Locked Repurposing Old PC

[Colorx91]

Tonight I pulled out an old Gateway MFATXNIN ES2 300x out of my shed.
I'd really like to repurpose this old computer for something, can anyone throw some ideas at me for this? Something cool, yeah?
Lets call it Project X99-22


Or am I wasting my time?

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[Cyler]

2002 called and wants back its hardware

If you dont want to change hardware, install DOS and some DOS games, and make a retro legacy gaming PC. If possible get a CRT monitor too. At best install windows 98 or XP, 32-bit, and I wouldn't suggest trying anything above those. If you do use XP, don't even think of going online, you will get more viruses than you can name. Note that some LCD monitors might not be able to work on very low resolutions (in case the monitor stays black).

If you want to change hardware and challenge yourself, get a power supply that will fit, a mini ATX motherboard, and a Ryzen G processor (so no need for a graphics card) and have that retro/old look with current hardware. Since the disk will be NVMe you don't have to modify the case a lot, maybe drill a few holes here and there.

None of the above? Donate it to a computer museum as there are a lot of them that want old hardware.

 

[Colorx91]

2002 called and wants back its hardware

If you dont want to change hardware, install DOS and some DOS games, and make a retro legacy gaming PC. If possible get a CRT monitor too. At best install windows 98 or XP, 32-bit, and I wouldn't suggest trying anything above those. If you do use XP, don't even think of going online, you will get more viruses than you can name. Note that some LCD monitors might not be able to work on very low resolutions (in case the monitor stays black).

If you want to change hardware and challenge yourself, get a power supply that will fit, a mini ATX motherboard, and a Ryzen G processor (so no need for a graphics card) and have that retro/old look with current hardware. Since the disk will be NVMe you don't have to modify the case a lot, maybe drill a few holes here and there.

None of the above? Donate it to a computer museum as there are a lot of them that want old hardware.

Thank you for the reply! I definitely think I am going to accept the challenge and change out the hardware. This ought to be fun

 

[THADEADMAN]

in the past when i used to run my video servers i used to repurpose old pcs as mainly just extra storage for my media, i used to have at least xp installed but that was many years ago lol

 

[steve ross]

32 bit Linux Peppermint will work along with 32 bit Puppy Linux.

 

[Colorx91]

in the past when i used to run my video servers i used to repurpose old pcs as mainly just extra storage for my media, i used to have at least xp installed but that was many years ago lol

So if I installed XP, I could use it as extra storage? A server I guess? I could store all my torrents and what not on it and make it a shared folder in my home network?

 

[THADEADMAN]

As steve ross said linux can b used but for me been way too long since i used any form of linux i jus been using windows OS and Mac os. ya i used it for a media server to share on my network to any device, but xp is really old so kinda hard to use updated apps lol
i used to have my own setup pak for that as i had alot of hardware, but easiest way i used a dlna server program so it could share but i had also installed a bigger hdd
and replaced the rom with a hdd as well- I have 2 macbooks and 3 laptops that i removed the burner and replaced with a fake burner shell that fits a hdd and installed a ssd for the OS]. is that pc have just original hardware also what model of gateway is it, depending on what the pc can handle there might b some wiggle room between xp and use windows 7 instead. but as u stated if u have alot of torrents then it would be an ideal machine to use jus for that also, there is many things u can do

 

[Charles]

Honestly, you could setup an FTP site...an old school BBS, a seedbox, or a bunch of other fun stuff using linux, damn small linux should run fine on it... or you can make a retro gaming machine out of it, like someone else suggested, via DOS. There's a ton of old school / legacy software out there, that you can ONLY run from real DOS mode, or Windows 95, if you are lucky... like Lotus 123 for Dos, so there's a niche market for these old machines as well. I had a customer, who recently passed, that ran his construction company, and did his bids, in a legacy environment, in lotus 123 for dos, simply because it did what he needed, and he refused to pay 5K for the software update to run his bidding software in Windows 10 or 11. Dos emulation was way too slow for him, so running on legacy hardware actually provided him with a smoother working environment.

So if I installed XP, I could use it as extra storage? A server I guess? I could store all my torrents and what not on it and make it a shared folder in my home network?

You will need to enable SMB1 on all your newer Windows machines, if you plan on doing file sharing via XP.

 

[Sharrow]

For antique games - perfect. As a dedicated storage device on a network also good. It would probably make a nice MAME gaming rig.

I have scores of this age of box... They all eventually get used, or passed on and customized.

Also worth keeping an eye on values.. Check eBay for the sold price of any old computer equipment..you may be surprised what's selling well.

Definately the CPUs and Mobos have value as well.

Me? I'd make it a retro Baldur's Gate machine..

Goodluck!!

Or... Get an old version of Winamp, add Milkdrop to it...put a ton of music on it..and have a really cool video/trippy/colourful jukebox!!

 

[Colorx91]

Thank you all for the great feedback and ideas! I will most definitely post an update when I finish my project with the results!

 

[SydneyM]

2002 called and wants back its hardware

If you dont want to change hardware, install DOS and some DOS games, and make a retro legacy gaming PC. If possible get a CRT monitor too. At best install windows 98 or XP, 32-bit, and I wouldn't suggest trying anything above those. If you do use XP, don't even think of going online, you will get more viruses than you can name. Note that some LCD monitors might not be able to work on very low resolutions (in case the monitor stays black).

If you want to change hardware and challenge yourself, get a power supply that will fit, a mini ATX motherboard, and a Ryzen G processor (so no need for a graphics card) and have that retro/old look with current hardware. Since the disk will be NVMe you don't have to modify the case a lot, maybe drill a few holes here and there.

None of the above? Donate it to a computer museum as there are a lot of them that want old hardware.

@Cyler, I like your CRT monitor suggestion; brings back memories. I once bought one at an auction; it was over 10Kg. Lol!