Can I put any 2.5" IDE HDD into a Thinkpad X31?

NiftyDigits

sb44 wrote: »

I would have to read up on those, only thing I know about them is there may be one in my Acer Aspire One, no moveable parts so withstand knocks (or I think that is what I read somewhere).

Those are quite slow and not of a standard size.

Strider590

Be careful, IBM used to restrict the HDDs you could use on certain machines, they had to be within a range of serial numbers and IBM bought all of those drives. Last time I looked they were charging £200+ for a 40GB drive.

tonyh66

Strider590 wrote: »

Be careful, IBM used to restrict the HDDs you could use on certain machines, they had to be within a range of serial numbers and IBM bought all of those drives. Last time I looked they were charging £200+ for a 40GB drive.

how did they do that then?

NiftyDigits

tonyh66 wrote: »

how did they do that then?

Look here

They abandoned that idea soon after....

sb44

Just had a thought.

I have been looking at YouTube vids regarding Linux, perhaps I could try and load a version (seem to be lots) onto a mem stick and she could use that on the thinkpad.

I may look at this myself also just to see how fast linux is supposed to be on an old laptop.

Can anyone rec a version that would not need anything bigger than a 4GB stick please, it would only really be for surfing, she wouldn't need spreadsheets etc.

Also, on mine, I use a plug in TP Link to get online, not inbuilt wireless, would it be easy enough to get online using linux via a plug in wireless adaptor.

The other thing I was wondering about, I am using Avast on Windows XP, do you still need a virus protector when using Linux.

Sorry for all of the questions. It's a bank holiday monday and the weather is total carp so I am making the most of 'staying in'!



Ta.

NiftyDigits

sb44 wrote: »

Just had a thought.

I have been looking at YouTube vids regarding Linux, perhaps I could try and load a version (seem to be lots) onto a mem stick and she could use that on the thinkpad.

I may look at this myself also just to see how fast linux is supposed to be on an old laptop.

Can anyone rec a version that would not need anything bigger than a 4GB stick please, it would only really be for surfing, she wouldn't need spreadsheets etc.

Also, on mine, I use a plug in TP Link to get online, not inbuilt wireless, would it be easy enough to get online using linux via a plug in wireless adaptor.

The other thing I was wondering about, I am using Avast on Windows XP, do you still need a virus protector when using Linux.

Sorry for all of the questions. It's a bank holiday monday and the weather is total carp so I am making the most of 'staying in'!



Ta.

How much RAM is installed? The problem with Linux is that not everything might work 'out of the box' so to speak.

Mr_Toad

sb44 wrote: »

Just had a thought.

I have been looking at YouTube vids regarding Linux, perhaps I could try and load a version (seem to be lots) onto a mem stick and she could use that on the thinkpad.

I may look at this myself also just to see how fast linux is supposed to be on an old laptop.

Can anyone rec a version that would not need anything bigger than a 4GB stick please, it would only really be for surfing, she wouldn't need spreadsheets etc.

Also, on mine, I use a plug in TP Link to get online, not inbuilt wireless, would it be easy enough to get online using linux via a plug in wireless adaptor.

The other thing I was wondering about, I am using Avast on Windows XP, do you still need a virus protector when using Linux.

Sorry for all of the questions. It's a bank holiday monday and the weather is total carp so I am making the most of 'staying in'!



Ta.

There are loads of Linux distros out there but one that might be worth a look is Zorin. I've just installed it for a friend who doesn't want to upgrade XP to Win7.

He's delighted with it and I have to say that it impressed me when I was installing it. I'm now running it alongside Mint to see how it compares but for everyday use it's very good.

Have a look on YouTube for linux on USB drives, there are plenty of options.