Could i run Ubuntu on this?

[tahdas]

I'm thinking of buying a this laptop and im wondering if i could run Ubuntu on it.
Heres the details:
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/IBM-THINKPAD-T43-WITH-INTEL-PENTIUM-M-CPU-2-0-GHz-2-0-GB-RAM-AND-150-GB-HD-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$T2eC16ZHJHEE9ny2sY(ZBP-M5By--!~~60_7.JPG
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/IBM-THINKPAD-T43-WITH-INTEL-PENTIUM-M-CPU-2-0-GHz-2-0-GB-RAM-AND-150-GB-HD-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqRHJDIE+GHqtBdlBP-M5G)Og!~~60_7.JPG
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/IBM-THINKPAD-T43-WITH-INTEL-PENTIUM-M-CPU-2-0-GHz-2-0-GB-RAM-AND-150-GB-HD-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqFHJEYE+TF80djDBP-M5MiLHg~~60_7.JPG




Item number
330898197976


Product Line
ThinkPad


Graphics Processing Type
Integrated/On-Board Graphics


Operating System
Windows 7 (It says seven but in the picture it has XP)


Memory
2 GB


Screen Size
14.1"


Hard Drive Capacity
150 GB


Processor Type
Intel Pentium (R) M


Operating System Edition
Ultimate


Processor Speed
2.00 GHz




Also does anyone own this laptop? Whats the thing at the back in the pic? Will this thing run games?

Thanks!

[snowpine]

What is the model number? Here is a list of Ubuntu-certified Thinkpads: http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/make/Lenovo/?category=Laptop

I personally wouldn't buy a Pentium M in 2013. It's a 10 year old chip (which is a really, really long time in CPU development) and Intel hasn't made them for 5+ years. Hardware from the early/mid 2000's often struggles with Ubuntu's default Unity desktop environment (perhaps better performance with Xubuntu or Lubuntu). Also, some of the earlier Pentium M's lack PAE, which would preclude Ubuntu.

[Paqman]

Will this thing run games?


How long is a piece of string? It depends totally on the game.

It'll run games from a few years back, and nothing too demanding graphically. On board graphics on a machine that old won't be doing much 3D. You'd be able to rock DOSbox games for example, but you wouldn't be playing Crysis on it.

[tahdas]

IBM THINKPAD T43. Idealy i want to be able to run TF2, but thats pushing my luck. I guess i only need it to run flash games, run netflix app, run writing program without pausing after each word, and play dvds.

Thanks,
tahdas

[snowpine]

T43 is not Ubuntu Certified according to the link I posted above. Unlikely you'll have good performance playing flash games or multimedia with such low-end hardware. It might be OK for word processing.

[tahdas]

Darn it! Does anyone have any suggestion on what computer i could get for very cheap, but will run stuff well? I can go up to 50 dollars.

Oh and before criticize me for wanting to get an OK computer for $50, I'm fourteen and i can't get a job because of stupid laws.

Thanks.

[SuperFreak]

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/can-a-50-mini-pc-replace-your-desktop/

No monitor,keyboard or mouse with these

[GameX2]

Darn it! Does anyone have any suggestion on what computer i could get for very cheap, but will run stuff well? I can go up to 50 dollars. Oh and before criticize me for wanting to get an OK computer for $50, I'm fourteen and i can't get a job because of stupid laws. Thanks. I so understand, I'm 19 and I still don't have a job. :( XD

[tahdas]

And a bunch of people wanted to hire me but the couldn't because of the law that won't let people under 18 use scissor or slicers or knives. Its really sad.



On the mini pc: I thought about buying one of these, but i don't really need another desktop, i already have 2 lower power ones and medium power one.

What i really need is a laptop, because my family is planning on taking this long roadtrip and i want a laptop i can do something with. I have a Cr 48 chromebook, but its dosent run faster that 10MPH.

Thanks,
tahdas

[lykwydchykyn]

I can't forsee you getting a laptop that will run better than a cr48 on $50. Based on experience and a quick ebay search, $50 will get you a ten-year-old laptop with at least one broken or missing component and no battery life. And you still have to pay shipping.

If you don't mind having to stay wired to an outlet, a machine like that can probably run a lo-spec linux distro and do word processing, simple web browsing, and old-school games at least.

or you could put lubuntu on that cr-48.

