Where can I find the help I need ? Can you help ?

Hello, all !

I started a "computer recycling project" in my church. What we do is
to collect all the old computers that people donated, open them up,
remove all the dust and grimes inside, check the parts, and then try
our best to make "new" (aka reconditioned, restored, etc.) computers
out of the still-usable parts. Then we pass those working computers to
people/organizations that can put them to good use.

The project itself is fun and very fulfilling, but there's one thing
that bug me the most - many times we have computer parts (pci cards,
mobos, etc) that are totally usable but we can't find suitable drivers
for them !

There are times we have pci cards that don't have any label. By
reading the chips, and the ports, we can guess what type of cards they
are, but we are never sure.

Essentially what I am looking for is a utility that can "scan" all the
pci cards, be it soundcard, video card, or whatever, and give me their
make and/or model number. That way, at least I'd know which driver I
need.

Is there such a utility around that we can use?

Another thing is that the computers we got are all ANCIENT computers,
and sometimes so ancient that the manufacturers no longer exist. Where
can I find drivers for such devices ?

Please accept my sincerest thanks in advance, for any suggestions that
you can offer. Thanks again, and God Bless !

Note that I cut 2 of the original 5 newsgroups from this reply.
Hopefully the OP will be reading one of the remaining 3 groups.

wrote:

> I started a "computer recycling project" in my church.
>
> Essentially what I am looking for is a utility that can "scan"
> all the pci cards, be it soundcard, video card, or whatever,
> and give me their make and/or model number.

http://www.zhangduo.com/unknowndeviceidentifier.html

http://www.windrivers.com/

http://www.drivermagician.com/

http://www.softwarepatch.com/

http://freescan.driverguide.com/

http://driveragent.com/

http://tinyurl.com/3ygotp

> Another thing is that the computers we got are all ANCIENT
> computers, and sometimes so ancient that the manufacturers
> no longer exist.

The only versions of Windows you should be installing on those system
will either be Windows-98se, or Windows XP-SP2. Windows 98-se is a
more logical choice in your case, since you most likely are dealing
with systems with slow/old CPU's and meager amounts of RAM, not to
mention that you would need to obtain a licence for XP (but you can
install Windows-98se with complete impunity regardless of what others
here think of that).

That said, Windows 98 should be relatively complete as far as having
drivers for motherboards and hardware that was available back in 1998
and probably as far back as 1995. Anything more recent than 1998
should be available on the net (motherboard, video, network cards,
modems, etc).

I wouldn't waste my time in your case trying to find drivers for sound
cards, SCSI or other "non-standard" storage devices, or video cards
made before 1998. Most likely the recipients of your computers will
not make use of devices like those.

You, and the recipients of the systems you are building, will probably
not be satisfied with the use of such old hardware, say anything with
less than a Pentium-II CPU. The computing experience will be
troublesome and frustrating and not worth the effort. You shouldn't
have a problem finding tons of relatively recent hardware - unless
there are other larger recyclers in your area that are obtaining more
modern surplus hardware to either build into systems - or to ship
overseas and melt them down for their base metals.

wrote:

> Hello, all !
>
> I started a "computer recycling project" in my church. What we do is
> to collect all the old computers that people donated, open them up,
> remove all the dust and grimes inside, check the parts, and then try
> our best to make "new" (aka reconditioned, restored, etc.) computers
> out of the still-usable parts. Then we pass those working computers to
> people/organizations that can put them to good use.

In your church? :-)

Nice project, however....

> The project itself is fun and very fulfilling, but there's one thing
> that bug me the most - many times we have computer parts (pci cards,
> mobos, etc) that are totally usable but we can't find suitable drivers
> for them !

Well, it depends how old the stuff is and which OS you would like to
use.
If you are not good learned in PC Hardware, I would try to install a
Windows system and see what happens. In the Control Manager of any
Windows since Windows95, are the devices shown, also that one which
have no driver, yet installed from you. Better said, which is not
supported by the Windows setup-CD.

Older Hardware, e.g. 486, may not have drivers for XP or Win2000, but
there should be drivers for Win9x. NT4 drivers, or even NT3.51 are the
better chance to find, for something older stuff, ...if you would like
to use a NT-System like XP is or 2000 (NT5.1 and NT5).

