Topic: Needing Advise on a replacement Computer as the old machine is on it's last leg.

[AZmonsooncats]

Hello again,

I am currently running Weatherlink 5.71, virtual vp 1.2.0.96 and WeatherDisplay on a old Dell Inspirion 530 with tower fan noise and the ancient Windows Xp operating system this computer also has a boltek lightning detector PCI card with Lightning 2000 .

I have been looking to replace this computer but run in compatibility isssues with the newer technology. I have been looking and found two possible options a Dell T-3500 refurbish with  a Xeon 3520 processor and Windows 10 Pro or a Dell Optiplex 7060 both say they have PCi slots just wondering if either of these is a viable option for a replacement?

Any help would be appreciated,

Jeanette

[ironton]

I will be interested in replies to this too.  I thought I was alone running XP.  (ignore that warning)   
Just before the new year my weather computer hard-drive failed - blue screen.  I was able to find a working replacement in my scrap bin and get my station back on line. 
I had been waiting for the end of month and new year to make backup files - so I lost some data and some of my web page templates. 
Hope you can stay ahead of all that.
I have considered using on old laptop that is running Linux with Wine and have looked into buying a bare-bones PC.  But alas, I've lost some of the passion I once had for all this so my old PC is running with the replacement drive and only a few pages have been restored.
I look forward to some of your more helpful replies.
(irontonwebcams and charlevoixweather)
Good Luck  -ed

[Greg_M]

I buy Dell Optiplex 990s (64 bit) off Ebay (or Craigslist) and equip them with Kingston SSD drives. I also use XP for weather stuff.
Sometimes they come with Hdrive and operating system and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they come with Win7.
I've only replaced one power supply and found out later I didn't need to.
I'm using one now and have Kubuntu 18.04 installed on an SSD drive on it.

I use Clonezilla to back up the Hdrive (free)

[Greg_M]

PS
That's the "Mid Tower" version (desktop).
They usually go for $100 to $150 although the last one I bought was $85 but it did not have a Hdrive/OS.
Some people will try to get more out of them but......

[capeweather]

I had two pc's that were over 10 years old, both running XP and stable but opted to upgrade the hardware. After performing the backups using Acronis, the restore was very smooth. A few drivers needed to be loaded but overall it wasn't bad. Below is the model of that I purchased.

https://www.pcliquidations.com/p27236-hp-rp5700-business-system?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=27236&r160164167166161&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5pnuvK3x3wIVCInICh2HFwPkEAQYAiABEgLF5PD_BwE

[AZmonsooncats]

Thank you for the info I am not too technically minded but I have a new pc on order the fun will be to get everything up and running once it arrives I am going from 32 bit to 64 bit Windows Xp to Windows10 the old machine has weatherlink 5.7.1 and virtual Vp to run Weather Display not sure where to get all the drivers needed to run this. Along with the updated drivers for Lightning 2000 any more advise would be appreciated.

Thank you,
                    Jeanette

[CW2274]

If you'd like a newer version WL (may be necessary for Win10, but don't really know), here's the full build of 6.0.3.

http://toolbox.davisnet.com/downloads/weather/software/WL_6_0_3_fullinstall/6_0_3_full_install.zip

[tmabell]

If I recall, Virtual vp is a problem on any x64 os.  There is another option but it isn't free.  When I went through what you are trying to do I ended up finding hardware that was compatible with Windows 7 (specifically driver availability) and went with that (using Win7 x86).  Windows 10 presents new challenges to one who is used to XP or Win7 but there are many people here who use Win10 and are more than willing to help with the snags you'll likely encounter if you chose to go that route.

[gwwilk]

If I recall, Virtual vp is a problem on any x64 os.  There is another option but it isn't free.  When I went through what you are trying to do I ended up finding hardware that was compatible with Windows 7 (specifically driver availability) and went with that (using Win7 x86).  Windows 10 presents new challenges to one who is used to XP or Win7 but there are many people here who use Win10 and are more than willing to help with the snags you'll likely encounter if you chose to go that route.

I've been building an x64 Win10 computer to replace my old, slow Lenovo dual-core Win7 machine running in x32 mode, and VVP runs just fine on x64 Win10.  In fact during my convoluted attempts to restore some reliability to my web site, I'm now feeding it from an i5 x64 Win10 and an i7 x64 Win10 both of which acquire the data via VVP from the Lenovo.  Each of these VVP's in turn run at least WeatherLink, WeatherDisplay, and VPLive.  The new Win10 machine is also running Virtual Weather Station via VVP.

I have as yet to transition to the new Win10 computer because it will use a Serial-to-USB converter and I'm not sure how well this is going to work.  I'm looking for a dull weather day when my web site can be down for a few hours.  Fling Pro and ImageSalsa will also need to continue working flawlessly once the VP2+ is hooked up to the new computer and the Lenovo is offline.

Here's a screenshot (1.35MB)

[tmabell]

When I upgraded mine I elected to insert an x1 PCIe serial card as opposed to the "iffy" Serial to USB converters.  It has worked well, however not all modern motherboards have those slots anymore.

[galfert]

When I upgraded mine I elected to insert an x1 PCIe serial card as opposed to the "iffy" Serial to USB converters.  It has worked well, however not all modern motherboards have those slots anymore.

I totally agree that there are some "iffy" Serial to USB adapters. I went through a few till I found a good one. This one works every time for many different hardware that I need to support on various networks. The fact that it has LED lights helps to troubleshoot the connection. Reminds me of the old modem days.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AHYJWWG/

[Greg_M]

When I upgraded mine I elected to insert an x1 PCIe serial card as opposed to the "iffy" Serial to USB converters.  It has worked well, however not all modern motherboards have those slots anymore.

I agree

[AZmonsooncats]

Hi, my new computer is  going to include on of theses,

When I upgraded mine I elected to insert an x1 PCIe serial card as opposed to the "iffy" Serial to USB converters.  It has worked well, however not all modern motherboards have those slots anymore.

I agree

My system should arrive in about a week then the fun will begin. Still needing to know what driver is needed to run virtual Vp in windows 10? and where you can get it. It appears that my weatherlink 5.7.1 should run as I installed it on my Windows 10 laptop imported the data and it will open it up however I have not attempted to communications port yet but I think the serial port on the pcie card f my new computer should work fine just need help on the drivers and then I deal with the Lightning detector need the correct drivers for Lightning 2000 looks like a lot work ahead for me.


Jeanette