Can I use a Netbook as a desktop / alongside another PC?

OnAndUp

Hello....again....

I have been asking for a lot of advice on here lately and am really grateful for the help I get, :T as I am the most Techie person I know - which doesn't say a lot for my friends / family!!

Cut a long story short-ish I have 2 old XP PC's (one I am still using day to day) that I am trying to sort out all my music / photos / emails / documents once and for all so I can try and be really organised and was going to buy a new Nettop PC to start afresh with.

I have started a new thread to ask this again as it got a bit lost in my other thread:

You have got me thinking now.....(can you hear the funny noise!) Do I really need a new PC? or yet anyway!

I may stop looking for now. I also have here a very redundant Samsung N145 Netbook (with upgraded RAM can't remember what to!?!) that I never really got on with because of the ergonomics of looking down with my neck problem but also because I found the Trackpad to be rubbish (should have complained while it was under Guarantee really). I had previously thought about using it to help sort out my other really old XP desktop but not to set it up to work as a desktop to use this might solve the issues above that I didn't like about it I seem to remember it was ok speed wise?

So that has Windows 7 (starter?) if I dig it out can I somehow operate that and the XP desktop to have them both running same time / swap between them from the 1 monitor (old 19" Hanns G one) and 1 Wireless Keyboard -(this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Keysonic-ACK...words=keysonic)

That way I could see how I get on with it, whether it would suit my needs and still do some things- more of the offline stuff on the desktop?

I would like to know if it's possible / how and any good / bad points about doing this?

Thanks again!

AshleyPomeroy

People do use laptops as desktop replacements - with a USB keyboard / mouse and a VGA or DVI/HDMI monitor, and the lid closed all the time. The only worry then is cooling.

Problem is that your XP machines are probably more powerful than the Atom-powered Netbook. I would be tempted to buy a large removable hard drive, mirror everything from one of the old PCs onto it, wipe that PC, and the go from there.

flashg67

I think you'll need one of these to use both with one monitor - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/221285339625?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&lpid=95&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=95

You could use the keyboard on both by swapping the usb dongle over each time. if you've got room, another budget keyboard and mouse wouldn't cost too much?

Without knowing the netbook spec, it's hard to say, but most modern pc's and laptops can easily do day to day tasks, so I'd give it a go - it shouldn't be worse than your current XP setup, except there'll be no CD/DVD drive on the netbook?

closed

What exactly are you trying to achieve, and why?

Have read and contributed to a few of your threads, and to me, it's still not clear.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4904710

more kit or new pc's or wireless keyboards won't help you sort out a different machine or put your data in one place.

OnAndUp

Thanks!

Closed I did try my best to explain it above! lol

My end goal is to sort out / organise everything on both these XP PC's because at the mo I have about 13 years of disorganised "stuff". I do want a new PC but now think it would be good to sort these out first then get a new PC transfer stuff across keep it organised from there on - hopefully! I have got v.old pc working borrowed a spare screen / keyboard and am sorting through that at the moment making sure everything I want to keep is on current XP PC.

In the meantime the issue with the support coming to an end for XP doesn't bother me too much, but I am already noticing some websites are not working well on Firefox which I mainly use: some options not available / things not displaying properly pages hanging etc. I know Chrome is better and is still going to be supported and I do like it but for some reason it has always ran much slower than FF on here and seems to slow everything else down then. For instance can't get on Amazon today on FF it's slow hardly any graphics - things look like they used to on dial up!? So I open up chrome and it comes ok.

My concentration is poor so this is a big job for me so going to take a while, but worth it in the end.

So rather than trying to rush it to get it done to buy a new PC. I thought I could somehow set the W7 Netbook up alongside my desktop to use for internet and still be sorting things out day to day on old PC offline in the meantime? With one screen / keyboard for them both? If it worked well & I liked it I may just carry on using the netbook as a deesktop like that in the long term.

When I asked about the very small Pc's a few people suggested getting a laptop instead but I have a neck problem that looking down like that aggravates so it was then suggested setting one up as a desktop..... and this then got me thinking could I do that with the Netbook?

Does that make sense?!

OnAndUp

ps.Closed fyi

Very old desktop HP runs XP and has 128RAM! I stopped using it about 05/06 when I bought this one -no wonder it was so slow!

I have since learnt all these things as knew nothing like that back then or when I bought it, I have a feeling it wasn't possible to upgrade it neither? Talk about rubbish!

I upgraded my current one from 0.5GB RAM to 1.5GB RAM with help from the Techie folks on here. I also upgraded the RAM on the netbook but can't remember what to and need to find the battery charger to get it up and running.

OnAndUp

this is my netbook: but with extra RAM
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-N145-Plus-10-1-Netbook/dp/B005TIT6IK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1395260236&sr=8-4&keywords=n145+plus

& My desktop is
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c00532756

Not sure how they compare speed wise?

Mirno

An (old) Sempron vs. an Atom - that's a battle of the stoppable force vs. the moveable object there!

http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/model/NP-N145-JP01UK-techspecs
The laptop has VGA out only, so as long as your monitor takes VGA you're good to go. To be honest I'm a little surprised it doesn't have DVI though.

If you plan on also using it as a portable machine fairly regularly consider getting a USB hub so you only need to plug one USB cable in each time (it'll save on hassle and on wear on the port).

You should have the choice of duplicating displays (this ties the resolutions together at the highest common setting), extending the desktop (you can use the laptop screen as a second monitor) or turning off the laptop screen.
Personally I'd go with extending - you can have email or something open permanently on the laptop screen, while using the monitor for proper work.

Finally - leave the battery out, over charging is bad for Li-ION batteries.

Mirno

closed

if you have 2 xp pc's and a W7 netbook..

the easiest way of organising data is to take the hard disk out of the oldest machine, insert into the newer one, and copy the data you want to keep to the newer one .. then the old one doesn't need to be connected to a screen

Or, if you have a usb hard disk available, setup the old machine with a screen, copy the data to it, then copy it to the new machine. a usb hard disk is useful for backup anyway, portable one's are around £40, image backups can be done with macrium free.

The netbook, if you don't wish to use it as a portable device can be connected to an external screen and keyboard with a kvm switch at the same time as the best xp machine.

When moving data about, I suggest copying rather than moving data, then you still have the original copy if you make a mistake.

This is a useful tool for finding out what data is on a machine http://www.voidtools.com/ eg, enter *.jpg into the box, and it will show all photo's in jpg format, and their folder location,, provided the drives are in ntfs format.

Latest versions of internet explorer, chrome or firefox should display most (if not all) websites properly, plugins may interfere with correct operation

if your xp machines are slow or displaying websites strangely, post a hijackthis log. The one with 128MB of ram isn't going to be very fast unless you upgrade the ram, but as you have a better one, it shouldn't matter.

Ralph-y

but .......

"My end goal is to sort out / organise everything on both these XP PC's because at the mo I have about 13 years of disorganised stuff"."

looks to me like all you need to do is back up all the things you would be devistated if you lost off the computers that you have.

and only then ...... you could re sort the best of the computers to run better or then buy a new one.

An external HD could be used to take off the important suff (as suggested above) even off the netbook , using the monitor and keyboard/mouse ....

Hope that helps

Ralph:cool: