Could a decade old laptop be updated to work with todays software (laptops, RAM)

[stevechang103]

Hello,

Long story why, but I have a decade old laptop sitting in my closet. My questions are the following:

1. Would it be possible to ugrade it to work with today's software and applications?

2. If so, how would one go about upgrading the memory and hard drive?

3. Besides the memory and Hard Drive, what else would need to be upgraded?

Thanks

[harhar]

Define today's software.

IF the requirements on the package are equal to the parts in your computer then it will, technically, work.

If you just want, email, internet and word processing, I've "saved" many a computer by installing Linux. More specifically Ubuntu.

[thecoalman]

What OS does it have now? I've been running XP since 2003 because I want too., I'm waiting on Windows 8 to see the reviews and if they are bad I'll go to 7. Generally speaking you only need the latest for gaming and a few applications. Another reason to upgrade might be for the power, a ten year old computer is going to be a dog encoding HD video.

[hoffdano]

To me "today's software" means today's mainstream products. Windows 7, browsers, Windows Media Player (or equivalent), and Microsoft Office (or equivalent).

A ten year old laptop was designed around much smaller hard drives and memory. Chances are good that the BIOS cannot handle large hard drives (> 100 Gb), or memory > 1 Gb.

Windows 7 will not run well at all with 1 Gb. Even Windows XP will struggle a bit with 1 Gb.

You can probably get buy with a smaller hard drive.

That old laptop may also be old enough that Win 7 doesn't have network, chipset, or video drivers for it. In other words Win 7 might not even install.

Linux might work. But why bother?

New laptops are $400. And they are probably 5-10 times more capable than that old laptop.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

A ten year old laptop was designed around much smaller hard drives and memory. Chances are good that the BIOS cannot handle large hard drives (> 100 Gb), or memory > 1 Gb.

It wasn't laptop but my fisrt XP machine I purchased in 2003 was purchased with 120GB SATA drives, actually some of the first on the market. I think at that time they had 240 and 360 GB drives available.

Windows 7 will not run well at all with 1 Gb. Even Windows XP will struggle a bit with 1 Gb.

1 GB is plenty for XP unless you're running some very RAM intensive applications. On startup I think I consume about 300MB. The only time I really have any trouble is when FF is running for a very long time and decides it needs 600MB or RAM.

New laptops are $400. And they are probably 5-10 times more capable than that old laptop.

If you can take the thing out the closet and use it I don't see why not but I'd agree if you're going to put money into it might as well get a new one.

[pcity]

If you just want web browsing and basic document editing, install Lubuntu: lubuntu | light Ubuntu for faster computing

It's a lightweight Ubuntu variant that runs much faster than Windows on older hardware.

I would not bother upgrading hardware on a 10 year old machine though. If there are things you want to run that won't run on your 10 year old laptop, just get a new laptop.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

1 GB is plenty for XP unless you're running some very RAM intensive applications. On startup I think I consume about 300MB. The only time I really have any trouble is when FF is running for a very long time and decides it needs 600MB or RAM.

Agree. XP can run with 512. I still have one PC at the office with 512 running XP.

[mensaguy]

Steve, we need a little more info to give you a mainstream answer. What kind of laptop is it? How much memory? What size hard drive? I've seen Windows 7 installed on some ~2003 laptops that run OK with 2 GB of memory and 80 GB hard drives. They had 2.6 GHz Celeron processors. One had a tendency to generate heat and cause the fan to run faster if it was being used to watch videos, but it could run Office 2007, IE9, surf, read email, check Facebook, run Firefox, and play Freecell. Some Windows 7 features depend on having adequate video capability to work at all, but the OS might work.

[Huckleberry3911948]

the only way i know to do that is with lenox software. but u are attempting cheat the manufacturers out of new operating system and new hardware every 3 years.
how cruel of you.

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

the only way i know to do that is with lenox software.

Is this a new OS you are developing or were you listening to Annie Lennox?

Anyhow, this is how I would upgrade a decade old laptop:
- Sell it using whatever site or means to get the most $$ for it.
- Put the $$ I made from the old laptop into buying a newer laptop within my budget.