tom_u Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 I Recently Bought A Used Thinkpad 600 300mhz,160Mb,5Gb.It Belonged To A Hospital And Had Its Hard Drive Wiped Clean.My Question Is, Can I Put XP On This Thing And Have It Run Smoothly. Relavent Answers Please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kahn Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 I would go to the Windows website and look for the minimum hardware requirements for installing XP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_u Posted August 7, 2006 Author Share Posted August 7, 2006 I Went To The Site And It Said * A PC with 300 MHz or higher processor clock speed is recommended; 233 MHz minimum (single or dual processor system) is required*. Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended * 128 MB of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported, but this may limit performance and some features) * 1.5 GB of available hard disk space* * Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor * CD-ROM or DVD drive * Keyboard and Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary e Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Tom, It will run, but it will run like molases. I've sucessfully installed it on the T-21 series (which is between 400-500Mhz) and added as much ram memory as possible. If you're using it as a web browser or basic WP, you should be fine with this notebook. But the boot process can take a few minutes; good time to go get a cup of coffee. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zane1664879013 Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 > I Went To The Site And It Said Why Are You Capitalizing The First Letter Of Each Word In Your Sentences? How Odd. You have to understand that the minimum installation requirements are just that, enough to get the software loaded. Will XP run with that much RAM and hard disk? Yes. Will it run smoothly? Not really, at least by most people's definition of smoothly. I will work for basic applications, but you will have to patient. It will be slow to load apps, slow to switch between them if you have several loaded, and don't even think about Photoshop CS or CS2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_u Posted August 7, 2006 Author Share Posted August 7, 2006 I plan on unloading my digital camera into this thing EVEN thoe it only has a 5Gb Hard Drive. And im also going to surf the web with Mozilla Firefox. And listen to mp3's with a 2Gb thumb drive. Also will it support a wireless pcmia internet card? Most likley this one. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150018198208&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=160009783956&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&usedrule1=StoreCatToStoreCat&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget Sorry bout the long URL. Thank You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcoder Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Don't bother -- I had a Thinkpad 600X, and it performed horribly when running XP. Windows 2000 was marginally better, but obviously not ideal from a software support and security point of view. My advice would be to do both of the following: 1. Upgrade the hard drive -- a 10-20 gb laptop drive is quite cheap these days, and when working on a 600 series, it will only take about 10 minutes and a screwdriver to do the upgrade. 2. Install Ubuntu, or another user-friendly Linux distribution, and use the GIMP instead of a Windows app to edit your images; very few Windows apps these days will run with any satisfying level of performance on hardware like that when dealing with the images from modern digital cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 You have to be kidding. My Palm Pilot has more power. Use this computer to keep papers from blowing around while you shop for a computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_u Posted August 7, 2006 Author Share Posted August 7, 2006 Lennon I tride to use Ubuntu, but once fully booted it froze. I tride to open a simple Program like blackjack and it froze. Do you know of a simpler Linux OS that is Designed for older computers. Thank You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_u Posted August 7, 2006 Author Share Posted August 7, 2006 I also tride a different version of Linux called Dyne:Bolic, But there was no sound and i could not use USB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zane1664879013 Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 You might try Slackware Linux. It's a more old-style unix setup, where you can install only the bare minimums and use a lightweight window manager like FVWM2. I run Ubuntu on a 600 MHz machine with 256 MB of RAM, and it's usable but not fast. Big GUIs take a toll on older machines. Otherwise, you could go with a small and light install of FreeBSD, OpenBSD, or one of the other BSD spinoffs. I like the idea of a new hard disk. It's usually the first thing to fail on an older computer, and the extra space will take some of the pressure off your data management. Think of it as cheap insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitmstr Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 The main issues would be insufficient RAM and the drive speed. XP is RAM hungry and, after that you'll need RAM for other purposes (not to mention if you plan to use it for Photo editing/scanning). The drive performance is an issue as well. Not only the rotational speed but the buffer, read/write, etc... all contribute to performance. Keep in mind that you have probably approached the MTBF for that drive as well. Further, a 9gb drive is all but useless given the sheer size of programs today. It will work but, it'll be slow and you won't have room to put too many applications on it. Perhaps you can put another one in but... The processor