willardguy
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got an old laptop laying around?
this is sooo cool! I've had an old dell inspiron that had so much virus and malware (not to mention i've diddled with the registry) that it was
completely unusable.
there's a company called Neverware cloudready that built a program to turn old useless laptops into Chromebooks for use in schools. for home use its
absolutely free! simple download and install, everything's wiped clean from the hard drive and your old laptop becomes a like new Chromebook, synced
with all your other chromebooks and PC's.
the old Dell works every bit as good as the new toshiba chromebook, if you have a neighbor or a local school that could use one....don't throw that
old laptop away! 
[Edited on 3-28-2016 by willardguy]
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woody with a view
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cool!
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BajaBlanca
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way cool!
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bajasusan/a
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wowie zowie! a few weeks ago I killed my chromebook's keyboard by spilling coke on it, thus rendering letters S and E and number3 inoperable. and I
have an old laptop that is struggling to fill in. I may try this, my only hesitation being that I really do need to be able to download stuff and use
my computer when it's not connected to the internet (you can work offline on a chromebook, but only by getting online first!)
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StuckSucks
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http://www.neverware.com/
Models & System Requirements
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SFandH
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Just tested this free Chrome OS software on a 10 year old Dell desktop. The computer wasn't on their "certified models" list so I contacted their tech
support via the chat app on their website and the tech said to give it a try. You can run tests to make sure all is good before the final step of
installing the OS on the old computer's hard disk, which erases the existing OS and all data, by booting to the USB thumb drive that is created during
the process.
So far so good.
Thanks willardguy for posting about this. I was wondering what I was going to do with my old Windows XP box that is not supported by Dell for Windows
10.
BTW, I copied the "My Documents" folder on the XP box to an external USB hard disk so I can access the files using the new Chrome OS. No problems
there either. Next step is to see if I can get my old HP printer/scanner working with the new OS using the Google Cloud Print app.
https://www.google.com/cloudprint/learn/
[Edited on 3-30-2016 by SFandH]
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AKgringo
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My son is a self employed computer tech who services hardware and networks for a variety of clients in Anchorage. I asked him if he has ever used
this company, and he said no, but has done the same thing by other means for many of his clients old machines.
He said that the weak point in the process is the battery life of the converted laptops. The old battery is usually too weak to do much unless it is
plugged in, and even with an expensive replacement battery, the old technology can't match the unplugged performance of current products.
In short, they become a portable desk top unit, but that is far better than tossing them in the recycle bin!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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SFandH
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Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  |
He said that the weak point in the process is the battery life of the converted laptops. The old battery is usually too weak to do much unless it is
plugged in, and even with an expensive replacement battery, the old technology can't match the unplugged performance of current products.
In short, they become a portable desk top unit, but that is far better than tossing them in the recycle bin! |
The battery issue with old laptops is a good point.
I'm running into problems with my oldie but goodie printer and this OS.
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bajasusan/a
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I hope this question is not over-the-top ignorant, but since my computer thinks it has 2 hard drives (my interpretation of what "dual core" means), do
I have to do this on both "sides" of the partition?
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pauldavidmena
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajasusan/a | | I hope this question is not over-the-top ignorant, but since my computer thinks it has 2 hard drives (my interpretation of what "dual core" means), do
I have to do this on both "sides" of the partition? |
I don't know this for certain, but my guess is that the Neverware software will format your two hard drives (more likely than not two partitions on
the same hard drive) and make them into one larger hard drive partition.
"dual-core" refers not to the number of drives, but rather to the number of CPUs (the "brain" of your computer) in your PC.
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bajasusan/a
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| Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena | | Quote: Originally posted by bajasusan/a | | I hope this question is not over-the-top ignorant, but since my computer thinks it has 2 hard drives (my interpretation of what "dual core" means), do
I have to do this on both "sides" of the partition? |
I don't know this for certain, but my guess is that the Neverware software will format your two hard drives (more likely than not two partitions on
the same hard drive) and make them into one larger hard drive partition.
"dual-core" refers not to the number of drives, but rather to the number of CPUs (the "brain" of your computer) in your PC. |
thanks -- I think when I visit la paz next week and have decent connection speed I will go for this. what I liked best about my defunct chromebook was
that it was significantly faster than the dell laptop using the same connection.
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willardguy
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the way I understand it neverware's idea was to get these laptops in the hands of educators, maybe the battery glitch will help keep these chromebooks
from walking away! 
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SFandH
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajasusan/a |
thanks -- I think when I visit la paz next week and have decent connection speed I will go for this. what I liked best about my defunct chromebook was
that it was significantly faster than the dell laptop using the same connection. |
Since I just went through the install process, if you have any questions ask here.
When you get to La Paz you'll need a computer running the Chrome browser and at least an 8 gig thumb drive. You'll download the file from Neverwear to
the computer and create the bootable thumb drive using a properly configured Chrome browser.
After you have created the bootable thumb drive you plug it into the old computer and boot to the thumb drive.
