old laptop with Windows XP- what operating system to use ?
 

So I was rummaging in the basement and found my old Dell Lattitude laptop computer. I thought why not use this in the garage ? I have a wireless card plugged into one of the ports so I plugged it in and fired it up . Only took a few minutes to connect to my wireless network and we were up and running. I have not run this computer for at least 6 years and I was getting all kinds of warnings about XP being obsolete and same for Firefox that was/is my browser.
So with a little bit of internet surfing it appears Google Chrome and Firefox no longer offer operating systems for XP. It did look like Linux does offer an OS that is still valid and updating using XP. So is Linux about it for an operating system for this dinosaur ? I am NOT a computer geek so needing something that is user friendly.
Will use the laptop mostly for web browsing for DIY info while in the garage, access email and some general web surfing . Thoughts ?

I have a couple XP dinosaurs I use here at work.
IMHO you can just ignore Microsoft warnings and keep XP.
I believe I was able to go to control panel, click on internet options, in the 'home page' window type in Bing and when you click on the big E (now defunct Explorer) and it will take you to the Bing browser.

Or just install Linux, I had an old Vista computer I hated and one of the guys here walked my through a Mint (version of Linux), just put a install folder on a USB drive, reboot the computer and it auto installed, I was surfing the internet in minutes.

And Mint is waaaaay faster than any Microsoft OS.

XP Pro was one of the most stable Microsoft platforms, from what I have read.
You can always download old versions of Firefox.

If you are not against learning something new, like learning that Firefox never offered an operating system, then go on down the Linux rabbit hole.

If you're NOT a computer geek, then drive to Best Buy and spend $350 for a laptop that will outperform that old junk in every way possible. It is not not designed to run modern OS. Old CPU, little RAM, tiny HD. Opportunity cost. You can spend many hours trying to create something that will never measure up to a brand new $350 laptop. Now, if you're bored and looking to entertain yourself then by all means, tinker away.

Linux is great to squeeze more life out of older hardware.

Mint is my current recommendation for Linux newbs.

I have a 13 yet old Dell that just refuses to die. I keep it in the workshop and it has some BMW specific software and some generic OBDII software on it that doesn’t like to run on anything newer than XP.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...9/DSC00376.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...525_163028.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...015_092712.jpg

I also have some software to run an endoscope on it. I don’t use it very often but it can come in handy on occasion.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...5/ColonCam.jpg

If all you want to do is surf the internet just wipe off XP and install Mint.
It has been a year or two since I did my Mint install but when you install a new OS it usually gives you the option to reformat the disk for the new install.

New guy here. Not really, Ive been lurking for 2 years. Anyway my favorite laptop is an old Latitude L131, running Tahrpup linux. Fast, easy and requires minimak hardware. Have a look.
Puppy Linux Downloads

Gotta disagree. Ubuntu is better. SmileWavy

I still have xp on an old Dell, driving my plastic printer. I've left it on for months, never crashes, very stable.

SoCal, should we be worried about the alarm clock with tripwires connected?

Mint is an Ubuntu fork, functionally not much different. Certainly nothing a Linux newb would notice.

Ubuntu Unity is like the Win8 of the .nix world.

Straight outa da box Mint is an easier and more familiar transition for someone coming from XP.

Another vote fro Mint! Easy to install & you'll be surprised at how fast your laptop will run.

I'm intrigued with the idea of booting from a usb or sdram stick and all read/write functions going to that drive instead of an ide or sata drive. Seems like that would be much faster. any thoughts on this? Or booting from a solid state sata drive.

I tried win10 on a laptop and it slowed it down so much it was unusable.

I have Mint installed on one of my puta's and unless you have apps that specifically require a windows version, it would suit your needs. It's not as polished as windows but for basic functions it does fine.

Just stick with the box you have, and ignore the warnings. I just did the same thing, pulled an old (I mean OLD) laptop out to use for garage duty. It's from 2002.

Now, I do have an "illegal" unlimited XP install code, so I did a fresh wipe and install, then just added the bare minimum of Firefox to get by, but it's fine. I bet you could find an XP install disk and use the code on the bottom of the computer and get a clean working computer over a weekend.