Thinkpads Forum

So I just bought a used 600E. It is either a 366 or 233 PII (listing was unclear, don't care as the price was rediculously low) and am trying to decide on the best config for this system. It needs to run either XP or Win2K, FireFox, Office 2003 and Symantec AV if I stick to Windows, or a fully graphical Linux that will support both the modem and network card if such a distro exists that will run on this slow hardware.

It has 128MB of RAM, which I may upgrade, and a 6GB drive that might be replaced by the 60GB 7200 RPM drive out of my T42p (which is getting a brand-new 80GB 7200RPM).

What are generally considered the best software loads for one of these? Will the 7200RPM drive boost the speed enough to run XP on this, or is 2000 still a better bet? Will Office 2003 be too sluggish? Should I go back to Office 2000?

I'll tell you this. I have 160MB of RAM on a TP 600e PII 366. I have the 4200 RPM 6GB HDD. I run Windows XP and Office 2003 as well as Firefox. It's a little slow to load initially, but it runs just fine.

I have run XP on a PII-233 plain jane TP600, and just by disabling some of the "window candy", ran fast and perfect. I like 2000, but for me it's a little slower than XP. My opinion.......
Ron

asiafish,

I run WinXp on my 600Es for testing purposes before selling them. I have NEVER had a problem...it works great!!! The only thing to note, is that if you are going to use XP you should upgrade to 256MB or more. Even though XP requires 64MB and recommends 128MB....256MB should be their recommendation.

As far as linux goes, I have used Red Hat 9.0 and it worked great. There is a small fix with the audio though, which I have written somewhere and can find if you need it. I can even copy and send you my Red Hat 9.0 CDs if you'd like.

Good Luck and let us know once you receive it, so that we can find out if it is a definately a 366mhz...which I am 99% sure it is.

You can even fit 17-19mm HDD by removing the keyboard screws and modem card..