i have an old laptop that wont boot into windows so i was thinking of using an open source os.
i only use it for browsing the internet and watching sky player. i'll need a browser that allows me to do this so which os and browser would i be better using or shall i just et a copy of a windows os.
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I'm in the same boat as you - old Windows laptop that won't boot so idly considering an alternative OS to revive it. Would it be a good idea to reformat the hard drive or anything like that before starting with something like Mint?
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PCLinuxOS is quite nice as well. An absolute doddle to install and use.
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any of the light Linux distros will give you the option to use all the disk when doing an install. Which means no, you you dont have to format first.
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 28 Sep 11 at 20:56
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How old is the laptop? Typically older P4s with 512MB RAM don't run too well on Ubuntu flavours.
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its 1gb of ram and an celeron 2.2ghz with 250gb hdd. im thinking it would be better to get a copy of vista/7 and start afresh
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With that amount of RAM I'd be looking at XP rather than Vista if at all possible.
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Reading this thread with interest as I'm about to try an alt OS as a tinkering exercise with SWMBO's old laptop. A Smasung from about 4yrs ago, Celeron CPU.
Agree above observation about XP rather than Vista. Even with RAM boosted to 1MB this one's pathetically slow.
I told her when she got it that XP was better but she fell for the 'obsolesence' argument doing the rounds at the time.
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I read somewhere 7 is meant to be OK with 1GB of RAM.
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>> I read somewhere 7 is meant to be OK with 1GB of RAM.
>>
Yeah, my Win7 desktop ran OK with 1GB of RAM, a bit but not hugely faster with 3GB; it would be my second choice if XP isn't available. My experience fixing a HP notebook with Vista and 1GB isn't something I'd like to repeat, Spamettes' Dell laptops are fine with Vista HP and 3GB.
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If the disc is OK, but it won't boot, then it may be possible to fix the MBR with fdisk. If it gets a bit further but then stops, Windoze is probably goosed. If you download a linux distro is should be possible to boot it from CD which may allow you to recover any files on the disc - before doing the full install.
I've just put a new HDD in our laptop, and installed Vista and Ubuntu on dual boot. Ubuntu is much quicker to boot and run, there is a bit of a problem with the video card, but this is apparently going to be fixed in the next update. Getting the wireless printer to run was a bit difficult, but doable. Unbuntu will allow access to the user folders on the old drive, whereas Windoze won't as it complains about access permissions. TBH I suspect that I will let it boot in Ubuntu most of the time - unless I need a Win specific piece of software.
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Interesting thread, since I have an XP desktop which is not used, and takes an age to boot up. I don't have / can't find the disks, so considered linux.
Is it easy to find applications, and can it be persuaded to go on line easily?
It's not now an essential piece of kit, but would be a useful alternative to the current laptop.
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Stepson has an old desktop with 2.8GHz P4, 1GB RAM and 80GB HD which is running latest Ubuntu quite happily. Motherboard has a network socket so it just plugs into the homeplug device for internet; nothing needed 'setting up'.
Linux distros usually have their own repository of applications which you can browse and download/install from. The Ubuntu repository seems quite big. If you need an application which isn't in the repository, but you find it on a website, it's not always straightforward to install it (in my experience).
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just checked crucial memory and they are offering 2x 2gb sticks for £20 intotal so may be worth doing that as even when new the laptop was very slow.
it was originally running windows 7.
Last edited by: nyx2k on Thu 29 Sep 11 at 14:38
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Ubuntu is fine with 1GB of RAM, it is with 512MB it struggles.
Of course windows you put on will depend on the COA attached to the laptop. If for example it is Vista just install that and put in 2GB RAM, Vista SP2 can work very well, although I find Windows 7 easier to use.
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Windows 7 basic is much better on borderline hardware than XP or Vista.
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I put Linux Mint on the old laptop last night - it's an Acer with 40GB HD, 1.4Ghz Intel Celeron processor and 1GB RAM. Seems to work well. Mint didn't recognise the old D-Link PC card wireless adaptor so I've ordered a USB one off the list of hardware that works out of the box on the Mint website for just under a tenner. Hopefully that'll sort out internet access and we'll be off and running.
I had a problem getting the laptop to boot from the ISO disk I burned but then I realised that I'd not burned a disk image (which the user guide specifically mentions as a common error) but once I'd done that it was straightforward.
As Windows had rendered the laptop practically unusable I just installed Mint and wiped Windows in the process. For just basic internet tasks and doing the usual 'Office' jobs it should work out well.
Last edited by: Soupytwist on Fri 14 Oct 11 at 11:47
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I expect someone with proper knowledge of Linux will be along directly and tell you to use the windows driver for your wireless gubbins using NDISwrapper.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NDISwrapper
I have played with it - with some success - but it was a while ago, and on "Puppy" linux.
Your USB device may be the easy way out :-)
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I had found NDISwrapper during a trawl round the internet looking for drivers.
However, to misquote someone on a previous thread about Linux OS's - I want a functioning OS not a new hobby. Therefore I thought that if there was something that did the job and seemed to work out of the box, I'd have that if it wasn't too expensive. At a tenner I'm happy taking the easy way out :-)
Here's the entry on the hardware list
community.linuxmint.com/hardware/view/6045
Mr Koenders will be getting a stern letter if it doesn't work!
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Well here I am posting on the laptop that now has Mint on it, with the USB wireless adaptor mentioned above. Needed no drivers, it picked up the wireless network straight away, put the password and Bob's your uncle. Given an old laptop a new lease of life.
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altenative OS - spamcan61
