@Webecedarian it would help to know your actual intended use. By that I mean that in the absence of any internet connection, which would rule out a lot of older systems, what you wish for this computer to be used for, and with what peripherals.

The reason this is relevant is that if all you need is a writing workstation, perhaps with printer, a modern system with late-version Windows will not just be vastly overpowered, but be unlikely to run the easier-to-use applications which might be better suited to your needs.

I do agree with your general preference NOT to have a laptop. Many of the early-mid version Windows era laptops are truly horrid systems with dubious reliability. Their advantage would solely be in being portable enough that you could mail it to someone prepared to help set it up for you, which would be harder with a desktop.

However, just as with any computer, the best place to begin is with working out exactly what you are going to use it for, and then finding a system that matches those needs. Once you have a clear picture of the computer you need, then you can decide where it will come from, and what level of assistance and support you may need. One thing is almost invariably true, and that is that the simplest solution is usually the best one for any given need.

For example, if your need is the writing workstation, then your best option may be an old DOS computer, with WordPerfect and perhaps a few other applications. These are the easiest of systems to actually set up, though most are likely to be ready for use. Even if not, installing DOS and WordPerfect is simply a matter of having the right sets of floppy disks, and following very basic instructions which are not difficult to follow. As you move from DOS into Windows, and then through the Windows versions, systems get more and more complex to set up - and as important, troubleshoot as and when they go wrong.

If you are looking for something more complex than a writing workstation, and since you don't want to spend time meddling or messing around in the operating system tending to its needs, you might even be better off with a Mac. These can be tricky, but amongst my DOS systems, which I use regularly, the computer I use most frequently for writing is a Mac 630CD, running MacOS 8, and dating from around the mid 1990s. The hard drive is easily replaced with a cheap CF card and adapter, the system is simple to use and very robust, and MacOS itself from that era is very simple and intuitive to use. Early versions of Word, or MacWrite, are quite excellent (and simple), and once set up and running, the whole system can be very productive.

An alternative, just to show how wide a range of options you really have, would be something like a Raspberry Pi. These are very inexpensive, new, and run Linux rather than DOS, Windows or MacOS, but come ready to run. All you'd really need is someone with an internet connection to download and set up a MicroSD card (this is what a Raspberry Pi uses in place of a hard drive) with all the software you need, and then mail that to you. That's a task that someone with a Pi could do for you in an hour or so. All you then do when the MicroSD card arrives, is insert it into the card slot on the back of the Pi, and then power up. As long as you can connect up a few cables - and have a suitable monitor and mouse (for a Pi 400) or suitable monitor, mouse and keyboard (for a Pi 4b for example) - you'd be up and running in minutes.

>> Yoda said:

I do agree with your general preference NOT to have a laptop. Many of the early-mid version Windows era laptops are truly horrid systems with dubious reliability. Their advantage would solely be in being portable enough that you could mail it to someone prepared to help set it up for you, which would be harder with a desktop. Click to expand...

This is true for many laptops from the 1990s, but I'd just like to mention that the ones I specified previously (from the early 2000s) are not anywhere close to horrid and they're known to be very reliable. At the very least far more so than desktop computers from the time. Just wanted to clarify that.

>> 3lectr1c said:

This is true for many laptops from the 1990s, but I'd just like to mention that the ones I specified previously (from the early 2000s) are not anywhere close to horrid and they're known to be very reliable. At the very least far more so than desktop computers from the time. Just wanted to clarify that. Click to expand...

I don't necessarily dispute that, though in the context of my thoughts overall, the later-model the system, the potentially greater degree of complexity as a solution to the OP here. It's also worth pointing out that system reliability was largely a factor of the way the market expanded rapidly at that time, not necessarily in direct relation to the desktop computer product. Except... well, there were one or two brands in that era to avoid!

And I do think it critical to consider first the practical use @Webecedarian has in mind. An avowed lack of enthusiasm for learning something new, and a lack of option to research on the internet, does strongly suggest the more simple the solution to get, set up and use, the better. By the time you get into some of the XP installations, where stability issues were a big deal in the early-mid years XP was around, going earlier for a solution may make much more sense.

I did systems development and user support throughout those years... end users were not well cared for by many of the systems of the day.

Well I still think the best solution would be to fit a new hard drive or solid state replacement in his current computer, since that's all that's wrong with his old one. Would simplify a lot of things.

And I never suggested XP for the laptop as well - it would need to be running 98 to run WordPerfect properly. I think XP has some support for running DOS applications but to my understanding, it's rather half-baked.

as for desktops of the day, if you can name a brand that didn't get hit by the capacitor plague, then great. But I've seen it all over the place and it is really all over the place. You can't trust any Dell from that time, I know first hand. I've had HPs with it, custom built generic units, etc. would be hard to find on that's immune.

There is a whole lot to unpick with that, but it wouldn't help the OP in this thread at all, so I'd rather leave it there.

