Other priorities? If you want thin: As the laptops get thinner, the ability to swap out the drive, and anything else, may get harder. The case may be "sealed." You have to remove (maybe pry off) the back of the case to access the insides of the laptop. No easy HD/SSD upgrade, RAM upgrade, or ability...

Problem is the original batteries are OLD. Lithium batteries age, even if you don't use them.
I simply ordered a new one off eBay, and that has been running fine.

But, now that Win7 is scheduled for EoL in Jan 2020.
Do we still continue to use Win7 on the T61, or bite the bullet and upgrade to Win10?
And will the latest ver of Win10 install, or are we in driver hell?

Maybe time to finally replace the T61.
But I HATE the chicklet keyboard of the new laptops.

I think a SSD is mandatory today, for decent start up, response, and especially the blasted updates. I just upgraded my wife's desktop from a spinning HD to a SSD and the difference is like a NEW computer. The HD start up was painfully slow, and updates would take a LONG time. Now the SSD startup is...

The one thing to understand is XP is no longer supported by MS. That means some/many of the software vendors have also dropped support for XP. So you will have to look for software that will install and run under XP. Or install older XP versions of the software. I had to go through this when I rebui...

Paul,
I think Win10 would be pushing the T61 a bit.
I am running Win7 on my T61.
The big problem is finding Win10 drivers for the T61. Because of that I did not upgrade the T61 to Win10.

73s
Gary
KH6JRB

Have not turned on a rig in years.
Distracted with other hobbies.

Yes I know you can go under the system requirements. But at what cost. Usually the performance suffers. You said you got Win7 to run on 256MB, then go for it. It can only get better with 512MB of RAM. I've long ago given up trying to shoehorn a later OS into an older/small computer. I used to do tha...

XP. I would not even think of Win7. Check system requirement for the the different OS. Win7 may not even run on the old CPUs. Your main limitation is the 512MB of RAM. The later OS gobble RAM and won't leave much/any for applications, so the OS would be constantly swapping to disk. This is the Win7 ...

OS/2 ??
That was a LONG time ago.
I did not know you could even find the SW any more.

oh oh
That could be another black hole for me to fall into.

+1 on the SSD. I got so frustrated with the Win10 startup time and even worse, the time it takes for the Windows UPDATE to run, that I am going to replace the HD on my wife's computer and my test computer with a SSD. As much as I do not like auto-update, I may have to switch to that. The computer is...

Whatever happened to the idea of a LIGHT Linux that will run on older computers?
Linux has changed paths with a higher hardware requirement.

At least there are a few light Linux.
I have "puppy Linux" on one of my old computers, to play with.

Yup. I've put inexpensive SSDs (mSATA via a mSATA to PATA adapter) into several old laptops that I could not bear giving up (T23 and Dell C400, maybe next a G40). I think the C400 did not like a particular mSATA to PATA adapter. Switched to a different brand/type adapter, and it worked. BUT, the old...

As I said, I do not remember the details of WHY you should install Win10 rather than clone from a HD to a SSD.
I think there was something in the Win10 install process that treated a SSD different than a HD. But I cannot tell you any more, as I did that research a long time ago.

SSD of moderate size are not that much more than a HD. BestBuy.com shows a 240GB SanDdisk SSD for $40, and a 480GB SSD for $65. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sandisk-240gb-internal-sata-solid-state-drive-plus/5394603.p?skuId=5394603 For my use, a 240GB SSD was more than enough space. I understood tha...

As I recall you really want to do a clean install on a SSD, not a clone.
Research if/how to create an install disk from the existing installation.

I use a PCMCIA/PC Card WiFi adapter in my T23. That way I am not using one of the 2 USB ports, and PC Card as stated is fast enough. And the PC Card WiFi adapters are pretty cheap now. The only con is that I have to remove the card when traveling, as it sticks out the side of the computer, just aski...

As I recall, you are limited to 4GB of RAM on the T60. To me, that will limit you to an OS that won't take a lot of memory. 4GB is usable for Win10, but I would not plan to multi-task with it. To me the major problem is to find drivers that work with Win10 for that old machine. I an running Win7 on ...

Thor
I'm confused, are you on a T60 or T61?
Cuz on a T61, I can run 8GB of RAM (2x4GB). I have two with 6GB running Win7-64bit. Before I got the 2nd T61, I had both 4GB modules in one T61 to max it at 8GB.

I have a G40 that I almost maxed out. - Changed the CPU from a Celeron to a Pentium. - Maxed out the RAM at 2GB. Specs say max 1GB, but 2GB works. - Put a 125GB HD. Next step would be a SSD, but XP does not support SSD, you need a SSD with firmware to do "garbage collection." I think this is the 'tr...

Swap comes into play when your OS and applications run out of physical memory. So if you have 4GB of RAM and have a bunch of stuff running at the same time, you could be using much more than 4GB of RAM. The system will "swap" RAM to/from the drive, virtual RAM. If you have a LOT of RAM, or more RAM ...

Like WD40, silicone oils is not always the appropriate solution for lubrication. You likely need penetration capability of a very light oil, but you also don't want it to become so slippery that it won't keep position. And you don't want to chemically attack the bushing inside the hinge, whatever it...

re: the Middleton BIOS The Middleton BIOS is needed if you want to get more performance out of your spinning HD. As I recall the T61 runs in SATA-1 mode. Implementing the Middleton BIOS allows the T61 to run in SATA-2 mode. So through-put to/from the HD is increased. Though you will notice this more...

I am running Win7 (64bit) on my T61. Max the RAM to 8GB, or at least to 6GB. I replaced the spinning HD with a SSD, which made it much snappier and easier on the battery life. (best with Middleton BIOS) If it does not have Blue Tooth, put in the BT module. The alternate is a USB BT rcvr which will t...

Hmm at one time I was wanting the Nvidia graphics, but maybe not now, after reading of the decrease in battery run time.

I have an issue on my older laptops with XP. Some software will NOT run on XP. So you then have 4 options. #1 - Look for an older version of that SW that will run on XP. #2 - Look for a similar SW that will run on XP. #3 - Use a newer OS, if you want to run that SW. #4 - Switch to Linux. But this is...

Agree I've put SSDs into several of my older laptops, to give them a bit more usable life. BUT, the OS and SW is what is ultimately killing these older machines. My T23 is stuck at Win-XP or a Lite Linux. Even web surfing is a PiA, since the computer can't handle the graphics on most of the web site...

I sometimes have that problem on my desktop.
1080p works fine most of the time, then other time it stutters and I have to drop down to 720p to stop the stuttering.
I presume it is either congestion on the internet or the YouTube server is being maxed out.

I upgraded the CPU in my G40 from Celeron to a Pentium and performance improved significantly. So IMHO, that is a worthwhile upgrade. Unfortunately, I think you are RAM capped at 2GB. For Windows, the obsolete Win XP is about as high as you can install. Or Linux. But even with Linux you may be limit...

How is the computer standing up over time?
Putting RAM modules and CPUs on a beadspread is just asking for trouble.
There is a reason the manufacturers specify static safe handing procedures.
These things are static sensitive, and damage is sometimes subtle.

No. The system won't even boot with one of these installed. Thanks! So, T60 limited to T7600 and 2 x 2gb... sad :( No different than older laptops which maxed out at 1GB of RAM. Effectively, those laptops could not be upgraded beyond Win-XP. I am getting ready to convert that laptop to Linux. Each ...