HP PAVILION P6300UK (WC873AA#ABU)

ID: PCD23

SPECIFICATIONS:

Machine Type: Desktop Tower
Model: HP PAVILION P6300UK (WC873AA#ABU)
Year of Manufacturer: 2010
Motherboard: PEGATRON M2N68-LA (P/N: 537558-001)
Chipset: NVIDIA 6150SE NFORCE 430
Processor: AMD ATHLON II X2 215 2.70GHz 64-BIT (ADX215OCK22GQ)
RAM: 3GB DDR3
Hard Drive(s): 250GB 3.5" SATA
Optical Drive(s): DVD-RW
Graphics: PCIe (AMD RADEON HD 7000)
Audio: INTEGRATED 
Network: INTEGRATED
USB: 2.0 (2 Front, 4 Rear)
Power Supply: HP 300W CUSTOM
Other Features: Card reader, media bay
COA: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Office Software: Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student


REPAIRS & MODIFICATIONS

• Hard drive missing - replaced with spare 250GB model

NOTES:

This computer was given to me by a customer migrating to a laptop.

Suitable for: All general purpose (web, E-Mail, document creation etc)
Not suitable for: Gaming, video editing

ZOOSTORM 7876-1034/B

ID: PCD19

SPECIFICATIONS:

Machine Type: Desktop Tower
Model: ZOOSTORM 7876-1034/B
Year of Manufacturer: 2014
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-F2A55M-DS2 REV 3.0
Chipset: AMD A55
Processor: AMD A6-5400K 3.60GHZ 64-BIT
RAM: 4GB DDR3
Hard Drive(s): 500GB 3.5" SATA
Optical Drive(s): DVD-RW
Graphics: INTEGRATED (AMD)
Audio: INTEGRATED (REALTEK)
Network: INTEGRATED 1Gbps
USB: 2.0 (2 Front, 4 Rear)
Power Supply: FSP 250W ATX
Other Features: None
COA: None
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional
Office Software: Microsoft Office 2013 Home & Business

REPAIRS & MODIFICATIONS

• None (other than routine maintenance)

CONCLUSION

This computer was given to me by a customer who recently suffered a stroke and is no longer able to use it. It's in great condition and still fit for most general purpose uses. Although no COA is present I was able to extract genuine product keys for Windows and Office prior to securely erasing the hard drive, and it runs Windows 10 with ease.

HP TOUCHSMART IQ500.UK

ID: PCD02

SPECIFICATIONS:

Machine Type: All-In-One Desktop
Model: HP TOUCHSMART IQ500.UK
Year of Manufacturer: 2008
Motherboard: IMISR-CF (P/N: 5189-2525 REV A02)
Chipset: INTEL MOBILE GM965 EXPRESS
Processor: INTEL CORE 2 DUO T5850 2.10GHZ 64-BIT
RAM: 4GB DDR2
Hard Drive(s): 250GB 3.5" SATA
Optical Drive(s): DVD-RW
Graphics: INTEGRATED (NVIDIA)
Audio: INTEGRATED (ADI)
Network: INTEGRATED 1Gbps
USB: 2.0 (2 Side, 3 Rear)
Power Supply: EXTERNAL
Other Features: CARD READER, FIREWIRE, TV TUNER, TOUCHSCREEN, REMOTE
COA: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Office Software: Microsoft Office 2007 Home & Student

REPAIRS & MODIFICATIONS

• Attempted installation of Windows 10 but reverted to Windows 7 due to an incompatibility with the touch screen driver (intermittent blue screen crashes during startup).

CONCLUSION

This all-in-one desktop was given to me by a customer when they upgraded to a new Windows 10 system. It's about 10 years old but is still more than adequate for most general purpose uses. It could be upgraded to Windows 10 with loss of some of the touchscreen functionality when support for Windows 7 finishes in 2020.

