My computer's old

[IncurableHam]

Well my parents' computer is. It is probably around ten years old. This computer is and has always been running Windows, and it had outdated virus protection. It was never (maybe rarely) defragged, and had little to maintenance of any kind. But it had barely anything saved on it. Very little software, mostly just a bunch of Word and Excel documents and some pictures. It was mostly just used for the internet. The computer is so slow that is almost unusable.

What I was wondering is why do old computers slowly die? Is it their hardware that begins to weather/corrode, or is it just a buildup of malware on the computer? Do you think that this computer would be working still if it had Linux rather than Windows installed all these years?

[elliotbeken]

If you reinstall the current operating system from frash it will be like new again.

Its the same sort of situation that my granddad has with his pc, he just has so much crap running from boot.

I do believe Linux keeps its self tidy and needs less maintenance.

[linuxyogi]

Install Lubuntu. If the hardware is okay then it will perform real fast.

[IncurableHam]

Hmmm, thanks. Problem is the disk drive doesn't work anymore...not sure about USB, though. I was going to try putting Ubuntu on it since all they really need is the internet anyways.

[mips]

Problem is the disk drive doesn't work anymore...

What's wrong with it (details)?

Check your local dumpsters or recycle joints for a replacement drive. You could probably even manage a whole newer pc, you'll be amazed at what people throw away.

[jespdj]

Hmmm, thanks. Problem is the disk drive doesn't work anymore...
Do you mean the disk drive for 3,5-inch floppy disks? Do you still use them? I haven't had a computer with a 3,5-inch disk drive for at least six years now.

[mastablasta]

Hmmm, thanks. Problem is the disk drive doesn't work anymore...not sure about USB, though. I was going to try putting Ubuntu on it since all they really need is the internet anyways.

well you didn't post any system settings, but...

Ubuntu si not ment for old computers. well at leats not without some heavy tweaking. at the moment 1GB RAM is needed for comfortable use along witha descent GPU. i doubt that computer has so much.

You can try it but you will porbably need to tweak it. best way is to boot into live session (can be with USB) and test it out.

otherwise... Kubutnu with low-fat settings packages uses less ram, then Xubuntu and then Lubuntu. additionally you can try in Ubuntu Gnome classic session, Unity 2D session or Mate to use less ram.

If you are not particular about the way it looks you could try ubuntu based Bodhi Linux.

AntiX12 has latets kernel patched to make it worked with old computers. it's otherwise debian based, but the looks are not really modern (uses IceWM). however it does use very little system resources.

also light are MinLXDE, if they have good internet connection then maybe Peppermint OS is also a choice.

[mastablasta]

Do you mean the disk drive for 3,5-inch floppy disks? Do you still use them? I haven't had a computer with a 3,5-inch disk drive for at least six years now.


i use them and all mashcines had it at home. but i had to remove one because i needed space for new HD. otherwise they are still usefull in case i can't boot from USB. it seems my main machine is picky about USB and doesn't want to boot from all of them. however, it always boots from floppy. so i installed PLOP boot mnager on the ploppy.

i also have an old maschine from 2003 that doesn't have boot from usb option. again, PLOP floppy to the rescue.

[IncurableHam]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. And I meant the HDD doesn't work (although it does have a floppy drive), and by doesn't work I mean you put a disk in and absolutely nothing happens, like the system doesn't recognize that you're doing anything. I haven't tried fixing the problem yet, though, so I haven't done any research on it. And I think it has 2GB (but maybe only 1, I haven't checked out the computer's specs in like 2 years), it was pretty good for its time (and I think it's only 7 or 8 years old, not 10 like I originally thought), so installing Ubuntu/Xubuntu/Lubuntu should be fine. I think I'm going to install Lubuntu (I have it on my VirtualBox on my laptop) and just install LibreOffice for them.

[mastablasta]

USB stick or external HDD could also be an option.

[stalkingwolf]

perhaps start by running an anti virus from cd or usb. then download hirens boot cd and run the regen.
My wife is using an emachines that we picked up for 75.00 because it wouldnt hardly boot. after removing 275 viruses and malware it runs fine .

it is also possible that you have a machine that requires you to use the bios boot menu to boot from the cd/dvd.

[deadflowr]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. And I meant the HDD doesn't work (although it does have a floppy drive), and by doesn't work I mean you put a disk in and absolutely nothing happens, like the system doesn't recognize that you're doing anything. I haven't tried fixing the problem yet, though, so I haven't done any research on it. And I think it has 2GB (but maybe only 1, I haven't checked out the computer's specs in like 2 years), it was pretty good for its time (and I think it's only 7 or 8 years old, not 10 like I originally thought), so installing Ubuntu/Xubuntu/Lubuntu should be fine. I think I'm going to install Lubuntu (I have it on my VirtualBox on my laptop) and just install LibreOffice for them.

Do you mean when you put a disk in the CD drive? If so, unfortunately, CD drives have a fairly common tendency of dying. Whether from mechanical problems or just that the eye can no longer read anything.

[DarkAmbient]

In case you mean that the CD(/DVD?)-drive is broke, you can always install from an USB-stick. But older computers doesn't always support that sadly enough, think it depends on the BIOS, but I'm not sure.

Also, with personal experience I've get the feeling that xfce is slightly faster / less resource-hogging than lxde... but a lot of often-upset-internet-people says otherwise. So don't take my word for it.