Quote:
Originally Posted by 2wr3ckl3ss
Wow eschwartz, still running after 11 years. Impressive. I have a Dell Latitude that's about that old. Thing weighs like 10 lbs. Haven't checked in a while to see if it still works.
TheDuck, do you think using Linux has helped keep yours going? I've heard it's a good operating system for older computers. Less crap. I installed it once. Lasted less than a day. Ran smooth, but it was just so different.
Thanks for all the suggestions!
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The laptop in question is a Dell Inspiron B130. It was originally sold with Windows XP, a Celeron processor, a 38 GB hard drive, and 256 MB RAM. it ran like molasses.
I've upgraded the RAM to 2 GB and installed Linux, and it runs all right as long as I don't do anything too strenuous (I have a bad habit of accumulating hundreds of tabs in Firefox though).
I certainly believe Linux has helped keep it going -- less footprint on the HDD,
and it's less resource-intensive than Windows.
Also consider the fact that Windows XP is unsupported
and Linux (especially rolling-release distros like Arch Linux) is supported very well indeed. Even if I didn't prefer Linux to Windows, it is the only reasonable option on old computers IMHO.
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If you are open to using Linux but are concerned about the "differentness", I suggest you try Linux Mint.
Very easy for Linux newbies and doesn't
require command-line-fu, and their Cinnamon desktop is absolutely wonderful (it's the one I use on Arch Linux).
Cinnamon has a very Windowsy feel, and mixes the best of the classic Windows interface with everything Linux has done right.