Answering the distress call

I feel your pain, Mr. Beagles.  The hinges for my laptop screen crapped out and now I can't close it properly, which means it stays open and I can't tuck it out of the way.  Damn.  But replacement hinges are pretty cheap so maybe I should do that; it doesn't look like a difficult fix.

Did the old machine up and die?  You mentioned that it is so old that it isn't worth fixing any more and I'm wondering what kind of fixing was needed in the past.  Hardware failures?

My experience with Windows 10 is very limited; it didn't look like a step forward to me.  The interface and layout were too goofy and confusing, and I think they changed where system programs and utilities are located.  I'm sure you'll figure it out if you're patient and take things slowly.  Is the old box still functional?  If so, you could go online and figure out the proper configuration for the new box.  You may not need a second monitor if your TV has an HDMI input and one of the computers has an HDMI output.  I don't know what gadgets you have available, but a cheap tablet device would be handy if you have home WiFi and can access the Cyber.  My iPad has come in handy for troubleshooting problems but much cheaper alternatives are available and they are also great for reading e-books, if that's your thing.

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Pentamax?  Never heard of it, unless you are referring to the Pentium, Uncle Ken.  I recall a debacle with one of the early versions where the math functions got screwy and gave wrong results with certain calculations.  Ah, those were the days!

Good keyboards are hard to find these days, a lot of them feel cheap and flimsy with not enough key travel.  The old IBM units are still highly prized; you could smack the keys with vigor.  I liked that, you had plenty of room to move your hands around and seldom hit the wrong key.  Mice are the same way with the modern ones being a little lightweight for my tastes, but I don't miss that ball that needed cleaning.

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Mr. Beagles, if the old machine is still functional but you feel it is too slow and clunky you might consider installing Linux on it.  You'll be amazed at how much faster it runs and there are plenty of great programs available which won't cost you a dime.  I ran Linux on one of my old boxes and liked it a lot, once I figured out their way of doing things.