I done it again!

TechnoMage

Active Member
Power User
Messages
706
Location
Central Florida
I had a spare 120 GB SSD that I wanted to put someplace where it could make an improvement.
So I took a deep breath, and went to work, extracting the old Toshiba 160 GB spinner out of my Acer Aspire ONE, Netbook.
The HD is down inside, mounted to the bottom of the motherboard, and not easy to get to.
An hour later, I had the SSD installed inside the Netbook, and fired it up, and it even ran. Voila! And I only had three screws left over.
Then I gave it a fresh install of Windows 8.1/Pro/x86 and it's running a lot faster today than it did with its original 160 GB spinner.

So now, what to do with a 160 GB Toshiba spinner (HD) with Windows 8.1/Pro/x86 already installed on it?
I unplugged the SSD in my Main desktop PC and plugged in the little spinner. I hit the GO switch and watched for sparks and smoke.
Well, that didn't happen. But it did humm a little, then I got a message on the screen that Windows 8.1/Pro/32 was setting itself up.
It was the same series of messages that one gets during a normal 8.1 install. (I've never had any OS that would do that, before.)
I didn't have to go fishing for my driver disks either. 8.1 installed all the drivers I needed for all my hardware, even my Epson printer,
and my NVIDEA video card.
That little Toshiba spinner performed a lot better in my Mini Mainframe (Mid-Tower Case, Desktop) Computer, than it did in that little Netbook with only 1.5 GB of RAM. My Desktop PC has 8 GB of RAM, and a 6-Core, AMD CPU. After mounting that little spinner in an adapter frame, and sticking it into a drive bay, I noticed that now I've got seven drives in my desktop PC (Pac-Man, Mid-Tower, Case).
All that happened between supper and bedtime! Just another day in the life of a retired computer tech.

Happy Thanksgiving!
TM :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
Now, if someone could come up with a way to run Windows 11 on a 32 bit cpu, they could make a fortune.
Sorry, not gonna happen :D 32bit machines useless anyways, no?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Professional x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7 3770 @ 4.45GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z77
    Memory
    16GB Hyperx Fury DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD R9 270X & GTX 970
    Screen Resolution
    x2 1920x1080
    Internet Speed
    10 Mb/s Down | 2Mb/s Up
    Browser
    Google Chrome 108
    Antivirus
    No
    Other Info
    No Windows Update/Windows Defender
How could they be useless, when they ran the world for decades, and are still in use every day, in business and industry.
I currently have 12 computers, and half of them are 32 bit machines.
Those all run Windows 8.1/Pro/32. And run it very well, thank you.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
I can't believe how little action this forum is getting these days. Where have all the 8.1 users gone?

My latest escapade is to transplant an OS from another almost identical PC to this one, when this one started having problems.
I could no longer do a System Restore. And I did not have a Backup Image file old enough to correct the problem.
So, I made an image off of my other (twin) PC and restored it to this one.
My Data was never in jeopardy, since I don't store it on my C: drive.

There were only a few little things that I to change, like my printer drivers and email program.

So today I'm running on the OS that only a few days ago was running on a different PC.

Which OS, you may well ask? Well, it happens to be Windows 11/Pro/64. And, I did not get it from MS.

Cheers mates,
TM :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
As far as I know 32-bit only CPUs are either Intel Pentium 4 socket 478 (or earlier) or Intel Atom netbooks/tablets. The former lack the required NX/PAE feature to run Windows 8/8.1 or 10 32-bit, but you can hack the kernel to run Windows 8/8.1 32-bit. Only problem is that each major update that replaces the patched system files will render the system unbootable, unless you patch the files again. Atom 32-bit can run 8/8.1 or 10 32-bit, I have a tablet HP Stream7 which originally run Windows 8 32-bit and I have now installed Windows 10 32-bit 22H2. The only drawback is the slow speed due to only 1GB RAM. I have disabled almost all visual effects to make it faster, but it still need some patience to use it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11 Pro 64-bit (was Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 full ATX s1155
    Memory
    2x Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Hyper X Blu
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GT 620 1GB DDR3 PCI-E
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony 19" TV (VGA connection)
    Screen Resolution
    1440X900 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    480GB SSD (one for 10 one for 11), 4GB HDD for data
    PSU
    600W
    Case
    Old white case (to hide I actually have a modern PC)
    Cooling
    Intel CPU fan
    Keyboard
    OEM PS/2 keyboard (to save USB ports)
    Mouse
    OEM PS/2 mouse (to save USB ports)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50MBps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Dual boot Windows 10 and 11 (change boot priority). Windows 11 installed with compatibility check bypass hack in Legacy BIOS mode, no TPM, no Secure Boot. For details visit Elevenforum
In the last post, I see only Intel cpu's being mentioned. What happened to AMD? I've bought nothing but AMD Cpu's since the 286 days. I do have several PC's with various Intel chips in them, but they were Given to me, as junk, and I certainly did not pay for them.

In post #18 above, I mentioned the 8GB of DDR3 ram. Initially it ran OK, but just recently that PC stated acting really weird.
So, I ran old reliable Memtest86+, and lo and behold one of those ram stick tested BAD. What was Not surprising to me, is that the name on that ram was "Kingston". I never go out of my way to use Kingston ram, because I've had a lot of problems with it in the past. SO, now, all that Kingston ram is GONE, and that ram has been replaced with ram that I've used in the past and know to be GOOD. It's not a matched pair, (two 4GB sticks) but it's the same speed and seems to work OK together.
And it's on a PC that I never push hard, so it should last me.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
Back at it again!
I used to do weekly dumster diving, behind a computer shop, and I wound up with several old Dell laptops, deemed too old to repair.
One is a Dell Latitude D820, and it has a 64 bit capable motherboard and CPU. It's been running Windows 8.1/Pro/32 for several years.
Just out of curiosity, I wanted to see if it would run Windows 11/Pro/64.
So I cloned my main PC's SSD to a spare SSD that I had on hand, and put that SSD in the old Dell. On boot, it gave me several Please Wait messages, etc. etc. etc, and finally rebooted and came up running Windows 11, like it had always been there. VOILA!

