Enticing people with our demonstration Linux computers

Hello :slight_smile: Just wanted to share what we’re doing at our Repair Cafe. I have 3 computers with Mint Cinnamon installed by our waiting area. There are desktop shortcuts to Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice, and Zoom.

I made a short presentation that loops. It seems to catch people’s eyes and draw them over to the computers. It has slides like this:
"Computer too old for Windows 11
or MacOS?
Try Mint for free!

The end of Windows 10 support
could turn 240 million computers
into e-waste. [picture of e-waste landfill]

Old Computer? Talk to a volunteer, you may be able to
install Linux instead of Windows 11!
Fast & lightweight
Free and secure
Works great on old hardware!"

And then we chat with them and answer questions, encourage them to click around for fun.

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Hi, great initiative and setup, well done!

That said, just a heads-up: as discussed in other posts, Mint isn’t necessarily the best fork to use, as it’s somewhat of an unofficial or “offshoot” version of an open source project. It also has several limitations, both technical and in terms of long-term support and structure.

I’ll refer you to @Joyce_6512 for a more in-depth explanation. She already shared some useful insights on that.

In general, it’s better to use a base distro like Lubuntu, Wubuntu, or Xubuntu… Try Zorin too.
For lightweight or older hardware, Lubuntu is often the best fit actually and ultra lightweight is Bento (try it).

STOP GREENWASHING - STOP GREENWASHING - STOP GREENWASHING

“The end of Windows 10 support could turn 240 million computers into e-waste.”

Well, yes and no. Only a small fraction of those devices will actually be affected. This is one of the common misconceptions surrounding the Windows 10 EOL, a bit like the Y2K panic. It’s become the dominant narrative, but in reality, the situation is far more nuanced.

In truth, only a few, like tens of millions (which is still a lot) will be truly impacted. Because in most cases, if a machine can run Windows 10, it can run Windows 11 and without needing to tweak or “unlock” anything.

“Old computer? Talk to a volunteer, you may be able to install Linux instead of Windows 11!”

“Fast and lightweight” – That depends entirely on the PC. Its hardware, history, RAM, the hard drive… We’re not here to sell Linux, we’re here to give old computers a second chance where possible. And I say this as someone who’s pro-Linux. I use it for work and spend 80% of my active day on it. But for everyday use, I’m actually less convinced than some others. Unless you really don’t care much about the broader PC ecosystem, it’s not always the magic solution.

“Free and secure” – Yes, in the ideal world. It’s mostly free, but not entirely in every case. As for secure, yes, in principle, but… there are still important nuances to consider.

“Works great on old hardware!” – That’s a risky claim. Every system has its strengths and weaknesses. Take a look around the forum and you’ll see discussions where Linux performs just as poorly, if not worse than Windows 10 or 11 on identical machines. Even with so-called “lightweight” distributions.

From what I’ve seen and I’m in every single day, it all depends on the age and condition of the machine, the type of hard drive still in use, and how well the system has been maintained over time.

In conclusion, don’t make promises. Just present Linux as an option and see if it actually fits the user’s needs and expectations. Don’t push anyone to switch at all costs, otherwise, you’ll be doing exactly what you criticise others for doing.

However, I do agree with the way you’re presenting Linux as a viable and forward-looking alternative to Windows 11 one that can genuinely give many older PCs a second life.

Raising awareness and informing people is absolutely the right mission.
But suggesting, or worse, stating, that their Windows 10 PC is obsolete and won’t support Windows 11 but a cool Linux is the best solution? That’s where I disagree :slight_smile:

I failed getting a machine to work flawlessly with my best know how around Linux, once.
Computer : laptop Asus A4D. Veeeerrryyyy old, but looking as new. 2GB ddr ram max… HDD IDE.
Then a guy asks me for an old computer to install Windows XP, to play old games in it. Therefore I replaced the 4200rpm HDD with a 7200rpm 60GB large Hitashi (brand new), installed Windows XP SP3 (no activation needed), all its drivers, found at “toulesdrivers.com”, kmeleon web browser…
Happy was my client!

PS : some of my main criteria for the choice of OS are usability for large audiance, availability of the localisation, especially in French, which excludes Puppy Linux, and Toutou Linux has been discontinuued. And I like it better when it is easy for users to access a large choice of packages, so mosly all distributions using Debian repositories and package managers seem to be good picks to me.

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Hello, good points and I agree! It’s just presenting an option. The slideshow is just to get them to walk over to the computers and demo them. I appreciate the feedback because I’m a lifelong Windows user and just started Linux as a daily driver in March? 2025.

My thing with Linux is repurposing old hardware ~2009-2016. The demo computers are 2013-2016 Lenovo ThinkCentre All-in-Ones, e.g. M73z, M700z, with 8 GB RAM and SSD. My laptop is a 2011 Dell Inspiron with 4 GB RAM and SSD, and my tower I built in 2016 (both MX Linux Xfce now :slight_smile: ) I get donated computers from friends and then install Mint Cinnamon on them and give them away for free. I’ve given away 2 laptops after usage conversations (just web browsing) and training. I am just providing the computers, no tech support–unless they visit me at the Repair Cafe, so I don’t want to give it to someone if it’s not a good fit.

I mention to people they can pay Microsoft $30 USD to get an additional year of updates to Oct 2026. Or 5+ years with 0patch.com for $30 USD / year.

