IBM Thinkpad 650X, Anyone?

[TannerC]

Okay, here goes.

While back I picked up an ol' P.O.S. IBM Thinkpad 650X (yes, its a real laptop, finding drivers is a massive pain). Right now it is currently running Windows98, Pentium proc, and I'm sick of it. I want something for me to take around with me to mess around, and granted the size of it, it's perfect for what I want (that and it was free, who can complain? haha) So I have a couple questions:

1. The only method for any type of OS reload is thru the single usb port on the back of the device. Is there anything I need to / could do to force the system into booting from a usb thumb drive?

and 2. I have copies of Ubuntu 7.10, 8.10, 9.10. Would anyone recommend those as something suitable for a laptop like this, or do I need to go with something like an older distro?

Any recommendations are great, thank you in advance. This is my first post, so go easy on me. :p

[AlexDBall]

Hi, i haven't seen a 650x for a long time now so i don't remember its exact specs.
Doesn't it have a CD-ROM drive? Because i have a 600x and it has one. (assuming the 2 models are close to each other spec-wise)

I think i may dissapoint you on this one but i'm not 100% sure... I don't think the 600x supports booting from USB.
I have an R30 (PIII 1GHz) which is newer than the 650x and it doesn't support booting from USB! :(

And for question 2, i would recommend installing Xubuntu (any version may do), or install the minimal/server installation leaving you with the CLI only. You can then install a light window manager like Blackbox or something..

Hope this helps!

Theres nothing better than giving an old computer a new life! :)