Given an X60s Win 7 or Mint?

[Pete B]

I was given and X60 and was thinking of just using it in the shop for music or to
watch the news. L2400 1.66 GHz, XGA display, 2GB RAM.

Should I load Win 7 32 or Mint? Opinions?

[Cigarguy]

Try both. Keep the one you like. Mint is free and install in minutes, try it for yourself and find out for yourself.

[Pete B]

Sounds good, did another search and found Zorin, will try that first.

Got a fan error on the X60s, very noisy also.

[Thinkpad4by3]

Windows XP Black Edition.

[Pete B]

No thanks!

[Shredder11]

Windows XP Black Edition.

I thought about trying this edition before. Is it a very lean version of XP or is it just a well tuned one?

[Thinkpad4by3]

Tuned. It is just as heavy as SP3(not sayin SP3 is a very bloated OS which is isnt)

[axur-delmeria]

Sounds good, did another search and found Zorin, will try that first.

Got a fan error on the X60s, very noisy also.

Clean and lubricate the fan. Sometimes it fixes the fan error.

[Pete B]

I'll try that.

Looking at these light Linux distros:
https://fossbytes.com/best-lightweight-linux-distros/

Never run Linux before, might just go with Mint - Mate.

Also wondering about this Audiophile Linux:
https://www.ap-linux.com/news/ap-linux-v4-available/

[Pete B]

So many options:

I think that I'll burn live CDs for both of these:

======== Linux Lite:
"Overall, Linux Lite manages to do something that other popular Linux distributions struggle matching. Even after maintaining a lightweight stature, Linux Lite comes with all major tools and delivers an uncompromised performance. It’s also one of my personal favorite Linux distros."


======== LXLE:
"Just like Lubuntu, LXLE comes with an excellent set of default applications for fulfilling your daily needs. It comes pre-installed with full-featured apps like LibreOffice, GIMP, Audacity, etc. It’s also a great option to ditch old and insecure Windows XP and adopt a modern looking intuitive desktop. Just like the most of the entries on this list of the best lightweight Linux distros, LXLE doesn’t pose many challenges to a beginner. LXLE also comes with an app called uCareSystem, which can be used to update all the packages, install updates, get rid of older Linux kernels, and other important tasks.

Overall, LXLE is a pleasant and lightweight operating system that’s bound to impress. Even if you’re installing it on a powerful hardware, you’ll have little to complain."

[jaspen-meyer]

Got a fan error on the X60s, very noisy also.

If you go the Linux route, install 'libreboot' on the machine -- then you won't get the ran error any more. You can even run it with the fan disconnected.

You want a distribution build on top of Debian. This gives you access to the largest pool of support resources as the most popular distributions are all based on Debian, Mint, Linux Lite, LXLE, Ubuntu and Zorin all included.

After you pick a distro and want to try another - consider just installing another desktop enviorment or another 'windows manager'. You can install many onto any given distribution and (usually) pick which you want to use from your login screen. For my x60s I use either XFCE or i3.

If you go straight to the source, by installing Debian, you'll need to do a little leg work to get the wifi working -- Debian doesn't endourse intel's blobs. You'll follow these instructions, see https://wiki.debian.org/iwlwifi

You can browse distros here:
https://distrowatch.com/