It might be a USA thing, Mint Cinnamon is quite popular and other volunteers were using it, so I did too. I started installing it on old computers and it ‘just worked’. I want something easy for users to use and get support and won’t go away.

sub Reddit members:
Linuxmint 130,000
Lubuntu 6,200
Wubuntu (https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-i-no-longer-recommend-this-windows-like-linux-distro/)
Xubuntu 6,000
Zorin 10,000
Bento
antiX 750
Bodhi 650

I am trying out some lightweight distros because all of the older donated laptops just have HDD (not SSD), and sometimes only 4 GB RAM. I reference this post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/TechQA/comments/1gqbhy6/so_you_need_a_lightweight_light_lite_etc_linux/. So far not a good fit with antiX or Bodhi HWE.

  • Zorin I’m a little worried people would get confused about the paid version, or they’d start charging for features.
  • I can’t find info on Bento OS?
  • Lubuntu is on my list to try.

Hi, just to go off-topic. Unsure if you know, you can put a SSD drive into an IDE pc with a convertor, like this below from Ali. It is usually small enough to still fit into most drive slots. They are about £4 from Ali, just make sure that it has IDE pins on one side to fit the cable socket, and a socket on the SATA side to fit the PCB if the IDE.

The bad side is that not all BIOSes may be able to access a 120gb drive, you still will be transferring data at the lower EIDE speed too.

This number which has been repeated throught the web, comes from Canalys Insights.

I has also been reported by the GreenIT.fr non for profit association : https://www.greenit.fr/2024/01/16/fin-de-windows-10-37-276-687-millions-de-tonnes-eq-co2-evitables/

Emphasize on the word could which is of course a possible scheme (yet to happen).
(BTW who is this Canalys company? https://www.canalys.com/about/our-story)

Bento Openbox makes use of some of the components which form the LXDE Desktop Environment, though not all.

Bento Openbox Remix is an Ubuntu lighter than Lubuntu, not supported by Canonical. The recipe started in 2009 for a very old laptop of mine. It was first build with PCLinuxOS https://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201109/page01.html

In 2012 it has been ported to Ubuntu. A few years later, a test with antiX was done, the descriptions are linked in this page:

antiX didn’t play well with attempts to upgrade last year, so it is on stand-by for now. The full recipe will soon be on Github for all to create their own spinoffs using it. (Main goal : the lightness of the Openbox advanced window manager - https://openbox.org - with the same comfort as a full fledged Desktop Environment).

The Ubuntu version works very nicely, but it can’t be provided for 32bits computers or low ram computers.
Typically when a machine does not take more than 2GB RAM, 32bits versions are preferred. Then for
these machines, for now I suggest MX-Linux, or eventually antiX Linux (either or of their versions) as they also both rely on the Debian sources for their large choice of applications/packages.

About Openbox : it is desktop agnostic, so you can install a full desktop on top of it later, if you’d like to. I have installed xfce4 desktop on top of it in one of my computers, and chose the session using the options at the login screen.

While I’m at it, feedback and feature requests are welcome (not sure all requests can be adressed, but they are still welcome).

I’d say this is very much my thing too, along with GNU/Linux distributions. And now, I want to share and bring together all people interested in this matter, to collect and share data related to upgrading : on the hardware options, and on the OS options.

Let’s take for exemple, your computers:
Lenovo ThinkCentre M73z
The full specs for this one: https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkCentre/ThinkCentre_M73z_AIO/ThinkCentre_M73z_AIO_Spec.PDF

I will be looking for max power CPU, RAM, and upgrade possibilities on the GPU : the graphic card, when it comes to desktops (all in one don’t have the option usually, nor do the laptops, and I don’t think anyone would want to spend money on USB graphic cards, unless the machine already costs a lot). We will of course also look for options to install SSD’s to replace HDD’s.

CPU max : Core i7-4790S
RAM (aka System memory) :


Memory 16GB max, 1600MHz DDR3L, two 204-pin SODIMM sockets (notebook)
*System automatically clocks down for processors with1333MHz memory controller


Storage : Supports SSD’s, and hybrids SSHD’s (I don’t know how these behave, with Linux, maybe @Joslet_Nicolas would have tested before?)

Next computer:
Lenovo ThinkCentre M700z

If you seek for your Dell Inspiron, and for your tower, data such as the above are welcome! :blush:

I had 4 laptops - two Tosh Satellite R870, and two Dell E4310, and even before covid, no one would take them “Sorry, I have better” was the general answer, even if it is shared among 5 people. All the people had families and no income. I did speak to someone who had no computer at all, and their reply was “well… I really want an Apple, not one of those.”

Now my laptops that I get have found a home. However, last Thursday at work, there were 5 desktops HP deskpro? prodesk? - about 6 years old, I7 with 4GB ram, no hard disks inside, on the junk pile. I only looked at one, 4 usb ports, but 2 ports were v2, otherwise I would have taken it. They will be scrapped by now.

Are you based in London?

Hello :slight_smile: I’m in the United States of America, in California.

That’s great you try to give away the computers :slight_smile: I initially contacted local non profits and had no interest, so I almost gave up. Luckily the Repair Cafe started up here and I’ve found people that need them.

I’ve found the laptops are most popular, even though the All-in-ones have SSD (instead of HDD) and 8 GB RAM instead of 4 GB RAM. (Much to the dismay of my husband and I because they take up a lot of space in our house too, LOL.)

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Open your own shop… In the garage like Bullfrog (Dungeon Keeper) hahaha

I Haha, I cannot do that, as it will get me fired. If I were deemed to be making money from it, it will soon be stopped, could account as theft - taking a company item and then selling it. It is ok to pay for that item to be scrapped though

At the moment the minor management are less strict, so to save them taking it downstairs, so I do people a favour, both by taking them off their hands, including no extra paper work, and offering another quid-pro quo incentive I do not want to go into.

There was one guy ripping out the cpu and the 16 gb memory some had, probably to sell on ebay, but the case did not vanish, guess he was making £50 to £100 a week extra