Upgrade old laptop or bin?

J_B

Friend has just asked me, she has an elderly laptop that she doesn't use (just had a new one)

Shall she upgrade it for mum and dad or bin?

Dell Inspiron 15R

5010-1862

S/T = 6D2N1N1

Running W7 home premium (we think)

OnlyTheBestWillDo

Seems an odd question. as it comes down to whether mum and dad want the laptop and whether she wants to spend the £20 or so on an SSD.. P6200 would be fine for browsing, YouTube and Office; typical usage.
So just a matter of upgrading from Home Premium to Professional and the using the Genuine Ticket method to install Windows 10 Pro to the new SSD.
Bin is out of the question of course; especially when you can donate. I still have a donated Toshiba at home

jamesd

Probably is Windows 7, this upgrade to Windows 10 guide contains instructions on how to check and how to upgrade to 10 at no cost. Note that it's necessary to do an upgrade installation to get the Dell OEM license accepted, if desired a clean reinstallation can be done after that. In the event that it's not accepted it's cheap to get Windows 10 licenses on ebay.

The machine seems to be about ten years old and could be used for things like a media center or file/disk server using its pair of USB3 ports and external USB drives, or passed on. I use a less capable machine as a file server myself. Can be used for media or backups and a range of other things.

The specs might be better than some modern cheap laptops in some ways, the main lack will be spinning disk instead of SSD. Swapping a spinning disk for an SSD usually isn't too hard or expensive and makes a major performance difference. Upgrading the RAM from 4GB to 8GB is doable if desired but 4 and an SSD should be OK if money is limited. Dell upgrade instructions are usually excellent and here's a link to the relevant service manual, page 23 covers hard drive removal and replacement.

Crucial quotes £25.19 for a 4GB RAM module that could upgrade it to 8GB, it's maximum, and also offer some SSD possibilities, the most interesting possibly being the Crucial MX500 500GB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal SSD at £59.99 because it's fairly close in capacity to the existing 640GB hard drive. If the removable drive isn't being used the existing hard drive could be plugged into its connector and a makeshift side cover made. The 240GB SSD for £29.99 might also do but she'd need to check the used disk space first and perhaps remove some of her stuff to the new machine. 240GB is more than enough for Windows 10 if it's necessary to keep costs down, around 220GB would be free if only windows was present on the drive.

SSD for £29.99 and RAM for £25.19 may well be the best way to go. The result will be an entirely capable machine that's better than today's budget ones. It's not hard to add extra storage using the USB3 ports and that can be done when needed. It's also possible to buy an external USB case to put the existing 320GB drive in.

Edited to correct inconsistencies between review and service tag info.

OnlyTheBestWillDo

jamesd said:

Probably is Windows 7, this upgrade to Windows 10 guide contains instructions on how to check and how to upgrade to 10 at no cost. Note that it's necessary to do an upgrade installation to get the Dell OEM license accepted, if desired a clean reinstallation can be done after that. In the event that it's not accepted it's cheap to get Windows 10 licenses on ebay.

The machine seems to be about ten years old and could be used for things like a media center or file/disk server using its pair of USB3 ports and external USB drives, or passed on. I use a less capable machine as a file server myself. Can be used for media or backups and a range of other things.

The specs might be better than some modern cheap laptops in some ways, the main lack will be spinning disk instead of SSD. Swapping a spinning disk for an SSD usually isn't too hard or expensive and makes a major performance difference. Upgrading the RAM from 5GB to 8GB is doable if desired but 6 and an SSD should be OK if money is limited. Dell upgrade instructions are usually excellent and here's a link to the relevant service manual, page 23 covers hard drive removal and replacement.

Crucial quotes £25.19 for a 4GB RAM module that could upgrade it to 8GB, it's maximum, and also offer some SSD possibilities, the most interesting possibly being the Crucial MX500 500GB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal SSD at £59.99 because it's fairly close in capacity to the existing 640GB hard drive. If the removable drive isn't being used the existing hard drive could be plugged into its connector and a makeshift side cover made. The 240GB SSD for £29.99 might also do but she'd need to check the used disk space first and perhaps remove some of her stuff to the new machine. 240GB is more than enough for WIndows 10 if it's necessary to keep costs down, around 220GB would be free if only windows was present on the drive.

