avusblue
Enlightened
OK I don't know who else to ask, so I'll post this to the collective wisdom of the group. (pretty much every topic I've ever asked about here, has found an expert with great advice so far!) Thanks in advance for your help.
FACTS:
1) My home PC is a 5+ year old IBM ThinkPad 390E laptop running Windows 98. It has Pentium II at 366mhz. It has a removable internal DVD-ROM drive. While this machine is old and slow by current standards, it has been reliable, and it meets my needs just fine --primarily basic dial-up surf, email, letter writing, Quicken, and light spreadsheeting. As a result, I have no current intention of replacing it.
2) I use a zip drive to regularly back up the hard drive (the main thing I need to protect is my Quicken files and financial records).
3) Having recently gotten "into" digital photography, the amount of pictures now stored on my hard drive has exceeded the size I can back up on a zip disk.
4) I want the capability of burning CD's so I can organize and store picture files "off the computer" and so it is easier to share pictures with others (I use dial up internet so emailing pictures is cumbersome).
QUESTIONS:
1) Is an external USB CD burner a good solution for this old computer? What are your experiences with external USB CD burners?
1.5) Ideally, I'd like to find a used actual IBM CD burner drive module that could slot into the computer's "ultrabay", but there doesn't seem to be one available. Ideas?
2) The external USB burners I've seen (at Best Buy and Wal-Mart) say on the box that they are for Windows 98SE and above. I have Windows 98 (non "SE"). Could I use one of these burners anyway? What are the risks or differences in compatibility?
3) How prudent, or foolish, is it to buy something like this on eBay, when I don't know much about them (or installing them?)
4) [Feeler] Any CPF'ers have something like this laying around they'd be willing to sell?
Again, advice and feedback is much appreciated. I feel out of my comfort zone when it comes to these things.
Thanks, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Dave
FACTS:
1) My home PC is a 5+ year old IBM ThinkPad 390E laptop running Windows 98. It has Pentium II at 366mhz. It has a removable internal DVD-ROM drive. While this machine is old and slow by current standards, it has been reliable, and it meets my needs just fine --primarily basic dial-up surf, email, letter writing, Quicken, and light spreadsheeting. As a result, I have no current intention of replacing it.
2) I use a zip drive to regularly back up the hard drive (the main thing I need to protect is my Quicken files and financial records).
3) Having recently gotten "into" digital photography, the amount of pictures now stored on my hard drive has exceeded the size I can back up on a zip disk.
4) I want the capability of burning CD's so I can organize and store picture files "off the computer" and so it is easier to share pictures with others (I use dial up internet so emailing pictures is cumbersome).
QUESTIONS:
1) Is an external USB CD burner a good solution for this old computer? What are your experiences with external USB CD burners?
1.5) Ideally, I'd like to find a used actual IBM CD burner drive module that could slot into the computer's "ultrabay", but there doesn't seem to be one available. Ideas?
2) The external USB burners I've seen (at Best Buy and Wal-Mart) say on the box that they are for Windows 98SE and above. I have Windows 98 (non "SE"). Could I use one of these burners anyway? What are the risks or differences in compatibility?
3) How prudent, or foolish, is it to buy something like this on eBay, when I don't know much about them (or installing them?)
4) [Feeler] Any CPF'ers have something like this laying around they'd be willing to sell?
Again, advice and feedback is much appreciated. I feel out of my comfort zone when it comes to these things.
Thanks, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Dave