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.