Wanted: old laptop, maybe broken. Will trade misc. parts

[attilathepun]

I'm looking for an old laptop, preferably 75 Mhz or higher, and no more than a couple inches thick, to experiment with hardware limitations.

I would be willing to trade parts for it, including any combination of the following old desktop parts:
2 Gb Maxtor hard drive (excellent drive, never any errors or other trouble)
8 Mb video card (don't remember the brand, but I plugged it in a couple months ago and it still works)
sdram memory, a couple of 64 Mb sticks
Maybe some other, older stuff, i.e., misc parts like an extra cpu fan

I know the stuff I have to offer here is pretty darned old, but so is the stuff I'm asking for :-).
Oh, and I almost forgot: it might be ok if the laptop is not fully functional, let me know if it's damaged and to what extent (dead battery's definitely ok, I kinda expect that).

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Something with the specs you're looking for can easily be found on eBay for under $50, shipped, even.

I suggest checking out local LUG meetings, where some charitable soul might be inclined to stop using a machine like that as a doorstop, and donate it to someone that would actually use it. Truth be told, a unit like that wouldn't even be worth the shipping it would take to get it to you.

[PsychStats]

I have a unit that is sitting in a box that at one time had redhat 9 on it. I ran into some problems with it and have not gotten around to playing again.

The laptop is an old ibm 380xd. As far as I know it still runs. The battery doesn't hold a charge but I do have the ac adapter. I would be willing to just give it up if you would be interested. Just send me the shipping address and I will send it.

No need to trade. The boss in my home would love to see it go and if it will be put to good use, I will part with it freely.

If need be contact me off the list.

[psych-major]

I have an old Compaq Armada 7792DMT 266MHz Pentium MMX with 64MB RAM. It has MiniSlack on it currently, and it even comes with a docking station. It is in pristine condition, as it belonged to a business and was only used occasionally.

If you're interested, What have you got to trade?

[DarkDexter]

WOW! I thought I was the only person who did this for fun! :D I have 2 laptops like that, but i actually use both. Both using Debian 3.1 Sarge:

Intel Pentium I Processor: 133Mhz
RAM:128MB's
HDD: 20GB's
Preferials: Floppy, No CD

Intel Pentium II Processor: 400Mhz
RAM: 256 MB's
HDD: 10GB's
Perferials: Floppy, CD

The PI is basically a Bash box but it can just barely run Fluxbox. I used it for a few weeks in college to take notes in nano and people were freaked out about not a GUI. "What version of windows is that?" Muahaha! :D The PII runs KDE fine and with a little messing around I got the soundcard to work and the battery to detect. I'm using that one for notes now :rolleyes: Anyway, Its really fun and rewarding to get Linux running on older systems. I have a GIANT 486 in my garage I'm gonna recase (full tower so not worth it...) and try to get Linux on. A quick tip, although weird, on how to get old lappys and comps: Dumpster Diving. Thats how it got that PI laptop, a Sun Workstation (Solaris! :p ) and a photoprinter (they threw it out cause they couldnt get the driver working... its prints beautifuly by the way :) ). Only dive business though, nastyest thing i found in their trash is coffee grounds. Good luck in your exploits! (And dont make fun of me for getting computers that way :mad: )

[psych-major]

Both my main home machine (PIII 933MHz) and my spare office workstation (PIII 500MHz) were salvaged from the trash at my employer. I even got 15" Phillips flat-panel monitors with each one!!! w00t!

[attilathepun]

Hey, guys, I'm enough of a geek that I won't laugh at you for getting computers any way. Actually, I might take up dumpster diving, that sounds pretty rewarding (for those of us who like old computers)!
PsychStats, that sounds great, I'll send you the address. Thank you very much!

[PsychStats]

I tried the dumpster diving thing at work, but universities and government has this stupid surplus auction crap! Everytime I think I am going to score a good old machine, I am told I have to bid on it at the auction. It wasn't until recently that I got out of school and can spend even small amounts of money on the finer things in life (old computers for *nixes). :D

attila, I will ship it as quick as possible when I get the address.

[attilathepun]

Sorry, psychstats, I tried to send you a message but it may not have gone through.
Anyway, here's the address, I know it's a PO box but as I'm in college right now it's all I've got:
address removed by moderator. Please post your address to people in PM

If you have any questions or concerns about how the machine will be used, or if you are in the area so I can pick it up and save the shipping, please email me, email address edited out for the same reason as the mailing addy.
Thanks again!

[PsychStats]

I remember the college life, it was just May that I got out. Anyway, I got your message and it should be sent out today.