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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Cambridge, MA
Posts: 44,278
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Need to get a used PC
I need to get a basic PC running XP for our MS Access order entry/invoicing system. It will do nothing else. I'm not sure if it's possible, but I'd like to get something for $250 that is reasonably current.
What specs should I be looking for?
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Tru6 Restoration & Design |
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02-25-2010, 12:28 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: MD
Posts: 5,733
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Get a new one, something like this The Dell Online Store: Build Your System
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02-25-2010, 12:59 PM
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<insert witty title here>
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A local store used to sell used boxes for $100, monitors for $50. This was about 4 years ago, and they came pre-loaded with windows 98. I'd imagine for the same price you could get one these days pre-loaded with xp. Or ask your friends - I've got 2 spare computers, I'd just give you one if you lived nearby.
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Current: 1987 911 cabrio Past: 1972 911t 3.0, 1986 911, 1983 944, 1999 Boxster |
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02-25-2010, 01:10 PM
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Son of a Son of a Sailor
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Birmingham, Al
Posts: 945
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Funny story. And true. My mom bought an HP at a church yard sale. Whole system with printer for $35 or so. It was running Windows 98.
My ex-girlfriend is a computer guru and offered to help mom set it up. She called me and asked if she should show mom all of the porn from the original owner - who happened to be a woman and was starring in many, many of the images! I told her only if she wanted to kill my mom so she then wiped it clean. The woman had also left All of her personal banking info, passwords, family members SS numbers, etc. on the thing. Good for them my GF was honest. Oh, and the "quality" of the porn from this good Baptist church family would have made a baboon blush blue!
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"Living and Dying in 3/4 Time" |
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02-25-2010, 01:23 PM
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canna change law physics
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PacificGeek.com - Surplus Computers and Wholesale Computer Parts
Or, buy a Netbook and pair with a monitor and external keyboard.
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James The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the engineer adjusts the sails.- William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) Red-beard for President, 2020 |
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02-25-2010, 02:51 PM
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canna change law physics
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Quote:
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James The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the engineer adjusts the sails.- William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) Red-beard for President, 2020 |
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02-25-2010, 02:52 PM
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Son of a Son of a Sailor
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Birmingham, Al
Posts: 945
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Quote:
Sadly, no.  Don't know why my old g/f wouldn't let us keep that stuff? 
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"Living and Dying in 3/4 Time" |
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02-25-2010, 03:08 PM
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Back in the saddle again
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Central TX west of Houston
Posts: 55,867
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2 x-mas ago i bought a dell from Dell Outlet - Refurbished Computers - Refurbished Laptops - Refurbished PCs | Dell for $270
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02-25-2010, 04:08 PM
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Custom User Title
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Barrie, Ontario Canada
Posts: 2,954
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I just got a netbook that I traded for an old blackberry I had sitting on a shelf for 5 months. After I ran housecall (failed) AVG (failed) then finally Avast I was able to get the various nasty viruses off the machine. 540 infected files was a record for me. I also had to clean up my desktop because I stupidly used a usb drive to copy some files over which infected the desktop.
All told I spent quite a few hours on the 2 month old miserable little PC and learned an imprortant lesson. DONT buy a used PC! |
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02-25-2010, 05:26 PM
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Cogito Ergo Sum
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I'd only buy used if I was going to wipe it and start over....
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02-25-2010, 05:30 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Cambridge, MA
Posts: 44,278
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all good advice and links, thank you, and yes I'd just wipe any computer clean and reinstall XP and Access. the one I have now is a friend's and I want to give it back.
Christien, thanks for the thought, much appreciated.
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Tru6 Restoration & Design |
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02-25-2010, 05:56 PM
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Run smooth, run fast
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 13,447
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Call a few of the smaller local computer stores... the ones that will build a computer for you... and ask if they have any used PCs for sale... or what they would charge to build a basic one for you that will meet your requirements. Many times, these shops have great buys and they almost always give great service.
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- John "We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline." |
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02-25-2010, 06:08 PM
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Moderator
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Why not spend the $100 on VMWare?
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Don Plumley M235i memories: 87 911, 96 993, 13 Cayenne |
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02-25-2010, 06:52 PM
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19 years and 17k posts...
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I buy used Dell computers on eBay all the time... cheap and decent computers can easily be found. Watch the shipping charges!
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Art Zasadny 1974 Porsche 911 Targa "Helga" (Sold, back home in Germany) Learning the bass guitar Driving Ford company cars now... www.ford.com |
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02-26-2010, 03:17 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Cambridge, MA
Posts: 44,278
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Quote:
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Tru6 Restoration & Design |
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02-26-2010, 03:32 AM
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Too big to fail
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Quote:
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"You go to the track with the Porsche you have, not the Porsche you wish you had." '03 E46 M3 '57 356A Various VWs |
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02-26-2010, 05:06 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Lawrenceville GA 30045
Posts: 7,377
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Why trust a used PC for a business purpose that would appear to be vital to the business?
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Mark '83 SC Targa - since 5/5/2001 '06 911 S Aerokit - from 5/2/2016 to 11/14/2018 '11 911 S w/PDK - from 7/2/2021 to ??? |
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02-26-2010, 05:58 AM
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Moderator
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Quote:
For another, I have to use Outlook and IE. So I run another VMWare client instance with Win7 and then run those aps in "Unity" mode, which means they look like native Mac apps. All of this on a basic unibody MacBook. Unless I needed a dedicated machine, this is a very usable setup.
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Don Plumley M235i memories: 87 911, 96 993, 13 Cayenne |
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02-26-2010, 06:08 AM
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Back in the saddle again
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Central TX west of Houston
Posts: 55,867
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These are some of the <$250 deals on dell.com/outlet right now.
dell zino hd $209 250 GB hd 2Gb ram DVD Athlon 1600 cert refurb dell zino hd $229 250 GB hd 2Gb ram DVD Athlon 1800 scratch and dent dell zino hd $249 250 GB hd 2Gb ram DVD Athlon dual core 1500 scratch and dent dell zino hd $249 250 GB hd 3Gb ram DVD Athlon 1600 scratch and dent
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Steve '08 Boxster RS60 Spyder #0099/1960 - never named a car before, but this is Charlotte. '88 targa  SOLD 2004 - gone but not forgotten
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02-26-2010, 06:14 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Cambridge, MA
Posts: 44,278
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Quote:
What I like about your scenario is I can print invoice/packing slip/UPS label and PDF copies all in chair. There's a lot of jumping around with the separate PC and I find I need to email PDF orders a lot, which means creating on the PC and then emailing to my Mac and then forwarding on. Do I have to restart? can I easily swap back and forth between OS?
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Tru6 Restoration & Design |
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02-26-2010, 08:13 AM
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1972 Porsche 911T 2.4
1970/1982 Porsche 914-6/911SC 2.7 RS
1986 Porsche 944 2.5l
1987 Porsche Carrera 3.2 
MazdaSpeed3