SSD for £29.99 and RAM for £25.19 may well be the best way to go. The result will be an entirely capable machine that's better than today's budget ones. It's not hard to add extra storage using the USB3 ports and that can be done when needed. It's also possible to buy an external USB case to put the existing 640GB drive in.

Erm.... you might have gone a bit over the top. 

No need for a upgrade install nor a Windows 10 licence. It has 4GB of RAM and a 320 GB HDD.
There is absolutely no pint in trying to match the capacities of the storage drive. It's not like the parents will need the content of the daughter on their 'new' laptop. So even a 120 GB SSD will likely suffice.
Definitely out of the question to spend £25 on RAM. You do realise this is a money saving forum? First of all 4GB is fine; but if more is required one can obtain a 4GB module for £7: https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=smem2q2aa or 2 x 4GB for £12; https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=smem412800204

I think you didn't read the OP properly. The machine is to be given to someone else. So no need to transfer anything from the old install.

OnlyTheBestWillDo

With a 120 GB SSD coming in at as little as £17.50, you could theoretically upgrade to SSD and 8GB of RAM for under £30.

grumpycrab

Yep, clean install windows10 to £17.50 SSD  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Integral-120-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B06XC538RK/
If its in good condition you may get £40 for it on ebay.

prowla

The computer was purchased in January 2011 and has a spec:

• Inspiron N5010 : RETAIL ONLY Intel Pentium Dual Core P6200 ( 2.13GHz, 3M)
• Memory : 4096MB (2x2048) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
• Hard Drive : 320GB Serial ATA (5400RPM)
• Wireless : Dell Wireless 1501 (802.11g/n) Mini Card ROW
• Camera : Integrated 1.3 Mega Pixel Camera
• Display : 15.6in High Definition (1366X768) WLED
• Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including software

Based on that, it's pretty much obsolete.

Upgrading (with an SSD and Windows 10) would require some work and expense and still result in a slow system.

The screen is not what most folks would call "high definition" these days.

It's more a system for an enthusiast to muck about with upgrading than to give to some folks to use pain-free.

jamesd

OnlyTheBestWillDo said:

There is absolutely no pint in trying to match the capacities of the storage drive. It's not like the parents will need the content of the daughter on their 'new' laptop. So even a 120 GB SSD will likely suffice.
Definitely out of the question to spend £25 on RAM. You do realise this is a money saving forum? First of all 4GB is fine; but if more is required one can obtain a 4GB module for £7: https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=smem2q2aa or 2 x 4GB for £12; https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=smem412800204

I think you didn't read the OP properly. The machine is to be given to someone else. So no need to transfer anything from the old install.

Yes, a 120GB SSD will probably suffice. Not sure that she'd want to try second hand RAM, though it's cheaper than new and new can probably be had cheaper than from Crucial.

I wouldn't want to pass it on with an operating system that's no longer getting antivirus and other fixes, better to take the free Windows 10 upgrade option before passing it on.

If the operating system is being upgraded to Windows 10 it's necessary to do an upgrade install before a clean install so that the Windows licensing servers will recognise the machine as having a valid license.  Assuming you trust the people in the Dell support forum who wrote that. Then I'd also want to go with a clean install. 

jamesd

prowla said:

The screen is not what most folks would call "high definition" these days.

Since I bought a 1600x1200 Dell laptop back in 2000 or so I'd agree personally but the parents might welcome that combination of screen resolution and size depending on their eyesight. It'll do better with a monitor, though, if desired.

Whether it's worth passing on depends on what other options the parents have. With at least an SSD upgrade this one will be more than good enough for casual use and inexpensive with a known history.

GDB2222

I have a similar Dell laptop, but with a N2830 processor, which is a fair bit slower. 

I don’t use it as a machine for every day use, and it would drive me mad if I had to, as it is very leisurely. Plus, the screen resolution is poor.  I take it with me on holiday, for any emergency word processing.

I fitted an SSD, but that made surprisingly little difference.

I suggest the op just upgrades to W10, and passes it on to the parents for occasional use. 

WaywardDriver

Do "mum and dad" have a laptop? Do they want one? If yes and laptop working OK albeit slowly then suggest best upgrade is external monitor and keyboard.