Compaq Deskpro 575

[blacknosee]

I am expecting to recieve this p75--no OS--no cd-- compaq sometime this week as a gift. I have done some research and could see that it will be a real handful. I would just like to hear some comments from people that have had any experience(good or bad) with these older compaqs. Extremely interested in how hard it will be to install either win95 or 98 without the compaq windows cd. Also how hardware different from the compaq propriety stuff will work. Hey, I look at this as a learning experience(and fun) and any comments or advice would be truly appreciated.

I'll update things as they get along
Thanks for reading
blacknosee

 

[Guest_imported]

No experience with this specific PC, but it shouldn't be too difficult to attach a CD-ROM drive to it, either on a temporary or a permanent basis.

Or, perhaps you could make an image of another working machine running W98, and add the WIN98\DRIVERS sub dirs to the hard drive prior to replacing it in the Compaq. You'd also need to do the same thing for video, modem drivers etc., so maybe the first option is the better one.

Prior to completely wiping the hard drive should that be your intention, check to see if it contains the Compaq Setup/Diagnostics, usually in a separate small partition. You can make floppy disk copies of these files.

Good luck!


ROGER - GØAOZ.

 

[rjkrash]

Yea, go for it. The Compaq site has a pretty good bunch of drivers etc for their machines. All you need to know is the model number then check their drivers and downloads for whichever OS you are going to use.

I'll get you started:

AVAILABLE SOFTWARE Deskpro 575
Microsoft Windows 95

http://www.compaq.com/support/files/deskpro/us/locate/3_36.html

Service Quick Reference Guide: Deskpro 575

http://www.compaq.com/support/Techpubs/qrg/deskpro575.html

The two rules for success are:
1. Never tell them everything you know.

 

[attrofy]

My personal experinece with Compaq has been if it is a Presario - it is very bad....period. As for the rest of the Compaq lines, they are fairly decent, except they insert a ROM chip of some sort in one of the memory slots (usually only 2 slots in a machine - efectively giving you one slot for memory) and the computer will not boot without this chip. Also, I have upgraded 5 different Deskpros (2-667's and 2-600's, 1-933) from NT 4.0 to 98se. I haven't had any major problems, yet each one has had problems.
The biggest problem on the 4 smaller ones was an unidentified device. It always popped into system properties as "Other". Even after contacting support = no help, because it was designed for a NT restore disk, and sweet talking one of the tech receptionists into sending me a homemade (burned) CD of drivers, I still couldn't get the device to identify. I think it has something to do with the on-board audio.
The other minor problems all of them experience is after a screensaver kicks off, there is a program box on the task bar. It usually is empty, but sometimes says screensaver. After the screen saver kicks on and off 5 or 6 times, the task bar fills up. Clicking each one makes it dissapear, but it is a nusiance none-the-less.
One further note on the presario line, if you ever call their tech support, even Compaq knows the pressario's are junk, it is evident in their automated menu choices..."For pressario products, press 1, for all other Compaq products press 2"... That is a pretty broad range encompasing scanners, iPaq, scanners, monitors and several other computer lines (including desktops, laptops, servers and handhelds). The Deskpro support group won't even interact with the pressario support - it is two seperate divisions in the company....and the products are worlds apart.
One word of advice is check all of the drivers before uninstalling the original OS and you can usually find everything you need online under their driver sections. Sometimes you have to look at different machines then what you have, but you can find the appropriate speed machine with the proper OS you are upgrading to.