Not every Bond object is a weapon. In Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), the computer at Miss Moneypenny’s desk is a Gateway 2000 Solo, a slim Pentium-era laptop from the years when the brand was still sold as Gateway 2000. A Gateway 2000 Solo is out of production and found second-hand, where it makes a modest, characterful piece of 1990s desk history.
In the film
Samantha Bond’s Moneypenny uses the laptop in the film. A prop from the production, serial number BC097071093, was sold as Lot 545 at Julien’s Auctions in 2014, and the lot notes say it was later used in production and by the screenwriter Bruce Feirstein. That one machine was a one-off auction item and is not for sale here; what you can buy is the model. Our sources name it only as the Solo, so we do not claim a particular variant.
The details of the Gateway 2000 Solo
A long-running line. The Solo was a laptop line that Gateway, originally Gateway 2000, sold from 1995 to 2003. Among them, the Solo 2300 of 1997 was Pentium MMX-based with Intel’s 430TX chipset, up to 384MB of RAM and a 2.5in IDE drive, which tells you how small the specification is by modern standards.
Modular bays. A collector’s account of the Solo 2100 describes a bay that swaps between a floppy drive and a CD-ROM drive, and a second bay that holds a battery. Both modules are unique to the design, and the machine has two PCMCIA card slots. The same account says Windows 95 was the system it ran.
A high price once. A well-known retro-computing video title calls the 1997 Solo 2200 a $5,399 laptop, a reminder of what these machines cost when new.
Owning it now
Treat a Solo as a display piece rather than something to work on. Collectors report that the drives and modules are proprietary and hard to replace, and one owner’s battery pack was dead. At the time of writing in October 2026, eBay listings we saw ranged from about US$49.99 to US$59.99, often untested. Look for a machine that powers on, with its battery bay and its drive modules intact, and ask whether the docking station and cables are included.
It looks right on a leather-topped desk next to a desk lamp and a notebook, switched off. More like it is in Gadgets & Electronics.
Specifications
| Maker and model | Gateway 2000 Solo (variant used in the film not specified) |
|---|---|
| Production | The Solo line was sold from 1995 to 2003 |
| Example specification (Solo 2300, 1997) | Pentium MMX, Intel 430TX chipset, up to 384MB RAM, 2.5in IDE storage |
| Era operating system | Windows 95 |
| Film prop | Serial number BC097071093, Julien’s Auctions Lot 545 (2014) |
| Price | Listings seen from about US$49.99 (at the time of writing, October 2026) |
Questions
What laptop does Moneypenny use in Tomorrow Never Dies?
A Gateway 2000 Solo. A prop with serial number BC097071093 was sold at Julien’s Auctions in 2014.
Can you buy a Gateway 2000 Solo?
Yes, second-hand. Listings are modest in price, but check that the drives and battery are present.
Is the Gateway Solo still made?
No. The Solo line ran from 1995 to 2003.
More from the film is on the Tomorrow Never Dies page and in the guide to Pierce Brosnan’s Bond.
