I have a Toshiba 775 laptop which came originally with Windows 7 installed
but has been upgraded to Windows 10. It has been running very slow for
sometime taking ages to open apps and there seems constant HD activity
which I think is the real problem having tried all the usual attempts to
improve running. We have replaced it with a Dell G5 running Windows 11
having taken off everything of use off the old Toshiba I am looking at
trying to revive it for use in a computer control situation.

The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10. Incidentally the Windows
10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with a
backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11
Installation which I had considered.

Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 - 2410M
2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!

So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
best way to do the installation?

I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.

Richard

Tricky Dicky <tricky.dicky@sky.com> wrote:
> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10. Incidentally the Windows
> 10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with a
> backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
> we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11
> Installation which I had considered.

Go here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-installation-media-for-windows-99a58364-8c02-206f-aa6f-40c3b507420d

Create a fresh installer USB stick with Windows 10.

(there are guides on how to hack the Windows 11 installer to run on
'unsupported' machines if you want that, and generally it works fine.
Whether you do want it is up to you)

Plug the USB into the machine once you've fitted the SSD.
Tell BIOS to boot from it (may happen automatically) - depends on the laptop
but try pressing F2, F6, F10, F12, Delete on powerup to get a boot menu.
Follow the prompts to install Windows.

That's it really.

> Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 - 2410M
> 2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
> the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
> comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
> Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!

Not sure what happened there

> So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
> issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
> best way to do the installation?

If the machine already has a Windows licence, a reinstall on the same should
re-authorise after it's chatted to Microsoft. You might use a tool to show
the Windows product key and write it down, in case the new install asks for
it. The link above has details.

> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.

That machine would likely work fine with Linux. Just sayin'. :-)

Theo

On 19/07/2023 in message <u98f1u$24011$1@dont-email.me> Tricky Dicky wrote:

>So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
>issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
>best way to do the installation?

There shouldn't be issues as the key will be logged at MSFT next to the
identifier of the laptop, from my experience changing/adding hard drives
doesn't cause an issue. Download an up to date iso from MSFT using the
media creation tool in the hope it won't require so many updates.

--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil but by those who
watch them without doing anything. (Albert Einstein)

>
> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.
>
It's happened! :-)

--
Chris Green
·

Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
> Tricky Dicky <tricky.dicky@sky.com> wrote:
>> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
>> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10. Incidentally the Windows
>> 10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with a
>> backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
>> we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11
>> Installation which I had considered.
>
> Go here:
> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-installation-media-for-windows-99a58364-8c02-206f-aa6f-40c3b507420d
>
> Create a fresh installer USB stick with Windows 10.
>
> (there are guides on how to hack the Windows 11 installer to run on
> 'unsupported' machines if you want that, and generally it works fine.
> Whether you do want it is up to you)
>
> Plug the USB into the machine once you've fitted the SSD.
> Tell BIOS to boot from it (may happen automatically) - depends on the laptop
> but try pressing F2, F6, F10, F12, Delete on powerup to get a boot menu.
> Follow the prompts to install Windows.
>
> That's it really.
>
>> Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 - 2410M
>> 2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
>> the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
>> comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
>> Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!
>
> Not sure what happened there
>
>> So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
>> issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
>> best way to do the installation?
>
> If the machine already has a Windows licence, a reinstall on the same should
> re-authorise after it's chatted to Microsoft. You might use a tool to show
> the Windows product key and write it down, in case the new install asks for
> it. The link above has details.
>
>> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.
>
> That machine would likely work fine with Linux. Just sayin'. :-)
>
> Theo
>

Not looked at that link yet but will it be a problem that it is an OEM
version and I was under the impression was that MS was not really
interested in supporting such installations and referring users back to the
original supplier?

Richard

Tricky Dicky <tricky.dicky@sky.com> wrote:
> Not looked at that link yet but will it be a problem that it is an OEM
> version and I was under the impression was that MS was not really
> interested in supporting such installations and referring users back to the
> original supplier?

