Linux or XP for old Toshiba Laptop?

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Polymer11

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May 13, 2012
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Having replaced the old HDD in my Toshiba Satellite A30 laptop I am now in the process of selecting an OS. I'm unsure whether it would be best to reinstall XP using the recovery disks or go down the Linux route. I've never used Linux before but I'd be interested to learn albeit I'd need suggestions on which distribution to use.

I'd typically be using the laptop for college work with activities such as: Internet browsing, Skype, Word Processing, etc.

The key specifications of the laptop are as follows:
Pentium 4 @ 2.66 GHz
768 DDR RAM
40GB HDD

A full spec list can be seen here (however some hardware has been upgraded):
http://www.toshiba.co.uk/discontinued-products/satellite-a30-203-p4-2.66ghz-xp-he-256mb-30gb-15tft-combo-lan/

Which OS will give me the best balance between performance and functionality? And if Linux is the better option which distro should I opt for? Thanks for any help.
 
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TheInfoLearner

TheInfoLearner

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Aug 7, 2014
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Hello Polymer11,
I have been using Linxus for about a year my favorite Distros are
Elementary OS : http://elementaryos.org/
Zorin OS : http://zorin-os.com/free.html (Try Zorin OS 9 Educational)
Ubuntu : http://www.ubuntu.com/download

However some programs are not compatible with Linxus
and most good well known programs are mainly for Windows and MacOS
There are many ways to run programs that are not compatible on Linxus
But there is a lot of downloading and installing involved

Do you have a usb/dvd? if so create a live usb/dvd

Steps:
1. Download OS
2. Download ( http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/ ) if using USB/ If using dvd use ImgBurn ( http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download )
3. once burn is complete.
restart system in bios press F12 repeatedly until you boot to
this page
mtw_boot_menu.jpg

select USB or CD Drive
4. Will boot and you can test out a linxus OS before installing it onto your HDD
 
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nss000

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Apr 18, 2008
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Linux fumbles on laptops are well documented; that's a negative. WinXP is rock solid off-the-web. However, my engineering students are allowed/required continuous WWW access even during exams, and I believe WinXP is poorly defended from Internet threats.

I use WinXP for instrument control , and must on-occasion update drivers ... I protect with AV & legacy ZONEALARM ... that works. But, promiscuous websurfing with WinXP is probably now unsafe.
 
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Aristotelian

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Jun 21, 2012
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Since XP is no longer supported by Microsoft I would try Linux. If nothing else learning Linux can be a great use for an old computer. Go as lightweight as you can - LUbuntu or XUbuntu - and upgrade your memory if possible. Come back here if you run into any questions.
 
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pacific27

pacific27

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SliTaz Linux runs amazingly well on my old P4 system. The installation can be a bit daunting for linux newcomers as you will have to partition the HDD for the swap/root/home directories ... I believe its covered in the documentation on the SliTaz website.
http://www.slitaz.org/en/

My next choice (but probably better for your situation) would be Lubuntu, which is specifically made for Laptops and computers with limited resources. The installation should be much easier than SliTaz and should run well on your system albeit not as well as SliTaz. Be sure to download the 32-bit version (ie Intel x86)
http://lubuntu.net/

You can look to OpenOffice or Libre Office for your Word processing needs. If you really want to rock that old system into the future learn Emacs and use LaTex for writing your papers ... huge learning curve but many books, scientific/thesis papers have been written with LaTex.

Good Luck
 
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techie_dude

techie_dude

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both xp and linux uses less resources.some distros of linux like xubuntu etc uses even much lesser resources.

my advice,since you are college going kid,keep both xp and linux as dualboot.
first install xp and then linux..(as dual boot)
if you want your windows bootmgr remain intact(normally linux bootmanager replaces windows bootmgr)
read here
http://engg-haven.blogspot.in/2014/08/install-ubuntu-bodhi-linux-on-external.html
 
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Polymer11

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May 13, 2012
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Thanks for all your responses guys, I had a go of Linux using Lubuntu but ran into issues and felt the laptop was running rather slow. I've now put XP back in and it seems to be running well.
 
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nss000

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Web-surfing with WinXP you will want both an excellent firewall, and an obscuring proxy. In-the-day I used both ZONEALARM and PROXOMITRON ... and with prudence never got infected.



 
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Juhele

Juhele

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Hi,
I would definitely use Lubuntu. I used my Lubuntu remaster
http://bit.ly/lubuntuw7Trusty
on similar machine (just desktop with Pentium 4) and it was usable with compromises.

The system looks and works similar to XP and tooks less than 200 MB RAM. However 768 RAM is too small for current websites. Even with AdBlock installed you simply cannot open more tabs and you can only watch Youtube video in lowest quality. So upgrading your RAM even with another 512 MB would help much.

I would not recommend to use XP because to be as safe as possible you would need XP SP3 which is terribly slow and with some antivirus your laptop would not be usable.

So my recommendation is Lubuntu.
 
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Chris679

Chris679

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Try Linux Mint Qiana 17, it's a good substitute for Windows XP and is running well so far on my mahine which is a 512MB RAM & Pentium 4..Being using for about two weeks now with no issues..You can download it from here: [ http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2627 ] and create a bootable USB and you're good to go. (I'd recommend the 32-bit ofcourse)
 
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buyer2014

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Polymer11

I think you need to install Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. The security updates of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS will be available till 2014'April, thus it's going to make safe websurfing for you. I mean that you must use the main security-plugins for Firefox - "NoScript", "UserAgent Overrider" and "Request Policy".
 
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