Looking for a computer running XP

SpudThumper

SpudThumper

Hi,

I've remained very happy with the XP operating systems since I first got it decades ago. I'm no longer seeing used XP machines for sale at the computer repair stores, so I thought I'd ask around on a forum.

Anyone know of anyone with a used computer with XP installed (and not other operating systems), with usual the associated programs, such as Windows Office (or at least Word)?

SpudThumper
 
flavallee,

Thank for this suggestion. I have two problems, however, with NestEgg. One, it appears that the company only accepts electron "money", which I don't use. Two, the XP-based computers listed have very few ratings from 3 to 4, but many ratings at the extremes (i.e., 1 and 5). I suspect people (or robots) are overdoing it in their attempts to extoll or trash the seller of these products. I am leery when I read that the seller didn't deliver the goods or refund the money. Any thoughts?

Mostly I was hoping that a member of this forum had a used computer for sale running XP. Anyone out there fitting that description?

SpudThumper
 
If you do a search on Ebay for "Windows XP computer" you will see many for under $100 USD. To avoid problems/scam sellers buy only from "Top Rated Plus". They also accept many forms of payment (Visa/MC/AMEX/DISC/Paypal) whereas others only accept Paypal.

Please note that most computers, even new don't come with full versions of apps (Office, Antivirus etc.) but rather TRIAL versions that expire unless you purchase the full versions. Maybe LibreOffice will meet your needs if you don't want to buy Office.

I don't have any hardware for sale, maybe someone else does or can recommend a different site similar to Amibay that specializes in buying/selling legacy PC hardware.
 
Thanks ClippyBeer,

I just checked into Ebay and your information seems correct. Good tip on the "Top Rated Plus" angle.

I guess my main problem remains finding someone who accepts non-digital (traditional) forms of payment (checks, money orders). I'm thinking that Visa, MC,AMEX,DISC, Paypal are also forms of electronic payment.

Sorry to hear that most computers don't come with full versions of, for instance, Office. Buying a full version of that would no doubt require digital money. Much as I've come to dislike Microsoft, I've used Office/Word for too many decades in technical matters. I occasionally use LibreOffice, but in little more than a Notepad sense. Getting up to speed in LibreOffice would entail a lot of time that, I'm sorry to report, I don't have much of right now.

Oh . . . I forgot to check Amibay. Will do so now.
 
SpudThumper said:
Hi,

I've remained very happy with the XP operating systems since I first got it decades ago. I'm no longer seeing used XP machines for sale at the computer repair stores, so I thought I'd ask around on a forum.

Anyone know of anyone with a used computer with XP installed (and not other operating systems), with usual the associated programs, such as Windows Office (or at least Word)?

SpudThumper
Click to expand...

Got all my used Dell OptiPlex rigs from eBay. Built like a tank, but nearly impossible to upgrade parts! The XP Pro came pre-installed and pre-activated, so M$ doesn't have me signed up to their EULA, nor has the info they gather at registration (though they likely got it via other ways). Office was not included.
 
SpudThumper said:
Thanks ClippyBeer,

I just checked into Ebay and your information seems correct. Good tip on the "Top Rated Plus" angle.

I guess my main problem remains finding someone who accepts non-digital (traditional) forms of payment (checks, money orders). I'm thinking that Visa, MC,AMEX,DISC, Paypal are also forms of electronic payment.

Sorry to hear that most computers don't come with full versions of, for instance, Office. Buying a full version of that would no doubt require digital money. Much as I've come to dislike Microsoft, I've used Office/Word for too many decades in technical matters. I occasionally use LibreOffice, but in little more than a Notepad sense. Getting up to speed in LibreOffice would entail a lot of time that, I'm sorry to report, I don't have much of right now.

Oh . . . I forgot to check Amibay. Will do so now.
Click to expand...

You can contact this company and ask about money orders:
https://www.refurbishedpc.com/pages/contact-us
No idea if they do or not. Bought a couple from them, all quality work, but no Office included. For a Office install CD, you're looking at Amazon or eBay, and that means credit card or Paypay. Maybe a want-ad in your local paper, but you could end up with an install CD with no installs left.
 
@ SpudThumper:-

It's a sign of the times, unfortunately. As more & more folks move into selling on-line, so they want to be paid on-line, too. Society is getting so that trust seems a thing of the past; the days when firms would send you the goods, followed by invoicing you, then waiting for you to send a cheque/money-order, etc., seem to be long gone.

Everybody wants you to pay them "up-front" as a condition of your receiving goods at all. :rolleyes:

What can you do?


Mike. ;)
 
trimis said:
Got all my used Dell OptiPlex rigs from eBay. Built like a tank, but nearly impossible to upgrade parts! The XP Pro came pre-installed and pre-activated, so M$ doesn't have me signed up to their EULA, nor has the info they gather at registration (though they likely got it via other ways). Office was not included.
Click to expand...
Which Dell Optiplex is nearly impossible to upgrade? I mean i have a Dell Optiplex 755, and upgraded the Core 2 Duo E7500 to a Core 2 Quad Q9550, and my gpu is an Asus GeForce GT610.
 
Connor McMahon said:
Which Dell Optiplex is nearly impossible to upgrade? I mean i have a Dell Optiplex 755, and upgraded the Core 2 Duo E7500 to a Core 2 Quad Q9550, and my gpu is an Asus GeForce GT610.
Click to expand...

