Windows to Linux

SuperSeagull

Because I have another laptop that I use most of the time except when my grand children are here and want to use that one for Roblox I can afford to take a chance to buy cheap replacement improvements and do this via You Tube instructions as I did with the upgrades. If an SSD would improve either I will buy one and do it but they seem to be quite expensive and although £17 was quoted by somebody on here I havent been able to find one for anywhere near that price, in fact the cheapest was a used one at about £50.

psychic_teabag

SuperSeagull wrote: »

Because I have another laptop that I use most of the time except when my grand children are here and want to use that one for Roblox I can afford to take a chance to buy cheap replacement improvements and do this via You Tube instructions as I did with the upgrades.

I can't help thinking linux would be an odd choice for a laptop you want to use only once in a while, when your windows (?) laptop is unavailable.

That said, if the installation sets you up with a browser ready to go, I guess you could probably surf quite happily without noticing that it's any different. (I converted my technophobe MIL to linux several years ago, and she seems perfectly happy using that for browsing and email.)

I wonder if you've considered installing chrome os instead. (Still a linux kernel, but the user environment is probably a lot simpler.) Note: I've never tried this myself.

Frozen_up_north

My OH has an Acer 5552, which originally had Win 7/64. It is a slightly higher spec machine than a 5532 and can use up to 8GB of ram.

It has been upgraded to Win 10/64, but was sluggish to startup (both as received and with Win 10). Replacing the HDD with an SSD by cloning the drive, plus increasing the ram from 4GB to 8GB, made a huge improvement to the startup time... going from 2 or 3 mins of disk activity and slow running, to being ready in 20 or 30 seconds! The difference had more to do with the SSD than increasing the ram.

A friend has a fairly new Acer that is also a dog at starting up, not sure of the model but it’s a HDD equipped one. Maybe all Acer budget laptops run like slugs by design :rotfl:

SuperSeagull

I think that installing an SSD would seem the obvious first choice but I am reluctant to spend £50+ on a machine that old. Also my grandchildren are at our house at least 3 days a week as their mum works and my wife takes them to and collects them from school on those days.

The machine has a 120gb hard drive do I need one that I big as all I do with it browse and use my open office/ printer Never listen to music, watch films or play games.

debitcardmayhem

SuperSeagull wrote: »

I think that installing an SSD would seem the obvious first choice but I am reluctant to spend £50+ on a machine that old. Also my grandchildren are at our house at least 3 days a week as their mum works and my wife takes them to and collects them from school on those days.

The machine has a 120gb hard drive do I need one that I big as all I do with it browse and use my open office/ printer Never listen to music, watch films or play games.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=250gb+ssd&crid=BSAA8XNPXIWR&sprefix=250gb+%2Caps%2C160&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_6

much cheaper than 50 and 240GB +
or

120GB https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=120gb+ssd&crid=ZBBEY5PW1RSS&sprefix=120gb+ssd%2Caps%2C186&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_9

SuperSeagull

They all certainly look a more viable option so will probably settle for a 120GB which I think would be large enough for my use.

thorganby

SuperSeagull wrote: »

They all certainly look a more viable option so will probably settle for a 120GB which I think would be large enough for my use.

If you order tonight from here https://www.mymemory.co.uk
for £17, you will get a free 32GB USB flash drive.

Norman_Castle

SuperSeagull wrote: »

The machine has a 120gb hard drive do I need one that I big as all I do with it browse and use my open office/ printer Never listen to music, watch films or play games.

If there's nothing of interest to you on the pc there's nothing to loose by making it dual boot with Linux Mint or reinstalling Windows. Before doing anything try installing and running Malwarebytes to clean the installation you already have. This is free and far simpler than other suggestions.

I might be wrong but are you in that much of a rush that this spare pc needs to open in 30 seconds?
I can't imagine the drive type making a difference to online browsing speed likewise with office or printing tasks.

SuperSeagull

I have taken the bull by the horns and ordered an SSD which I will put into the Acer and just try installing Linux on the Compaq or vice versa whichever people on here think is best.

steviebuk

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Linux cannot improve on the hardware but an old, bloated operating system needing maintenance will be slowing it down. My pc is older than the ops but runs linux mint really well. It struggles with youtube videos which I suspect is my processor. I was recently given two XP pcs which were ludicrously slow. Cleaning the os has made them usable.
Presumably when you've fitted ssd's you've also installed fresh operating systems.

Not always. If you're cloning the old HDD like I do at work to swap out for an SSD the difference is def noticeable. Slow with old mechanical drive, fast again with SSD.