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So I have 5 computers now...


Seth Hartley

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First my father gave me an old Imac... I think a 266mhz... It's from '99 I think.
Then tonight my mother in law dropped off another Imac, but this one's a 333mhz with 32 MB RAM...
Everything I've read I think says that these won't work for LOR right?
I also have an old windows machine its a 166mhz with 32 mb Ram running windows 95! Lol!
I think all three are worthless for LOR... I just want something to sit out on the enclosed porch and run the show every night. My other two computers run LOR great, they are both XP machines, but we are using both all the time, and it gets anoying not being able to watch a tv show or something while LOR is running.
I also have a spare 40 gig hard drive with XP on it, a power suply, 1 gig memmory, and dvd drive. Just need a motherboard and processor... which would match those 7 year old parts... ::sigh::

Thoughts?

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I'm not a "mac guy", but as far as I know, you can't run LOR nativately on a Mac without using something like "boot camp".

Actually that old Windows machine might be a better choice.... if you are dedicating it to running only LOR.

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Not much on macs here either, however, the old windows 95 machine will prob be your best choice. You may be able to put you 40 gig drive in there and have it run. The only thing that will make a difference for a motherboard and processor is the 1gig memory, you will need to figure out the speed of the memory to see if it will work in the 95 machine or not. otherwise find a motherboard and processor to fit the memory.

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Yeah I tried putting the 40 gig in there, but it just boots up and says "cannot read from disk" or something like that.... I don't think the tiny processor in that would handle windows XP anyway...

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I went to a local computer repair shop and bought a used computer for $75.
It is a P400 w/ 120G HD and 128M ram.

It has been running 24/7 for a year and had zero problems. Off season it runs the DVR card and security camera recording. During December it runs the Light Show.

Keeps me from losing my "main" computer during the show.

Scott

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Calvin wrote:

Not much on macs here either, however, the old windows 95 machine will prob be your best choice. You may be able to put you 40 gig drive in there and have it run. The only thing that will make a difference for a motherboard and processor is the 1gig memory, you will need to figure out the speed of the memory to see if it will work in the 95 machine or not. otherwise find a motherboard and processor to fit the memory.

LOR will not run on Windows 95; you must have 98SE or higher.
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  • 3 weeks later...

Seth Hartley wrote:

Yeah I tried putting the 40 gig in there, but it just boots up and says "cannot read from disk" or something like that.... I don't think the tiny processor in that would handle windows XP anyway...


You cannot just plug in a drive with an operating system into a different MB and expect it to work. MB specific drivers are loaded during install and they may not be compatible with a different board. When switching MB, you have to do a reinstall of Windows to pick up the drivers for the new board. You can only do this with a store bought copy of the OS. OEM discs usually require an empty, formatted disk to install.

Check out electronics recyclers in your area or shop on Ebay for a board that matches your processor and memory. Big companies usually have a 5 year replacement schedule. Check with them to see who they use to recycle their equipment. Check with various repair guys like Best Buys Geek Squad and see if they can put you in contact with folks who have parts. Last, do you have bulk trash pickup? In my area there is always a computer or 2 sitting on the curb.
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  • 2 weeks later...

I know this is somewhat of a late response, but, it is not completely true that you need to do a complete wipe of a hard drive to install new MB drivers, all though it does make things easier. You can just install the new MB drivers on the existing drive and if you get lucky it will actually work, I had to do this when my first LOR pc crashed, had to rebuild a new system and just put the HD in a different system and it worked ok, after installing the latest MB drivers, although it may cause conflicts at first add/remove programs can help fix them, just though I would put that lil tid bit on here that sometimes it will work without a reinstall.

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Yes, if you already have the OS installed and you just need to update the drivers, then you can reinstall using an OEM disk. I brain farted mid thought and was thinking install. Also realize this is not 100%. I have known folks who have totally hosed their systems doing this, though I have done 2 swaps myself with no known issues. It also helps if the motherboards are from the same company.

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