Generic PC (Intel Pentium 4 2.60GHz)

ID: PCD06

HISTORY

This is an older computer tower that was given to me by a neighbour for spare parts. The inclusion of a floppy disk drive speaks it's age but as it was complete, I decided to see if it could be made into a usable system instead.


SPECIFICATIONS

Machine Type: Desktop Tower
Model: None (Generic Desktop PC)
Year of Manufacturer: 2003
Motherboard: ASROCK P4VM900-SATA2 (REV G/A 1.01)
Chipset: VIA P4M900
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.60GHz 32-Bit (Socket 478)
RAM: 2GB DDR (2x 1GB 184-Pin DIMM)
Hard Drive(s): 250GB 3.5" SATA
Optical Drive(s): DVD-ROM 5.25" PATA, CD-RW 5.25" PATA
Graphics: Integrated (VIA)
Audio: Integrated (Realtek)
Network: Integrated (100Mbps Ethernet)
USB: 1 Front, 6 Rear
Power Supply: TRUST 420W ATX
Other Features: 1.44MB Floppy Drive
COA: Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Added)


INITIAL INSPECTION

It is difficult to accurately age this system, as it has clearly been rebuilt at least once. The optical drives date from 2002, but the current motherboard was not on the market until 2007, and the hard drive is much newer as well. ASRock often keep boards that use legacy sockets in production far longer than any other manufacturer, so are popular for repairs (pcupgrade.co.uk still stocks the classic K7S41GX socket A board originally released in 2003). I suspect the original motherboard failed and was replaced, so at least it's a little more modern than it might have been. A number of minor problems were found during the testing phase, but nothing that couldn't be sorted out without major component replacement.


REPAIRS & MODIFICATIONS

• The fans in the power supply were lubricated as they were both very noisy at startup.
• Several missing slot covers were replaced.
• A problem with the hard drive activity LED was resolved by re-arranging the master / slave configuration of the optical drives.
• Resistors were installed to reduce loudness of processor and case fans.
• The case speaker wire had broken off and was re-soldered.
• The rubber drive belt in the DVD drive was cleaned and boiled to stop the drawer sticking.
• The rubber drive belt in the CD-RW drive was replaced to stop the drawer sticking.
• The USB ports at the front didn't work, and killed a mouse that I plugged into one of them. I replaced this front panel USB hub with a card reader with a built-in USB port.

PREPARATION

The repairs were completed, and diagnostics run. No problems were found with the hard drive or RAM, so it was now time to go onto configuring the software. 

SETUP

A customer kindly gave me a genuine copy of Office 2003 Professional plus a COA for Windows XP Professional (the disk turned out to be a fake) so as they matched the age of the system I used these to prepare and setup the computer. There were no problems with the setup, and subsequent burn-in and cold start tests ran through easily.

CONCLUSION

This is yet another system that cannot feasibly run anything greater than Windows XP, but for Google (running through Opera), E-Mail, music etc it runs fine. The bundled Microsoft Office 2003 should be of value as well, as this is still a very usable office suite.

PACKARD BELL IMEDIA 2215

This PC is available free of charge as of 23/07/17.
If you would like it please send a message to 78453316rpm@gmail.com

ID: PCD8

HISTORY

I acquired this computer around the same time as it's identical twin, the Packard Bell B2217. That one went off to it's new owner earlier in the month and had a slightly better specification. Nevertheless, this could still be a viable system in it's own right when coupled with a suitable operating system.


SPECIFICATIONS

Machine Type: Desktop Tower
Model: PACKARD BELL IMEDIA 2215
Year of Manufacturer: 2009
Motherboard: ECS MCP73VT-PM (V1.0)
Chipset: NVIDIA NFORCE 610I
Processor: INTEL CELERON E1200 1.60GHz 64-BIT Dual Core (Socket 775)
RAM: 2GB DDR2 (2x 1GB 240-Pin DIMM)
Hard Drive(s): 250GB SATA 3.5"
Optical Drive(s): DVD-RW SATA 5.25"
Graphics: Integrated (Nvidia)
Audio: Integrated (Realtek)
Network: Integrated (100Mbps Ethernet)
USB: 2.0 (2 Front, 4 Rear)
Power Supply: FSP 250W
Other Features: None
COA: Windows Vista Home Premium


