So I need some help finding cheap vintage laptop parts.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

I got an old Gateway Solo Pro 9300 and Dell Latitude C810 from a buddy for $20 and a meal, but I'm having some trouble finding parts that I need to make them get up to full working order.

The Gateway needs work and as such is my project comp. So far it's missing the RAM slot cover, the RAM itself, a hard drive caddy, a hard drive, the IDE to PATA connector and needs a replacement keyboard or replacement keys for the board.

The Dell on the other hand just needs a few case screws, a new HDD, screws for the caddy, the IDE to PATA connector and a charger to replace the ratty looking one it currently has.

Anyone know where the best place to go other than eBay is for parts? I can't seem to find many cheap parts for the Gateway at all on there. Or does anyone have any older parts that they'd like to donate/trade?

[Upsidedown Fuji]

In your case ebay is your best bet. Old system parts and accessories are hard to come by in regular stores. Anything that dates before a Pentium4 level system is going to be really hard to find new parts for outside of ebay.

I bought some ram and parts for an old Dell inspiron laptop a friend gave to me. I bought a lot of computer parts off ebay. Your best bet is to get the system model number down and search for a repair/parts guide on the internet. Then just start looking for components piece by piece on ebay.

Here's a support page for the Gateway system you have:
http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Sol ... 0Env.shtml

I assume the Gateway is running nothing more than Win95/98. Not much you can do with that safely besides throw some linux on it and use it as a music juke box for your network.

It takes PC100 144-pin SO-DIMMs at 32,54,128mb each. Not sure how many slots it has in it but I think you're gonna be maxing its memory at 256MB of ram.

Here's the support page for the Latitude you got too:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/s ... /index.htm

The Dell is slightly better as it has a slightly stronger CPU and can hold more memory.
I would guess the thing can go up to 512mb of ram if it has 2 ram slots with 256mb each. You'll need to chase down a PC-133 SDRAM SODIMM for that too. It is also capable of running XP so you could theorhetically surf the net with it. That's pretty cool.

I know you don't want to deal with ebay but, here's my thought on ebay purhcases for computer components:
I still haven't been scammed after 100 successful transactions and 10 years. Just make sure the seller's ratings are high and most of all that the seller is in the US. Hong Kong parts can work, but they usually take a ton of time to get anywhere and they most often are bootlegged/refurbished stuff that doesn't work all the time.

Good luck getting your laptop up and running. It feels satisfying to get old hardware running usefully. I would suggest you try to put the least ammount of money possible into upgrading these systems as they are pretty much beyond their lifespan in usefulness.

What do you plan on using the old laptops for?

[AARST]

That's what I love about Dell. That service manual tells you how to take the whole thing apart and gives a good idea what the parts look like. You won't find that on many other websites.

Also, to help you along, the C810 uses the same parts as the C800 and is the exact same as the Inspiron 8100. The C800 is also the same as the Inspiron 8000, so you could search for parts of those as well. The only difference is that the C810 offered more memory from the start.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Thanks guys.

It's not that I'm new to eBay, I just don't want to deal with some of their prices on the Gateway stuff as I can't really find the RAM port door or an HDD caddy for it at a cheap price. TheDell stuff is common as hell and dirt cheap so I'm fine with using eBay for it.

As for the laptops themselves I plan on installing XP Pro on both or maybe Win 2000 on the Gateway and XP Pro on the Dell. The Gateway runs at 700mhz so it should run decently as a web surfing machine for email with 256MB RAM or as a music box and the Dell I plan on making my primary portable computer and putting two sticks of 512mb RAM in it to sit comfortably with 1 GB.

[fastbilly1]

What kind of harddrive do you need?
Any image of the screws?
I might have screws for it for postage - harddrive is less likely that I have a spare but worth a shot

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

What kind of harddrive do you need?
Any image of the screws?
I might have screws for it for postage - harddrive is less likely that I have a spare but worth a shot

Let me see if I have any batteries for my camera.

If anything the screws are labeled as 'P' on the bottom of the dell case and are thin but about an inch long.

As for the HDD I need a standard 2.5'' laptop IDE drive and an IDE to PATA adapter for it.

EDIT!: Same for the Gateway when it comes to the HDD, I need a 2.5'' IDE drive with the IDE to PATA adapter.

I can get the PATA adapters for cheap, on eBay, but HDD's not so much.

[fastbilly1]

Cant help you with a 2.5. Ive got some spare 1.8 and 3.5s but fresh out of ide 2.5s. I have a sata one kicking around though...

If you can get an image of the screw to me Ill check my bins of screws. I need to organize them anyway. 10 altoid tins of computer screws is a bit much...

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Cant help you with a 2.5. Ive got some spare 1.8 and 3.5s but fresh out of ide 2.5s. I have a sata one kicking around though...

If you can get an image of the screw to me Ill check my bins of screws. I need to organize them anyway. 10 altoid tins of computer screws is a bit much...

Oh well.

As for the screw, I can't take any pics as I don't have any batteries at the moment.