@Webecedarian has stated they went to use the computer as a typewriter. So going off that, i would also suggest to stay away from modern computers. In this case i'm including computers that can run windows 10 like the dell computers that have been mentioned so far in this thread. (basically computers from 2005 or so or newer)

A lot of writers like older computers for the distraction free nature. With a dos computer when you are using wordperfect. you are ONLY using wordperfect. you don't have any popups or other dodads that try to distract you.

I would like to suggest also to try to fix your current computer. You know it already. and it has the least amount of unknown unknowns.

a new computer would require a lot more learning. AND there will be things that you don't know that you don't know about it.
Maybe somebody on this forum would be willing to sell you a hard drive preconfigured and setup to just work for you. So all you have to do is unplug the old one and plug the new one in.

>> Webecedarian said:

I'm sorry that this ends up being so piecemeal. It's not that I "don't want to learn new things." I learn new things all the time. But I'm not in a position to suddenly become a techie. Click to expand...

i would also like to make clear that i totally get this position.
Learning new skills is hard work. it takes time and energy to do it. And none of us have an unlimited amount of that. We all have to pick our battles on what new things we should spend trying to learn. It is an individual's choice.

I, myself, have lots of things that i would like to have the knowledge and skills of. But i simply do not have the time and/or inclination to learn it now. and perhaps never.

I think you found a good forum and a good group of people to help you through this current transition you have in front of you.
edit: typo's

An additional thought is that in many areas there are small 'computer repair' type places which can offer help - at a price of course. In my town (pretty small) there are three or four, two of which have been going for years and have good reputations for small repair and system recovery work.

Looking up 'computer repair, phoenix, arizona' turns up quite a few possibles, where an existing failed hard drive could potentially be replaced, or a newly bought system could be set up. It could well be worth looking at these as possible ways to get the local support needed.

>> 3lectr1c said:

Any windows version newer than 98 or Me will not be able to natively run WordPerfect, which includes 10. Doesn't matter really if it's 32 or 64 bit. If all laptops are out, that really just leaves finding a vintage computer that can run the software you would like to use, and those fail frequently. Unless you've got someone in your area that can do the required work to keep it running, you're out of luck. That's why I suggested laptops, since the ones from the time greatly exceed the reliability of desktops from the time. If it's the touch pads that you don't like about them, you can just hook up the mouse from your current computer. The keyboard on the 8100 and its sister models is very nice. They're also pretty heavy, you'd have to knock it real good to throw it off the desk. and yeah don't bother calling dell about it. Their tech support is known to be pretty bad at helping with current products, let alone ones from the 2000s. Click to expand...

Wow, that just amazes me, that laptops would have been more reliable.

Okay, here's a good example of my problem, ignoramus though I am: I just had someone tell me that I should use Windows XP, which I believe is later than ME, right? I have all these guys who are all cock-sure they're right, telling me conflicting things. And they're online, which is worse! At least if it was in person, I could yell at them and smack them around if they were wrong.

>> Webecedarian said:

Wow, that just amazes me, that laptops would have been more reliable. Okay, here's a good example of my problem, ignoramus though I am: I just had someone tell me that I should use Windows XP, which I believe is later than ME, right? I have all these guys who are all ****-sure they're right, telling me conflicting things. And they're online, which is worse! At least if it was in person, I could yell at them and smack them around if they were wrong. Click to expand...

From my experience @3lectr1c is correct about the reliability of laptops vs desktops of that era.

Here's my two cents on the matter. I believe if you want a single desktop machine then you'd probably be best served getting the newest machine that you possibly can that has a built in floppy controller. You can find a reasonably modern machine that meets that criteria although it will probably have to be a custom build. Most big name brands removed floppy drives early.

Now here's my reasoning for this recommendation - The easiest thing to do in order to meet your needs would be to have a dual boot setup (DOS/WIN10). This way you have the option to use pure DOS and WordPerfect in the manner which you are accustomed but you will also be able to use a modern OS with modern tools and features. In other words you would get the best of both worlds and few drawbacks. Now you need the built in floppy controller because DOS doesn't play well with USB devices. There are ways to get some USB functionality under DOS but it is truly a pain to set up and good luck finding someone who can/will do it.

Most older windows productivity apps can be coaxed into working even on the latest versions of the OS. The drawbacks of the older OS's outweigh any benefits in my opinion. You'll be limiting yourself to much older hardware to maintain compatibility and they have a host of other problems. Except for reasons of familiarity or nostalgia's sake go as modern as you possibly can while still getting the function that you're looking for.

There are other ways of going about all this but I think this would be the easiest for you to use.

>> Webecedarian said:

Wow, that just amazes me, that laptops would have been more reliable. Okay, here's a good example of my problem, ignoramus though I am: I just had someone tell me that I should use Windows XP, which I believe is later than ME, right? I have all these guys who are all ****-sure they're right, telling me conflicting things. And they're online, which is worse! At least if it was in person, I could yell at them and smack them around if they were wrong. Click to expand...

My experience of reliability of laptops vs desktops over years servicing them is that there wasn't much difference at all between them, and periods where certain makes and models of each were more likely to fail than others. Where desktops tend to fair better, however, is in repairing them. Other than some, such as early Compaqs, or mid-90s Macs which can be difficult to work on, desktops are generally much easier (thus cheaper if paying labor costs).