INITIAL INSPECTION

Apart from the lid not staying on properly, there didn't look to be too much wrong with this system. I was not surprised to find bad capacitors in the power supply, however, as Packard Bell had used the exact same unit as in the B2217 refurbished earlier. Surprisingly, it was the 2200uF capacitors that had failed rather than the 1000uF's in the B2217. I removed some of the 1000uF capacitors to check their values but my ESR meter showed they were within range, so I put them back.


REPAIRS & MODIFICATIONS

• 2200uF/6.3v Power supply capacitors replaced
• Minor repairs to the tower casing

PSU with new capacitors fitted

Repair to casing

PREPARATION

With diagnostics complete, it was time to install the software. I initially considered Windows 10, which ran adequately on the B2217. However, the 1GB less of RAM and the slower processor proved too much and I decided that performance was not adequate. The options were therefore limited to an earlier version of Windows, or Linux. After trying Ubuntu unsucessfully (unstable graphics) I decided to give 'Lubuntu', the lightweight version a go.

SETUP

Lubuntu installed very easily and I was up and running within half and hour. Performance was good and I was able to surf the web with ease using the Linux version of Google Chrome. I installed some other software such as VLC Player and LibreOffice for good measure.

CONCLUSION

There is definitely life left in this older PC. Lubuntu works much faster than Windows 10 and provides adequate performance for Internet use and similar, so it should be still feasible for the foreseeable future.

MEDION AKOYA X7330 D (MD 8339)

ID: PCD11

HISTORY

I have had this computer around for some time. It was originally going to be repaired, but the cost of a new hard drive was too much and the owner decided to buy a new laptop instead. Months later when I came to inspect it for recycling, I found it complete with an 120GB SSD installed. I must have installed it for testing purposes and forgotten all about it, but it was a nice surprise and should make this a system that can be thoroughly enjoyed by it's new operator.


SPECIFICATIONS

Machine Type: Desktop Tower
Model: MEDION AKOYA X7330 D (MD 8339)
Year of Manufacturer: 2010
Motherboard: MSI 7366 (VER 3.1)
Chipset: NVIDIA NFORCE 630I
Processor: INTEL CORE 2 QUAD Q8300 2.50GHz 64-Bit (Socket 775)
RAM: 4GB DDR2 (2x 2GB 240-Pin DIMM)
Hard Drive(s): 120GB 2.5" SATA SSD
Optical Drive(s): DVD-RW SATA 5.25"
Graphics: PCIe (Nvidia)
Audio: Integrated (Nvidia)
Network: Integrated (1Gbps Ethernet)
USB: 2.0 (3 Front, 4 Rear)
Power Supply: FSP 400W ATX
Other Features: Card Reader
COA: Windows 7 Home Premium


INITIAL INSPECTION

The system appeared to be in reasonable condition inside and out, excluding a damaged front mounted USB port, but problems showed up later whilst running a Prime 95 'torture' test. The power would go off randomly, suggesting a problem with the power supply. I was surprised to find that the computer was fitted with one of the older 20-pin units without the extra 4 pins introduced in the ATX 2.0 specification, so may have simply been inadequate, especially considering the power hungry processor and dedicated graphics card.


REPAIRS & MODIFICATIONS

• The front panel USB ports were replaced.
• I swapped the power supply for one in a much older system with lower power requirements.

PREPARATION

With the repairs completed and the diagnostics successfully completed, it was time to think about software. The obvious choice here was Windows 10. The computer should run this easily, especially with the SSD, and the Windows 7 COA would provide the necessary product key.

SETUP

Nvidia chipsets are not as well supported as their Intel counterparts, so it took a bit of driver hunting to get rid of all the yellow exclamation marks in Device Manager, using Windows 7 drivers where necessary. This is where the website Driver Pack Solution comes into it's own, hosting drivers for just about every piece of hardware and every Windows system they were written for.

