New Here gotta question...

M

Male_3976

New Member
So yeah I haven't even built up my user here but anyway...
I have a PII 550 desktop and an old compaq laptop with a 333mhz or 233mhz proccesor floating around the house. The desktop has a bunch of songs on it that I listen too regular like. It had the best sound card I could buy at the time and a good set of speakers. I want to build the desktop into a stereo like player. I also want to make it as invisible as possible in my bed room. But since its like almost a decade old the monitor is huge!! I don't want to spend any money on it if I don't have to. So my question is this: You got any ideas as to how I might use the monitor from the laptop as the screen for my desktop? I am willing to spend money but not much. I know how to sauder(sp?) on a board properly. So what'chu guys think?

P.S. any tips or tricks on how to better use the desktop as a media box will also be appreciated.

I didn't ger very specific on the 'puter spic's but if you need info let me know I will edit this post.
 
Time and effort considered, you'd be MUCH better off to just fine a cheap LCD rather than trying to convert the LCD. The VGA converter alone usally costs more than most cheaper LCDs.

If I were you... I'd take the desktop(that's a PIII, PII's stopped at 450 :P) find a video card with TV-Out and just connect it to your TV. Assuming you have a TV by your stereo, you could now also use this as a media player. Then, I'd load something like Winamp and have it load on startup. Maybe find a cheap remote and control it that way.

As for the soundcard, I don't know what stereo you have, but you could find one with optical output for better sound to your stereo if it supports it. If not, something like a Sound Blaster Live would probably be fine.
 
I'd probably use the laptop and invest in a cheap external HD for the system. Then like "Other" said d-load winamp for your media player. You can find pretty cheap surround sound speakers/sub at wal-mart or other retail bargain retail places. Hook it up through the head-phone out jack on the laptop. You could easily tuck the laptop away under a bed or somewhere out of the way. . Plus with the external drive holding you music, you could easily hook it up later on to a newer computer or take it with you to a friend's house.
 
Thanks guys. I like the external hard drive idea. I have pretty good speakers and I don't intend to hook up the desktop to a stereo. The pc is in the bedroom and the stereo is in the living room. I'm pondering the external idea. Thanks for the correction on the P2/3 thing. I'll be discussing this with friends tomorrow and now I won't look like quite as big a goon as I know I already will!!!

How about this. The laptop is straight crap. It's got an old verison of 98 on it. It's a crap shoot to even get it to load. The desktop also has internet. Would it be feasible to combine ideas like this:

Use the laptop as the screen/keyboard/mouse via a printer cable? I could reformat the hard drive on it and use it as another hard drive on the system. I have NO clue how to go about this but what do you guys think? I've been kick around the idea of moving to linux for this desktop anyway. It'll be my first time. yeah, yeah, no virgin jokes please. I wonder if linux could handle the strange hardware set up. Windows would croak.

The reason I avoid using the laptop as a main platform is because it has only a floppy drive of questionable reliability and I can't find the website that supports old out dated hardware. I will have to have a new OS obviously, and who knows what else is wrong with it. I haven't pulled it out in four years and it was six years old then. So you see my delima. Kick it around, tell me what ya think.
 
Linux can be run easily on the most basic of systems and I’m pretty sure most versions have a media reader included in the OS bundle. I’ve never really installed or used Linux, so my knowledge is limited on the subject. It might more of a headache for you than a blessing.

I’m not completely sure if you can run a tower through a laptop. You might be able to use the tower as a file server, but you will need to invest in a monitor of some sort.

If you wanting to use these systems for music, then windows 98 could easily run Winamp. I have a 400 Mhz P2 machine which runs an older version with easy.
I don’t see a problem with you laptop running it.

Here is a website with older versions of programs for your windows based machine. Old versions of winamp are on here as well.
http://www.oldversion.com

Hope this helps!
 
What's your speaker system? 2.1, 5.1, 7.1?

The easiest thing to do is to buy a super cheap lcd monitor (~$100) and hook it up to your desktop. Then get a wireless keyboard/mouse. This way, you can tuck the PC somwhere, have the LCD monitor sat on some table and use the wireless keyboard/mouse to control it as a stero.
 
I'm gonna look into the LCD monitor. That might work. I will work on the linux aspect at least at the homework level. I think it will be a more stable platform. I may chunk the laptop altogether if I can find cheap enough parts to equip the tower and then tuck it into my closet. We'll see.
You guys have been great. I really appreciate your help. I'll be sure to post what I do in the future. It you guys get any more great ideas please post them. I will be checking in here from time to time.
 
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