Hey Jow Forumsuys, The IT guy from work offered me an older computer that the company was tossing. It's an HP Z400. He said thought maybe I can use some of the components but that the comp works.
When I opened it up, it had 12 gigs of ram and a Nvidia Quadro gpu. Basically I want to get this pc running, but it was just totally wiped. It has a Windows 7 pro OA license sticker on it. I tried to download an ISO but apparently because it's an enterprise copy of windows, Microsoft won't let me download it. What should I do? Is it even worth it to try and get this computer running, or should I just recycle it?
No. Any idea where I can either find a safe ISO download?
OR ideally I could find a download of one of the actual recovery disks for this Z400. But I was looking online and didn't see any download links, only offers from HP to sell me one, and I'm not puting any money into this pc.
... This is what I'm saying. I'm not going to. I haven't had to reinstall an OS in years. I read digital river no longer works. So you know where I could get either an iso or a recovery disk that doesn't give sheckles to the kikes at hp?
Thanks for the link. I'll give this a shot when I get home this evening.
I guess I'll ask about the proper Z400 recovery disks one last time, anyone know if its possible to find a download for these or should I just use a clean win7 iso and start fresh without any HP bloat? I figure the recovery disks would be handy because they would already have the drivers which would save me a lot of time. Any idea where I could maybe find a download of those ?
I'd always go fresh. Starting new isn't going to take long to set up.
Chase Baker
I didn't want to take the heatsync off to check. That's why I wanted to boot into Windows to run Cpu Z and hope to find one of the quad core xenons.
Angel Long
if you can't find a proper iso then just give that pc away, you're too stupid. just call it a day
Liam Lee
To your knowledge would I have any gaps regarding drivers if I just install all the Hp ones from their product page for the Z400 workstation? Idk if there would be any drivers from the individual manufactures that I would need. Also, would I have to go install one driver at a time, or could I find some kind of pack for this pc which will include all the core drivers? Sorry if That's a stupid question.
Julian Scott
I can do it though! But yah I know I'm pretty stupid when it comes to computers. I'm trying to learn though.
Gavin Rivera
Windows 7 and later will do it all for you. I can't see why you'd need HP's ones. You won't need them. I'd only go to their site if anything didn't work.
Jordan Cooper
I just remembered another link for you. If you have problems with the torrents.
use it as a linux server ffs why recycle a working system.. :S
Nathan Green
I've never played computer games before, as I've never really had a computer capable of it. I was thinking this could be a viable pc with an upgraded gpu perhaps. But I guess that depends on if its a quad-core or not.
>Any idea where I can either find a safe ISO download? MICROSOFT, you dumb motherfucker. google "windows iso download"
Owen Sanchez
I won't get rid of it! Just got to get it running. I have a pretty ancient desktop at home that doesn't get much use for anything. But this would give me more capabilities so I would like to get it running and potentially start upgrading. I never built a pc because I didn't like the idea of buying all of the components separately. But this simplifies things if I can just upgrade one component at a time kind of thing.
Anthony Scott
THAT DOESNT FUCKING WORK BECAUSE THIS WAS AN ENTERPRISE LISENCE YOU FUCK. I already wrote that earlier. Microsoft redirects you to go ask your respective manufacturer for the iso which is retarded.
Isaac Miller
who the fuck cares, you dumb nigger. just crack the windows install
Eli Morales
>download iso from microsoft >install windows 10 pro without key >install kmspico WOW, that was hard
Jonathan Watson
I need a Pro OA update to crack. The Microsoft site doesn't let me download any ISOs. But I will try the link user posted earlier for the mirrored site and see if that works.
Brody Anderson
B-but I thought you guys said W10 is botnet... So wouldn't Windows 7 pro be better?
Also wouldn't Windows 7 run faster on here since this system was designed for it?
Colton Hall
>install gentoo
Dylan Hughes
Ya ino. Forgot to include inb4
Ryan Cruz
Well I never really considered Windows 10. Should I go W10 or W7? Which is faster? It W10 as botnet cancer as everyone here says? If so, even the pro versions?
Robert Thomas
7 and 10 are both botnet.
Ethan Morris
Ugh. So which should I go with them. Last I heard W10 neuters what you can do the the pc (similarly to apple) is this true? I have never used W10 in depth or for long periods of time before.
Evan Collins
>Also wouldn't Windows 7 run faster on here since this system was designed for it?
what dumb logic is this?
Caleb Smith
install gentoo
Zachary Russell
It doesn't do much different from 7. It just forces updates. Otherwise they're both very similar and are awful choices for your computer.