All models of Dell so far as I know. All the models I have had. Anything smaller than the MT for sure, and even then only certain parts fit, run on the limited power supply, or are all that much of an upgrade. The Geforce graphics card (9300? 710?) that I 'upgraded' the onboard graphics of my OptiPlex 960 with is a joke, as is the quad-core Q9550 CPU I 'upgraded' the dual core to. If either made any performance improvement, it is so minimal I fail to notice it.

With Dell rigs you pretty much have to buy the best (or good enough) model from the get go. Been told on various forums that my 'new' PC (Dell Optiplex 7010 Mini-Tower, Quad Core i7 3770 (3.4GHz), 16GB DDR3 SDRAM, 1TB Hard Drive: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit) is a major improvement over the current model. Supposedly I will be able to listen to "Darkness Prevails' on YouTube, without the repeated spinning wheel that signals it is about to hiccup, stutter or freeze up. Should be ready to debut to the internet before end of December, so time will tell.
 
@trimis:-

I've always found HP/Compaqs to be better in the 'upgrading stakes'. Though, having said that, I've always liked Dells, because they're very Linux-friendly.

My ancient Inspiron 1100 lappie - 18 yrs old, and STILL going strong! - got a RAM upgrade, and a CPU upgrade.....though with non-HT Pentium 4s, upgrades weren't really noticeable, TBH.

The old Compaq tower, which died back in January, got upgraded from a single-core Athlon64 to a dual-core X2. No speed improvement; I stuck with the same 2.0 GHz clock speed, though multi-tasking improved no end. Max DDR1 RAM was only 4 GB.

(The 'top-end' X2 was only 2.4 GHz, and they were like gold-dust; they'd all been snapped-up by enthusiasts years before I even got hold of the thing..!)

The current HP Pavilion desktop sports a Pentium 'Gold' G5400, running @ 3.7 GHz; dual-core w/HT, so effectively a 'quad'.....and much newer instruction sets, of course. Came with 4 GB DDR4; that rapidly became 8 GB, followed shortly by a hike to 16 GB. 32 GB of Crucial RAM should be here from Amazon tomorrow.

I use a GeForce GT710 'passive' cooler GPU; first time I've ever bothered with a 'discrete' GPU. Not because I need one for gaming.....my main use is for graphic design & video-editing. This thing's specs are no better than the built-in Intel UHD 610, but I don't want my GPU 'borrowing' system RAM to use as VRAM. At least this way, my RAM is for Puppy (and me) to use.....and with Puppy using so little of the stuff, that effectively means all my RAM is available for ME to use.

Which is how I like it!


Mike. ;)
 
Have no experience with Dell. Did buy one once, but it was a present for a neighbour. (Been OK as far as I am aware.)

If I were to buy an XP laptop at present, I would get a 2nd hand Thinkpad T420. Loads of them around quite cheap, as they are at the stage were corporate users are getting rid of.

Not a gaming machine: very much targeted at business use, but for general tasks and web access superb, and easy to fettle/upgrade. You'll probably find a YouTube piece on whatever it might be you propose to do. They are renown for being built like a tank, and parts seem to be widely available. They are easy to work on.
The quality of ThinkPad keyboard is legendary. i5 processor at 2.6 or so G Hz, and 16 GB RAM, and XP drivers from the manufacturer. Also have Display Port so options for external monitor are good.

Excellent for a multi-boot machine, as it is easy to have THREE HDDs/SSDs concurrently.

No USB3, but for little outlay you can get a couple of USB3 ports on an Express Card, and can leave said card in machine.

On the other hand, if an XP desktop is needed, I would do a self build.

It is not the cheapest option: almost certainly will cost more than buying a used XP desktop, but parts from XP era are not that expensive, and you can build exactly what is required to suit your usage needs.

Can build for peanuts if use 2nd hand components from eBay and the like.
 
Come to think about it..........

This thread has prompted me to get rid of my least used machine: a Siemens/Fujitsu Amilo Pro 2030, XP Laptop.

It is a very poor performer, even with RAM maxed out and replacing CPU. It only gets used as access to my music in the garden.

Decided, instead: to place a copy of XP on a HDD that I can optionally plug into the Ultra Bay on the T420 ThinkPad. So, better performance, and one less PC taking up house room.
 
Lots of interesting conversation here. My primary concern was buying an old (that is, cheap) computer for XP. I checked out EBay, AmbiPay, I don't pay for anything with electrons (Visa/MC/AMEX/DISC/Paypal). Fortunately, I just found someone nearby with desktop models running XP, so life is good!

I'm going to follow this one up with a new topic.

SpudThumper
 
My apologies. I never got back to this thread to report closure on the issue. I've never used digital currency (credit, debit, American Express cards, PayPal, crypto, etc.). My research into the companies listed above (e.g., EBay and AmbiPay) appear to only accept electron money. The good news is that I was able to find a techie not too far away with some older PCs with XP installed. They were cheap. So my advice to everyone on this forum of a privacy mindset is to do the legwork and buy those suckers before they disappear forever.
 
Glad you found a nice local machine. That's the way I've gotten my best xp capable machines--some old unwanted Dells that have a coa for win 7, but they run xp with native Dell drivers too. :D
 
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