will run XP fine. In short: if you just want to browse the NET, read/write email, letters, etc... It will be OK but, you should really try to put RAM in it if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitmstr Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I should add that even WEB browsing today requires some muscle as more plugins and fancy scripting are used along with more multi-media content which would run very slow on your machine. Doesn't hurt to try it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zane1664879013 Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 > Do you know of a simpler Linux OS that is Designed for older computers. Ah, forgot to mention this: http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/ Probably the smallest usable Linux distribution out there, made just for your situation. This site is also worth a read: http://www.linux-laptop.net/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_hall1 Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I don't think XP runs very well on a 3.2 Pentium with 512 ram... For the older computer W'ndows 95 SP2 would be best... To use L'nux consider a partial installation of a major distribution. Also, check out the Debian.org web site. And there is Sun Solaris at a non-commercial or single-user pricing... Finally, there is DR-DOS. Search for un-offical web sites that link to the offical FTP server... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_u Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 Ok this is going to sound REAL newbie but i cant figure out how to download DSL Linux. I went to this Link, http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/download.html . But i Cant figure how to download from a mirror, such as wich link to click on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_hall1 Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Well, there's an installation of Debian that can be formatted on five floppy disks and then a build-out that can be formatted on twenty floppy disks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_u Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 I figured out how to download and it boots up real fast but the video driver is all wrong.The screen is red & dark blue, cant make out ANY words so i cant fix it. Any idea how to fix or get another OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Williams Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 There's lots of information on installing Linux on a ThinkPad 600 here: http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/ibm.html http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=linux+thinkpad+600 If you want to try a minimal XP installation, one of these may be worth a look: http://www.litepc.com/xplite.html http://www.nliteos.com/ But make sure you have all the latest security updates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmitry_a Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Find a windows 2000 disk and install that. TP 600 has the best keyboard in the business, but the screen is pretty much worthless for the purposes of viewing images. With 160MB RAM win2k will run Ok. This computer is good for browsing the Net and e-mail. If you want more don't waste your time and get something a bit more modern. craigslist is your friend, for $300 you can do much better than 600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_hall1 Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 W'ndows 2000 was the first OS with thirty million lines of code... W'ndows NT would be better for an older computer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_u Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 B Hall, it was supposed to have NT But It Was Wiped. I tride to check ebay but they had none. I got DSL-N (Its Linux) but i cant fix the video driver. anyone know how to FIX this problem?, the Screen only shows red & blue and words dont show up. i managed to boot the same OS on the computer im writing this on, and it works on this computer so i can figure out how to fix it on the TP 600 by using this computer. SO can ANYONE Please help me fix my computer by telling me how to change some files for the video driver. Thank You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zane1664879013 Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 > I got DSL-N (Its Linux) but i cant fix the video driver. anyone know how to FIX this problem? I think at this point you'd be better off taking this question to a Linux forum. If you can't get it to go, Windows 2000 would be usable on that machine, and give you USB support as well. NT does not support USB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_u Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 I think i will take this to a Linux forum. But Also i think that NT does support USB, because the TP 600 has a USB port and it says it designed for NT. Thank You All For ALL Your Help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_e Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Tom, I don't know the linux distribution you've installed. Did you install the pcmcia packages? You should be posting your questions to the distribution's and other linux forums. Basic searching with Google should answer 80% of your questions. If you have no linux experience, you're better off doing anything else but attempt to install a non-standard linux on a laptop. DSL-N appearts to be a Debian variant, but there is no reason on earth not to install Debian itself. In fact that's what the DSL-N site says, that is, on a hd it becomes Debian. You don't need a minimal linux. You need a full installation. Stop and think things thru. http://www.debian.org/ Read the documentation. Good Luck, Don E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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