Old laptop Lenovo T61 - need operating system

[Wort]

Hey guys.

I got this old Lenovo T61 laptop with Intel core 2 duo and 1Gb ram. I had XP installed, but since XP is lost customer support today, I need an alternative.

This computer is going to be for my dad, so he basically needs it for browsing, skype and solitaire. I have installed Linux Mint 16 and I really like it, but he doesn't. He got used to Windows and he said he doesn't like the looks of few applications, like skype etc. (no seriously, skype looks horrible on linux)

Can you guys help me think of an alternative? I need an operating system that will work. I'm thinking about getting pirated Windows 7 Starter or Tiny 7 (I never had pirated windows, but now I really need to do something), but I don't know what are the risks

 

[denis280]

there is more to.but here is one http://www.ubuntu.com/

 

[stinger608]

Yep, I agree, Ubuntu is probably the best choice.

 

[owensdj]

Lubutu is a good Linux for lower-end machines too.

 

[Wort]

lets just say I'm choosing between Win XP (original) and Tiny 7/Win7/Win8 (cracked). My dad doesn't like linux

 

[VirtualLarry]

Is there some reason that you cannot afford to pay for Windows 7? This forum does not endorse piracy.

Edit: Does your dad realize that Win 7 is "different" from XP too? I think you should put Mint on there, and force him to learn how to use it, or pay for Win7.

 

[Wort]

Is there some reason that you cannot afford to pay for Windows 7? This forum does not endorse piracy.

Edit: Does your dad realize that Win 7 is "different" from XP too? I think you should put Mint on there, and force him to learn how to use it, or pay for Win7.

I have plenty of original Windows disks with product keys, so believe me...if I wanted Win7 Ultimate/Home installed on that old laptop, I'd do that by now. It's just not powerful enough to run complete Win7. I don't endorse piracy myself, when it comes down to operating systems, but I have no original Starter editions.

It's not problem about "the look" of OS itself...but it feels like you traveled 10 years back in time (Skype and few other apps look horrible compared to windows versions)

 

[BurnItDwn]

Can you add another more Ram to the laptop? If you get it up to 4GB, Win 7 or Win 8 should run decently well

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I have plenty of original Windows disks with product keys, so believe me...if I wanted Win7 Ultimate/Home installed on that old laptop, I'd do that by now. It's just not powerful enough to run complete Win7. I don't endorse piracy myself, when it comes down to operating systems, but I have no original Starter editions.

Can you add another more Ram to the laptop? If you get it up to 4GB, Win 7 or Win 8 should run decently well

You don't really need to use a Stater-edition. The standard 7HP can run on one GB of memory. If you avoid serious multitasking, its just fine. I have upgraded plenty of old Thinkpad T43/T61's to 7 and they run just fine. A good cheap upgrade is a bump to 2 or 4GB memory, Thinkpads are very "user friendly" about changing RAM. But its not essential.

The "trick" here is using the x86 version of 7. It doesn't have quite the memory requirement of the x64 version.

If you're feeling adventurous, 8(.1) x86 is just fine with 1GB RAM. Used it on an old Atom N270 netbook, it was surprisingly usable. Though if your dad doesn't like Ubuntu or Mint, he's likely not going to like 8(.1)...

 

[htne]

I would go with the latest and greatest Windows 8.1, and use Classic Shell to make it look and feel like Windows 7.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to upgrade the memory, but not absolutely necessary.

 

[Raduque]

It should handle W7 just fine. I installed W7 on a laptop with a Mobile Celeron (pentium-m era, not a Netburst Celeron) and 1gb ram, and other than the GMA900 not being able to handle Aero, it was more than usable.

Find some more memory for it if you're worried about it, but it will still be usable at the current specs.

 

[pantsaregood]

Windows 8 will run fine on that laptop, it isn't much different from mine. There's no reason to use a "starter" edition.

 

[corkyg]

I have an older model -T60, and Windows 7 Ultimate runs just fine on it.

 

[Anteaus]

Why is this even an issue? Just keeping using XP for now. Support is ending but they aren't shutting off the activation servers. I guess I never knew what the big deal about support was in the first place as an end user. Every Windows license I've ever owned has been OEM so I've lived comfortably without it. I can only see it really affecting business users, at least in the short term.

