win2k, disable some services, and install the winxp boot files for faster bootup