No, it doesn't matter these days. Microsoft basically doesn't care about
charging end users for Windows any more, they're only really bothered about
charging OEMs to preinstall it. So it's possible to install it on anything.
You can skip the licence entry step. It may bleat about lack of a licence
but will work fine. If needs be you can type in your key - even a Win7 key
works.

An OEM install is even easier as the key is burnt into the BIOS so you don't
need to type it in. (not sure if your laptop generation is new enough for
that). But since the machine is already running Windows Microsoft should
already know about it and activate it automatically.

Theo

On 19/07/2023 11:48, Tricky Dicky wrote:
> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.

Your loss.

--
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such
time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic
and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally
important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for
the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the
truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

Joseph Goebbels

Tricky Dicky wrote:

> The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11 Installation

you can install win 11 with "Rufus" on that laptop which will work
fine or download and use "Tiny windows" 10 or 11

--

On 19/07/2023 12:43, Tricky Dicky wrote:
> Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>> Tricky Dicky <tricky.dicky@sky.com> wrote:
>>> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
>>> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10. Incidentally the Windows
>>> 10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with a
>>> backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
>>> we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11
>>> Installation which I had considered.
>>
>> Go here:
>> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-installation-media-for-windows-99a58364-8c02-206f-aa6f-40c3b507420d
>>
>> Create a fresh installer USB stick with Windows 10.
>>
>> (there are guides on how to hack the Windows 11 installer to run on
>> 'unsupported' machines if you want that, and generally it works fine.
>> Whether you do want it is up to you)
>>
>> Plug the USB into the machine once you've fitted the SSD.
>> Tell BIOS to boot from it (may happen automatically) - depends on the laptop
>> but try pressing F2, F6, F10, F12, Delete on powerup to get a boot menu.
>> Follow the prompts to install Windows.
>>
>> That's it really.
>>
>>> Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 - 2410M
>>> 2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
>>> the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
>>> comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
>>> Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!
>>
>> Not sure what happened there
>>
>>> So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
>>> issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
>>> best way to do the installation?
>>
>> If the machine already has a Windows licence, a reinstall on the same should
>> re-authorise after it's chatted to Microsoft. You might use a tool to show
>> the Windows product key and write it down, in case the new install asks for
>> it. The link above has details.
>>
>>> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.
>>
>> That machine would likely work fine with Linux. Just sayin'. :-)
>>
>> Theo
>>
>
> Not looked at that link yet but will it be a problem that it is an OEM
> version and I was under the impression was that MS was not really
> interested in supporting such installations and referring users back to the
> original supplier?
>
> Richard
>

I had no problem upgrading the 2014 HP AIO PC that I bought in a charity
shop. It originally had Win8 and had been upgraded to Win 10 in
2020. I replaced the 1 Gigabyte HD with a smaller SSD and a fresh
install using the media creation tool. I didn't even need to tell
it to use the SSD, it just got on with it.

On Wednesday, 19 July 2023 at 11:48:35 UTC+1, Tricky Dicky wrote:
> I have a Toshiba 775 laptop which came originally with Windows 7 installed
> but has been upgraded to Windows 10. It has been running very slow for
> sometime taking ages to open apps and there seems constant HD activity
> which I think is the real problem having tried all the usual attempts to
> improve running. We have replaced it with a Dell G5 running Windows 11
> having taken off everything of use off the old Toshiba I am looking at
> trying to revive it for use in a computer control situation.
>
> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10. Incidentally the Windows
> 10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with a
> backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
> we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11
> Installation which I had considered.
>
> Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 - 2410M
> 2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
> the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
> comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
> Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!
>
> So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
> issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
> best way to do the installation?
>
> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.
>
> Richard

I am also tasked with getting an old xp laptop going. Fast cpu but single core. A miserable 192M ram. It's going, but slow as a snail. According to win there's no 3rd party apps to uninstall. What can I do to sort it? And what flavour of linux is good for that? I'll keep xp if it works ok, but it's far too slow now.

On 19/07/2023 11:48, Tricky Dicky wrote:
> I have a Toshiba 775 laptop which came originally with Windows 7 installed
> but has been upgraded to Windows 10. It has been running very slow for
> sometime taking ages to open apps and there seems constant HD activity
> which I think is the real problem having tried all the usual attempts to
> improve running. We have replaced it with a Dell G5 running Windows 11
> having taken off everything of use off the old Toshiba I am looking at
> trying to revive it for use in a computer control situation.
>
> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10.

Look for an SSD with cloning software, then you can just clone the disk.
You will need a USB adaptor for the USB.

> Incidentally the Windows
> 10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with a
> backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
> we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11
> Installation which I had considered.
>

usually the key for W10 is saved on the Microsoft web site

> Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 - 2410M
> 2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
> the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
> comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
> Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!
>

Are you sure you are not checking the W11 list. I think every I5 is W10
compatible.

> So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
> issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
> best way to do the installation?
>

No, and if you have the Windows/7 key it will work with W10 from the MS
web site.

> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.
>
> Richard
>
>
Dave

Animal <tabbypurr@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am also tasked with getting an old xp laptop going. Fast cpu but single
> core. A miserable 192M ram. It's going, but slow as a snail. According
> to win there's no 3rd party apps to uninstall. What can I do to sort it?
> And what flavour of linux is good for that? I'll keep xp if it works ok,
> but it's far too slow now.

I used to have one of those - Compaq N200 ultra-lightweight with 192MB of
soldered RAM. Windows 2000 was better than XP, but even that struggled. (I
think it may have originally come with WinME but the less said about
that...)

Putting Linux on that today, RAM is going to be a problem, but also the 32
bit Pentium 3 CPU. No mainstream Linux is going to run - you may get a
basic Debian running but would need to pick your desktop environment very
carefully.

https://itsfoss.com/lightweight-linux-beginners/
has some suggestions, although most are beyond your RAM budget.

Putting an SSD in it (via a SATA to IDE adapter if necessary) will help a
great deal.

I'm not sure what you can do with it today - modern web browsing is going to
be beyond it. Unless you have some very limited app to use it for, probably
best case is to use it for remote desktop to another machine with more RAM.

Theo
(who got back in the day got Netscape running in X+Linux on a 386 with
floppies and 4MB RAM...)

On 19/07/2023 11:48, Tricky Dicky wrote:
> I have a Toshiba 775 laptop which came originally with Windows 7 installed
> but has been upgraded to Windows 10. It has been running very slow for
> sometime taking ages to open apps and there seems constant HD activity
> which I think is the real problem having tried all the usual attempts to
> improve running. We have replaced it with a Dell G5 running Windows 11
> having taken off everything of use off the old Toshiba I am looking at
> trying to revive it for use in a computer control situation.
>
> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of

Yup, this...

SSD is the single biggest and easiest upgrade for a system of this vintage.

> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10.

I would not both. Just clone the existing disk to the SSD and the
replace the spinning rust with the SSD clone.

> Incidentally the Windows
> 10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with a
> backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
> we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11
> Installation which I had considered.

You can download win 10 from MS these days - the "media creation tool".
It can either make a DVD boot disk, or a bootable USB thumb drive. It
can also do an in place upgrade on an older system running win 7 or 8.

> Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 - 2410M
> 2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
> the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
> comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
> Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!

It will still work. 8 GB or ram would be nice, but 6GB is workable if
not running too many applications at once.

> So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
> issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
> best way to do the installation?

Licensing is easy - once win 10 has been run on the platform it will be
activated with a digital license. You will then always be able to put it
back on the same machine without any hassle. If doing a clean install,
just skip typing in a serial number at install time - just make sure to
choose the right version to install (so install pro if you have a pro
license, and home if you have home etc).

> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.

Win10 has windows subsystem for Linux... Although that probably needs a
CPU that can enable virtualisation - so that might preclude a 2nd gen i5.

--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

On 19/07/2023 23:25, Theo wrote:
> Animal <tabbypurr@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I am also tasked with getting an old xp laptop going. Fast cpu but single
>> core. A miserable 192M ram. It's going, but slow as a snail. According
>> to win there's no 3rd party apps to uninstall. What can I do to sort it?
>> And what flavour of linux is good for that? I'll keep xp if it works ok,
>> but it's far too slow now.
>
> I used to have one of those - Compaq N200 ultra-lightweight with 192MB of
> soldered RAM. Windows 2000 was better than XP, but even that struggled. (I
> think it may have originally come with WinME but the less said about
> that...)
>
> Putting Linux on that today, RAM is going to be a problem, but also the 32
> bit Pentium 3 CPU. No mainstream Linux is going to run - you may get a
> basic Debian running but would need to pick your desktop environment very
> carefully.
>
> https://itsfoss.com/lightweight-linux-beginners/
> has some suggestions, although most are beyond your RAM budget.
>
> Putting an SSD in it (via a SATA to IDE adapter if necessary) will help a
> great deal.
>
> I'm not sure what you can do with it today - modern web browsing is going to
> be beyond it. Unless you have some very limited app to use it for, probably
> best case is to use it for remote desktop to another machine with more RAM.
>
> Theo
> (who got back in the day got Netscape running in X+Linux on a 386 with
> floppies and 4MB RAM...)

Essentially to run a browser in a linux setup needs around 1GB RAM
minimum and 2GB for choice.

Machines with less that are not upgradeable are really beyond gainful
employment

I have run on 512M RAM but it was emergency use only

--
"Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They
always run out of other people's money. It's quite a characteristic of them"

Margaret Thatcher

No it should work. However, I have a windows 10 machine here and it is mega
slow on batteries, but reasonable on mains.
What you need is to clone the current system onto an ssd that will fit the
beast. Its done a lot as I had it done on my desktop, and although it states
Win 10 needs at least 8 gigs, it will work on less.
One thing though, since its not been used for a long time you will be
finding its downloading lots of new stuff and judging it might have to wait
for several days while bits get installed and updated using multiple re
starts and during this, particularly if its a rotating disc, it will be
almost unusable speed wise. That was why this here lenovo seemed so slow for
three days while it caught up. I think the very last 10 feature update is
probably now out and only security updates will be out till it expires in
2025. I like windows 7, and do still run it, but the problems start when
big pieces of software start not supporting it due to the compiler no longer
assembling code that can run on it.
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Tricky Dicky" <tricky.dicky@sky.com> wrote in message
news:u98f1u$24011$1@dont-email.me...
>I have a Toshiba 775 laptop which came originally with Windows 7 installed
> but has been upgraded to Windows 10. It has been running very slow for
> sometime taking ages to open apps and there seems constant HD activity
> which I think is the real problem having tried all the usual attempts to
> improve running. We have replaced it with a Dell G5 running Windows 11
> having taken off everything of use off the old Toshiba I am looking at
> trying to revive it for use in a computer control situation.
>
> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10. Incidentally the Windows
> 10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with
> a
> backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
> we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows
> 11
> Installation which I had considered.
>
> Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 -
> 2410M
> 2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
> the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
> comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
> Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!
>
> So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
> issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
> best way to do the installation?
>
> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to
> happen.
>
> Richard
>
>

On 7/19/2023 12:41 PM, Mark wrote:
> Tricky Dicky wrote:
>
>> The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11 Installation
>
> you can install win 11 with "Rufus" on that laptop which will work
> fine or download and use "Tiny windows" 10 or 11

But any time a version upgrade comes in, that copy of Windows will
fail to be able to upgrade. The OS will accept Patch Tuesday in that
state, but anything which "checks the OS version thoroughly" will
think something is wrong with it.

You can also install Windows 11 on a Windows 11 capable platform,
then move the disk drive over to the Windows 11 InCapable machine,
and the same thing happens. Windows 11 will adapt to the conditions
it finds, and shut off features which won't work. But as soon as
you try to upgrade the Version, it'll check for a TPM and not find one.

You can:

Install 21H2 with Rufus.
Then Repair Install 22H2 with a Rufus stick.
Do the same thing when 23H2 is released.
But if you expect the "Windows Update method" of 23H2 to install, it should not work.

Rufus works for W11 TPM bypass, but expect issues with "continuity".
Any time the Rufus installer is not used, and the Microsoft
installer for a Version is used, there will be a problem.

Paul

On 19/07/2023 11:48, Tricky Dicky wrote:
> I have a Toshiba 775 laptop which came originally with Windows 7 installed
> but has been upgraded to Windows 10. It has been running very slow for
> sometime taking ages to open apps and there seems constant HD activity
> which I think is the real problem having tried all the usual attempts to
> improve running. We have replaced it with a Dell G5 running Windows 11
> having taken off everything of use off the old Toshiba I am looking at
> trying to revive it for use in a computer control situation.
>
> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10.

<snip>

I did this on a couple of PCs recently and it was easy to clone the HDD
to an SSD plugged via an adaptor into a USB slot and then install the
cloned SSD.

I can't remember the software used, I uninstalled it afterwards, but
loads of stuff on the web about doing it. No need for any
reinstallation of anything, the PCs appear just the same with everything
just how it was only quicker.

--
Cheers
Clive

On 19/07/2023 11:48, Tricky Dicky wrote:
> I have a Toshiba 775 laptop which came originally with Windows 7 installed
> but has been upgraded to Windows 10. It has been running very slow for
> sometime taking ages to open apps and there seems constant HD activity
> which I think is the real problem having tried all the usual attempts to
> improve running. We have replaced it with a Dell G5 running Windows 11
> having taken off everything of use off the old Toshiba I am looking at
> trying to revive it for use in a computer control situation.
>
> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10. Incidentally the Windows
> 10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with a
> backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
> we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11
> Installation which I had considered.
>
> Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 - 2410M
> 2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
> the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
> comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
> Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!
>
> So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
> issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
> best way to do the installation?
>
> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.
>
>
Cloning your current hard drive to an SSD is one choice but that will
depend on your capability.
I would suggest the safer route is to download the Windows 10 media tool
to a usb drive
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10
Buy an SSD drive & swap it for the current hard drive.
Install Windows (which should self activate).
If things do go wrong (highly unlikely) you have your original hard
drive with a working Windows to fall back on.
You will probably find that Windows with a clean install will feel a lot
faster (once it has updated itself).

--
Regards
wasbit

Clive Arthur <clive@nowaytoday.co.uk> wrote:
> On 19/07/2023 11:48, Tricky Dicky wrote:
>> I have a Toshiba 775 laptop which came originally with Windows 7 installed
>> but has been upgraded to Windows 10. It has been running very slow for
>> sometime taking ages to open apps and there seems constant HD activity
>> which I think is the real problem having tried all the usual attempts to
>> improve running. We have replaced it with a Dell G5 running Windows 11
>> having taken off everything of use off the old Toshiba I am looking at
>> trying to revive it for use in a computer control situation.
>>
>> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
>> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10.
>
> <snip>
>
> I did this on a couple of PCs recently and it was easy to clone the HDD
> to an SSD plugged via an adaptor into a USB slot and then install the
> cloned SSD.
>
> I can't remember the software used, I uninstalled it afterwards, but
> loads of stuff on the web about doing it. No need for any
> reinstallation of anything, the PCs appear just the same with everything
> just how it was only quicker.
>

I have decided to go the clone route which seems the the most straight
forward and the only additional cost being. £7 cable. if it fails then I
still have the HDD to try alternative methods.

