Laptop help.

[RichardG]

Bit of a strange one this I'm not looking for the latest state of the art shiney in fact quite the opposite.

Just wondered if any of computer boffins know where I can possibly lay my hands on a small laptop running nothing newer than Windows XP and has a serial port, I need one to communicate with some Machine PLC's and the software (GE Fanuc LM90 mainly) we have to use is incompatible with newer operating systems and for some reason the USB to serial port convertors don't seem to be all that reliable in this application.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[a11y]

I bought a reconditioned laptop on ebay for £50 with a fresh install of Windows XP - I needed XP for it to run my Z4 software and communicate with the car properly. Battery was f**ked (as stated in the advert) but for £50 couldn't complain. Perhaps worth a look as long as you don't want anything fancy: I think my mobile phone processor is more powerful than the laptop...

 

[RichardG]

Cheers Ally fleabay was the obvious choice, not looked yet and that is even cheaper than I thought, and I don't need much in the way of processing power.