XP needs about 3-500MHz to run somehow. NT4 can be quiet happy with a
486/DX2-66 and 64MB RAM. 32MB RAM and less, is more for Win9x... (8-16
min.)

By the way, win95 is always the better choice than Windows 3.1 (or
WfW3.11). Faster etc. Even on the 386, which runs well and fast enough
with a win9x. Also faster than the descendants, namely Win98, Win98SE
and WinME. But a bit tricky to configure!!! Win98/ME is much easier and
more bloated and runs newest Software better, due to the newer 32bit
kernel. But if your choice of soft runs perfectly on Win95, I would
always take that... (good for ancient 386 and 486, which can do newset
software of 2007, indeed!)

> There are times we have pci cards that don't have any label. By
> reading the chips, and the ports, we can guess what type of cards they
> are, but we are never sure.

Look at the chip itself and type that number in a search server ;-)

Or go to the support site of the Manufacturer...

Always use orig. manufacturer driver, if possible.
www.driverguide.org have links to that and also drivers itself.

> Essentially what I am looking for is a utility that can "scan" all the
> pci cards, be it soundcard, video card, or whatever, and give me their
> make and/or model number. That way, at least I'd know which driver I
> need.
>
> Is there such a utility around that we can use?

Many.

SiSoftware Sandra. Siw. Everest. (e.g. all freeware, beside siw which
is freeware only)
http://www.gtopala.com/

> Another thing is that the computers we got are all ANCIENT computers,
> and sometimes so ancient that the manufacturers no longer exist. Where
> can I find drivers for such devices ?

Internet.

> Please accept my sincerest thanks in advance, for any suggestions that
> you can offer. Thanks again, and God Bless !

Manitou with you.


Best regards,

Daniel Mandic

On Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:19:40 -0700, wrote:

>Hello, all !
>
>I started a "computer recycling project" in my church. What we do is
>to collect all the old computers that people donated, open them up,
>remove all the dust and grimes inside, check the parts, and then try
>our best to make "new" (aka reconditioned, restored, etc.) computers
>out of the still-usable parts. Then we pass those working computers to
>people/organizations that can put them to good use.
>
>The project itself is fun and very fulfilling, but there's one thing
>that bug me the most - many times we have computer parts (pci cards,
>mobos, etc) that are totally usable but we can't find suitable drivers
>for them !
>
>There are times we have pci cards that don't have any label. By
>reading the chips, and the ports, we can guess what type of cards they
>are, but we are never sure.
>
>Essentially what I am looking for is a utility that can "scan" all the
>pci cards, be it soundcard, video card, or whatever, and give me their
>make and/or model number. That way, at least I'd know which driver I
>need.
>
>Is there such a utility around that we can use?
>
>Another thing is that the computers we got are all ANCIENT computers,
>and sometimes so ancient that the manufacturers no longer exist. Where
>can I find drivers for such devices ?
>
>Please accept my sincerest thanks in advance, for any suggestions that
>you can offer. Thanks again, and God Bless !

try putting a linux operating system on them.

Alfred wrote:

> try putting a linux operating system on them.


Nothing against Linux, but the best fodder for the clunky PC is
Mirkosoft stuff.

I guess too, that 386 and 486 is only supported by NetBSD, as Linux
wasn't really available at that time and newer kernels may not support
older CPU's. Beside that, a modern Linux on a 486 is masochistic. Win95
is the best choice for such low-power CPU's and ISA stuff and so...

Or NT4, which is also faster and more versatile than Linux.

Unix is surely powerful but slow on IBM-PC's, indeed.

Not to mention drivers... Why should he use Generic drivers when he can
have kernel drivers (e.g. NT3.x, 4.0), faster than Unix drivers for the
IBM-PC and compatible.

Newer machines (<=1GHz...) are surely the better choice for Linux.



