Dell 4100 Series Desktop Tower Computer - Toss or Salvage?
I have a Dell 4100 Series Tower/Desktop that I bought back in 2001 (yes,...over 12 years ago). The hard drive went bad on it, and I am debating whether it's even worth it to keep this tower (I have 2 others I am debating whether to upgrade or just buy new). Here is what it came with/some specs:
Pentium III Processor @ 933 MHz
128MB SDRAM @ 133 MHz
V.905/56K PCI DataFax Modem for Windows
8x/4x/32x CD-RW
DVD ROM w/ Software Decoding
SoundBlaster 64V PCI Sound Card
16MB ATI Rage 128 Pro
3.5" Floppy Drive
40GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM) [Toast; needs replaced]
OS: Windows Millennium (ME)
MS Works Suite 2001
12X Max Variable DVD ROM Drive
The questions I have are:
Is it even worth replacing the hard drive in this tower to get it up and running again?
If so, what could it be used for? I am pretty sure gaming is out of the question. Basic software (Word, Excel, etc.? - Not even that?). Internet access? Watching online movies, YouTube, etc.?
Can Windows ME be updated? Would it be able to run Windows 7 or 8?
If it's not worth replacing the hard drive, are any of the parts salvageable (power supply, the "shell"/case, etc.), or should I just scrap the whole thing?
Thanks for any insight you may have and I apologize up front if this falls under the "God, what an idiotic question" category as I am fully aware that there are a lot smarter people out there than me when it comes to computers,...but I am at least willing to learn. I always talked about some day trying to build my own computer just for the learning experience, and was wondering if this might be a good starting point.
Comments
I'm afraid too many things have changed since then to make this PC even worth repairing. First, you will be hard pressed to even find any place that sells IDE hard drives anymore. All are SATA nowadays, and your motherboard does not support them. So that means a new motherboard. And that leads to a newer processor and memory.
You might as well buy parts to build a new Core i3 computer. You can still install Windows XP on that. But please don't use Windows ME anymore!
You can buy a DVD burner for $16, and that will be an upgrade from either of your optical drives.
You don't need a floppy drive nor a dial-up modem anymore. New mobo's won't even support a floppy drive.
I would take it to an e-Waste yard. Maybe take a hammer or drill to the hard drive to ensure that no one can retrieve any info.
Personally, I don't see anything worth salvaging. If you have some older systems that are still in good order, you might get some use out of the optical drives. All of the components have had their interfaces upgraded (many times over for some hardware), so they won't work on any modern machine. Dell cases tend to use custom mountings and just barely fit the components they are designed to hold, so not even the case may be reusable.
As far as MS Works goes, pretty much everything it could do can be done online on Microsoft SkyDrive or Windows Live.
I understand you don't want anything to go to waste, but I've been through this problem many times before, and with some pre-Pentium machines even. Well-kept tech could potentially last for decades, but the state of the art advances exponentially.