[tahdas]

Yeah i have Chrubuntu on my cr 48, i want to put something else on it, maybe something really light, because Chrubuntu has all sorts of issue. I'm thinking bodhi, Leenux or easypeasy. I wouldn't know how to go about installing them though. Any thoughts on what os i should change to on my CR-48 or if i should switch at all?


thanks,
tahdas

[ManamiVixen]

Hey! Try Puppy Linux! It's small, lightweight, and runs on just about anything!

[mips]

From what I've read the Pentium CPU is more powerfull than the Atom CPU in the cr48.
I don't think Unity will work well on that laptop. XFCE & lower will run fine though. I have crunchbang on my Celeron M and I tested XFCE on it and it's fine.
The Dothan based Pentium M's don't support PAE, the later revised versions (in Sonoma) do support PAE. Think the Dothans are all 400MHz FSB while the revised ones are 533MHz. The Dothans are very easy to overclock, requires removal of CPU and a small jumper wire inserted.
Laptop has Intel GMA 915 integrated gfx and I don't think it will run TF2 well. Source engine is not heavy on requirements but I still think TF2 will struggle. You can google "TF2 on GMA915" as some people seem to be running it but it will probably look like crap with low FPS.
Based on the age of that laptop the battery is probably shot unless replaced recently.

Give crunchbang 11 (Waldorf) a go on that cr48, should be fine and it's a really cool distro. The 32 or 64 bit versions will work but the 64bit version will use a bit more RAM.

[mörgæs]

Yes, the T43 will run X/Lubuntu fine but not fast enough for gaming.

If you want gaming for $50 you should go for a desktop.

[Dragonbite]

I'm thinking of buying a this laptop and im wondering if i could run Ubuntu on it.
Heres the details:
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/IBM-THINKPAD-T43-WITH-INTEL-PENTIUM-M-CPU-2-0-GHz-2-0-GB-RAM-AND-150-GB-HD-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$T2eC16ZHJHEE9ny2sY(ZBP-M5By--!~~60_7.JPG
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/IBM-THINKPAD-T43-WITH-INTEL-PENTIUM-M-CPU-2-0-GHz-2-0-GB-RAM-AND-150-GB-HD-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqRHJDIE+GHqtBdlBP-M5G)Og!~~60_7.JPG
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/IBM-THINKPAD-T43-WITH-INTEL-PENTIUM-M-CPU-2-0-GHz-2-0-GB-RAM-AND-150-GB-HD-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqFHJEYE+TF80djDBP-M5MiLHg~~60_7.JPG




Item number
330898197976


Product Line
ThinkPad


Graphics Processing Type
Integrated/On-Board Graphics


Operating System
Windows 7 (It says seven but in the picture it has XP)


Memory
2 GB


Screen Size
14.1"


Hard Drive Capacity
150 GB


Processor Type
Intel Pentium (R) M


Operating System Edition
Ultimate


Processor Speed
2.00 GHz





Also does anyone own this laptop? Whats the thing at the back in the pic? Will this thing run games?

Thanks!

Dude! It looks like my T42 I have been running Windows 7, openSUSE KDE, Fedora, Ubuntu 12.04 and currently Xubuntu 12.04!

So yeah, it will run Ubuntu but there are a few caveats:
My T42's chip is not able to handle the PAE kernels. This meant I had to install an alternate kernel in order to get Ubuntu 12.04 installed. Xubuntu 12.04 came with the alternate kernel, but are not afterwards. Since Ubuntu is not offering the non-PAE kernel after 12.04 then any of the Ubuntu's after 12.04 will not work on my machine and thus I will be forced to migrate to Fedora or openSUSE until they too no longer support non-PAE kernels.
My 14" screen can handle only up to 1024x768. While it may sound like this is "adequate" for some people I am finding it feeling smaller and smaller as the icons and such in Unity can only go so small. I have been enjoying Xubuntu in part because of the better space management. In Unity, the dock takes up so much room I almost HAVE to make it hide.
I also have been preferring Xubuntu because it is lighter. For most things the old specs on the system are adequate for everyday use but Unity and KDE make the system feel a little bit slower than it does on a more up-to-date system. Even Windows 7, while adequate, can get unresponsive if there are too many things going on at once. So I guess what I am saying is that the lower specs will rear its ugly head when you have multiple things going on at once, or doing anything CPU - intensive like when I was rendering a picture slideshow into a video format... ugh...
Mine didn't come with a Super key (Windows key) which makes the ease of pulling up the Dash (or whatever it is called when using Gnome-shell too) annoying. Seriously, I would probably find Gnome-shell more enjoyable if I had the option to hit the key and open that thingy. Unity the same.


