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hi everyone,
i have been offered a free 286 computer and was wondering if its even worth taking.
in helping my decision, i have the following questions:
what version of dos will it most likely run?
will it run quickmenu or xtree gold?
what bottleneck for harddrive size do 286's most commonly have?
look forward to your replies!
bob
Quikmenu and Xtree will run on it with any version of dos. Watch what video card your using for the icons in quikmenu might be in 2 colors if the video card is an old one.
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you can use nearly every dos version for your 286, but i won't run Windows 95 or higher! personally, i used ms-dos 6.22 on my old 286!
most of these computers have a 10-40MB HDD!
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Windows 3.10 will run on it, but only in standard mode. Using it in 386 enhaned mode is out of the question. Your processor would not be high enough, and you more than likely do not have enough RAM either. I would take the computer, however Do not bother putting it online. It would make a good word processor/home office machine, but other than that, you will not be able to use it for much.
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depends what you wanne do with it, but I guess ANY windows is out of the question, unless you have loads of time ... ;)
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well i guess its worth taking, even if i only use it to store some files for backup purposes. as far as web surfing etc goes i think i'll stick to my celeron 433!
thanks for all your input guys!p.s if all else fails, i could;
a)donate it to charity
b)use my friends 12 gauge shotgun on it for target practice!
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The main advantage of a 286 as I see it, is that it does not support multitasking. Therefore if you ever find a browser that will work, no one can snoop your computer while you are on the interned as it would cause a chash.
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You could run Works 2. That has word processor, spreadsheet and a flatfile database. There are some compilers that still work in it too.
Have a look at the simtel website. There is probably lots of stuff that will run on a 286.
Incidentally, multitasking is to do with the OS: not the processor. The 286 has 2 modes: 8086 and 80286 but on DOS it is only used in its 8086 mode.
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I love this very-little computers :)
I use M$-dos 6 upgraded to 6.2, and Minix, in my 286. But I can't install win 3.1...when this computer had this operating system in the past... :?
PD: I did a mod in this computar, now is completaly black, included the monitor ;)
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