Brayden Perry
underage retards out "it guy from work" more like you found it in the dumpster at middle school
kill yourself
Gabriel Peterson
When newer versions of Android come out and get installed on older phones they run much slower because there are increased background processes running etc that is designed around the computing capabilities of the NEW top of the line devices. What kind of dumb (((logic))) are you using ?
Daniel Sullivan
Kys nigger. I don't spend much time playing around with computers.
>The only thing the "pro" version adds is bloat. Seems counter intuitive but thanks for the info
Ryder Reyes
>Seems counter intuitive Welcome to marketing.
Logan Watson
I noticed this possible config while looking through some of the manuals. I'm not hopeful it has it already but I was thinking, I remember a while ago I saw a youtuber talking about using Xeon pc's as a budget built foundation, so even if it isn't a 6 core, maybe I can pick one up for super cheap? Given that a lot of the companies who had ordered stacks of these are phasing them out, so they are essentially flooding the market. Also provided the mobo supports the 6core model I guess but that would be really helpful for video editing I think.
Jose Bailey
Unfortunately so
Samuel Richardson
go to sqt next time Look up OEM SLP SLIC if you have problems
You can also install windows 10, input that product key and it won't give you any hassle.
>go to sqt next time Will do and thanks, I will try this tonight.
Kayden Hernandez
You're welcome. Don't mind the other fa/g/gots on this board. You're welcome here.
Michael Richardson
android phones are underpowered, you idiot. cpu speed barely went up in the last 10 years. what are you smoking?
Aiden Wood
Appreciate it. Tbqh I spend a lot of time on Jow Forums but am usually in the watch threads. I'm trying to learn enough about computers to become properly self sufficient. So I guess I need to learn everything properly only before I am good to go on my own in the future. Never been my area of expertise t. Structural engineer.
Lucas Jackson
Is there anyone here that uses a Z400 still? If so, how is it configured, and what are you using it for?
We have tons of Z400s at work, usually with 12/16 gigs of RAM and a quad-core Xeon GPUs are pretty shit tho
Landon Cooper
>GPUs are pretty shit tho This is what i was thinking of swapping out. The main thing I'm wondering though, is how nice of a graphics card can I pair with this system before the CPU starts to become the bottleneck. Is there anyone here who is experienced enough to try postulating that? Assuming it's a quad core xeon, would a 1050ti be bottle necked bc of the cpu, how about a 1070ti?
If the cpu won't be a bottle neck, then I would get a nice GPU and SSD and make this my primary PC. I'm using a quad-core i7 laptop as my primary home computer right now, but this obviously gives me more flexibility in terms of upgradability in the future.
Brody Sanchez
Install OpenSUSE Linux Thumbleweed
Owen Collins
Well buddy, the GPU is not the problem, it's the power supply you should be worring about. It usually is only 300 Watts and a modern GPU needs more, also, you won't have enough molexes.
Kind Regards,
A guy who supports a CAD - Team in a large steelmill
Alexander Nguyen
Ow and don't try to use another power supply, the HP motherboard has a custom connector
Samuel Barnes
Christ's sake what's the point of such kikery? Fucking nonstandard bullshit.
Once I figure out for certain what cpu it is, how should I go about determing if the power supply is adequate for a 1070ti and/or if the cpu will be a bottle neck for it. And this computer was used by one of our designers, primarily running Microstation.
Christian Thomas
Boot Ubuntu from USB drive and do cat /proc/cpuinfo to see which cpu it is
This is a good idea. I wanted to make a usb with bootable Ubuntu a while ago but couldn't determine a practical reason why... This is a great reason to have one around. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hudson Thomas
Thanks Rajesh Petel, will look at when I get home.
Jaxon Cox
kek, top tier bait
Josiah Diaz
Go here and download Windows 7 Professional x64. Install it to a USB drive or burn it to a disc if you want to waste a dsic.
>Is it even worth it to try and get this computer running, or should I just recycle it?
Don't even think about recycling it. This is still a very powerful and current PC.
I bet it has a Xeon X5650 in it and that is a good hex core CPU. The Quadro 2000 is also a fine GPU for a lot of things, but quite old at this point. It will let play Xbox 360-tier pc games, and perhaps a bit beyond. Many modern PC games that will run on low-spec integrated graphics will run fine on it.
Install Windows. Replace the GPU with a GTX 960 or a GTX 1050 ti or some other cheaper GPU. And enjoy. It will make a fine desktop PC and be able to do anything you want with it.
