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Breathing New Life Into An Old Laptop. Give an Old Laptop New Life with Cheap (or Free) Projects Picture frame Wireless Bridge File Server Printer server Secondary monitor Making it fly again with lite weight Linux. My Goal.
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Give an Old Laptop New Life with Cheap (or Free) Projects Picture frame Wireless Bridge File Server Printer server Secondary monitor Making it fly again with lite weight Linux
My Goal Be able to use this computer for wireless internet access with reasonable speed and safety
My Laptop Specs Processor: Celeron 700 MHz Installed Memory: 64 MB (SDRAM) Hard Drive: 10 GB IDE MHz Motherboard Bus Speed: 100 MHz Memory Installed RAM: 64 MB RAM Technology: SDRAM Max Supported RAM: 192 MB Installed Cache Memory: 128 KB Hard Drive Hard Drive Capacity: 10 GB Storage Controller Type: IDE CD / DVD CD / DVD Type: CD-ROM Optical Drive Read Speed: 24x (CD) Other Drives Floppy Drive: 3.5" 1.44 MB floppy Display Color Support: 24-bit (16.7 million colors) Display Max. Resolution: 800 x 600 Video Installed Video Memory: 4 MB External Video Resolution: 1280 x 1024 Audio Output Type: Sound card PC Technical Features Input Method: Accupoint II · Keyboard Modem Modem Type: Fax / Modem Analog Modulation
What is Linux Linux is an alternative operating system Linux is available free of charge Linux is a generic term, there are many varieties of Linux Linux offers many light weight options Puppy (128MB) Damn Small Linux (DSL) 16MB - 64MB Linux has a reputation of being so difficult to use.
Why Puppy Linux? Puppy has a reputation of being easier to install than other small builds Puppy has many builds that work with older hardware Puppy's user forum is more friendly than the other forums. Puppy doesn't require any commitment Puppy doesn't touch change your existing operating system
Can boot from USB stick If the BIOS allows it
Can boot from diskette/USB stick Older PC's can boot from diskette with the majority of the operating system on the USB
Getting started Need to download an iso image Need CD burning software capable of burning an iso image many are available as free downloads. Need access to a computer with a CD burner
Memory 128Mb to bring me to 192Mb Online Memory Chat Instructions on the internet Cost $16.95 shipped
Wireless Card USB or PCMCIA 54Mbs WPA2 Compatible with Linux
PCMCIA AutoDetected by Puppy D-Link WNA 1330 Wireless G Notepbook Adapter Others Needed Windows drivers Netgear Wireless PC Card 32-bit WG511v2 Each cost 6.95 Shipped
Setting up was a breeze Answering a few questions about my display and mouse Installed the PCMCIA card Connected to the wireless router Setup the firewall
Setup Continued Installed a Browser from a list Fire Fox Google Chrome Opera Seamonkey Added PDF reader and editing tools Java Total time about 15 minutes
More Information Puppy Linux Website www.puppylinux.org LifeHacker Give an Old Laptop New Life with Cheap (or free) Projects http://lifehacker.com/359389/give-an-old-laptop-new-life-with-cheap-or-free-proje TechRadar 10 useful things to do with an old laptop http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/10-useful-things-to-do-with-an-old-laptop-908760