Thinkpad T40, T42 + Vista = ?

[Medessec]

So, I plan to get a T40 or T42(probably T42) Thinkpad as soon as I finish getting a Zune HD and as soon as I have the money. My Question:

Does anyone have a T40 or T42 that runs Vista adequately?

And by adequately I mean:
-Boots in reasonable time
-Mayyyybe is capable of Aero
-Opens programs quickly(notepad in under a few seconds)
-Gets a WEI of at least 2.0(anything lower I just won't deal with)

This might be a bit much to ask, for a laptop of this era to run Vista.

I know some of you might recommend Windows 7, but, I'd like to see if it can run Vista first.

[ThinkPad560X]

I have had my ThinkPad T40 ever since it came out. I upgraded it to Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic in 2008. And its still runs really good, even with 512MB RAM installed. Never had a crash on it yet, Your only problem is I don't know if I need more RAM or not, but It walt let me enter Windows Movie maker. Graphics for the ThinkPad T40 - T43 are ATi Radeon 7500 to I think 9000 I own the 7500. The Max RAM for the ThinkPad T40 - T43 is DDR1 2GB witch 1GB would be good for it depending what your gona use it for. The only hardware thing that will not work is only the Access IBM Button. Witch I'm waiting for lenovo to make some updates for it. But overall Yes Windows Vista should work fine on it, it worked fine on mine for 2 years now. and It runs as fast as Windows XP did when I had it on it.

[Medessec]

Thanks! Although I do use Movie Maker quite a bit, that isn't a big issue. I do have a lot of old strips of laptop DDR1(from my old computer) so I'm sure that when I do get a Thinkpad T40(T42) I can fit it with the proper RAM and make sure I get the right one. Also I'll make sure the one I get has the latest ATI Radeon graphics hardware for these models.

[dr_st]

I know some of you might recommend Windows 7, but, I'd like to see if it can run Vista first.

Unless you happen to have a spare Vista license that you otherwise cannot use, I don't understand why you would want to do that. Everything Vista does, Win7 does, but better...

[Medessec]

Perhaps, but Windows 7 is a lot different in appearance and GUI. I've been using Windows for a long time, so I actually feel a bit more comfortable in Vista. 7 is a bit cooler though, I'm just faster in Vista because I know where everything is. I need to use 7 more...

But again I can see that if the T40 can run Vista, it can run most of the Windows Operating Systems. Which is great, because that means a T40 can stay fairly up to date.

[dr_st]

Certainly there are less differences between 7 and Vista than there were between Vista and XP. But there are some differences, no doubt.

[Medessec]

Yeah, XP and Vista are almost completely different for in the development of Longhorn they started from scratch instead of using Server 2003's kernel as planned. 7 and Vista are very different cosmetically, with better algorithms at the core to make everything faster.

But on topic, I pretty much have my answer, so thanks guys!

[sktn77a]

If you're using a T4x and want to maintain the performance potential of the notebook, I'd stick with XP. I tried Vista a couple of times on a T41 (2Gb RAM, 2 Ghz CPU) but couldn't tolerate the poorer performance. The T4x and XP were a performance "sweet spot".

[GomJabbar]

I have used Vista Ultimate on my T42: 2378-FVU, 1.7Ghz CPU, ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 w/64MB VRAM, 1GB RAM. It ran ok, but was a little sluggish. I find Windows 7 to be much snappier on the same T42. I would not install Vista instead of Windows 7 if I had to buy it.

[Medessec]

I think what i'll do is see if I can dual-boot Windows XP and 7 on the same T42, provided I had a big enough Hard Drive.

If not, I'll just use XP.