Got throw away Del Dimension 3100, how to make it work

Yes you can buy all the parts you need to get this PC working. Shop around though. Dell aren't the cheapest to buy spares from. You'll also need an OS. Windows will cost you money. A Linux distro like Ubuntu is free to download, use and distribute.

Make sure you double check the type of hard drive you need. EIDE/PATA drives were common on old machines. SATA drives are more common on newer machines. Dell normally have copies of all their manuals on-line. So checkout the motherboard manual for this machine.

Getting this computer up and running shouldn't be difficult. Just take your time and make sure you buy the correct components.

Assuming the PC works otherwise, and that is all it is missing, then that should be all you need.  Ubuntu is an option, but it is not Windows.  It will only be familiar enough for basic navigation.  You will not be able to run your existing software on it (Office, Warcraft, etc.).  Does your 3100 have a Windows sticker on the side of it?  For which OS - Vista or XP?

Guys thanks for the responses and it really helped me to order new 2 gb RAM and a SATA hard drive. I am waiting for the hard drive to deliver. I just left with OS and I guess I will get the win XP but question is which one 32bit or 64bit? My machine is support.dell.com/.../specs0.htm

Well regarding the machine, this is throw away but it was in very good working condition. They replaced them with the new machines for performance.

You already have a license for the 32-bit version, so I suggest you use that. Furthermore, with only 2gb RAM, a 64-bit OS won't bring many advantages.

for my old optiplex i lost my dell xp  disc borowed a friends but as it wasnt dell disc my case sticker didnt work,,i wasnt going buy it again so searched them "ahem" sites and found a "original" dell xp os disc image which worked fine as the orignal with case licence accepted

It's possible to install a non-Dell copy without activating and then using the Microsoft product key utility to change the product key to the one on the case. (The utility will activate the XP instance, as well.) This is perfectly legal, as in this case, there are no significant changes in functionality (such as swapping in a mainboard with considerably more functionality).

Osprey, I am planning to get this version of XP. Can you please suggest if I am taking the right decision.

trinitysoftwaredistribution.com/.../merchant.mvc

Here is my computer that I got:

support.dell.com/.../specs0.htm

rdunnill, sorry I somehow didn't see any responses to my message earlier.. and I posted another query. But thanks for you response and if you see my earlier query on the XP pro version that I am planning to buy. I am also getting xp Home but I thought to buy xp pro if in future I need some functionality that pro supports. What do you think?

...also want to know what does Reinstallation cd means in "Microsoft Windows XP Professional Reinstallation CD (Dell version) ". Will I be able to use it with new fresh machine Right?

A reinstallation CD is just that ... a CD for reinstalling XP on  your computer.  It can be used on another machine as long as that machine has a Dell OEM sticker/license that matches the version of the disk (XP Home or Pro).  For example, it cannot be used on a machine with a Windows 7 sticker/license.

rdunnill, sorry I somehow didn't see any responses to my message earlier.. and I posted another query. But thanks for you response and if you see my earlier query on the XP pro version that I am planning to buy. I am also getting xp Home but I thought to buy xp pro if in future I need some functionality that pro supports. What do you think?

Thanks again guys.. I checked the sticker and it says "Windows XP Home Edition". Does that mean I can only install XP Home and not XP Pro? Someone told me that I can't install windows 7 on this machine. Not sure why did he says so. I guess since this machine can have maximum of 2gb RAM. Can you confirm that if it is really compatible with 3100 though?

At most I want to have IIS on my machine and to run Visual Studio for my son. So I plan for Win XP Pro. Does 3100 has any limitation for Win XP Pro?

redmoods,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

You can install windows xp pro on this system. If you want to see if windows 7 will run on this computer you will need to run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor below. The windows xp driver download link for this computer is also listed below bu,t Dell does not have windows 7 drivers available for this computer.

Dimension 3100 windows xp driver download page

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor