I’ve used Windows since 1991. I’m reasonably computer-savvy, installed W10 when my desktop PC’s SSD failed, that kind of thing.
Four years ago I bought an ex-business Dell Precision 5520 laptop (i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) and it has done me fine. I don’t do a lot – web browsing, email, WAV file editing in Audacity, plug in my USB audio interface*, watch the occasional get_iPlayer video when I’m away in Norfolk.
Anyhow, Windows 10 will go unsupported in October, my laptop can’t do Windows 11, the hardware still works fine, and I am a tightwad.
I’m thinking of installing Linux, but where do I start? There are so many options.
(*) sadly my lovely Arturia audio interface only supports Windows or Mac, so I’m going to have to move my little W11 desktop PC into the music room when I need to do vinyl ripping.
I can’t believe I’m reading Steve asking for tech advice! 😉
I need some hot sweet tea and a lie down!
I’m an engineer by trade and I take a pragmatic approach to IT. I don’t care about operating systems, CPU specs, memory, etc.
Does the calculator/word processor/audio editor work? If yes, then that’s good enough for me.
I also have an even older laptop, at least 10 years old. It had Windows 7 when I bought it, the HDD died, I installed a SSD and Windows 10. The battery is shot, but it still works fine connected to mains power. Why replace/upgrade it when it does everything I need? I still use it daily.
I currently have three old Macs – one in use, two spares – which run a long obsolete Mac operating system. The reason being I still use the vector-drawing software Macromedia Freehand, which on a Mac does not run on an OS later than 10.6.8. The reason for this is because I hate Adobe Illustrator. I have the latest Adobe software on a mac running the latest OS, and I can port any artwork from Freehand to Illustrator. Freehand remains the most intuitive, elegant, drawing package.
I like Ubuntu as a *nix flavour (at work. we used Apache which I did not like). Their online tutorial looks reasonably hassle free. The difficult part is getting the ISO image onto a USB: you need it to be a bootable disk so just copying the file won’t work.
Caveat: I haven’t done this in years so I can’t vouch for their recommended boot disk utility. But really, what could go wrong?
https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu-desktop#3-create-a-bootable-usb-stick
Just to avoid confusion for anyone reading this. Apache is a Web Server application and not and OS. Apache runs on just about any (or maybe all) Linux OSes. You can install it on Ubuntu and I suspect that the OS you were running Apache on at work was a stripped down version that was created just so you can use Apache which would doubtless have made all other tasks painful to carry out.
Yes. I’ve been retired for two years and it shows. I meant AIX. I know that Apache Web Server is not an OS, honest. Sorry for the confusion.
My Dell Precision 5520 (i7) actually lists Ubuntu on the supported OS on the product page. Just not Win11.
I’ve worked with Dell on their Linux programme – they have tried to make as many of their computers compatible with Ubuntu as possible. You can safely install it on the Precision 5520 in that case.
Be warned though; with Linux pretty much every OS update brings risk IF you have made any changes, done any tinkering to get something working. Let’s say that you read somewhere that to get (fictional) CabbageDrive working, you need to edit Sprout.txt and put ‘sdfty|bollox -u’ in there. Then an OS update makes ‘sdfty’ obsolete… and suddenly no more CabbageDrive.
I need a holiday.
It’s perfectly possible to rig your machine so that you can install and run Windows 11 even when the hardware does not meet the stringent insistence of the hardware spec that Microshaft have imposed (TPM 2.0 chip etc.).
There’s lots of instructions about how to do this available on YouTube – just read them carefully and get an idea of which ones are full of BS and which ones actually know what they are talking about. I’ve got a couple of Dell machines that have been ‘upgraded’ to Windows 11 this way, and all seems fine so far. There is a possibility of course that eventually Microshaft may try to shut this door by denying these machines future automatic Windows updates, but until that happens, I’m looking after the planet and my wallet and sidestepping the blockers.
Massive caveat that I’m sure I don’t need to say: BACKUP first.
There’s also the case where the system does actually have TPM 2.0, but it’s currently disabled in the BIOS settings, and so not visible to Windows.
Yep, good point – worth checking for that. Though I haven’t encountered that myself, it’s certainly a possibility.
I think that was the issue with my desktop machine.
I’ve used this method on two unsupported Windows 10 machines with no problems and no subsequent issues with Windows updates.
It does need a clean install, but tbh that’s no bad thing once in while anyway and I can’t believe you don’t have back ups.
Ooh, that looks like just the thing.
My Toshiba Satellite Pro (i3) doesn’t support TPM at all and the Dell Precision 5520 (i7) has TPM1.2 which can’t be upgraded.
There’s no harm in trying!
No harm indeed, though it might end up as a stopgap, if Microsoft move their goalposts later and leave you unable to get security updates or constantly nag you to upgrade your hardware.
Apart from my 2 Windows 11 mini-PCs, I currently have 3 old laptops gathering dust that can’t be upgraded. One’s stuck on Windows 10, one on Windows 7 and the oldest one still on Windows XP.
Yes, I think it would only be buying time. Laptops tend not to last.
TBH I was fairly surprised the rather basic-spec Tosh lappy would run Win 10 when I installed it five years ago. The bugger refuses to die, although the battery gave up years ago.
I just wanted to say, I have now done the above on two laptops and an old mini-desktop, and it worked a treat.
The mini desktop is at least 15 years old and required an extra 4GB of RAM (£10) to run W11.
The 5-y-o ex-business Dell laptop which I bought Offspring the Elder for university is happy and a major upgrade on my old Toshiba laptop (no TPM chip), which crashed with a BSOD after a few days, but I was able to reinstall Windows from the BIOS menu. It has installed a Toshiba-branded version of W11 and has been stable for a couple of months. I’m going to pass it onto my mum.
Offspring the Younger has passed down his old desktop to me, so I’m about to transfer the posh soundcard, BluRay and CD drive (IDE with a SATA bridge adaptor, brilliant for EAC rips) from my old desktop to my new hand-me-down one.
This is where people like me and Lodes get the popcorn and follow the thread religiously having not a clue what any of you are talking about.
How dare you! Why, just today I rebooted my ultra-carrier (2HB, I know – so yesterday) then with my inbuilt transgressor multi-channel crosswave I copied across a little programme which allows me access….
I’ve lost Junior, calling Junior
A couple of things:
I’ve got some 5 year old Lenovo laptops which upgraded easily but a newer desktop that needed some fettling in the settings. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the message I got when trying to upgrade but it was easy to find via Google, then no problem.
Second, I sold some ancient Think Pads running XP to a guy who runs Linux on them about 4 years ago so if you go down that route, I imagine yours should be absolutely fine.
I’ve installed Mint on several laptops in the past – was a pretty user friendly experience
https://www.linuxmint.com/
Seriously, that looks mighty mighty impressive!
Mint is ace – I’ve got an little old Asus Seashell EeePC that has a single core processor and a low spec screen, but runs for days on a full charge.
It was running XP when new, and just about coped, but any Windoze since then simply reduced – it — to ——- a ———- crawl. With Mint on board it’s fine again and handy to pop into an overnight bag for email/browsing/music (fat SD card in the side) etc. It has to use a 32 bit OS version, so Mint is the only Linux option that still lets you grab a 32 bit iso.
Thanks. If I can’t crowbar W11 onto it, Mint looks just the ticket.
There’s a free tool called Rufus that will generate a bootable USB stick from a disk image.
https://rufus.ie/en/
Once generated you need to find the relevant BIOS option to boot from an external USB drive. It varies between PC manufacturers – it’s usually accessed by pressing a certain key at boot such as F9. Alternatively, if the PC is currently running Windows, you can usually access the recovery menu by holding down shift when clicking restart, and that should give you the option somewhere to boot from an external boot device.
One other issue is that with some Linux variants you may need to disable Secure Boot in the system BIOS to be able to boot Linux at all.
More popcorn !
I’m pretty certain that everything JQW said is porn slang and should not be read by sensitive and vulnerable souls like me
Different, but in a similar vein, I’ve just installed Mac OS Sequoia onto an old 2015 iMac that was getting to the point where it wasn’t able to run the latest apps etc. and was not perhaps totally secure.
Pretty simple using Open Core Legacy Patcher and it seems to run well. Got a 2010 MacBook Pro to do next. OS on that really is out of date and next to useless.
About a year ago I bought a little mini PC to use as a Plex server, and I took Windows off that and installed Ubuntu instead, just following the instructions on their site. I found it pretty easy and straightforward, and I’ve only got a weedy Arts degree.
Microsoft are offering a free one-year subscription to the Extended Security Updates (ESU) to Windows 10, once mainline support expires in October. Essentially you simply need to be running Windows Backup to qualify. Alternatively, you can exchange 1,000 Microsoft Reward Points for the privilege, or pay a fee.
More info is within this blog post:
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2025/06/24/stay-secure-with-windows-11-copilot-pcs-and-windows-365-before-support-ends-for-windows-10/
Thanks. Worth a look.
Thus tying you into CoPilot, which is not doing very well for Microsoft currently, via Windows Backup.
One of many MS “advances” I choose to ignore… Bring back the paperclip!
Back in early November, I installed Linux Mint on an old Toshiba laptop. I had a minor problem altering the laptop’s BIOS to boot from the USB, but making the install was easy on a Mac using ‘Etcher’.
The other problem was some software unable to download from the default server, but changing to another fixed that.
Otherwise, very pleased. The install included Libre Office, and I’ve put some other graphics software on – Inkscape, Gimp and Blender – but am mainly using it as a second screen, that I can put reference photos and things on for work I’m doing.