• Compaq Armada E500 Laptop

Computers are much more advanced than they were even a few years ago, but of course we all like to complain about the dumb things they sometimes do. It’s easy to forget how clunky things used to be, though. Sometimes you have to remember where you came from to appreciate what you have, so one brave (and possibly foolish) YouTuber tried to use a late 90s PC running 98 as a full-time machine. It works, but it’s also broken in some interesting ways. OldTech81 opted to use a computer from the Windows 98 era for that authentic retro experience.

The device he settled on was a Compaq Armada E500 with 128MB of RAM, 12GB of hard drive space, and a 500MHz Pentium III CPU. This was a killer laptop when it came out in 2000, and it still has a leg-up on some modern machines. For example, there’s a built-in optical drive, a removable battery, and more ports than you have on a. Most of them are obsolete, but still. You’re probably imagining the experience of using Windows 98 would be terrible, but OldTech81 reports it’s not bad.

All equipment facilities installed on Compaq Armada E500 are listed below. In order to facilitate the search for the necessary driver, choose one of the Search methods: either by Device Name (by clicking on a particular item, i.e. XPERT 98 AGP 2X ) or by Device ID (i.e. PCI VEN1002&DEV4C4D). Good Day, I dont remember how to access my BIOS with my COMPAQ ARMADA E500 to tell my Laptop to boot my DVD Rom first since I want to Install Win XP Instead of win 98 S/E I have Win98 S/E Regards, Dan. Intel Core2 Duo CPU E6850 3.0GHz. Windows XP Pro SP3 2GB Ram M Audio Soundcard. Download the latest drivers, firmware, and software for your.This is HP’s official website that will help automatically detect and download the correct drivers free of cost for your HP Computing and Printing products for Windows and Mac operating system.

The Armada E500 has enough power to keep the OS chugging along nicely. Basic things like navigating settings, installing programs, and loading local content isn’t appreciably slower than modern computers. You can even play MP3s and (low-resolution) video. The Armada has a standard USB-A port, and Windows 98 supports USB drivers.

So, OldTech81 was able to plug in an external mouse. Video-out over VGA still works as well. The most recent browser that works on Windows 98 is Internet Explorer 6, which was released nearly 16 years ago.

Most web pages don’t even load, and those that do are completely broken. The only solution is to use more kernel tweaks to load a better browser, but even then the most recent one that works is Opera 11.

That’s almost seven years old, but most websites will at least work. Some larger sites like Facebook simply use up all the computer’s RAM and never finish loading. It’s possible to use Windows 98 for some things these days, but things fall apart when that machine has to talk to anything else on the internet. It’s remarkable how far the internet has come in the last two decades that software and hardware from that era can’t even access most content.

You sit alone in your home office, listening to the sounds of your family having a joyous ruckus right outside your window; the sun streams in through the cracks of your blind, preventing you from pretending that it is not a gorgeous day outside. Maybe it is time to go with an affordable portable laptop, perhaps something from the Compaq Armada laptop series, which can allow you to work outside alongside your family.

Compaq Armada E500 Laptop

If price has been what is keeping you from enjoying the outdoors while you work, the Compaq Armada laptop series is for you. All of these laptops, like the Compaq Armada E500, are quite a bit older, meaning the price has dropped tremendously. While they only boast moderate specifications, like 128 MB of RAM and 30 GB hard drives, these laptops are still usable, especially for simple tasks like typing and sending a few emails. Pick up one of these laptops, like the Compaq Armada M300, on eBay from one of the many reliable sellers and head outside to soak up a few rays while you work.