It isn't like you are going to get any support if you resort to piracy. That isn't even a viable option based on the reason your moving from XP in the first place.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/250774/will_i_be_able_to_activate_xp_after_2014_.html

 

[coolpurplefan]

I have an older model -T60, and Windows 7 Ultimate runs just fine on it.

That's interesting. It says on the support page it only takes either XP or Vista. http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?LegacyDocID=migr-67883

 

[knev]

It is difficult to get RAM for the laptop and cannot go above 2GB, as there could be two slots.
Ubunutu will be best OS for this laptop as this has friendly GUI.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

That's interesting. It says on the support page it only takes either XP or Vista. http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?LegacyDocID=migr-67883

That's just what it "officially" supports and is certified for use with. There may be a few features that doesn't work 100% in 7 and newer, but since 7 is more or less "Vista SP3" there should not be any problems. Vista and 7 are very similar, to the point where you can use Vista drivers in 7 without issues.

 

[corkyg]

Here's how it went down, support page not withstanding. T60 was running XP Pro. I upgraded directly to Vista. It was running well. When 7 came out, I upgraded directly from Vista to 7. No problem at all.

 

[Towermax]

It is difficult to get RAM for the laptop and cannot go above 2GB, as there could be two slots.
Ubunutu will be best OS for this laptop as this has friendly GUI.

It can take 4GB of DDR2, and you can frequently pick this up used on eBay or various forums for $25-$35. It'll make a huge difference and it'll run Windows 7 or 8 very well. I've got Windows 7 running on two older C2Duo laptops with 4GB ram and they are smooth and fast.

 

[fire400]

...ok i find it hard to believe this can't run windows 7?
http://www.notebookreview.com/notebookreview/lenovo-thinkpad-t61-review/

Processor: Intel T7300 Core 2 Duo (2.0GHz, 800MHz FSB, 4MB Cache)
Graphics: Intel GMA X3100
Operating System: Windows Vista Business
Display: WXGA+ 1440 x 900 (LG screen)
Hard Drive: 100GB 7200RPM (Seagate Momentus 7200.1)
Memory: 2GB (1GB x 1GB), up to 4GB max
Ports: 3 USB 2.0, 1 FireWire, Monitor out, modem, Ethernet, headphone out, microphone in
Slots: 1 PC Card Slot, 1 ExpressCard slot (optional media card reader and Smart Card reader)
Optical Drive: Ultra-slim Super-Multi Drive
Dimensions: 13.2″ x 9.3″ x 1.09 – 1.26″ (335mm x 237mm x 27.6 – 31.9mm)
Weight: 5.1lbs

this thing would even run 8.1 quite fast on an SSD.

 

[Darknite39]

Uhh... My daily driver is a T61 running win 7 pro. I have a Sammy 830 + 4GB ram, and it runs great.

 

[gus6464]

Xubuntu

 

[jsalpha2]

Quote-"My Dad doesn't like Linux." If all he has tried is one version of Mint, then he can not really say he does not like Linux. You can make Linux look any way you want by picking different desktop environments and changing themes. Maybe try SolydX, it is a Xfce DE that can be easily made to look like Xp if that is want he wants and runs well on older hardware.

 

[Matt1970]

It can take 4GB of DDR2, and you can frequently pick this up used on eBay or various forums for $25-$35. It'll make a huge difference and it'll run Windows 7 or 8 very well. I've got Windows 7 running on two older C2Duo laptops with 4GB ram and they are smooth and fast.

This. Going to at least 2GB of ram is almost a necessity. Yes, you can run 7 on 1GB, but if you have seen the difference just going to 2GB will do and the new life it would breath into a computer, you would never run anything Vista or newer with anything less. I have upgraded countless computers from 1GB to 2GB and the difference is night and day, even for starter and 32 bit versions.

 

[dud]

Quote-"My Dad doesn't like Linux." If all he has tried is one version of Mint, then he can not really say he does not like Linux. You can make Linux look any way you want by picking different desktop environments and changing themes. Maybe try SolydX, it is a Xfce DE that can be easily made to look like Xp if that is want he wants and runs well on older hardware.

I will second this. I am currently typing this on an old HP dv6265 running Mint. I would probably never had tried Mint if the developers had not made the transition from 7 so easy! OP, I highly recommend that you d/l the Mint distro (1.3 GB), burn the ISO to disk and run it upon boot. You can try it out without deleting your current OS to try it out, If you like it you can dual boot or just delete your existing OS.