CONCLUSION

As expected from a computer with an SSD fitted, performance was very good, though perhaps not quite as 'snappy' as a machine adorned with a Core i3 / i5 / i7 processor. That said, this would make a great upgrade for someone with an older, slower system, and should be more than adequate for any general purpose use for years to come. I also have a Canon all-in-one printer, an Acer monitor, Dell speaker system and keyboard and mouse to give away with this system, so hopefully this complete package will help somebody out and save another usable system from the dump.

PACKARD BELL ICONNECT 1100

ID: PCD15

HISTORY

This is another vintage PC I acquired with the objective of data retrieval. This objective could not be met - the original Quantum hard drive had failed in a strange way. Although making a clicking sound, it was detected by my imaging equipment and data could be read. However, only one platter / drive head was working, so only around 50% of the drive could be imaged, the other half being completely unreadable. Unfortunately this meant that all the data was corrupt and unusable. Aside from this, the PC itself looked in great condition, especially considering it's age, and was complete with it's original keyboard, mouse, screen and speakers. A new hard drive, and it could be back up and running, as good as new...


SPECIFICATIONS

Machine Type: Desktop Tower
Model: PACKARD BELL ICONNECT 1100
Year of Manufacturer: 2000
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-6WMM7 REV 4.1
Chipset: INTEL 810
Processor: INTEL CELERON 633MHz (Socket 370)
RAM: 64MB SDR SD-RAM (1x 168-Pin DIMM)
Hard Drive(s): 15GB PATA 3.5" (Replacement: 80GB PATA 3.5")
Optical Drive(s): CD-ROM PATA 5.25"
Graphics: Integrated (Intel)
Audio: Integrated (Intel)
Network: NONE
USB: 1.1 (2 Front, 2 Rear)
Power Supply: FSP 145W ATX (Replacement: FSP 400W ATX)
Other Features: Floppy Disk Drive, Dial-Up Modem
COA: Windows ME


INITIAL INSPECTION

As expected from a PC this old, a few other problems showed up during testing. The power supply had bad 5v and 12v outputs, the power button was sticking and the CD drawer wouldn't open properly. Fortunately, the motherboard looked in good shape, and little dust could be found in and around the cooling fans.


REPAIRS & MODIFICATIONS

• I had a power supply that worked but was not up to the job of powering the system it was in (too much demand from the processor and graphics card). This proved perfect for this purpose.
• Suitable replacement CD and hard drives were selected from a number of units that had been kindly donated.
• The power button was removed and the sides sanded down with emery paper to stop it sticking.
• The micro switch in the left mouse button was cleaned to increase it's effectiveness.

PREPARATION

With the main hardware items dealt with and diagnostics run, it was time to think about software. With more RAM, this computer could have run Windows XP, but I could see little point in this. Even if a network card was fitted, web browsing would have been very, very slow, and highly impractical. On the other hand, with Windows ME it would stay fast and original, and could still be quite useful as an offline PC, especially with the bigger, faster hard drive now installed.


SETUP

I was amazed at how easy and quick it was to get Windows ME loaded up to a working condition. Despite all it's criticism, I actually found Windows ME quite good, even when it was released back in 2000. I used it on my first self-built PC and it ran well. Likewise here, the operating system boots up in no time at all, making the desktop in a much shorter time than many Windows 10 computers do today. I initially did have a performance issue with mouse judder, but this was soon corrected by enabling DMA mode for the hard drive in Device Manager.


CONCLUSION


Packard Bell often gave away large software bundles with their systems, and this computer was obviously no exception. It was given to me a plastic wallet of disks, many of which would have come bundled with the computer when it was new. It was great to be able to have a quick go with 'Rayman 2' and 'Rally Championship', no doubt still as playable as they ever were. This system is by no means a practical substitute for anything remotely recent, but as a modern classic it would be hard to beat.