Can anyone recommend an old laptop?

Beachcomber

Beachcomber

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My old HP Pavilion 2015 (Windows 10) laptop is on its last legs, and I'm worried it's going to break soon and leave me stuck. For a while now I've been thinking of getting Linux as my next OS, as I hate Windows with a passion and I don't want Windows 11. I've avoided the idea of getting a new laptop for a while because (aside from the fact I'm on an Extreme budget) there are certain things I don't like about new laptops. First and foremost, I use an ethernet cable, and new laptops don't seem to have the socket anymore. I also want a CD drive. And I just generally don't like all the bells and whistles AI smart crap that new tech seems to be loaded up with now. Basically, I'm a luddite, and I just want a basic machine that allows me to do what I need to do as simply as possible.

So that said, I'm sitting here looking at refurbished laptops, with the thought of running it with Linux Mint (because it looks the easiest - correct me if I'm wrong!). But I have No Idea what I'm looking at. I understand I need at least 4GB, but beyond that I don't know what I need. I currently use my laptop for managing my small Folsky shop, organising stock photos, for word processing and spreadsheets, and generally getting online. I don't do gaming or anything like that.

I'm seeing laptops with Mint and Ubuntu pre-installed - is that better than getting one with a different OS and installing Linux myself?

There are so many to choose from - can anyone recommend a specific brand or model? Also, there are a lot of sites selling refurbished laptops - can anyone recommend a trustworthy seller? I'm in the UK.

Any and all pointers appreciated!
 


Hello @Beachcomber Welcome to the linux.org forum, enjoy!

I have had good luck with refurbished Lenovo Thinkpads. T series. This one is a T-450 works great with linux.
 
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Hallo, @Beachcomber .....and welcome to Linux.org.

I'm curious. What makes you think your machine is "on its last legs"?

Almost certainly, the reason for you thinking this is Windows itself, since Windows imposes a very heavy resource-load on any machine......even brand-new, top-end equipment.

Electronics don't really "wear out", as such; they either work....or they don't. If, as you say, you're fed-up with Windows, and would like to make the switch to Linux - which is an excellent choice, BTW - Linux generally is considerably less demanding of even average hardware. Yes, there ARE "heavyweight" distros for those with more capable hardware, and who want all the bells'n'whistles, but there's a huge range of distros, many of which are tailored for less impressive hardware....all the way down to featherweight distros which will happily run on even 25-yr old machines without issues.

However; if you need to keep Windows around - for whatever reason - I can understand you wishing to invest in a second machine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Personally, I'm a die-hard Dell afficionado. I'm also quite happy with HP as well; both of these are well-known for being "Linux-friendly". My desktop rig is a 5-yr old HP Pavilion.....my other machine is a 13-yr old business-class Dell Latitude laptop. Both run my preferred distro - "Puppy" Linux, designed to keep even ancient hardware alive, productive and useful - beautifully, without any fanfare or problems.

@kc1di 's suggestion of the Thinkpads is also an excellent one.

It's a good time to obtain a second-hand machine for Linux. ATM, the markets are absolutely awash with second-hand and/or refurbished ex-business machines, many of which will do exactly what you want.....due to many folks having to buy "better" hardware to cope with Windows 11's additional hardware demands. There's plenty to choose from out there.

What sort of things do you tend to do with your computer? Browsing, I assume.....emails? Office stuff? Games?

If you can give us some info, it'll let us make suggestions that will work well for you, and should make the "transition" as painless as possible. We have members here from from all walks of life, many of whom are very knowledgeable about not just Linux itself, but also the hardware you wish to run it on. So.....

.....over to you.


Mike. ;)
 
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@Beachcomber I don't think there are a lot of options for your needs out there. I'm using a Canvas Laptab with 2GB Ram and an Intel atom for OS testing and stuff like that. Works great if you run Linux. Although it's 2 GB might be useful. If you're looking for a PC or SBC the Pi 5 might be useful.

