Opinion
After 14 years, my Acer desktop computer needed replacing. It was a remarkable beast. Quiet, handsome, and powerful: 3.1GHz back when it was built in 2010. I updated the hardware a few time to maintain its speed over the years: Samsung solid state drive, a discrete graphics board for triple monitors, a USB 3 port expansion board, and the full 16GB RAM. Windows 7 is still being supported with regular security updates, surprisingly enough.
But in late 2024 I made the decision to switch. One program I depend on -- Chrome Remote Access, to access this computer during my travels -- no longer works with Windows 7. When a CD jammed in the CD drive, I couldn’t get it out. And then I found that I needed to periodically reboot the computer when it would inexplicably slow down.
I had been prepping a Windows 10 Dell laptop for two years for this day, and as I had some free time, I began the switchover. The first, and most important switchover task, was to copy Eudora email software and all its mailbox and configuration files from old to new computers.
TIP To install Eudora on Windows 10 is hassle-free when you take these two steps, in this order!
- Copy the entire C:\Program Files (x86)\Qualcomm\Eudora Mail 7 folder structure from one computer to the other. Mine takes up 5.1GB.
- Install Eudora in that folder.
The only thing not working for me on the new computer is drag’n-drop for attachments. I now need to use the file picker to attach files to messages.
I am reusing my beautiful backlit AZIO brown-switch keyboard (which the company no longer makes), oversized Samsung 2048x1152 monitor (built in 2008), and Logitech mouse. In that way, I feel like I’m still using my old computer.
The tedious part is getting all the software details identical:
Making the new Windows desktop look identical to the old one- Copying over all the files I needed in a similar folder structure -- done faster with a portable USB-C solid state drive
- Checking that every Web site (that I log into with a password) works
- Installing programs that I missed installing on the Dell
That took about two days.
Adjusting the Hardware
Then there is the hardware setup. I got a Wavelink laptop stand for the Dell, so that its screen is the same height as the big Samsung monitor. The stand has a port extender built into it, so that if I need to take the laptop with me, I just need to unplug the power and the USB-C cable that connects the Dell to the stand.
Wavelink laptop stand, with built-in ports
The laptop connects to the stand’s ports through a USB-C cable, which is included in the box. Here are the ports I am using:
- HDMI to the Samsung monitor, for which I needed an HDMI-DVI adapter, as the monitor is old enough to not have an HDMI connection (fortunately, I had an adapter laying around)
- USB-A v3 ports, one for an Western Digital external 4GB backup drive, the other for the external keyboard
- Ethernet for 1Gbit wired networking (more secure than WiFi)
The ports I’m not using are the second HDMI, SD card, microSD card, and PD power delivery. (The mouse is connected through Bluetooth.)
The Dell I had beefed up over the last couple years with a 2TB Samsung solid state drive (up from the 512GB it shipped with), and maxing out the RAM at 32GB with 16GB added from Crucial.
TIP Benchmarks might well have their place, but I find it unhelpful to know if a computer is 0.2 seconds slower than another at an artificial task. For me, there is just one benchmark: Do I need to wait on the computer to complete its tasks? If not, then it is fast enough; if so, then I look for ways to eliminate bottlenecks, such as replacing the hard drive with a faster solid disk drive.
Maintaining the Olden
I am keeping the old Acer desktop around, in case I need at some point to get something off of it. It’s under my desk. I attached a spare wired keyboard, spare wired mouse, spare wired Ethernet, and ran a spare HDMI cable up to my desk. The keyboard and mouse sit tucked away on a keyboard drawer. If I need to use the computer, I plug in a portable monitor, and boot ’er up.
I could pull its hard drive and stick into an external drive enclosure, but then Windows blocks access to files in the My Library folders. It’s possible to get at those files, but it takes a bunch of steps to circumvent Microsoft’s protection.
TIP To get around Microsoft’s lock on files stored in Windows’ My Library folder, in case a computer fails and I need to pull the drive, I have replicated it on my computers as MyLibrary (no space), and then point programs to my bespoke library.
The Second Computer
I have an L-shaped desk, and I have found that it helpful to change my sitting position during the day by working at a second computer from time to time. At first, it was a big 23” all-in-one computer that my dad hadn’t liked after buying it, and on which I produced my 200 tutorial videos. I hung onto it for many years, even though it ran Windows 8.0 and would not update to Windows 8.1 or 10.
When I replaced it, it was with the Dell laptop mentioned above, which I hooked up to a second monitor. But now with the Dell now my primary work computer, my second computer is an HP X2 G2 tablet-style one that I got cheap, second-hand on eBay; it’s also my traveling companion, due to is compact size and low weight.
The X2 G2 (second generation) tablet-style computer from HP runs Windows 10
Here’s how I outfitted the X2. Through a USB-C port expander, I connected power, Ethernet, wired backlit keyboard (from Magegee, almost as good as the AZIO), and external 14” Dopesplay portable monitor. Everything through a single USB-C port, which, if you think about it, is pretty amazing.
MK-Armour wired, backlit keyboard from Magegee, with replaceable keys
In sum, it took three days to get everything changed over, hardware and software.
Disclosure: I paid for every item that I mentioned by name. I name the products, because I found them to be of good quality.
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