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Found: your bigger older WinXP laptop...

DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,951 moderator
edited April 15, 2009 in The Kitchen Sink
I need this for a research project, but since my grant forbids expenditures on "computers" I've decided to free up some startup cash and scour teh internets...

NEED:
  • RS232 port (serial)
  • USB2.0 ports (at least 2)
  • min. 2GHz clock
  • min. 20gb hard drive
Everything else is inconsequential. In fact, the bigger the clunkier, and the more useless the old battery, the better (thereby cheaper). This machine will be doing data acquisition, hence the somewhat tricky requirements - needs to be fairly quick, but also needs the RS232 which not many newer faster lappies have.

Anyone have anything that fits the bill??? :deal
Erik
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]

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    DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,951 moderator
    edited April 10, 2009
    I found a really nice USB-to-RS232(serial) adapter, so we can relax that requirement as long as there are 3 USB2.0 ports.
    Erik
    moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]

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    BradfordBennBradfordBenn Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited April 10, 2009
    I might be able to help. I am not sure if the USB ports are 2.0 or not. They are a Gateway M500B1 and a 450ROG. let me know if you are interested.

    Also as being one who deals with RS-232 USB converters way too much at work, be careful they are not all created equally. If you want I can go through my work notes and find what works beside the Keyspan stuff.
    -=Bradford

    Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
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    DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,951 moderator
    edited April 11, 2009
    BradfordBenn wrote:
    I might be able to help. I am not sure if the USB ports are 2.0 or not. They are a Gateway M500B1 and a 450ROG. let me know if you are interested.

    Also as being one who deals with RS-232 USB converters way too much at work, be careful they are not all created equally. If you want I can go through my work notes and find what works beside the Keyspan stuff.
    Interested. Shoot me a PM if you don't mind with what you'd need to get out. Cheap is good.

    Over on advrider, I got similar info about the USB/serial adapters, so its a bit of a crapshoot, I realize.
    Erik
    moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]

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    Jane B.Jane B. Registered Users Posts: 373 Major grins
    edited April 12, 2009
    DoctorIt wrote:
    I need this for a research project, but since my grant forbids expenditures on "computers" I've decided to free up some startup cash and scour teh internets...

    NEED:
    • RS232 port (serial)
    • USB2.0 ports (at least 2)
    • min. 2GHz clock
    • min. 20gb hard drive
    Everything else is inconsequential. In fact, the bigger the clunkier, and the more useless the old battery, the better (thereby cheaper). This machine will be doing data acquisition, hence the somewhat tricky requirements - needs to be fairly quick, but also needs the RS232 which not many newer faster lappies have.
    Anyone have anything that fits the bill??? deal.gif

    A number of years ago I got a 4 port USB 2.0 CardBus adapter that goes in a PCMCIA (cardbus) slot to add 4 USB 2 ports. The particular one that I have is by Buslink as I liked their external hard drive that I wanted to add through it the best and thought that staying with the same mfg. was a good idea. It is marked for use with Win 98SE, WinME, Win 2000 and Win XP so you can get an idea of how old it is. I am still using it with my current lappie to add ports to the three that are build in. I am behind enough to be still using XP. Might this type of item still be around as a way to get the number USB 2 ports you want? The computer that I originally added it to only had USB 1 ports built in.

    Jane
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    DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,951 moderator
    edited April 13, 2009
    Jane B. wrote:
    A number of years ago I got a 4 port USB 2.0 CardBus adapter that goes in a PCMCIA (cardbus) slot to add 4 USB 2 ports. The particular one that I have is by Buslink as I liked their external hard drive that I wanted to add through it the best and thought that staying with the same mfg. was a good idea. It is marked for use with Win 98SE, WinME, Win 2000 and Win XP so you can get an idea of how old it is. I am still using it with my current lappie to add ports to the three that are build in. I am behind enough to be still using XP. Might this type of item still be around as a way to get the number USB 2 ports you want? The computer that I originally added it to only had USB 1 ports built in.

    Jane
    Hi Jane - thanks for the input. I'm aware of card adapters, but realistically, if the given machine isn't new enough to have USB2, it's probably not going to be fast enough for my app.

    I should clarify, I'm not really a "beggar" in this case, I'm just looking for the right solution to a lab problem. I have a working solution that involves walking around with an old desktop - we have monitors just about everywhere in the building, so its not a huge deal, just looking to improve. And in that sense, an ancient laptop struggling to run a PCMCIA adapter and a USB/serial converter dangling off the side won't be much of an improvement.

    I've got some leads, thanks all. thumb.gif
    Erik
    moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]

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    jhelmsjhelms Registered Users Posts: 651 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2009
    DoctorIt wrote:
    Hi Jane - thanks for the input. I'm aware of card adapters, but realistically, if the given machine isn't new enough to have USB2, it's probably not going to be fast enough for my app.

    I should clarify, I'm not really a "beggar" in this case, I'm just looking for the right solution to a lab problem. I have a working solution that involves walking around with an old desktop - we have monitors just about everywhere in the building, so its not a huge deal, just looking to improve. And in that sense, an ancient laptop struggling to run a PCMCIA adapter and a USB/serial converter dangling off the side won't be much of an improvement.

    I've got some leads, thanks all. thumb.gif


    I'll check my old Toshiba at home this week - it was too slow for me once I started running LR and shooting .raw, so I pretty much abandoned it. It's a circa 2006 laptop, if it fits your bill I'll send it to you for just the price of shipping if you still need it.... thumb.gif

    I know the HD is 100gb, but not sure on the rest of the specs - will let you know.
    John in Georgia
    Nikon | Private Photojournalist
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    Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2009
    jhelms wrote:
    I'll check my old Toshiba at home this week - it was too slow for me once I started running LR and shooting .raw, so I pretty much abandoned it. It's a circa 2006 laptop, if it fits your bill I'll send it to you for just the price of shipping if you still need it.... thumb.gif

    I know the HD is 100gb, but not sure on the rest of the specs - will let you know.

    do it as a gift so you can deduct off taxes.....Dr.IT should not incur any liability for any type of payment income from the gifting.......
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

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    jhelmsjhelms Registered Users Posts: 651 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2009
    Art Scott wrote:
    do it as a gift so you can deduct off taxes.....Dr.IT should not incur any liability for any type of payment income from the gifting.......

    Cool, good idea thumb.gif
    John in Georgia
    Nikon | Private Photojournalist
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    DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,951 moderator
    edited April 14, 2009
    I found one locally, thanks for the offers/input thumb.gif
    Erik
    moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]

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    Jane B.Jane B. Registered Users Posts: 373 Major grins
    edited April 15, 2009
    DoctorIt wrote:
    Hi Jane - thanks for the input. I'm aware of card adapters, but realistically, if the given machine isn't new enough to have USB2, it's probably not going to be fast enough for my app.

    I should clarify, I'm not really a "beggar" in this case, I'm just looking for the right solution to a lab problem. I have a working solution that involves walking around with an old desktop - we have monitors just about everywhere in the building, so its not a huge deal, just looking to improve. And in that sense, an ancient laptop struggling to run a PCMCIA adapter and a USB/serial converter dangling off the side won't be much of an improvement.

    I've got some leads, thanks all. thumb.gif

    I am aware of your report of finding one but thought I would clarify what I had in mind when I wrote my earlier response (and should have stated more clearly then). What I had in mind was if you found one that suited you otherwise but was short of USB ports one of these adapters might well be helpful.

    Let us know how it turns out will ya?
    Jane
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