upgrading win 95 on a old packard bell

~~hwilcher~~ · 11-28-2005, 06:04 PM

I have found an old pack bell legend 406cd desktop in great condition and I would like to upgrade the OS from win 95 to any one of the OS's I have. The problem is that I cannot find the motherboard and other system drivers anywhere I have looked. The current OS is operational is there a way to find and save the current drivers for use with a new OS, if so how?

Chevy · 11-28-2005, 07:55 PM

Wow ... you can try google .... I wouldn't expect to find a whole lot, though ...

MIght make a decent little linux box, though.

**devil lady** · 11-28-2005, 10:16 PM

You can try this driver backup program, havent tried it but its free. http://www.theemiratesnetwork.com/co...ter/prog01.htm

RVictim87 · 11-28-2005, 10:26 PM

Your drivers will be of no use to you if you switch to a different operating system. You may also like to know that upgrading to a newer operating system is only going to make performance worse since the newer you get, the higher the requirements are to run it. If you still wish to switch then you should do as someone else recommended and use a Unix-derivative such as Linux or BSD since they're both light on the system requirements.

**oldmn** · 11-28-2005, 10:53 PM

You might want to download and run Everest , See if it can identify all the components. Then look for the individual drivers.
This machine should run Win98se fine. I wouldn't try to go much higher than that.
One of the problems with some of the the old PB's they were proprietary (parts only designed to work with that machine).

~~hwilcher~~ · 11-28-2005, 11:50 PM

If I were to upgrade to Linux on the PB what should I do regarding the proprietary drivers for this machine? Is there a site where PB Legend 406CD drivers can be found? Also where can I get a good free version of the Linux OS?

Thanks for all of the help!

RVictim87 · 11-29-2005, 12:19 AM

The operating system's default install should have the majority of the required drivers, or atleast enough of them to get the PC up and running.

There are a number of Linux operating systems out there, some of which being meant for those new to the platform, others meant for the advanced, others meant for those obsessed with security and so on. I've only personally used Slackware and an extremely old version of Red Hat. I hardly rememeber Red Hat and I'm sure what I do rememeber no longer applies, but Slackware is definately worth a try as it suits virtually everyone's needs and I've yet to hear anything but good reviews.

~~hwilcher~~ · 11-29-2005, 12:31 AM

I will take the plunge into Linux and see where it goes!

**oshwyn5** · 12-05-2005, 09:45 AM

I have an old Packard Bell Legend Platinum (133MHz Pentium , 128MB of SIMMS, that bizarre setup with a motherboard on the bottom and all the PCI on a riser from one slot, CDROM attached to sound card not IDE, need to load sound card drivers to boot to cdrom ).
I found this site to be very useful in identifying things
http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/pb/mb/pbmb2.htm
(Please note the for older motherboards link
http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/pb/mb/pbmb1.htm
It uses this graphics card, not sure if yours does too
http://www.aztech.com/SGraphic.htm#2

I find sisoft sandra lite (the freeware version)
http://www.sisoftware.net/index.html...dl&langx=en&a=
or
everest home
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/everest.html

to be invaluable in identifying hardware which may not have the correct drivers installed.
After that, google and driverzone to find the new drivers.

novaz04 · 12-08-2005, 02:14 AM

I think ubuntu or kubuntu is great for first time Linux users. I personally prefer kubuntu because it has a KDE interface, which is more attractive than the depressing brown Ubuntu interface.

11-28-2005, 06:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
~~hwilcher~~ Register user Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 18 OS: XP Pro	upgrading win 95 on a old packard bell I have found an old pack bell legend 406cd desktop in great condition and I would like to upgrade the OS from win 95 to any one of the OS's I have. The problem is that I cannot find the motherboard and other system drivers anywhere I have looked. The current OS is operational is there a way to find and save the current drivers for use with a new OS, if so how?

