First post, by Hamby
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So 20-odd years ago I had a Compaq Presario 1610 laptop.
I just bought one off of ebay for the nostalgia vibes, and I've some questions about it.
Here's the specs:
https://specspro.net/laptops/8642-compaq-presario-1610/
The max ram is actually 96mb (I recall that from my original, as well).
I just now discovered that it doesn't have a power adapter, so I'll have to pick one of those up if I can find a compatible one. So it's not quite as good a deal as I'd thought.
And I plan to get a new battery for it if I can, so I can use it untethered for the whole 2 hours it probably lasts 🤣
And probably a wireless network PCcard.
But, my main concern is that I would like to put a CF or SD card in it in place of that 1.6gb HD. I'd actually like to put a big one in there that multi-boots; 8gb or more.
I've gotten several CF2IDE adapters, but they all connect to the IDE cable of a desktop PC.
Can anyone point me at the appropriate CF2IDE (or SD2IDE?) to put in a laptop in place of the HD?
I've actually got a couple other laptops I'd like to replace the HD in, also.
This one comes with Windows 2000, but it's specced to come with win98.
I would like to install Desqview/X on it.
But I'd also like it to boot Win98, as well as some vintage flavor of Linux. (I'm sure I can either find some ancient distro or stick something like DSL or Puppy in there).
Can anyone point me at some tutorials on multibooting such an old system?
It's 150mhz, with 96mb ram, and has a NeoMagic 128XD gfx card with 2mb. I don't know if it even has 3D acceleration. Probably not.
Primarily what I'll want to do with it is some retro gaming, of course, but also some vintage development, like with Turbo-C, as well as, of course, using it to test the vintage software (games) I want to write.
It's purely a toy; I've no need or real use for it, but I did have some fond memories of cussing the one I owned out on occasion. The case looks surprisingly modern for such a weak system, which had to have come out between 98 and 2000.
Can anyone think of any other upgrade mods I could do with it?