Next step will be to try out some screen casting software suggested by @Monique
I also have an Asus ROG Strix GL553v with win10 that cannot be upgraded because of the processor. It’s still a really good laptop so it’s really sad that I won’t be able to install win11. I’m considering to install Linux Mint or Ubuntu, not sure yet. I’ll probably wait until october when the security updates end.
That’s a great resource Monique. Thanks for sharing.
As you’ve noted ‘working’ distros sometimes lack support for certain components / peripherals which can be difficult and/or time consuming or maybe even impossible to resolve.
When looking at extending the life of an old ex-Windows machine with Linux the sheer variety of hardware specs and potential distros means it can be hard to find documents which make it clear what distros will support/work with what hardware. So we end up with the ‘suck it see’ approach which is ok for individuals but harder to adopt in a Repair Cafe or similar setting.
So, again, thanks for sharing this.
BTW, the ‘lean’ distros you mentioned can also be good choices for older low spec Chromebooks.
Hi Alex,
That’s good to hear. Was there a steep learning curve for your ‘fixers’ who had been Windows users? Did you do any training and/or provide documentation?
I’ve got a couple of Chromebooks in my To-Do pile. Also some tablets.
I’ve only a single example so far. The 2015 Macbook Air with Mint Linux (Cinnamon, 22) on my list was lent to a not-particularly-technical friend to replace a Win10 device. She could keep or return after a month. I installed the Wi-Fi and webcam drivers and also the unofficial Teams app, other than that it was vanilla, with no training, help or guidance given, just left her to it. At the end of the month she opted to keep it, seems that the transition went smoothly but that she mostly just needed internet and found that using her work’s cloud-based MS Office and Teams worked. Only comment was that she wanted to install Chrome and couldn’t but Firefox was fine. I could ofc install Chrome for her but she doesn’t seem to “need” it. She might have got on with a Chromebook tbf, will find out more when I see her in a couple of weeks.
I bought a secondhand/refurbed Chromebook and have hit the printer problem: my quite old Brother MFC-J4510 isn’t supported. Bit stuffed without a printer, it’s a problem I hadn’t even imagined having. The chromebook itself is very neat for £100. I’ve seen mentions of setting up a Pi (of which I have a couple lying around) as a CUPS server, but not seen a guide which shows how to make an unsupported printer pretend to be a supported one - any reference you can find to something like this would be really helpful.
Looking up the specs this is quite a powerful laptop. It should certainly run Windows 11 (which in the main is just a prettier WIndows 10) in “unsupported” mode, despite the gen 7 CPU. iFixit’s guide is pretty straight forward for creating a USB stick that you can use to upgrade or do a fresh install. ( https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/How+to+install+Windows+11+on+unsupported+devices/160527 ). “Unsupported” basically means that Microsoft will wash their hands of you if you get problems, but you still get the normal security updates and bug fixes on a Tuesday. You don’t automatically get the “feature” updates e.g. 23H2, 24H2 etc. You have to do those manually basically by creating another upgrade stick when the new feature release comes out.
Of course please don’t let me dissuade you from jumping ship to a superior Linux OS!
Yes it is a good laptop, though it doesn’t handle 3D environments well. And it’s very annoying that just because of the processor Microcrap won’t let me install win11. Thank you for letting me know of this option. I’ll keep it in mind. I also have a gaming pc that is in a similar situation, though I might swap out the mainboard and cpu. Here are the specs:
Intel Core i7-4790K CPU 4GHz
GTX 1660 Super 6Gb GDDR6
DirectX 12
4x4gb RAM
WD blue SN570 m.2 nvme ssd 500gb
My “gaming” PC is a little bit less powerful than that rig you’ve just described (GTX1060 i5-4650 ). It runs Windows 11 just fine. Microsoft have introduced these hardware requirements for good security reasons, but if you’re happy running Windows 10 on them, then Windows 11 will be no less secure than Win 10 was and you’ll continue to get patches. You can play Windows games on Linux, but it’s “challenging”… if your PC is dedicated to playing games, best stick with Windows.
Hmm, not so much any more and if anything many are faster on my Mint Linux PC than they were on the same PC under Win10.
First stop Proton DB. It exists for crowd-sourcing compatibility reports.
Of my 160+ Steam games there are only 7 minor crappy ones that don’t work at all in Mint and tbf I can’t remember if they even worked properly in Win. Just have to make sure the Steam library is on an ext4 volume (as required by Linux itself) and enable Proton in Steam.
There is also Lutris and Bottles, I’ve only tried the former but lots of Linux bods report easy success with one or both. The main blocker will be any game that uses anti-cheat.
I’m surprised your printer doesn’t work, as Brother supports Linux officially. (Or are you still running Chrome OS?) I’ve only used lasers but have had no issues with printing or scanning by installing the Brother drivers. I used to print via USB but when I finally connected it to Ethernet it was detected automatically and simply appeared in my Ubuntu printer list by itself. Here you see it renamed as “Networked” to distinguish from the local USB install. Intriguingly, it also says “driverless” so perhaps certain Brother printers will simply work networked without installing anything? It is noticeably slower to print over the network though - perhaps it’s being given “raw ingredients” rather than a “ready meal” and has to sort out the cooking itself? Printers - always a mystery…
The scanning app also finds the printer on the network.
Hilariously, the networked printer does not appear on a Windows 10 machine!
I have installed the Zorin education edition (afaik it is just ZorinOS plus some educational apps) as part of my suck-it-and-see project. On this old notebook:
It was a smooth process, dual boots beside another distro. The best thing was that it recognised my old 5G Wi-Fi dongle straight away and did not require the usual 3rd-party drivers. I can’t say I’ve used it, apart from opening some of the apps for a look and it all seemed quite nippy for such a low-spec device.
I’m interested in repurposing old netbooks with distros for children, especially devices with educational apps and retro games that work well offline. For those devices with old network adapters that no longer connect.
I quite like Zorin as it offers a nicer appearance than most distros I’ve seen (yes, I’m one of those people who gets too easily distracted and annoyed by ugly interfaces )
I also liked that it offered better multi-gesture support for trackpads than most distros I’ve tried. I don’t like using mice, so the feeling of UX claustrophobia is often a sticking point for me with Linux.
That said, while I was able to run it off a USB stick, I was unable to install it properly on my old laptop despite spending two full days trying. So I haven’t been able to daily-drive it
I’d recommend Lubuntu 18.04 and up (streamline and energy efficient). It needs a bit of configuring to make the taskbar and icons etc larger, but works well for us. At West Central London Fixers, we use it widely, in fact we run our whole business on Linux.
that I won’t be able to install win11. I’m considering to install Linux Mint or Ubuntu, not sure yet. I’ll probably wait until october when the security updates end.
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