If it all works then not much needing done…wheels might need new grease and bearings, maybe new cones as well. New cables, probably chain, cassette and chairing and tyresmight need more air in them. Fork will always feel better after a service.

I wouldn’t bother getting the forks serviced, I’d just replace them. Even a budget rockshox for £100ish will be miles better than yours, even after a service.

As for the rest of it, as long as the parts work, happy days. Replacing cables is a good idea although you could squirt lube down the outers to refresh the current ones. After that, grease/lube headset, hubs, etc. You’ll soon find out if any other parts need replacing so do them as and when.

Going rigid is an option – and so long as the axle to crown measurement for the rigid fork matches the (correctly sagged) axle to crown measurement for the suspension fork, then the geometry will be unchanged

I ride a 20 year old GT hardtail regularly for local XC and rides with the kids etc.
If the rockhopper has been kept in good working order and stored indoors it may need nothing but a quick check over and cable/chain lube.
if required Judy’s are really simple to service at home.

I had almost exactly that model. Surprisingly light for its age and great for hacking about to the shops or down canal paths. I stopped trusting the fork for anything decent offroad.

If its only doing light duties, quick tweak of the gears and squirt lube on things that should move and you’re good to go.

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It is modern by retro standards. The money received would buy a bike of about the same quality/ability so no point.

^^ This.

Of course it all depends on its overall condition and what it’s been used for before.
Beyond that what you expect it to do for you too.
It’s well dated as far as trail bikes are concerned, but if you just want to get and ride fire roads and bridleways, and muck about on Singletrack, it will be fine.

I have a number of retrobikes, and found that the grease usually does not age well. I always tear down hubs, headsets, and BB (unless a cartridge BB which cannot be disassembled) and clean out the old grease and replace with fresh. I usually do the pedals, too. 😳

Grease in the shifters often thickens up leading to poor shifting or the inability to shift into all of the gears. IME, WD-40 works well as a solvent to get the old grease out of the shifters without damaging any of the plastic or rubber components like a more aggressive solvent can.