Joseph Howard
>The main thing I'm wondering though, is how nice of a graphics card can I pair with this system before the CPU starts to become the bottleneck. It depends on what CPU it has in it. If it is a 2.5ghz or better hex core then even a GTX 980 or 1060 will not be bottlenecked depending on the application.
Josiah Torres
How would you tell what model cpu it is without removing the heatsync. It doesn't boot into any bios screen. Pic related.
Thanks m8, this is the plan. I will see if I can find a nice cheap graphics card to pair with it. My fingers are crossed its a quad core. I have a 500gB western digital blue SSD in the mail at the moment. I think it has potential to be a decent little system.
William Ross
It is probably displaying the splash screen. Try pressing Escape, Delete, F1, F2, or some other keys during boot up when the HP logo is being displayed.
I own an HP Z800 which is the bigger brother to this PC. I can help you with a lot of the settings. I think you can press escape during boot to temporarily disable the splash screen, and then it is either F2 or Delete to enter the bios. From there you can disable the splash screen entirely and change your boot order.
Colton Bell
oh man, you really know how to make me laugh! really good shit
Charles James
Awesome, I will be home in 40 mins, I will try this then. Have you ran into any compatibility issues with your Z800 due to proprietary components?
Jaxson Turner
I looked it up, it's F10 on the Z400 to access the BIOS during boot.
Tyler Morales
You could also play old PC games.
Alexander Watson
Kys. This is my first time working with a wiped PC, so I'm learning for next time. You must have had to learn this your first time through, faggot. Why do you feel the need to be such a dickhead to people who are trying to learn to be competent in a field they are not familiar with.
Kevin Johnson
hail satan
Get Windows 7 Loader (google it)
Get Windows 7 ISO Media Refresh generic ISO ultimate 64bit: X17-59465.iso pro 64bit: X17-59186.iso
Install without a key, and then run the Windows 7 loader. It will substitute out retail/generic key to use an OEM key - not the loader unless it doesn't detect your BIOS, which shouldn't be a problem for you.
Dylan Wilson
You are very lucky, user. That heat sink is the HP high performance heat sink, so that means it has a fast and power-hungry CPU in it. Perhaps a Xeon X5680 or X5690. So you will probably not need to replace the CPU.
Hopefully with a new budget GPU I can try some modern titles with medium settings. I've wanted to try pubg / Fortnite. A few guys at work play and talk about it often. I primarily do video editing so I think this will be a welcome upgrade to my overstressed laptop.
Z400 will still get the job done. Download Windows 10 media creation too and just enter your 7 key. 1070 Ti is probably pushing it for a 450W PSU. I've had a 970 and a 1060 running on a Dell 420W PSU, but a 1070 Ti is quite a bit above either of those. It may work (Anandtech has it maxing out at 333W system draw) but I personally wouldn't try more than a 1070.
Xavier Taylor
>Hopefully with a new budget GPU I can try some modern titles with medium settings. You can raise your expectations. With a GTX 1060 6gb you can expect very high and ultra on most titles. Of course, opinions vary on what is "budget".
Luke Davis
How can someone be this hellbent on installing windows 7?
Oliver Davis
I'm hoping so user. Quite excited the more I think about it. I've been wanting a decent desktop for a while.
May be getting a little far ahead of myself, but does anyone know if overclocking would be possible with a stock HP mobo and Xeon combo? Not sure if oclocking xeons is possible, let alone with a stock workstation mobo.
Nolan Baker
First time fren, and I autistically want to do it properly so I can take a system image and use this as a default restart point in case I accidentally fuck something up in the future with it.
Tyler Rogers
Looks like quite a difference. Thanks for the info. Will look around a 1060 then or so. I'm not so concerned about a budget, I just want to make sure I'm getting good value for the parts I pair with it.
Kevin Nguyen
That's pretty surprising. I was under the impression a lot more money was required for a computer capable of high setting in modern games.
Noah Mitchell
glad I had this piece of trash replaced last week toss it, OP
Noah Sanders
Hi satan, I have case from this piece of shit as my main case, It sucks, is heavy as fuck and stuff, yo
Ryder Clark
Sorry. I seriously thought you were baiting.
Joseph Rodriguez
The IT guy at work told me it has proprietary mounting locations for the HP mobo. Did you have to modify the case to use a different mobo in it? How did you learn, or how would you recommend learning. 99 percent of the search results or other threads on these issues is just come Rakesh reccomending to call the customer support.
Tyler Reed
>I tried to download an ISO but apparently because it's an enterprise copy of windows, Microsoft won't let me download it.
A guy named Generation2 on piratebay has a bunch of pre-activated Windows ISOs. Use an application called Rufus to make an install USB or burn one to disc.