I just set up Ubuntu Server on a Dell Dimension 2400. I bet my parents would REALLY like it if I could make it use as little energy as possible.

Here are my specs:
CPU- Intel Celeron @ 2.0 GHz
128 KB L2 cache
Bus Speed- 400 MHz
RAM- 1536 MB DDR SDRAM
266 MHz
BIOS- version A05 (the newest Dell has available)

2 80GB hard drives
CD/DVD ROM drive
3.5" floppy drive
Motherboard graphics, Ethernet, sound, etc.
NO PCI cards

I should also mention that I have disabled/turned off (through the BIOS):
Motherboard sound
Mouse Port
PCI slots
Serial Port 1
Parallel Port

The suspend mode is set to S3. (I have no idea what this is, the other option is S1)

Would setting the "Hard Drive Acoustics" to "Quiet" make it spin slower and use less power?

I really don't care if I have to wait a few more seconds if it means less power. My goal is to have it use as little energy as possible while still actually running.

Also, whenever I try to suspend the computer, it hangs. This has happened in every Linux OS I've had on the thing, and if I could get that to work it would be good too.

Thanks!

Running

or

should give you a idea of how processes are running and google each process to see which you can live without.
I don't run Ubuntu or Desktop Environments when I wish to run lean and mean.
As far as suspend goes. A large swap partition like 2gig or more is A requirement I think before trying this fix.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1978290

Disable and disconenct the floppy drive, and CD/DVD drive if you can live without it.

Maybe buy a new power supply, the one that came with the system is quite inefficient. Not sure if its worth it though, old P4s and P4 era celerons are pretty power hungry and so old that you might find systems by the roadside wth more power and less power usage.

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Ok, I can disconnect the floppy and CD drives...If I need them, I can just reconnect them.

I haven't had a chance (yet) to look at the processes...I'd probably make a start-up script that killed them.

Any ideas on underclocking/undervolting? Would the power savings amount to anything? If so, then what Linux utilities would be able to do that? I checked, and there are no BIOS settings to adjust this.

I don't think a new power supply would be an option...everything I have from this is essentially another person's junk that I saved from the junkyard. Thanks for the idea, though.

If there is no ability to under/overclock or change voltage in the BIOS, you're pretty much out of luck.

I believe that there are a few linux software packages for over/underclocking, but I've never tried them. If they work anything like the windows versions, its not worth trying.

What's so bad about the Windows programs you used? Did they not work, work intermittently, crash your computer, corrupt your BIOS? I'm just trying to see what my options are (if any)

They sort of work, but you can get much better results from BIOS overclocking than from software.

My old 'barton' AMD XP 2500+ 1833MHz (11 x 166) stock would only overclock with added voltage with software. From the BIOS, I could get it up over 1900MHz (11.5 x 166) with a voltage lower than stock.

How much energy is your computer using now?
If you haven't measured that, then how can you measure how much you have saved at the end of the project?
Otherwise it is like asking "how do I lose 10 pounds" without knowing how much you weigh.

My local public library has these for loan, you check them out just like books: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_A_Watt

The ultimate solution, of course, is to simply replace the aging and power-hungry hardware. For example a Raspberry Pi would make an OK home server, costs practically nothing, and uses about 1% of the power of your Dell. So you will have saved 99% of your power consumption simply by getting rid of the Dell.

And on a tangent, if you are concerned about your family's resource consumption, then I assume you are also investigating ways to save on heating/cooling/transportation/etc. as these are much bigger factors than a personal computer? You could probably get bigger energy savings than your computer project by taking 30 seconds/day shorter shower, or turning down your thermostat a degree.

Thanks for the thoughts, snowpine. My parents just don't like the idea of a computer running all the time. However, I'm working completely from other people's junk, so I really don't have that many options. My mom has been friends with our doctor for years, and the doc was about to throw it away. The HDDs came from my dad's office, he's friends with the people in IT, so he was able to snag an old 80-gig IDE drive. The screen and k/b came from there, too. (I'll probably leave the screen off most of the time) My parents aren't that fond of me spending a lot of my money, because I need to save for college. And this is just a hobby, anyway. Thanks for the ideas anyway, though. Those are good ideas that I would do if I had the resources.

Hmm. Computers that old didnt have many power saving features and used quite some power AFAIK.

Anyway, the best you can do is to have the monitor off as much as possible and hdds stopped as much as possible.