Garage laptop?

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MI_Roger

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Ypsilanti, MI
With nearly all automotive service instructions now being software or internet based, what do others use in the garage for a laptop? I am considering buying a used, and heavily discounted, Toughbook. Both for its tougher exterior and drop resistance as well as for its compatibility with software requiring old O/S.
 
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A lot of guys on M3post love the old Toughbooks. You can get them for a few hundred bucks on eBay. One guy said they'll even survive being run over by the car!

They're also nice since they can still run Windows XP which is required for some of the special coding/diagnostic software.
 
I have a dedicated Dell D630 running Mercedes DAS/XENTRY. It's dedicated to W220 maintenance.

It has Google Chrome on it, so if I need to surf/search (or post on BITOG), I use the Dell.
 
Look at some old Lenovo t series on eBay. Cheap and durable but still fairly modern.
 
I am not telling you what to use but I have pushed my old Mac Mini into service in the garage. I use it to read instructions or watch videos on how to do DIY fixes on my vehicles. For now I keep a spreadsheet on my repairs on my office computer but want to move it to the garage Mac Mini.
 
I'm a semi mechanic for UPS and we have a few Toughbooks in the shop. Both have very bright displays unlike anything you'd purchase at a Best Buy. They also have smaller screens which you want in an auto repair environment. But I wouldn't buy anything used that uses a PATA hard drive interface.
 
Originally Posted By: joegreen
Look at some old Lenovo t series on eBay. Cheap and durable but still fairly modern.


That's what I bought. Think it was $125 and looks brand new. It's heavy and bulky but find for garage or the occasional travel.
 
I have had several thinkpads and quite like them. Even among different models there seems to be a reasonable commonality and readily available parts supply.
 
Something older that can get dirty.

That said, if you can get away with just USB c and adapters, the new tiny MacBooks look like a very convenient size.

If for PDFs and manuals, I wonder if a cheap tablet would be a better option. Add a BT keyboard and mouse and you're in good shape.
 
Most of my manuals and master parts lists/diagrams come on CD or DVD. So it'll need some sort of drive. Can transfer to HDD for faster access. Gateways are cheap and my wife's has been running for a long time (with XP Pro and her business software). We put in a PATA/IDE 128 GB SSD and the thing is nearly as quick as my much newer machines.

Some will respond to SSD real well, others are not a whole lot faster that with a rotating disk ...

Have had good luck with Gateway laptops
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
Most of my manuals and master parts lists/diagrams come on CD or DVD. So it'll need some sort of drive. Can transfer to HDD for faster access. Gateways are cheap and my wife's has been running for a long time (with XP Pro and her business software). We put in a PATA/IDE 128 GB SSD and the thing is nearly as quick as my much newer machines.

Some will respond to SSD real well, others are not a whole lot faster that with a rotating disk ...

Have had good luck with Gateway laptops
smile.gif




Funny you say that...as I am on an 8 year old gateway laptop right now!
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
They're also nice since they can still run Windows XP which is required for some of the special coding/diagnostic software.


That is why I am looking at refurbished, former cop duty (I think), Toughbooks. I can find old used refurbished standard laptops for ~$100 but they are now usually loaded with Win 8 or Win 10. My diagnostic software requires XP, Vista, or 32 bit Win 7. I have it running now in a 32 bit Virtual Machine within 64 bit Win 7 on our desktop and it is painfully slow. Plus, I can't take it into the garage with me.

The old toughbooks available locally come loaded with XP or Vista. I can't even find copies of these OS for sale on the auction sites!
 
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Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
Most of my manuals and master parts lists/diagrams come on CD or DVD. So it'll need some sort of drive. Can transfer to HDD for faster access. Gateways are cheap and my wife's has been running for a long time (with XP Pro and her business software). We put in a PATA/IDE 128 GB SSD and the thing is nearly as quick as my much newer machines.

Some will respond to SSD real well, others are not a whole lot faster that with a rotating disk ...

Have had good luck with Gateway laptops
smile.gif



You can rip the CD like how people do DVD and get a .iso or .bin file off the disc and then mount this on a virtual drive. All you need the space it takes up. Which is like 800mb for a CD and i forget what a DVD is 2.7gb?

I do this all the time with important discs and laptops that dont have CD drives.
 
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