Posted on 05/05/2006 5:13:34 PM PDT by arbee4bush
Any computer help out there? I am trying to get an old laptop in working order for my nephew. He is in the hospital fighting leukemia and will be in for several more weeks of chemo. Since he is in isolation (outbreak of Chicken Pox on the cancer ward)and so sick from the chemo, we thought he could use a laptop for some games and to keep in touch with friends and family by email. He is 10 yrs old and been fighting this cancer crap for 5 years.
My nephews name is Noah and prayers sure would be a help too. Thanks for any help anyone can offer.
pinging to put on prayer list
Your message left it unclear as to what the problem is.
If you have cable/dsl at home, attach it to your network and update it.
If you have a problem getting it to recognize a network adapter that's one problem.
If you need a dialup account, there's really nothing to do other than get one.
My suggestion, maybe you can get a wireless adapter installed and with luck find an unsecured host nearby that he can get on.
Prayers indeed going up for your nephew.
The ISP that I use for for my DSL also provides a dial-up number. You might check your ISP's website to see if they offer something similar. I think that you would use the same login information for the dial-up access that you use for your DSL account.
As for updating IE. The executable file that you download gets the necessary updates from Microsoft servers. Be prepared for a very large file download.
When I try to set up the "Connect to the Internet" on the laptop, it states I need an account. How the heck can I download NetZero if I can't get the laptop online? LOL
I don't know if there's anyone on your list that could help, but it's worth a try.
ping
Thank you! That is an option I will check out now.
I do have a data link cable I am going to try to hook up and see if that will help. It's USB 2.0 so I'll check to see if the old laptop can take that.
We were hoping to celebrate his remission the end of July, but the cancer is back and now the doctors are giving him stronger chemo.
My sister and bil and our family appreciate the prayers.
One more thing. If you have a few bucks and a Best Buy or Circuit City nearby you can get USB network adapters. I don't think they're more than $15 if memory serves me correctly.
Make sure that anything you purchase is Win98 compatible. Just as a guess you might need to go to the manufacturers website to get drivers for Win98, but it sounds like you have putting files on disks down-pat so this shouldn't be a problem for you.
If I remember correctly, Microsoft stopped offering Windows 98 updates on their site as of last year.
You have been a huge help :)
Ok, I understand now.
A post further down suggests that you get a USB network adapter. Good Idea. Make sure it's supported by Windows 98. Install it and update the machine with your cable modem.
All that said, it doesn't get him on the internet. That's another leap. Using the windows built in "get me on the internet" is a sure path to failure ;). The problem is, you can't get a dialup unless you have a connection. You can sign up for a netzero or whatever from your home cable, go to his location and dial up from there.
Your cable provider might have dialup on the same account for free. Many do.
uh-oh. Figures LOL
Arbee, my best wishes of course for Noah.
As for your computer dilemma, it certainly is a condundrum! :) The best thing to do is get Netzero to send you a CD with the software. It will give you dozens of login numbers for all sorts of locations. On the other hand, perhaps you could download it on to a thumb drive or a CD from their website?
Can any of your pingees help?
Thanks!
Correct. Microsoft no longer does updates for the OS but they do provide updates for IE. If you do manual updates for your computer you'll notice that a large percentage of the high priority updates are fixes for security holes in Internet Explorer.
Is it really worth your time and aggravation to get this relic working? It probably won't even play the games your nephew would be interested in.
I would look here:
http://computers.listings.ebay.com/Laptops_Notebooks_W0QQfromZR4QQsacatZ51148QQsocmdZListingItemList
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