I have ordered a USB to SATA cable and a 1Tb drive which should be more
than adequate for my intentions. It will be £50 well spent if it revives
the laptop. Incidentally the current Windows 10 version is 22H2.

Richard

On Wed, 19 Jul 2023 13:51:21 -0700 (PDT)
Animal <tabbypurr@gmail.com> wrote:

> I am also tasked with getting an old xp laptop going. Fast cpu but
> single core. A miserable 192M ram. It's going, but slow as a snail.
> According to win there's no 3rd party apps to uninstall. What can I
> do to sort it? And what flavour of linux is good for that? I'll keep
> xp if it works ok, but it's far too slow now.

It is also, of course, unsafe to use on the Internet as it has been out
of support for, I think, nine years now.

I'd think it is slow because XP originally needed 256MB to work
comfortably, then after an update some years later it suddenly needed
at least 512MB.

All the old Debian Linux versions are downloadable, and one can be found
to run on this machine, but it would have the same out-of-support risks
as XP and won't run modern software. At best, you could make a
non-networked machine for teaching purposes, with spreadsheet, word
processing etc.

Sadly, something with 192MB of RAM is unlikely to even be able to
address the size of RAM needed for anything in current support and able
to use modern software.

--
Joe

Animal wrote:

> I am also tasked with getting an old xp laptop going. Fast cpu but
> single core. A miserable 192M ram. It's going, but slow as a snail.
> According to win there's no 3rd party apps to uninstall. What can I
> do to sort it? And what flavour of linux is good for that? I'll keep
> xp if it works ok, but it's far too slow now.

It would be OK with MS-DOS or FreeDOS on it, for anything else just
scrap it ...

On 20/07/2023 11:37, Joe wrote:
> Sadly, something with 192MB of RAM is unlikely to even be able to
> address the size of RAM needed for anything in current support and able
> to use modern software.

And that is the kicker. Unless it will take more RAM, its not worth keeping

--
“It is not the truth of Marxism that explains the willingness of
intellectuals to believe it, but the power that it confers on
intellectuals, in their attempts to control the world. And since...it is
futile to reason someone out of a thing that he was not reasoned into,
we can conclude that Marxism owes its remarkable power to survive every
criticism to the fact that it is not a truth-directed but a
power-directed system of thought.”
Sir Roger Scruton

On Wednesday, 19 July 2023 at 11:48:35 UTC+1, Tricky Dicky wrote:
> I have a Toshiba 775 laptop which came originally with Windows 7 installed
> but has been upgraded to Windows 10. It has been running very slow for
> sometime taking ages to open apps and there seems constant HD activity
> which I think is the real problem having tried all the usual attempts to
> improve running. We have replaced it with a Dell G5 running Windows 11
> having taken off everything of use off the old Toshiba I am looking at
> trying to revive it for use in a computer control situation.
>
> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10. Incidentally the Windows
> 10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with a
> backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
> we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11
> Installation which I had considered.
>
> Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 - 2410M
> 2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
> the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
> comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
> Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!
>
> So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
> issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
> best way to do the installation?
>
> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.
>
> Richard

We have a Windows 10 desktop that was running very slow. Took it into our local experts who told me that MS had changed W10 so it ran slowly with a traditional hard disk. Their swap for a solid state disk has made all the difference on a 8-10 year old machine. It now runs fast. We basically use Office and e-mail, so it's not under a lot of pressure.

