• Activity
  • Votes
  • Comments
  • New
  • All activity
  • Showing only topics in ~comp with the tag "retrocomputing". Back to normal view / Search all groups
    1. What is the best modern-ish OS to install on older computers? (Parameters within)

      By "modern-ish" I mean support for wifi, USB, etc. Maybe modern is the wrong word, but "not prehistoric" fits better? I primarily want to use these machines for some old school mudding. Bonus...

      By "modern-ish" I mean support for wifi, USB, etc. Maybe modern is the wrong word, but "not prehistoric" fits better? I primarily want to use these machines for some old school mudding. Bonus points for a browser that works with encryption to make web browsing somewhat usable.

      Computer #1: "Ole trusty"

      This one came with the OG Windows NT. I've toyed with FreeBSD installs from version 4 to 7 or so. Right now I believe it has Windows 95 or 98.

      • Compaq / Pentium
      • 3.25" disk drive
      • Broken CD-ROM and I haven't found a plug-and-play replacement yet, even though I've tried 3 or 4. I can get it to work by forcing the tray open and closed, but I'm certain the tray is going to snap soon.
      • I've replaced the hard drive with a compact flash
      • Right now it has a PCI LAN adapter, but I have the option to replace this with a wifi adapter (Linksys I believe)

      Computer #2: "MTV was still cool"

      This one's running Windows 3.1 at the moment. It's going to be much tougher to get a network connection going. Is it possible to do some sort of modem-to-wifi bridge?

      • Compaq / 386
      • 5 1/2" and 3.25" disk drives, no CD ROM
      • Compact flash HD
      • It has a modem, I'm not sure how fast. I'm also not sure how many expansion slots are left.
      18 votes