I digged out my dad’s old business laptop from 2006. This Asus rust is almost as old as me. But it booted up a horribly slow Windows 7 Home Premium that is totally unusable. Takes 30-40 minutes to open Chrome. Here are the specs: 40 gb old hard drive that is suprisingly healthy (96℅ according to HDDsentinel, more than 1000 days left) 1.73 ghz Intel Celeron M single core cpu that wasn’t exactly the fastest even in 2006 1.25 gb of terribly slow RAM American Megatrends BIOS from 2006 I know Linux can’t do miracles, but are there any still supported distro i could install that would actually run better than this shitty windows stuff?
I found puppy slitaz antix tahrpup ArchBang Slax Delicate Damn Small Linux Absolute FunOS LegacyOS exe gnu/linux Do you know others? Or from these which you recommend if my goal is to create a relatively useable, faster computer, preferably while it doesn’t look that awful (the desktop or wm). So usability>speed>looks But all these are very important, just in this order. Also recommend a desktop enviroment or a window manager that runs well, but doesn’t look that awful and can be installed on these distros
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40 gb old hard drive that is suprisingly healthy (96℅ according to HDDsentinel, more than 1000 days left)
Healthy yes, but if you end up using this daily you’ll want to consider swapping in a SATA SSD into it and at least gain some sort of speed.
1.25 gb of terribly slow RAM
Yeah that’s low. Is that correct, no corrupt RAM sticks or anything like that to throw the number off?
Do you definitely need Linux with a GUI/desktop environment? I’d expect any flavor of Linux server minus GUI would work fine. Think of it as a little server you spin up and run a few programs maybe for your network or some other hobby.
PS - I think I have a Asus laptop from that era and it had 4GB RAM default, can’t tell if yours was just spec’d badly since first purchased.
sata is not supported. let alone ssds. do you know even the slightest thing about hardware??? and yes, i need a gui. Also, 4gb ram back then was a lot, like 64 gb today
sata is not supported. let alone ssds. do you know even the slightest thing about hardware???
It’s just a guess, you never did tell us what specific model Asus you have there.
Not that you’re curious but the model I have here is a Asus F8S which seems to be closer to 2008 era e.g. https://www.newegg.com/black-asus-f8-series-f8sn-d1/p/N82E16834220331?srsltid=AfmBOorI8VyoX35T6xRUD0e-Mbg1Q6IFui9Xgy6RlsB2sLLhfuFvIePr
In 2008 laptops did have SATA connections. I have in fact plugged in SATA SSDs into old laptops and desktops from that era and earlier. I doubt 3 years is too much difference but again, no idea on the specific hardware you’re looking at so maybe your specific laptop is one of the last generation that was ATA only, not SATA (?)
Also, 4gb ram back then was a lot, like 64 gb today
Yes granted 3 years earlier 4GB would have cost more for sure. 1GB RAM is the bare minimum for Windows 7 Home 32-bit so I guess this thing you have was already at the bare minimum.
The rest of my comment still stands, it will work perfectly fine as a Linux server with CLI only though that’s not quite the answer you want.
1.73 ghz Intel Celeron M
EDIT: The CPU you’ve got is 64-bit capable I believe https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/29733/intel-celeron-m-processor-530-1m-cache-1-73-ghz-533-mhz-fsb-socket-m/specifications.html
So the laptop should have been spec’d for 2GB RAM minimum normally. Thinking you’re not reading the full RAM correctly e.g. if in Windows maybe run CPU-Z or similar to actually see what the full RAM and individual RAM sticks claim to have.
you know even the slightest thing about hardware???
Don’t be snotty. Perhaps it’s you who doesn’t know? Read on. I’ve gone the distance in refurbishing old laptops. This project is likely to be $100, maybe less depending on what we find. If you can’t spend anything, whew, going to be hell.
I’ve put a SATA drive in a 486SX from 1999. Adapters exist. No, you won’t get top speed, but it beats hell out of an HDD.
Update the BIOS first! That can make or break upgrades. Never had an ASUS, worked on plenty, they seem pretty solid on that count.
Look up “max RAM” for that exact model. That can be a real limitation, but I’d bet you could cram at least 4GB, if not 8GB. And remember, manufacturer specs can often be exceeded. Check ASUS, then see what people have said in forums. I’ve doubled what the maker says is possible many, many times.
Can’t speak to a distro, but you need to get an SSD in there and boost the RAM before even bothering.
BTW, any chance that CPU is socketed, removable? I’ve had great success replacing CPUs in old laptops. Upgrades can be hilariously cheap on eBay. Cheap as in, $10 for a far better chip. Send me the exact model and we’ll look.
While we’re at it, a new battery is probably cheap, like $20. But that goes in last.
The distro itself doesn’t matter that much for performance. Pick whatever you want, and use XFCE or IceWM for the desktop (or even go CLI only).
I recommend Debian or OpenSUSE for an easy install, and Arch, Artix, or Void if you’re more experienced.
PS: Windows 7 is one of the best versions of Windows and it’s not distributed anymore, that’s a piece of history! Don’t overwrite it, even if it does suck.
i want to have an usable computer, not something that freezes in every minute and fries itself. Because of this, windows 7, Debian, openSUSE is not taken into consideration. Just like Arch and Artix, since it is a 32bit computer, artix, arch doesn’t have 32bit builds. Void can work, though
Another recommendation: Peppermint Linux, a lightweight Debian-based distro with XFCE as the desktop. Designed for older computers, and has a 32-bit version. Not to be confused with Linux Mint.
Safety info: Do not use Damn Small Linux, it is unmaintained and will not receive any security fixes.
About Debian, OpenSUSE not taken into consideration: Linux under-the-hood (not the desktop components) are fast even on old hardware. If you use a light DE/WM like XFCE or IceWM it will run quite smoothly. I have installed Debian on an old computer (2GB RAM, single core Celeron CPU, spinning HDD) and I have not noticed any significant slowdowns.
About Windows 7: I know it’s absolutely unusable, I just don’t want to see it destroyed. Like a rusted-out undriveable classic car that I don’t want to see in a junkyard. Maybe copy the HDD image or something?
I installed antix meanwhile, now can’t connect to wifi
- Do you have NetworkManager installed?
- Do you have the right network driver?
- Does this machine even have a wifi card?
It has a wifi card, it worked on windows. Network Manager is not installed. No way to install it without internet. Idk the network driver. Now i run a web server from it, using an ethernet cable
If your ethernet works, then you can connect and then install NetworkManager using apt.
If it doesn’t work, try booting into the Live ISO, downloading the package onto the hard drive without installing, then rebooting into the normal environment and installing from the file.