Jonathan

Am 20/07/2023 um 13:59 schrieb Jonathan:
> On Wednesday, 19 July 2023 at 11:48:35 UTC+1, Tricky Dicky wrote:
>> I have a Toshiba 775 laptop which came originally with Windows 7 installed
>> but has been upgraded to Windows 10. It has been running very slow for
>> sometime taking ages to open apps and there seems constant HD activity
>> which I think is the real problem having tried all the usual attempts to
>> improve running. We have replaced it with a Dell G5 running Windows 11
>> having taken off everything of use off the old Toshiba I am looking at
>> trying to revive it for use in a computer control situation.
>>
>> The question is how? My first thought is to replace the HD with a SSD. Of
>> course this means how do I reinstall Windows 10. Incidentally the Windows
>> 10 installation was an OEM upgrade and I think I have a memory stick with a
>> backup of the download. The last time I ever installed an OS from scratch
>> we were still using floppy disks. The PC is not compatible for a Windows 11
>> Installation which I had considered.
>>
>> Looking into the issue of reviving the Toshiba which has an Core i5 - 2410M
>> 2.3Ghz processor and 6GB RAM which when I did the upgrade fell well in to
>> the specifications for Windows 10. Since then I have come across a more
>> comprehensive list of compatible processors and mine is not listed.
>> Bizarrely it is not even listed as Windows 7 compatible!
>>
>> So the question is am I wasting my time? Is there going to be licensing
>> issues installing the OEM version on another HD? What is going to be the
>> best way to do the installation?
>>
>> I know we have a lot of Linux fans on here but that is not going to happen.
>>
>> Richard
>
> We have a Windows 10 desktop that was running very slow. Took it into our local experts who told me that MS had changed W10 so it ran slowly with a traditional hard disk. Their swap for a solid state disk has made all the difference on a 8-10 year old machine. It now runs fast. We basically use Office and e-mail, so it's not under a lot of pressure.
>
> Jonathan

Just load one of these live Linux distros and do a stress test on the
laptop. It will tell you where the problem is. I had an old Thinkpad
whose BIOS based troubleshooting tool didn't pick up any faults, but
stress testing it, it turned out it had a faulty RAM slot.

I used to use SystemRescueCD back in my day, but it looks a bit dead
now. Still useful, though.

https://www.system-rescue.org/System-tools/

--
Ottavio Caruso

On Wednesday, 19 July 2023 at 23:25:44 UTC+1, Theo wrote:
> Animal <tabb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I am also tasked with getting an old xp laptop going. Fast cpu but single
> > core. A miserable 192M ram. It's going, but slow as a snail. According
> > to win there's no 3rd party apps to uninstall. What can I do to sort it?
> > And what flavour of linux is good for that? I'll keep xp if it works ok,
> > but it's far too slow now.
> I used to have one of those - Compaq N200 ultra-lightweight with 192MB of
> soldered RAM. Windows 2000 was better than XP, but even that struggled. (I
> think it may have originally come with WinME but the less said about
> that...)
>
> Putting Linux on that today, RAM is going to be a problem, but also the 32
> bit Pentium 3 CPU. No mainstream Linux is going to run - you may get a
> basic Debian running but would need to pick your desktop environment very
> carefully.
>
> https://itsfoss.com/lightweight-linux-beginners/
> has some suggestions, although most are beyond your RAM budget.
>
> Putting an SSD in it (via a SATA to IDE adapter if necessary) will help a
> great deal.
>
> I'm not sure what you can do with it today - modern web browsing is going to
> be beyond it. Unless you have some very limited app to use it for, probably
> best case is to use it for remote desktop to another machine with more RAM.
>
> Theo
> (who got back in the day got Netscape running in X+Linux on a 386 with
> floppies and 4MB RAM...)

There's no better qualification than that!
'Please insert swapfile disc' :)

The beast is P4 2.something GHz, no cpu problem there. RAM is the big one.
Years ago I put stuff like puppylinux antix etc on 128 RAM & 400MHz for people. But I'm completely out of that area of knowledge now. I guess I should pick one at random & try it. It won't connect to the net much.
I gather there are win specific hardware laptops, no clue if this is one of them. Would be bad to delete xp & find it won't work ok on linux. Q4os Slax & an old version of puppy look possible.