Posted on 08/11/2015 6:40:28 PM PDT by djf
OK I went to a couple garage sales last weekend. Didn't get off my duff on Saturday, so went on Sunday.
At one I saw a laptop - wasn't exactly sure what it was. It had a Windows XP sticker on it so I figured it must be at least marginal.
Asked the lady if the battery worked and she said "well it's old so it might only give you an hour or two..." Asked her if the machine actually works and she said "yeah, but it's old and slow..."
Anyways bought it and brought it home thinking I can part it out if worse comes to worse.
Surprise!
It's a Dell Inspiron 8500, with a Pentium 4 running at 2100 Mhz, has an 80GB hard drive, has USB 2.0, and just about everything else except a wireless which I have but haven't installed yet.
So all this and probably more for a grand total of: 5 bucks!
like I need more pc's... ;-)
“You are old, but not obsolete” - Arnold, T-umpteen
Nice find.
I’ve had a couple of Dell laptops, pretty good. Had a couple of Dell desktops I rebuilt, (been a computer tech for 15 years) One had Linux Mandrake on it, ran perfect for about 8 years. The only thing Dell was the case though. The one stored in my shed right now is a Compaq I rebuilt, still ran perfect after 6 years 24/7 when I moved and packed it away. No room to set it up now.
I’m using a Toshiba laptop now, my 2nd one, it’s been a very good one. 1st Toshiba was a used one I bought from a customer, it ran fine for several years.
I’ve been into garage sales for years.
Fender Pro Jr amp, works perfect, $30.
Marshall Bluesbreaker Overdrive, Schaller Volume Pedal, 2 or 3 Pentax film cameras, 45# Bear recurve bow, Bear compound bow, couple of guitars, none of it more than $5.
Fender Champ, $8 at a flea market, a bit of work and it’s a fantastic practice amp.
Tools, camping gear, music equipment, clothes, odds and ends, everything you can think of I’ve found it at yard sales, usually excellent prices.
One of my guitars came from a yard sale in San Antonio, 2 bucks. Turned out to be a 1966 Harmony Bobkat, worth around $300 now. Got it in 1996, still play it. Raliegh Sport 3 speed bicycle made in 1969, been riding it since 1997, finally started giving me trouble this summer. 10 bucks.How many new bikes will last over 15 years?
One I passed up a while back and been kicking myself, nice Glenfield .22 rifle, bolt action, $20, I didn’t grab it.
Excellent, those older ones had the side pipes too!
If you plan to replace the hard drive, which I assume is IDE, you might look at IDE SSDs (solid state drives) on Amazon.
Interesting story about your laptops. That $10 investment paid off a couple of times for you.
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