Who would of ever thunk it? The Bios on the old Dell laptop has a mfg date of 2008. Originally it came out with Windows XP installed.
Besides installing a new 120GB SSD in the Dell, I also doubled the ram, from just one GB to Two GB.
With all the crap removed from Win-11, it runs very well on that really OLD PC. It's at least 15 years old.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
And again!
I found in my collection, another pretty old Dell Latitude 131L, Laptop, that definitely will not run any 64 bit OS, even though when I run "System", it says the laptop has a "x64 -based processor". They lied! That cpu is an AMD Sempron 3500+, or so it seems. If the cpu is 64 bit compatible, the BIOS is not!
So, I'm in the process of locating an ISO for Windows 10/Pro/x86. And I'm in hopes that the old Dell will run that OS.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-8.1/Pro/64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer X-1200
    CPU
    AMD 2 Core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    Crucial, 4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDEA GeForce 9200
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Acer
    Hard Drives
    Sandisk, SSD 500GB
    PSU
    Acer
    Case
    SFF Slimline
    Keyboard
    emachines 101 key
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    5 Meg
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Using Classic Shell on Win-8.1 /pro/64
Back at it again!
I used to do weekly dumster diving, behind a computer shop, and I wound up with several old Dell laptops, deemed too old to repair.
One is a Dell Latitude D820, and it has a 64 bit capable motherboard and CPU. It's been running Windows 8.1/Pro/32 for several years.
Just out of curiosity, I wanted to see if it would run Windows 11/Pro/64.
So I cloned my main PC's SSD to a spare SSD that I had on hand, and put that SSD in the old Dell. On boot, it gave me several Please Wait messages, etc. etc. etc, and finally rebooted and came up running Windows 11, like it had always been there. VOILA!

Who would of ever thunk it? The Bios on the old Dell laptop has a mfg date of 2008. Originally it came out with Windows XP installed.
Besides installing a new 120GB SSD in the Dell, I also doubled the ram, from just one GB to Two GB.
With all the crap removed from Win-11, it runs very well on that really OLD PC. It's at least 15 years old.
Yes, I have seen many users dumping an old computer because they think it is useless. Just add an SSD, install a Windows 10 or 11, make it lighter and you have a good computer. My test laptop is a 2006 era Acer Extensa with mobile Intel dual core CPU, 4GB RAM, SSD 250GB, Intel 945G graphics and I have tested all Windows versions from XP to 11. Because 11 can see more RAM than Windows 10 32-bit, it is actually faster with 11!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11 Pro 64-bit (was Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 full ATX s1155
    Memory
    2x Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Hyper X Blu
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GT 620 1GB DDR3 PCI-E
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony 19" TV (VGA connection)
    Screen Resolution
    1440X900 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    480GB SSD (one for 10 one for 11), 4GB HDD for data
    PSU
    600W
    Case
    Old white case (to hide I actually have a modern PC)
    Cooling
    Intel CPU fan
    Keyboard
    OEM PS/2 keyboard (to save USB ports)
    Mouse
    OEM PS/2 mouse (to save USB ports)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50MBps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Dual boot Windows 10 and 11 (change boot priority). Windows 11 installed with compatibility check bypass hack in Legacy BIOS mode, no TPM, no Secure Boot. For details visit Elevenforum
And again!
I found in my collection, another pretty old Dell Latitude 131L, Laptop, that definitely will not run any 64 bit OS, even though when I run "System", it says the laptop has a "x64 -based processor". They lied! That cpu is an AMD Sempron 3500+, or so it seems. If the cpu is 64 bit compatible, the BIOS is not!
So, I'm in the process of locating an ISO for Windows 10/Pro/x86. And I'm in hopes that the old Dell will run that OS.
I had once a Compaq laptop with a first generation AMD 64 CPU. This could take Windows XP x64, Windows Vista and 7 64-bit, but not Windows 8 64-bit or higher due to lack of the required instructions in the CPU. The most modern you could install on it was Windows 10 32-bit. It worked with Windows Vista 32-bit drivers, not even Windows 7 drivers were available, that old! I am not sure if your Sempron lacks the same instructions to run Windows 8+ 64-bit. In that case go for Windows 10 32-bit. You won't regret it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11 Pro 64-bit (was Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 full ATX s1155
    Memory
    2x Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Hyper X Blu
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GT 620 1GB DDR3 PCI-E
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony 19" TV (VGA connection)
    Screen Resolution
    1440X900 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    480GB SSD (one for 10 one for 11), 4GB HDD for data
    PSU
    600W
    Case
    Old white case (to hide I actually have a modern PC)
    Cooling
    Intel CPU fan
    Keyboard
    OEM PS/2 keyboard (to save USB ports)
    Mouse
    OEM PS/2 mouse (to save USB ports)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50MBps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Dual boot Windows 10 and 11 (change boot priority). Windows 11 installed with compatibility check bypass hack in Legacy BIOS mode, no TPM, no Secure Boot. For details visit Elevenforum
Back
Top