WebJunction

What is your overall budget? I am assuing you have almost $0 for the suggestions below. If you have a little bit more than my assumptions, then they would change slightly.

It would be helpful to know exactly how much RAM and the HD size of each machine. It looks like processor-wise, the machines meet the minimum specifications quite easily for Windows XP Pro (see URL below). Depending on the amount and type of RAM, you might want to think about upgrading it if the machines only have 128MB or less and upgrading to 256MB. I know the GLCs only came with 64MB. I cannot find the exact type of RAM you would need, but my guess is that RAM would probably cost you approximately $40 (+shipping and taxes) for 256MB. This is assuming that they still make the type of RAM that these machines handle. For the GLCs, I woudl suggest going to Gateway's support site (http://support.gatewway.com) and putting in the serial numbers on the machines and seeing if they can recommend any memory for you.

Are you looking at adding additional software as that impacts storage space and you might need to consider additional HD space - that is why I asked about that.

To me, though, the balance between upgrading an older machine and buying a new one is getting closer and closer. I think much of that depends on how much interest and time that you have in upgrading the computers as far as hardware and software installation.

You can buy a brand new machine (minus monitor and extended warranty) from Dell for $299 (see link below). Granted, it is no Cadillac, but if your patrons are mostly doing web browsing and productivity apps, it will probably meet their needs and might allow you to stretch your budget further and/or allow you to place more machines in the library. You still would have to factor in software costs - although TechSoup would obviously be the way to go in this isntance as these are PACs - and you would still have to obtain some type of A/V or add that to the purchase price. So it is balacning the time to upgrade the older computers vs. buying a possibly more stripped down new coputer and installing additional software obtained through TechSoup.

You might also want to talk to your city or county IT people and see if they can point you to any discounts or contracts with vendors that would lower your costs. Also, the state library might have some pointers to state contracts that you are eligible to pruchase that might lower your costs.

Does that help at all?

Windows XP Professional System Requirements
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/evaluation/sysreqs.mspx

Dell Dimension 2400
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/homepage_desktops?c=us&cs=slghome&l=en&s=gov

Thanks for the articles! I'm digging through them now. Let me pose a related question...If you had $1500 and a new T-1 line on the way (already paid for), what would you focus on technology-wise to get the most from the T-1 line? Processor speed? Windows version? RAM? As I said earlier two wireless connections are already on the need list, so don't consider that.

On NT and XP, just Ctrl+Alt+Del and then click on Task Manager. It will show you how much of the memory and processor is being used at the moment. On Win98 I think if you look in the start menu under Accessories and System Tools there is a little tool that will display available system resources. But I kind of disagree that you will really find this very helpful.

Chris had a lot of good info and questions to consider. The one other big question I would have is what are you or will you do about security? You now have Windows 98 machines. Are they secured somehow? Do you want them to be?

In terms of ongoing maintenence and costs, it would be best to have all of them using the same OS and secured against anything your patrons may do or get into.

Both of these things could be accomplished cheap by getting XP through TechSoup and using free security software. There are articles on PAComputing I wrote about upgrading the GLC's to XP or 2000 while keeping the applications. You can find them by searching for your state and 'upgrade.'

So I think you should figure out what it would cost to upgrade the hardware for each computer to work well with XP. This primarily would mean upgrading memory to at least 256MB. Sounds like the GLC's are the oldest, and for those, there should be a replacement grant coming out within the year (maybe Chris knows more about how that is going). On any of these pc's you can quickly check the amount of memory by right-clicking on My Computer and choosing Properties.

You might also check to see if the computers all have video cards, as opposed to video built in to the motherboards that is sharing the main system memory. Buying any current cheap video card in that situation would help. You probably have plenty of hard drive space on these - you shouldn't need that much on a public pc. Processor speed is somewhat overrated as an upgrade. You often have very limited choices anyway, because any processor you get will need to be compatible with the motherboard, which usually means a minimal speed increase. Of course you could replace the processor and motherboard, which will necessitate new memory as well, but at that point you are probably better off with the Dell that Chris mentions.

OKay - I'm going to focus on upgrading all machines to Windows XP and to 512 RAM. I know about TECH SOUP for the purchase of Windows, but where do I go for RAM. I have a local computer dealer, but he does not give us a price break. What do I need to know in order to purchase the right RAM?

Also-where is the article on upgrading the Gates NT machines to XP?

I am also going to research the use of the WEB JUNCTION Security tools. This has been a problem in the past. If there are any articles to help me in this area I would appreciate a link.

Thanks, Patti Lehman, Director

I have modified my tech plan slightly. I am going to remove the 2 Gates computers I have from the Internet and use them for children's games. I will not be updating them to XP. I did purchase XP licenses from Tech Soup for my other public access computers. Two computers are running Windows Windows 98, one is a brand new computer with no operating system installed. Can you direct me to installation instructions?