If you can find apps to do what you need and drivers for your machine, try Ubuntu linux.
You will love it. If you need office, download open office, it's free, compatible with MS Office & available for most popular OSs.
There are also versions of Ubuntu to work on old hardware.

 

Yep, dell would be stupid enough to supply something with a power supply too danged small to run it. We use dells at work and always have a couple of 'em sitting around becasue the M board overheated from low voltage or the power supply simply took a dump. Next to impossible to even get 'em to replace a power supply, they change so much it feels like pure luck if you get one that will fit.
Not sure if it is the computer manufactures (Dell, HP ect...) going cheep or if some govt regulation is dictating the size of the powersupplys because of GLOBAL HOAXing. You can get good PS's from them(Dell), just not in their lower class machines.

DuaneW.

 

This is why I hate laptops.....

It's also why I continue to build my own desktops. I have all my CD's in an envelope inside the case so if by some strange alignment of Mars and Pluto in Orion then I can deal with it.

And yes, I hate calling those call centers in India. I just tell them I'm an IT professional and need second level support because I've confirmed its a hardware failure ..... even when I know it's software.

 

You will probably find that any manufacturer will have a point where they stop supporting an old system. Laptops, for the most part, are good for about 3 years. After that they are probably getting to the point where they are hard to support. It is fairly important, when you buy a system, to keep all of the disks and books for it in a safe place, that you can remember. You can try something as simple as a google search for the model of the computer and drivers. There are a number of sites that have drivers, but you need to know the driver you are looking for - not just the computer model. Microsoft is the same with their software. They have no support for several of their older operating systems. Their tought is that consumers should keep at least one or two steps behind the latest OS.

Hal

 

that makes sense, we are losing a few MoBo's in the Dell 630C's

that was what i wanted to buy.

but one guy had his on the Docking Station with the 90watt power supply, and it burnt up the MoBo.

they replaced the MoBo, and the replacement will not run on the docking station, even with the 90 watt adapter.

i just hate to set up a complete system (gonna run two monitors - the Dell 630 C supports a DVI and a VGA output to go dual monitor)
buy new printer, mouse, keyboard, all that stuff.

(i already have all that setup at work, and wanna take my laptop from work/home/work/college on weekends/vacations and not miss a beat.)

and i would hate to then have the laptop NOT work on the docking station after while.


and i REALLY want a 6500E with the lighted keyboard so i can watch TV in the dark and still be on DTR

but none of the Dell docking stations are interchange-able, so i can't have one computer that works at home, work, and for general use. i would have to have two docking statoins at home then

a laptop should make life easier, not harder.

that's what kills me...is "planned obsolence"

I talked to Toshiba about one of thier laptops at work a few years ago, and they stated "we try to bring out a new laptop every QUARTER to keep up with technology"

that was probably good when home computing was doubling in computing power every few years.

but in the last 5 years, processor speeds have not really went up.
theres not much difference in a 1.2 processor speed and a 2.8 to a normal user.

i have found the drivers, but the drivers off the Dell site won't fix my Dell (no wireless), and the Gateway drivers won't fix my gateway (sound board)

 

Do you know who made the sound and wireless? Do you have the SERVICE TAG number off the Dell?

http://support.dell.com/support/down...=19&l=en&s=dhs
This page gives you the option of using the SERVICE TAG or the MODEL NUMBER to find drivers.

Here is a link to Gateway:

http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/dlcenter.asp

If you have not already tried it, this might help.

Hal

 

Top, are those sites safe?
my wife got to messing around on one of those "we scan and fix all your computer problems" sites....and that is how we got the virus, is my guess.

the gateway has a

PC HD-Audio Modem Combo


Conexant pioneered the Audio-Modem combo. This two-device chipset combined both the audio and modem functionality directly on to the PC motherboard enabling substantial real estate and bill of material savings for Notebook PCs. This combination, coupled with Conexant’s innovative voice processing techniques, allows for a superior user experience in PC notebook audio and VoIP applications.

Conexant has built on this legacy and offers several industry leading HD-Audio modems that all support Intel’s High Definition Audio (HDA) Revision 1.0. The highly integrated modem combos enable worldwide operation

I am gonna work on it some more this weekend.



ah, this was buried in the OP:


so gateway wants me to pay a third party





i am in the Control Panel un-installing & re-installing the WiFi drivers on the Dell, oh joy!!



and, FWIW, i just bought a used Dell from a buddy.
fits my docking station, comes with the 90watt power supply.

so if i get a year or two out of it, be a good deal,
then, in accordance with planned obsolence, i will buy a new docking station and a new laptop.



(and i got a 24 inch monitor coming from another guy at work, gotta love nerds who upgrade often!!)