That thing on the back looks like the computer is sitting on a docking station. Docking stations are handy for putting the keyboard, mouse, NIC, larger screen, etc. on the system and want to, with the touch of a button, release the laptop and go portable. I'm still kicking myself I got rid of my docking station before I got this laptop. Now I could use it but docking stations are individually system orientated meaning my T60 docking station doesn't work with my T42.

Oh, and the docking station is a good thing because my device itself only had 2xUSB connectors. So if I want to add anything other than my mouse and keyboard I have to take one out to make space. Kinda a pain, and a docking station would make it so much easier.

Games depends on what kind of games you are looking for. I play FreeCiv in Linux and in Windows and the most intensive game I run on it is X-Wing vs. Tie-Fighter in Windows. To give you an idea of the age, its system requirements stop at Windows 98!

I've used it for a while and the portability aspect (plus with the extended battery getting 5+ hours of use) but not for anything intense. I use it for doing presentations and using Office and some PHP programming (using Xampp) and even use Visual Studio in Windows 7 (it just takes a little while for it to load... like long enough to brew a full pot of coffee and pour the first cup!)

Ultimately, it is your choice and I don't know what your budget or expectations are. I wanted to pass along my findings with my personal laptop which is a similar model (though I have 1.8GHz Pentium (M), not 2.0 but I do have the (max of) 2GB of RAM). For me, personally, I am in the process of looking to replace this laptop with something more modern and more powerful and can follow future updates.

Hope this helps.

[mörgæs]

Please don't bring the PAE problems associated with T42 into the debate. It only scares people.

As can be seen here the T42 is using the 400 MHz front side bus, which indicates lack of PAE support, but the T43 uses 533.
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Intel_Pentium_M_(Dothan)

[snowpine]

Please don't bring the PAE problems associated with T42 into the debate. It only scares people.

As can be seen here the T42 is using the 400 MHz front side bus, which indicates lack of PAE support, but the T43 uses 533.
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Intel_Pentium_M_(Dothan)

Apologies; the OP hadn't yet identified the model number as T43 when I made my PAE comment. Didn't mean to scare anyone. :)

[mörgæs]

No problem! I was thinking of post #15.

The forum is haunted by a PAE ghost which pops his head up here, there and everywhere. Let's all try to put it to rest.

[tahdas]

So I should install crunch bang or archbang? How would I go about doing that?
Has anyone heard of people hackintoshing the cr-48? http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/241376-work-in-progress-google-inventec-cr-48/
how hard would that be to do? Because I like the Mac touchpad short cuts, and Netflix works on Mac, it wouldn't on ChrUbuntu even with the app.

I really don't like the way the bangs look, but I guess ill should sacrifice looks for quality.

Thank,
tahdas

[Dragonbite]

Please don't bring the PAE problems associated with T42 into the debate. It only scares people.

As can be seen here the T42 is using the 400 MHz front side bus, which indicates lack of PAE support, but the T43 uses 533.
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Intel_Pentium_M_(Dothan)

My apologies, I was relaying my experiences and this issue and my (somewhat) similar system. I thought it would be a point of consideration as nobody wants to buy a system and have the latest Ubuntu not work.

Your information helps clarify the situation and for that I thank you.

Now the OP knows that this is not a factor in this particular computer's case and I have a link and information on the situation.

As for putting this "ghost" to rest, is there any Ubuntu articles, wiki or statements that spells it out the situation and solution for which everybody who brings it up can be pointed to?

[mörgæs]

Great if people will help in this field. Too many threads on old hardware suffer from bad advice (given in good faith, I know!)

The problem is isolated to the 400 MHz Pentium M's. Just ask for the output from lshw and it will be visible.