11-28-2005, 10:16 PM	#3 (permalink)
devil lady Tech, Design Team Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 962 OS: XP SP2 My System	You can try this driver backup program, havent tried it but its free. http://www.theemiratesnetwork.com/co...ter/prog01.htm __________________ . HiJackThis Everest Home Edition Ad Aware Spybot S & D Ewido online scan Spyware Blaster

11-28-2005, 10:26 PM	#4 (permalink)
RVictim87 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove, California (GMT - 08:00) Posts: 49 OS: Windows: XP, 2003, iMac G3, OpenBSD 3.8	Your drivers will be of no use to you if you switch to a different operating system. You may also like to know that upgrading to a newer operating system is only going to make performance worse since the newer you get, the higher the requirements are to run it. If you still wish to switch then you should do as someone else recommended and use a Unix-derivative such as Linux or BSD since they're both light on the system requirements. Last edited by RVictim87; 11-28-2005 at 10:30 PM.

11-28-2005, 10:53 PM	#5 (permalink)
oldmn TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Gig Harbor Wa Posts: 2,150 OS: XP Pro SP3 X 3 My System	You might want to download and run Everest , See if it can identify all the components. Then look for the individual drivers. This machine should run Win98se fine. I wouldn't try to go much higher than that. One of the problems with some of the the old PB's they were proprietary (parts only designed to work with that machine). __________________ AVG \| MEMTEST86 \| Zone Alarm \| XXCLONE \| Adaware \| Beyond Compare \| Everest If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Sorry no PM's for problems.[/center] Last edited by oldmn; 11-28-2005 at 10:55 PM.

11-29-2005, 12:19 AM	#7 (permalink)
RVictim87 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove, California (GMT - 08:00) Posts: 49 OS: Windows: XP, 2003, iMac G3, OpenBSD 3.8	The operating system's default install should have the majority of the required drivers, or atleast enough of them to get the PC up and running. There are a number of Linux operating systems out there, some of which being meant for those new to the platform, others meant for the advanced, others meant for those obsessed with security and so on. I've only personally used Slackware and an extremely old version of Red Hat. I hardly rememeber Red Hat and I'm sure what I do rememeber no longer applies, but Slackware is definately worth a try as it suits virtually everyone's needs and I've yet to hear anything but good reviews. Last edited by RVictim87; 11-29-2005 at 12:21 AM.

11-28-2005, 07:55 PM	#2 (permalink)
Chevy Retired Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Notlob Posts: 5,452 OS: Vista Ultimate My System	Wow ... you can try google .... I wouldn't expect to find a whole lot, though ... MIght make a decent little linux box, though.

11-28-2005, 11:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
~~hwilcher~~ Register user Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 18 OS: XP Pro	If I were to upgrade to Linux on the PB what should I do regarding the proprietary drivers for this machine? Is there a site where PB Legend 406CD drivers can be found? Also where can I get a good free version of the Linux OS? Thanks for all of the help!

11-29-2005, 12:31 AM	#8 (permalink)
~~hwilcher~~ Register user Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 18 OS: XP Pro	Thanks for the info I will take the plunge into Linux and see where it goes!

12-05-2005, 09:45 AM	#9 (permalink)
oshwyn5 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Dallas , Tx Posts: 1,435 OS: DOS,Win95,98,ME,XP, Fedora	I have an old Packard Bell Legend Platinum (133MHz Pentium , 128MB of SIMMS, that bizarre setup with a motherboard on the bottom and all the PCI on a riser from one slot, CDROM attached to sound card not IDE, need to load sound card drivers to boot to cdrom ). I found this site to be very useful in identifying things http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/pb/mb/pbmb2.htm (Please note the for older motherboards link http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/pb/mb/pbmb1.htm It uses this graphics card, not sure if yours does too http://www.aztech.com/SGraphic.htm#2 I find sisoft sandra lite (the freeware version) http://www.sisoftware.net/index.html...dl&langx=en&a= or everest home http://www.snapfiles.com/get/everest.html to be invaluable in identifying hardware which may not have the correct drivers installed. After that, google and driverzone to find the new drivers. __________________ Hello and Welcome to TSF My name is Pete but call me Oshwyn Click here for the five steps for Malware Removal If we have been of assistance please consider Donating to TSF to keep the forum running.

12-08-2005, 02:14 AM	#10 (permalink)
novaz04 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 60 OS: OS 10.3.9, XP SP2, 98 SE	I think ubuntu or kubuntu is great for first time Linux users. I personally prefer kubuntu because it has a KDE interface, which is more attractive than the depressing brown Ubuntu interface.