Best regards,

Daniel Mandic

"98 Guy" <> wrote in message news:...
> Note that I cut 2 of the original 5 newsgroups from this reply.
> Hopefully the OP will be reading one of the remaining 3 groups.
>
> wrote:
>
>> I started a "computer recycling project" in my church.
>>
>> Essentially what I am looking for is a utility that can "scan"
>> all the pci cards, be it soundcard, video card, or whatever,
>> and give me their make and/or model number.
>
> http://www.zhangduo.com/unknowndeviceidentifier.html


Another quite similar utility, that I have used for some time, is "Unknown Devices
1.2", available here:
http://www.halfdone.org/ukd/
and
http://www.speakeasy.org/~halfdone/
and
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Unknown_Devices_d3908.html


>
> http://www.windrivers.com/
>
> http://www.drivermagician.com/
>
> http://www.softwarepatch.com/
>
> http://freescan.driverguide.com/
>
> http://driveragent.com/
>
> http://tinyurl.com/3ygotp
>
>> Another thing is that the computers we got are all ANCIENT
>> computers, and sometimes so ancient that the manufacturers
>> no longer exist.
>
> The only versions of Windows you should be installing on those system
> will either be Windows-98se, or Windows XP-SP2. Windows 98-se is a
> more logical choice in your case, since you most likely are dealing
> with systems with slow/old CPU's and meager amounts of RAM, not to
> mention that you would need to obtain a licence for XP (but you can
> install Windows-98se with complete impunity regardless of what others
> here think of that).


Win98SE does not require activation the way XP and newer do, but installing multiple
systems with one license *is* a violation of the licensing agreement. True, no one
at MS is going to send out the "cyber-police" at this point in time.....indeed, MS
has no way to even tell if 98 has been installed on multiple machines with one
license. Being a church-related project, the OP may want to consider the legal
aspect. Nuff said on that.....

>
> That said, Windows 98 should be relatively complete as far as having
> drivers for motherboards and hardware that was available back in 1998
> and probably as far back as 1995. Anything more recent than 1998
> should be available on the net (motherboard, video, network cards,
> modems, etc).
>
> I wouldn't waste my time in your case trying to find drivers for sound
> cards, SCSI or other "non-standard" storage devices, or video cards
> made before 1998. Most likely the recipients of your computers will
> not make use of devices like those.

I would think a working sound card from any era would be an item the endusers would
want.

>
> You, and the recipients of the systems you are building, will probably
> not be satisfied with the use of such old hardware, say anything with
> less than a Pentium-II CPU. The computing experience will be
> troublesome and frustrating and not worth the effort. You shouldn't
> have a problem finding tons of relatively recent hardware - unless
> there are other larger recyclers in your area that are obtaining more
> modern surplus hardware to either build into systems - or to ship
> overseas and melt them down for their base metals.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

glee wrote:

> > (but you can install Windows-98se with complete impunity
> > regardless of what others here think of that).
>
> but installing multiple systems with one license *is* a
> violation of the licensing agreement. True, no one at MS
> is going to send out the "cyber-police" at this point in time...

He actually has no choice.

He can't buy 98 from MS, and he can't really buy XP anymore either -
not retail anyways. Given the vintage of his hardware, Vista is not
an option either.

We can argue the legality, or the morals, or the practicality of
installing system after system after system with the same win-98
license key until the cows come home, but it's Micro$haft that has
made it impossible for people like the OP to obtain a "legit"
solution, so I say screw MS - they deserve it.

> I would think a working sound card from any era would be an
> item the endusers would want.

I don't know exactly what device the OP is getting his hands on where
he can't find a driver, but soundcards are a likely guess. I don't
know how long I'd putz with a system where I could get everything else
working except the sound card - but not long.

Or you can buy a volume licensing key from MS for i think about $150.
From the sounds of it, you are a non-profit organization? Use it for a
tax write-off. You might be able to get the church to back you on it
and get the funding through the church. Buy one single volume license
and run with it.

wrote:
> Hello, all !
>
> I started a "computer recycling project" in my church. What we do is
> to collect all the old computers that people donated, open them up,
> remove all the dust and grimes inside, check the parts, and then try
> our best to make "new" (aka reconditioned, restored, etc.) computers
> out of the still-usable parts. Then we pass those working computers to
> people/organizations that can put them to good use.
>
> The project itself is fun and very fulfilling, but there's one thing
> that bug me the most - many times we have computer parts (pci cards,
> mobos, etc) that are totally usable but we can't find suitable drivers
> for them !
>
> There are times we have pci cards that don't have any label. By
> reading the chips, and the ports, we can guess what type of cards they
> are, but we are never sure.
>
> Essentially what I am looking for is a utility that can "scan" all the
> pci cards, be it soundcard, video card, or whatever, and give me their
> make and/or model number. That way, at least I'd know which driver I
> need.
>
> Is there such a utility around that we can use?
>
> Another thing is that the computers we got are all ANCIENT computers,
> and sometimes so ancient that the manufacturers no longer exist. Where
> can I find drivers for such devices ?
>
> Please accept my sincerest thanks in advance, for any suggestions that
> you can offer. Thanks again, and God Bless !
>