Fake-PAE (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2113826) seems to make the new Buntus run on the old Pentium M's, but I have not tried it myself.

[stalkingwolf]

i have a ubuntu flavor running quite well on a T42. a Dell D800 and an acer aspire 1604z. also an older hp.

[tahdas]

I'm making this thread as solved, I've decided to see what I can do with my chromebook.

Please go to this thread to give me more advice on the chromebook: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2131657&p=12585089#post12585089

[Paqman]

i don't really need another desktop, i already have 2 lower power ones and medium power one.

What i really need is a laptop, because my family is planning on taking this long roadtrip and i want a laptop i can do something with. I have a Cr 48 chromebook, but its dosent run faster that 10MPH.


Dude, you already have four computers. Sell one (or two, or three) and get your budget up above $50. If the machines aren't worth much themselves some of the components might be. Older RAM can fetch good prices sometimes.

[tahdas]

Yeah i thought about that, but i' using 3/4 and the 4th one has no ram because im using it on another CPU. I don't think i could get much for the Chromebook or id sell it.

[mips]

So I should install crunch bang or archbang? How would I go about doing that?
Has anyone heard of people hackintoshing the cr-48? http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/241376-work-in-progress-google-inventec-cr-48/
how hard would that be to do? Because I like the Mac touchpad short cuts, and Netflix works on Mac, it wouldn't on ChrUbuntu even with the app.


If I was you I would download Cruncbang Waldorf and Manjaro Openbox Lite, both testing releases and try them out for yourself.
http://crunchbang.org/download/waldorf
http://sourceforge.net/projects/manjarodev/files/testbuild/0.8.5-rc2/

The Crunchbang one is based on Debian Wheezy which would be stable pretty soon, I have not seen many updates to it and it's been rock solid. You will end up with a very stable system but this being Debian don't expect much in terms of new packages but they do backport stuff though.. If openbox is not your thing then you can install XFCE 4.10 by following this thread http://crunchbang.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=21324&p=3
With Debian you don't get PPAs like in Ubuntu.

The Manjaro Openbox one is based on unstable/testing but will be in the stable repos within the next week or two. This is a rolling release distro so you will get newer packages but they are also more stable than the Arch ones (they lag Arch releases). XFCE 4.10 if you want is available in the repos without adding anything. This one has less packages by default on the ISO so you decide which apps you want to install. It's also got Synapse (http://lifehacker.com/5704221/synapse-is-a-super+fast-tightly-integrated-application-launcher-for-linux) app launcher by default which noobs might enjoy.
With Manjaro you also have access to AUR (https://aur.archlinux.org/) so you can also install packages from there that don't appear in the repos.

Both communities are really friendly and helpful, you just need to try it for yourself and see which you prefer.

[lykwydchykyn]

Yeah i thought about that, but i' using 3/4 and the 4th one has no ram because im using it on another CPU. I don't think i could get much for the Chromebook or id sell it.

They're going for $100 - $150 on ebay right now. I don't think I'd sell it either, but that's roughly what you can expect to get.

[tahdas]

If i can get that much maybe i should sell.

[bashhimup]

Try checking out DSL: http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/
Or SliTaz: http://www.slitaz.org/en/
And as ManamiVixen said earlier, try Puppy Linux: http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview%20and%20Getting%20Started.htm

[mastablasta]

So I should install crunch bang or archbang? How would I go about doing that?



chrunchbang install is quite similar to Ubuntu install. not difficult. only once you are done and boot into the OS a script will run with a few questions. for example do you want libre office installed y/n and a few other porgrammes. you can say no to all or go through and install what you want.

[Metalpen1984]

chrunchbang install is quite similar to Ubuntu install. not difficult. only once you are done and boot into the OS a script will run with a few questions. for example do you want libre office installed y/n and a few other porgrammes. you can say no to all or go through and install what you want.

I've just done that weeks ago. Installing crunchbang is not harder than Ubuntu...maybe more boring since there no slogans and nice pictures to see. The problem is the laptop which maybe too old, like mine, ASUS S52A, to support some modern software like Chrome Browser. My machine started to heat up my room after I browse webpage by Chrome.
The rest of the crunchbang is good, but how long can it survive for a old laptop? Let's wait and see.