Operating System for older laptop

[greyowl]

I was given a older Acer laptop (TravelMate 515TE). It has a Pentium II, 300 Mhz processor, 128 mb RAM, and 4.5GB hard drive. It needs an operation system.

I am wondering where it would run best with Windows 2000 or XP.

Thanks for your help.

[ShyWriter]

I was given a older Acer laptop (TravelMate 515TE). It has a Pentium II, 300 Mhz processor, 128 mb RAM, and 4.5GB hard drive. It needs an operation system.

I am wondering where it would run best with Windows 2000 or XP.

Thanks for your help.

Here's What You Need to Use Windows XP Professional

[ShyWriter]

Before you install the Windows 2000 Professional desktop operating system, make sure that your computer meets the following minimum system requirements:

* 133 MHz or more Pentium microprocessor (or equivalent). Windows 2000 Professional supports up to two processors on a single computer.

* 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM recommended minimum. 32 MB of RAM is the minimum supported. 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM is the maximum.

* A 2 GB hard disk that has 650 MB of free space. If you are installing over a network, more free hard disk space is required.

* VGA or higher-resolution monitor.

* Keyboard.

* Mouse or compatible pointing device (optional).

For CD-ROM installation:

* CD drive or DVD drive

* High-density 3.5-inch disk drive, unless your CD drive supports starting the Setup program from a CD

For network installation:

* Windows 2000-compatible network adapter and related cable (See the Hardware Compatibility List (Hcl.txt) in the Support folder on the Windows 2000 Professional CD)

* Access to the network share that contains the Setup files

~Shy

EDIT: Appears that Win 2000 requires less resources but BOTH *should* run, albeit very slowly.

[Firefox]

OH my, both windows 2000 and Windows XP will run on it, but it will run sloooooowwww like ShyWriter has stated. With those specs it would probably run Win98 2nd edition pretty good. Windows 2000 and below are no longer supported by Microsoft so you may have a hard time getting updates and drives as well.

[YoKenny1]

You could offer to donate it to the Smithsonian Institution Air and Space museum where they have lots of good stuff to see:

http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19870222000

http://www.nasm.si.edu

[greyowl]

Thanks for the help.

[coconutnut]

i believe ME might run on it

[ShyWriter]

Thanks for the help.

You're quite welcome, greyowl.. Have fun with it.

~Shy

[screen317]

300 Mhz processor, 128 mb RAM, and 4.5GB hard drive. It needs an operation system.

Sounds like my Win95 computer from 15 years ago... Except mine only had 64MB RAM.

Not sure what functional value that laptop will give you, but I would recommend Ubuntu instead of Windows.

[pifreak]

Try Puppy Linux

Puppy has been tested on a very old machines but the best results for the standard release of Puppy Linux to run at a reasonable pace have been achieved with the following:

* CPU : Pentium 166MMX

* RAM : 128 MB physical RAM for releases since version 1.0.2 or failing that a Linux swap file and/or swap partition is required for all included applications to run; 64 MB for releases previous to 1.0.2

* Hard Drive : Optional

* CDROM : 20x and up

It's a free operating system and I like it for old laptops

http://puppylinux.org

[screen317]

DamnSmallLinux is another (incredibly) lightweight alternative.

[greyowl]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I tried Damm Small Linux and Puppy Linux from a CD and both were sluggish. Windows 2000 works well and is quite snappy and like it the best.

Thanks again.

[ShyWriter]

Windows 2000 works well and is quite snappy and like it the best.

Always a pleasure to tackle a challenging problem and find a workable solution for an appreciative user. Enjoy your portability..

~Shy