On Jun 2, 11:56 pm, Alfred <inva...@invalid.org.uk> wrote:
> On Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:19:40 -0700, pen...@catholic.org wrote:
> >Hello, all !
>
> >I started a "computer recycling project" in my church. What we do is
> >to collect all the old computers that people donated, open them up,
> >remove all the dust and grimes inside, check the parts, and then try
> >our best to make "new" (aka reconditioned, restored, etc.) computers
> >out of the still-usable parts. Then we pass those working computers to
> >people/organizations that can put them to good use.
>
> >The project itself is fun and very fulfilling, but there's one thing
> >that bug me the most - many times we have computer parts (pci cards,
> >mobos, etc) that are totally usable but we can't find suitable drivers
> >for them !
>
> >There are times we have pci cards that don't have any label. By
> >reading the chips, and the ports, we can guess what type of cards they
> >are, but we are never sure.
>
> >Essentially what I am looking for is a utility that can "scan" all the
> >pci cards, be it soundcard, video card, or whatever, and give me their
> >make and/or model number. That way, at least I'd know which driver I
> >need.
>
> >Is there such a utility around that we can use?
>
> >Another thing is that the computers we got are all ANCIENT computers,
> >and sometimes so ancient that the manufacturers no longer exist. Where
> >can I find drivers for such devices ?
>
> >Please accept my sincerest thanks in advance, for any suggestions that
> >you can offer. Thanks again, and God Bless !
>
> try putting a linux operating system on them.


I tried that, but the same old driver missing problem that I have on
Windows only worse on Linux side. That's why I switch back to Win98.

On Jun 4, 12:09 am, mark <mbutle...@verizon.net> wrote:
> Or you can buy a volume licensing key from MS for i think about $150.
> From the sounds of it, you are a non-profit organization? Use it for a
> tax write-off. You might be able to get the church to back you on it
> and get the funding through the church. Buy one single volume license
> and run with it.

What I am doing does not even qualify as a "non-profit organization",
for it's a one-man show. Besides the OS, all other software that I
installed are open-sourced and/or freewares, such as Open Office,
Scribus, Photo Filtre and so on.

I've tried to install Linux on the machines, but the missing driver
problem got only worse. There are times I can find windows drivers for
the cards, but there's nothing on the LInux side (perhaps I just don't
know where to look).

Anyway, thanks to you and to all for your suggestions/ideas. Thanks
again and God Bless !





> pen...@catholic.org wrote:
> > Hello, all !
>
> > I started a "computer recycling project" in my church. What we do is
> > to collect all the old computers that people donated, open them up,
> > remove all the dust and grimes inside, check the parts, and then try
> > our best to make "new" (aka reconditioned, restored, etc.) computers
> > out of the still-usable parts. Then we pass those working computers to
> > people/organizations that can put them to good use.
>
> > The project itself is fun and very fulfilling, but there's one thing
> > that bug me the most - many times we have computer parts (pci cards,
> > mobos, etc) that are totally usable but we can't find suitable drivers
> > for them !
>
> > There are times we have pci cards that don't have any label. By
> > reading the chips, and the ports, we can guess what type of cards they
> > are, but we are never sure.
>
> > Essentially what I am looking for is a utility that can "scan" all the
> > pci cards, be it soundcard, video card, or whatever, and give me their
> > make and/or model number. That way, at least I'd know which driver I
> > need.
>
> > Is there such a utility around that we can use?
>
> > Another thing is that the computers we got are all ANCIENT computers,
> > and sometimes so ancient that the manufacturers no longer exist. Where
> > can I find drivers for such devices ?
>
> > Please accept my sincerest thanks in advance, for any suggestions that
> > you can offer. Thanks again, and God Bless !