However, certainly XP is later than ME, and far more robust as an operating system, particularly after the first couple of years of patches and service packs. Before that, it wasn't all that stable.

The thing is that everyone is both right AND wrong in the advice they're providing. When approached as a technical problem, your situation can be answered and resolved in dozens of different and very technically competent ways, so this isn't a situation where anyone but you, knowing exactly what your specific use case is, and what your level of knowledge in computing is or could become, can really know the 'right' answer.

For example, I use several old computers for what are generally known as 'distraction free' tasks, because I need (and want) to focus entirely on what I'm doing, and not what else the system is busy with and what it wants me to know, or indeed, what it wants me to do for it. Today, I've been happily using a 1987 NEC DOS machine with WordPerfect 5.0, and that was very productive and allowed me to save my work on a 3.5-oinch floppy, which I can use in a modern PC or Mac to fill edit and print.

Yesterday, I was using a 1983 TRS-80 Model 100 (very early, very basic) laptop, which allows me to save onto an SD card (via a modern-built adapter), and again put the file onto a modern system for final edit and printing.

I have a 1994 (I think) Apple PowerBook I use too, which is more sophisticated than the other two, but lets me do a wider range of tasks if I actually need to.

On the face of it, if I asked the question you did about a suitable computer, I'd get much the same sort of answer from much the same people, but for these uses, the answer isn't in the technical details, but your actual use and satisfaction with the right machine.

@3lectr1c is right in saying that in these age groups, systems tend to suffer problems - failed drives, leaking capacitors which cause problems actually corroding the circuit boards inside, and even backup batteries which leak or explode - but this isn't a reason to buy something newer or more complex, it's just a reason to take more care over the specific system you get to ensure best reliability in further use. If, for example, a DOS computer running WordPerfect 5.1 was the 'perfect' solution for your specific needs, then look for a good, reliable DOS computer. In that situation, an early Windows (95, 98, NT, ME, 2000, XP) won't give you really anything extra you need, and won't gain you better reliability either.

If you're interested - perhaps in the longer term - in technology and what it can do, an XP system might well be best. By XP's end of life it was remarkably solid and predictable as an operating system, yet still supported most older applications or at worst, the slightly more modern equivalents (WordPerfect for Windows, instead of WordPerfect 5.1 for example), but otherwise, your best option may simply be to go for the simplest way to solve the problem, not the most technically capable.

>> Yoda said:

My experience of reliability of laptops vs desktops over years servicing them is that there wasn't much difference at all between them, and periods where certain makes and models of each were more likely to fail than others Click to expand...

It will vary a lot depending on the era and the make you're looking at. For 90s computers, desktops are typically far more reliable. But for that early 2000s capacitor plague period, getting a laptop avoids that ever being an issue. I definitely wouldn't call their reliability the same, when talking about the dell models that I mentioned. Some laptops are unreliable but those aren't.

>> 3lectr1c said:

It will vary a lot depending on the era and the make you're looking at. For 90s computers, desktops are typically far more reliable. But for that early 2000s capacitor plague period, getting a laptop avoids that ever being an issue. I definitely wouldn't call their reliability the same, when talking about the dell models that I mentioned. Some laptops are unreliable but those aren't. Click to expand...

This isn't the right thread to debate that. It is also not my experience particularly, what do I know, I only worked in IT since 1985.

I don't get the toxicity here? I'm sorry if I insulted you - that wasn't my intention. I don't doubt your experience, I was just offering my opinion based on my own experience to try to help out. Yours is welcome too.

>> 3lectr1c said:

I don't get the toxicity here? I'm sorry if I insulted you - that wasn't my intention. I don't doubt your experience, I was just offering my opinion based on my own experience to try to help out. Yours is welcome too. Click to expand...

There is no toxicity of any kind. Nor an insult, I'm just not prepared to debate 'capacitor plague' or the relative reliability of generic system designs with you (or anyone in fact) in a thread where the OP has indicated the nature of their question, and that this kind of discussion is hardly likely to help resolve. Elsewhere, sure.

Laptops aren't exempt from capacitor issues.

Just about every component on laptops is proprietary and that makes a job like replacing a floppy drive, much more difficult than on an AT desktop or tower.

>> AvadonDragon said:

The easiest thing to do in order to meet your needs would be to have a dual boot setup (DOS/WIN10). Click to expand...

Have you actually done this on the same machine?

>> YMK said:

Have you actually done this on the same machine? Click to expand...

Well I wasn't explicitly trying to set up a machine to do this but I did have one with a built in floppy controller that ran Windows 10 and could boot DOS from a floppy. It was a strange system. Early Core i3 if I remember correctly. I think I still have the motherboard somewhere because it was the newest one I'd ever seen that had a floppy controller onboard. It was set up in legacy BIOS boot mode of course. No UEFI.

I found this helpful website with tips for running WordPefect 5.1 on Windows from 3.1 to XP. Per this resource, if Op is looking to print at all from the computer, the newest windows version they can use is win95. Later windows can be coaxed to run however WP will not print.

https://mendelson.org/wpdos/oldwpwin.html