Reply to: What should I do with an old xp machine

[petergriffin]

Is linux an option for you? Or FreeBSD?

Please, let's keep Linux and BSD for the IT literate only, like in the good old days!

[Hiram King Of Tyre]

I don't see why not, someone I know just bulk buys cheap £1 webcams from china and uses them for cctv, DIY can work pretty well

I saw some free software called I-spy

[amcdonald]

I'll need to work out what that is. You have given me an idea though in that we do need CCTV Could I use it for that?

I don't see why not, someone I know just bulk buys cheap £1 webcams from china and uses them for cctv, DIY can work pretty well

[amcdonald]

Agreed but xp may become highly vulnerable

Then run it in a virtual machine

[stek]

Put this on it.

Home | elementary OS

[VectraMan]

My old core 2 Duo Dell XP desktop is essentially a server now running Windows 7. I found it's faster with W7 than XP, so that's not something to worry about.

My intent was always to put some kind of Linux on there; if Linux ought to be able to do one thing well it's working as a server, sharing files, running VMs and managing user accounts etc. etc., and the price is right. But I've never been able to find a sensible solution, because the Linux world doesn't understand that some people aren't interested in setting up computers as a hobby. Linux probably would be the way, but expect to waste lots of time experimenting with different distros (because nobody will tell you what the differences are), and endlessly googling to find the incomprehensible command lines necessary to set simple things up.

[doodab]

I don't know. It's an old machine that we don't use too often. Do I need to be a boffin?

For linux, not so much these days but you will probably need to google to find answers to a lot of questions and some hardware might not work. For BSD, probably a bit.

What sort of spec is it? I have windows 7 running on a core 2 duo laptop & also used to have it on an old desktop, it's a lot less demanding than vista so you might find it's OK if you have say a dual core processor & 4 or 8GB RAM in there.

[DimPrawn]

I'm still using a toshiba laptop from 2000.

Support for that ended ages ago, but it still works and runs the tulipe I need.

Never goes on the web so wtf does it matter?

<ZG in "Windoze 98 for ever" mode>

Is it connected to the Internet or standalone?

Users of Aged Windows Face Risk | TechHive

The machine can be hacked remotely if it is internet facing due to the O/S being a Swiss Cheese of security issues.

[Hiram King Of Tyre]

Is linux an option for you? Or FreeBSD?

I don't know. It's an old machine that we don't use too often. Do I need to be a boffin?

[doodab]

Is linux an option for you? Or FreeBSD?

[Hiram King Of Tyre]

It's not going to stop working just because support ends.

Agreed but xp may become highly vulnerable

[d000hg]

It's not going to stop working just because support ends.

[Hiram King Of Tyre]

Run XBMC on it. attach storage and use it as a media server ?

I'll need to work out what that is. You have given me an idea though in that we do need CCTV Could I use it for that?

[amcdonald]

Run XBMC on it. attach storage and use it as a media server ?

[DimPrawn]

PC disposal experts (USA).