HP 6600

My new (well, second hand, it only cost £60) arrived. It's an HP 6600, with 8gb memory and a xeon processor. I got it because I want to upgrade my "workstation computer", the one that I use every day for everyday stuff.

I want to upgrade it because it's running Fedora 19, 32 bit version, and the world has moved heavily towards 64 bit software, to the extent that 32 bit upgrades are getting less available.

I have another HP 6600, 32gb memory, twin Xeon processors, that I'm using as my geocaching data processor, but I don't need that much power there. So the new box will take it's place, and I'll install Fedora 26, 64 bit version on the old box.

But first, backup! I backed up the GSAK database, and then the old computer. Then I took out the drives, and put them into the new computer. And it worked! I needed to give it the Windows product key, but then it was fine.

Now to repurpose the 32gb computer. I installed Fedora version 26, 64 bit, server edition. But that was just the start. I had to install X-Windows, then Gnome, then a zillion fonts and apps. And some Gnome extensions, and my hosts file to block adverts. But after several hours work, I now have the 32gb computer doing everything I need.

A couple of outstanding problems - my beloved HP Laserjet uses a parallel port, and this computer doesn't have one. So I went to Ebay, and bought a USB-to-parallel converter for a couple of pounds. Meanwhile, I'm using a Samsung GL-1915 printer. Fedora 26 didn't have a driver for it, but I went to Google and found on, and it prints fine, so even if the usb-to-parallel gizmo doesn't work, I can still print.

The computer that I was using as a workstation, which I was going to use as an emergency backup, seems to have stopped working. I'll investigate that.

A big problem, the 32gb computer has very noisy fans. I didn't expect that, it was very quiet when I was using it before.