[tomcatjosh]

Linux OS?? Is it any good?? It got upgraded a few years back btw.

[FranCat]

Definitely either go with a linux OS or physically 'refit' your laptop so it has more ram and better hard drive... my Mom's old laptop is running Windows 98! I would not dream of trying to load anything newer on it, unless I physically installed better hardware into it. there just isn't enough memory for XP. Luckily, the laptop is the spare comp in the house... I don't have to use it, thank God.

[tomcatjosh]

Yeah, i may get it refitted. Im wondering whether it would be more cost effective to just get a new toshiba (ive heard only good things about it) then to refit it. But, then again i could get windows 7 on it for mybirthday after A refit.

[FranCat]

As long as your tech guy knows what s/he is doing, it shouldn't cost that much to get it 'refitted' ... and should still be affordable enough to pay for Windows 7. Of course, if you can do the work yourself, then your idea is the cheapest and maybe the best way to go... I haven't noticed prices on laptops have gone down all that much, in spite of the economy; but then, I paid $1,000 for my first desktop, and had every bell and whistle you could get, back in '99... it was on sale, because it was a new computer company, and they wanted to get a foothold in the market.two months later, my computer was priced at $3,000, and I was patting myself on the back! now, I see laptops and 'netbooks' costing almost as much, sometimes more....and I say forget it, I'll stick with what I've got, thank you.

[tomcatjosh]

Well said, but i need more memory anyways. I do love this one though. I just increased the speed on firefox 3.0 by clicking "Power" In the tweak network settings tab!

[Samuel]

Is the link to the model you posted the correct one? If RAM is maxed out it should be 192MB. That will be enough for some smaller Linux versions. Also how big is your hard drive?

If you just want to try it, check out "Vector Linux" and download the "Live CD". You can burn it to CDR and boot it from there. Its a moderate sized one and you have enough RAM for it. Just be sure you dont select "install" or anything like that.

Important... if you do not have the W2K install disk and valid serial dont wipe the hard drive. Personally on my own old laptop I tried different things but eventually was happiest with W2K.

As for getting a new laptop, it depends on how much you will use it and what for. Dont go for the expensive ones. Despite marketing there is no such thing as a 'desktop replacement' considering the demands placed on computers these days. Anything processor intensive will cause massive heat build up. Better to do stuff like that on a real desktop/tower. Certainly dont bother with games. Too much stress. Repair costs can be pretty expensive except for hard drive and memory. If you forsee getting a new laptop in 6 months dont bother with upgrades. Stick with what you have and save your money.

Oh... dont get Windows 7 yet. Rule of thumb for any MS operating system is to wait at least until the first service pack is released.

[tomcatjosh]

Good idea.

[tomcatjosh]

Can anyone give me a link to a good version of linux to run on my laptop. Before i replace windows 2000 would i need to do disk fragmentation or clean up the hard disk (or drive)

[tomcatjosh]

More Specs: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...KMmpmQfMrND8AQ

[KJTrek]

Originally Posted by tomcatjosh

More Specs: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...KMmpmQfMrND8AQ

Yikes... yeah, don't even think about upgrading to XP unless you have 1GB of RAM and a faster processor. I think you might be able to hobble newer parts into you laptop to get it up to spec, but idk if I'd bother with only a 2.5 battery life and a 12.2 in. screen. There are some decent laptops out there for under $500. I'm no expert on Linux, but I'd make sure your applications will run on it, or that there are equivalent editions that work on Linux. If you do any gaming you might have a problem.