Recommend a OS for my old laptop

[Votkrath]

A slimmed down modified version as people have mentioned might be good for you - XP is an option too if you are using the computer for basic stuff that a high-tech OS won't do you good. But quite honestly, I have a laptop with similar specs that runs Win 7 ultimate just fine so you should be able to as well and if you decide on Win 7 then you can always turn off the eye candy for better performance.

I know your new, but if you are going to post in the help sections it pays to read the previous posts first. As I mentioned in my previous post the motherboard chipset is not supported by Windows XP, you cannot retrograde this laptop back that far. It was designed for Vista and came supplied with Windows Vista Home Premium. Vista (bad idea) Windows 7 or a Linux Distro are the only realistic choices.

Sorry and nah, I should have read it either way, whether I'm new or not. I guess it's the time (4 hours past midnight, not 8) that makes me unfocused.

[yurferner]

I think windows xp will work best, even if your computer was not designed for it.

[Dr0]

Stick with the Windows 7 you have installed and just disable the stuff you don't need, like areo, for example.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windo...windows-vista/

You can also turn off services, a quick Google search should track down a nice list of things you simply don't need.

[clocker]

All the talk about Win 7's minimum requirements is useless...neither Vista nor 7 will run well on a low spec machine (i.e., 2GB RAM)...MS simply was trying to maximize the potential buyer pool.
My Win 7 PC uses 1.3GB of RAM just sitting on the desktop, 2GB doesn't leave much headroom.

I would seriously try to install XP on a machine such as this...it can be done and if successful*, will perform better than the newer options.

*Coincidentally, I'm "downgrading" a new Win 7 PC to dualboot XP in hopes the customer can continue to use his ancient ProTools/Digi001 music editing gear.
ProTools requires a special interface card to export/import from the computer to the editing board and his early version only has XP drivers. Win 7 knew something was there but couldn't be coerced into using it, so ProTools wouldn't open/run.
We tried a virtual XP install but that relies on Win7 to tell XP what the hardware is, so it didn't work.
Fortunately, in this case I don't really care if the XP install is flawless as long as it will install the digital interface card.
Yeah, it's gonna be awkward but it might save him $2K in upgrade cost for his peripherals.
We'll see how it goes.

@Frank:
At the very least you should max out the RAM (4GB)- which will help a lot- and maybe upgrade to a SSD.
Both of those moves would make Win7 much more bearable on your lappy.

[anon]

All the talk about Win 7's minimum requirements is useless...neither Vista nor 7 will run well on a low spec machine (i.e., 2GB RAM)...MS simply was trying to maximize the potential buyer pool.
My Win 7 PC uses 1.3GB of RAM just sitting on the desktop, 2GB doesn't leave much headroom.

Windows 7.gif

That's me running Windows 7 with 1.5GB, and many things open - Opera with tons of tabs, Steam, uTorrent, for example. It runs quite well for me. Same goes for my laptop, which has just 1 gig, although I don't strain it as much

I was surprised it used way more RAM than XP, so I did a little research about it. This extra memory usage comes from SuperFetch. RAM marked as "cached" is used to increase system performance, but can be immediately given back to programs that demand it. So 7 uses the memory XP would have left unused to speed up your computer with no ill effects. (You're a pro so you must already know that, but maybe others didn't)

[clocker]

Here's Sprocket pushing a full-boat Win 7 Ultimate (with all the visual dressing) and only Chrome running.

[Frankthetank1]

So i have windows running flawlessly and nothing on it. What do you think id get for it if i tried to sell it on Craigslist?i paid only for a new hard drive replacement so lots of profit to be made.

I have a Toshiba Satellite A215-S7437 Notebook. I tried windows 7 ultimate It was a little slow and sometimes it would just freeze and id have to restart.

Onyx Blue AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58 1.9 GHz Dual-Core Yes 1600 MHz Bus Speed AMD M690V L2 cache 1 MB 2 GB (1 GB x 2) / 4 GB (max) DDR II SDRAM PC2-5300 200 GB, 4200 rpm Hard Drive DVD-SuperMulti drive (+/-R double layer) with Labelflash supporting up to 11 fomats Card Reader Secure Digital, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Multi Media Card, xD Picture Card 15.4" TFT active matrix 1280 x 800 (WXGA) Yes TruBrite

[Chewie]

Watch a few of them on ebay to get an idea what people are paying. Looking at what people are asking for isn't much of an indication of what they're selling for.
In my experience, people often pay over the odds for computer hardware on ebay because they believe it's the cheapest place to buy.

[Artemis]

Here's Sprocket pushing a full-boat Win 7 Ultimate (with all the visual dressing) and only Chrome running.

That's a bit mean comparing anon's POS to a quadcore with 8GB of RAM

[clocker]

Coincidentally, I'm "downgrading" a new Win 7 PC to dualboot XP...yada, yada, yada.

Yeah, and it did not go well.
Long story short, I was unable to install XP on a new i3 PC.
Tried an untouched OEM .iso and four nLited variations with various slipstreamed drivers (no other mods to the OS itself).
In all cases the install blue screened after loading files and initialing the installer.

Not sure why and the point became moot when the customer bit the bullet and upgraded his ProTools, so I'm not too keen on working it further.