You then have the choice to install the OS on the old computer's hard disk or just keeping booting to thumb drive.
If you install on the hard drive you will lose the old OS and all the files. If you use the boot to the USB thumb drive option you can still boot to
the old OS if you want to and all your old files will be maintained.
How you choose what to boot to depends upon the computer.
http://www.neverware.com/installation
[Edited on 3-30-2016 by SFandH]
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willardguy
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being pretty tech challenged I was unable to create a usb installer from my chromebook, seemed alot easier from windows. ymmv
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SFandH
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| Quote: Originally posted by willardguy | | being pretty tech challenged I was unable to create a usb installer from my chromebook, seemed alot easier from windows. ymmv |
I created it with a chromebook. There is a trick when using a chromebook that is a bit of head scratcher. I lucked out I guess.
But it is all explained on their website.
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Rossman
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajasusan/a | | I hope this question is not over-the-top ignorant, but since my computer thinks it has 2 hard drives (my interpretation of what "dual core" means), do
I have to do this on both "sides" of the partition? |
Well you have managed to include a record number of computer terms in one question but the basic answer is no. I am sure your eyes will glaze over
long before you get to the end of my post but this may help or hinder the discussion.
dual core and in the newer computers Quad core has to do with the resources available within the processor to perform machine level instructions. It
has nothing to do with number of disk drives. Let's say a processor is tasked with moving a block of data stored on your disk drive to your screen. In
computer times, the movement of data within the processor and RAM memory is super fast while the movement of data from disk drive to the processor is
super slow. so in a single core processor the processor is waiting forever for the next byte of data from the disk drive. With dual and quad core
technology there are extra sets of resources within the processor to do other things while the first processor waits for the next piece of data from
the disk drive of the internet or where ever. Essentially the computer can be doing 2 or 4 things at once, totally transparent to the user.
Partitions are finite sections of disk space that can be configured however you choose. One partition for the operating system, one for only storage.
you generally don't need to make decisions on this configuration unless you replace your disk drive. My laptop for instance has Windows xp running on
one partition and Windows 10 running on another and i decide a boot up time which partition i want to boot up on.
So like i said, if you want to do what the OP suggested, you need not concern yourself with number of drives or number of cores
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bajasusan/a
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| Quote: Originally posted by Rossman | | Quote: Originally posted by bajasusan/a | | I hope this question is not over-the-top ignorant, but since my computer thinks it has 2 hard drives (my interpretation of what "dual core" means), do
I have to do this on both "sides" of the partition? |
Well you have managed to include a record number of computer terms in one question but the basic answer is no. I am sure your eyes will glaze over
long before you get to the end of my post but this may help or hinder the discussion.
dual core and in the newer computers Quad core has to do with the resources available within the processor to perform machine level instructions. It
has nothing to do with number of disk drives. Let's say a processor is tasked with moving a block of data stored on your disk drive to your screen. In
computer times, the movement of data within the processor and RAM memory is super fast while the movement of data from disk drive to the processor is
super slow. so in a single core processor the processor is waiting forever for the next byte of data from the disk drive. With dual and quad core
technology there are extra sets of resources within the processor to do other things while the first processor waits for the next piece of data from
the disk drive of the internet or where ever. Essentially the computer can be doing 2 or 4 things at once, totally transparent to the user.
Partitions are finite sections of disk space that can be configured however you choose. One partition for the operating system, one for only storage.
you generally don't need to make decisions on this configuration unless you replace your disk drive. My laptop for instance has Windows xp running on
one partition and Windows 10 running on another and i decide a boot up time which partition i want to boot up on.
So like i said, if you want to do what the OP suggested, you need not concern yourself with number of drives or number of cores
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SIR (I cannot imagine you are a person of the female persuasion), I am getting quite fond of your one-word responses as they save a lot of time.
Seriously! "yes" you can, "no" you can't" -- good info! and your technical explanation even meant something to me! (except why, then, can I install a
program as "Susana" user -- admin -- yet not access that program as "Anon" user?)
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CaboMagic
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Wow!!
A lot, most, of the technical information went right over my head -- but an interesting read still 
I wanted to share that a company called Batteries Plus https://www.batteriesplus.com/ has been terrific to work with and their pricing reasonable. We've purchased laptop batteries for around $80usd
for old-er Toshiba and also batteries for our dieselpusher ..
This forum sometimes has awesome info!!
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bajasusan/a
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| Quote: Originally posted by SFandH | | Quote: Originally posted by bajasusan/a |
thanks -- I think when I visit la paz next week and have decent connection speed I will go for this. what I liked best about my defunct chromebook was
that it was significantly faster than the dell laptop using the same connection. |
Since I just went through the install process, if you have any questions ask here.
[Edited on 3-30-2016 by SFandH] |
I will do just that, for sure! and thanks for the great details (totally what I need to overcome my anxiety that I am about to destroy my computer and
all access to my stuff!)
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