Srivatsan : )
 
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Beachcomber said:
My old HP Pavilion 2015 (Windows 10) laptop is on its last legs,
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what makes you say that, many of us run much older kit than that
Beachcomber said:
I've been thinking of getting Linux as my next OS,
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why do you think you need another machine to change to Linux if you no longer want windows
Beachcomber said:
I also want a CD drive.
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90% of laptops made in the last 5 to 7 years do not have Optical drivers, you could always buy a stand alone USB Optical unit
Beachcomber said:
Any and all pointers appreciated!
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How Do I Install Linux (A General Guide) • Linux Tips
Beachcomber said:
I'm seeing laptops with Mint and Ubuntu pre-installed - is that better than getting one with a different OS and installing Linux myself?
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it may save you from doing it yourself but severely restricts your choices , my HP desktop is the same vintage as your lappy, my new Lappy is a bit younger, both run Mint LMDE 6 , Parrot , Linux, daily they can also run on test drives, peppermint,Debian stable, Mint22, Ubuntu, and Linux-Lite to name a few,
Beachcomber said:
Also, there are a lot of sites selling refurbished laptops - can anyone recommend a trustworthy seller? I'm in the UK.
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most of them are reliable [well the ones I have dealt with have been] but prices do vary a lot this is my latest purchase

Oh and welcome to the forums from East anglia/east midlands [depending on which main tv station you watch
 
@Beachcomber :-

.....and to follow up on @Brickwizard 's link, here's MY recently-purchased Dell Latitude:-


(We're both in the UK, BTW; Brickwizard somewhere down in the West Country, myself on the Norfolk/Lincolnshire border. We should be able to help find you summat halfway decent for your money.........though as m'colleague says, if you've had it with Windows, you might just as well install Linux on your existing machine.

If you can follow simple instructions, Linux is pretty much idiot-proof these days; an awful lot of work has gone into making it as easy-to-use as possible, with plenty of GUIs, tooltips, etc. You don't even need to go anywhere near that scary thing called the terminal if ya don't want to..! :p )


Mike. ;)
 
Hi all, and thanks for the replies. I'll go through the links you've provided this evening. My laptop has a broken fan, and now every time I turn it on I get a black screen with a warning message that the machine could behave erratically or shut down at any time (or words to that effect). It shut down this morning, and when I put it back on it wouldn't start because it said I didn't have an operating system installed (no idea why it would say that!). But it started when I put it off and on again. I'm just worried that it'll break suddenly and I won't be able to get online and keep an eye on my shop. I don't use a smartphone, so this is my only internet access.

As I mentioned above, I mainly use the laptop for my shop and photos, office stuff (word processing and spreadsheets), email, and general browsing. No gaming, and extremely limited social media (reluctant Instagram user to try and drive traffic to my shop). If I could repair and use Linux on this machine, so much the better. Unfortunately I'm the least technical person there is, and I wouldn't want to be too long without it if I put it to a repair shop (if I could find a repair shop).

I'm in the north of Scotland btw :)
 
Beachcomber said:
Hi all, and thanks for the replies. I'll go through the links you've provided this evening. My laptop has a broken fan, and now every time I turn it on I get a black screen with a warning message that the machine could behave erratically or shut down at any time (or words to that effect). It shut down this morning, and when I put it back on it wouldn't start because it said I didn't have an operating system installed (no idea why it would say that!). But it started when I put it off and on again. I'm just worried that it'll break suddenly and I won't be able to get online and keep an eye on my shop. I don't use a smartphone, so this is my only internet access.

As I mentioned above, I mainly use the laptop for my shop and photos, office stuff (word processing and spreadsheets), email, and general browsing. No gaming, and extremely limited social media (reluctant Instagram user to try and drive traffic to my shop). If I could repair and use Linux on this machine, so much the better. Unfortunately I'm the least technical person there is, and I wouldn't want to be too long without it if I put it to a repair shop (if I could find a repair shop).

I'm in the north of Scotland btw :)
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You could try backing up your files and a new installation of your Operating System and fixing your hardware a little bit. Should fix the problem for now but it will stop working eventually. I suggest going to a repair shop if you have many problems with both hardware and software.
 
