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Old 8th Jan 2019, 9:17 pm   #23
arjoll
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Invercargill, New Zealand
Posts: 3,440
Default Re: Dell CPi 233ST laptop

The specs show it originally came with Windows 95, 98 or NT4.

I'd lean towards NT4. Windows 2000 will run adequately on 128 MB, but NT4 will be smoother with that amount of memory. It'll still run Office 97. I'd avoid Office 95, simply because you'll find users of modern versions will have to change security settings to open any files you create in the old 95 format.

You could use it online, but only behind a firewall with gateway antivirus (say a WatchGuard Firebox T10 for ADSL, T35 for fibre). I think the chance of encountering an exploit for NT4 in the wild in 2019 isn't huge.

As others have indicated, 128 MB may be the minimum stated for XP RTM but it's unusable with that much memory. You really needed 256 MB for decent performance running very simple applications (say Word 2000 on its own), or 512 MB for full Office. With SP3 you need 2 GB.
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