Brickwizard said:
I WISH

I am Beds/Cambs borders
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Ha! Sorry, mate; my bad. I guess it was all that talk about Stonehenge last year that gave me the idea you lived down that neck of the woods...

Me, I'd love to live up in the Lake District; having visited a few times when I was a nipper, I kinda fell in love with the area. But it's NOT nice in the wintertime, and without permanent 4-wheel drive, you're a bit stuffed for getting around, from what I understand.

Still, we can dream....

Right; back "on-topic"..!


Mike. :D
 
@Beachcomber :-

Mm. North of Scotland, huh? A wee bit remote, yes indeedy....

Broken fan notwithstanding - probably just wants a replacement; cheap enough, and an easy "fix" - it's never a good sign when Windows starts giving those kinds of messages. My guess is it's getting on for re-install time.....though, it's also possible Windows IS detecting high CPU temps. I wouldn't know; I haven't used the "Curse of Redmond" for a very long time (a decade or more, at least). I quit when XP went EOL, so missed out on 7, 8, 8.1, 10 AND 11. A good "miss" in my estimation..!

I managed to snag MY Dell Latitude for around £55; did a bit of haggling with the vendor on eBay, and we settled on that as a price we were both happy with. Despite being a few years older than the HP desktop, it's higher-specc'd, so is equivalent in performance to the younger machine.

What sort of budget are you looking at working within for a replacement computer?

There's no end of real bargains to be had out there right now, if ya know where to look. And if you DO end up replacing your 'puter, Linux will give your "new" purchase a very much easier life, THAT I can guarantee.

We'll do what we can to help!


Mike. ;)
 
I am partial to second hand bussiness laptops , like Dell Latitudes or Lenovo Thinkpads, HP Elitebooks. But it has been a few years since I have seen one with cd/dvd rom. The last one I remember is the Latitude E6x40 (x the number of the screen size). An USB DVD wouldn't be ok?
 
Here are a couple both I3 twin core 4 treads from 2013 and 2016

2013

2016
 
Thanks for the links, it's reassuring that people who know their onions are happy to recommend machines in that price range! I don't suppose you've come across any half-decent HP Pavilions for that kind of money? The ones I'm seeing are mostly over the £200 mark. I used to use a Dell laptop for work, and if I'm honest I wasn't keen on how sensitive the mouse pad was. I know it's just because I was going between that one and my own laptop and I'd probably get used to it, but it used to drive me crazy! I suppose my budget is around £100 max, but less than that would be nice.

I really appreciate all your help. It's quite rare on the internet these days to find people with the patience to help a newbie!
 
And you're right, it sounds as though I could probably live without the CD/DVD drive.
 
Beachcomber said:
It's quite rare on the internet these days to find people with the patience to help a newbie!
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its what most of us do
Beachcomber said:
any half-decent HP Pavilions
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that depends on spec, a 2015 15 inch with the AMD A*-7410 quad core in good refurb condition are usualy around £90-£120 this one is currently on the market under £110 or for around £130 there is a 2016 14 inch with the I3 twin core 4 thread CPU

there are not so many HP's on the market due to the lesser number sold in the first place.

​

 
Beachcomber said:
If I could repair and use Linux on this machine, so much the better.
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What you like with a screwdriver? Re-used replacement fan for pavilion laptops range from a very cheap £8 to a rather heady £160 depending on model

depending on your skill level and the model, I suggest it would take you between 10 minutes and 45 minutes
 
I've tried to find the right fan for it, but I can't find one that matches... well, any of this information (sorry again, I'm a total tech-dunce). Under model it just says HP Pavilion notebook. I've tried searching for that, and using the version info (10.0.19045), and the DK5T5N0, and the x64 thing, and I'm just getting a load of different fans. I don't know which is the right one!

1732308603627.png
 
So is this a bright red one purchased from Curry/PC world? Then you're in luck

they are cheap
 
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