Ben Santora — September 2024
As an advocate of open-source and especially the Linux community, I’m always trying to promote the Linux OS and its value — especially as a solution for older PC’s with outdated Windows versions. This subject has been covered many times. This article is meant for those who know nothing about the Linux operating system or why anyone would choose to install Linux on an old PC.
I have 5 computers and have changed the operating systems on all of them more times than I can count, always replacing the outdated Windows versions (Windows XP, Vista and 7) with a Linux distro.
My wife, on the other hand, has been using her Sony VAIO PCG-31311L for the past 12 years. It's still running Windows 7, which is no longer supported and not secure. She loves that little laptop just the way it is. I do what I can to keep it secure for her such as keeping her web browser updated. Otherwise, she won’t let me touch it or change anything on it. The Sony VAIO is a great computer and to be fair, hers is still running great, albeit slow and with the fan running most of the time.
So I saw the exact same model on eBay last year for only $50 and I bought it as a spare in case hers needed parts or repair. The VAIO arrived and booted up fine. But it wouldn’t do much of anything else — the seller had installed Windows 10 on it. This is understandable, as Windows users get pushed hard with this kind of suggestion from Microsoft whenever it releases a new version. When I checked the CPU with Performance Monitor, I saw that it was running close to 100% — on idle! This means that all the computer was doing was using everything it had just running Windows 10 — only that. Trying to open a browser locked it up or crashed it completely. I’m sure that’s why the seller sold it for $50.
Performance issues on a VAIO PCG-31311L or similar older PC running Windows 10 are due to several factors. Windows 10 requires more RAM, CPU power, and storage compared to older versions, which strains the AMD E-450 CPU and 4 GB of RAM in the laptop. Remember, this PC originally shipped with Win 7 as its OS. Additionally, Windows 10 runs numerous system calls and background services that consume significant resources, even when the system is just idling. Updates, indexing and other tasks can be resource-intensive, further slowing down the system. Even with a 320 GB HDD, the high disk I/O from Windows 10’s background processes led to sluggish performance. Older hardware also lacks the optimized drivers for Windows 10, causing additional performance issues. Finally, Windows 10’s additional features and services contribute to system bloat, which can completely overwhelm systems with limited processing power and memory, like this little machine.
I knew what to do — I installed Linux Mint XFCE on it — afterwards, checking with gnome-system-monitor, the Linux OS and desktop idled at about 40% — not bad at all. If that little laptop could talk, I think it would’ve sighed in relief and thanked me for its new OS. It’s now able to run the web browser with no problem. Streaming videos is a bit too much for it, but it can play .mp4 movies (using VLC media player) with ease. It’s currently being used for just that and is connected to our TV.
As for Linux applications - there are enough of them that run on the Linux OS to provide everything you need — like the open-source Libre Office to replace MS Word. And for those learning to program , Linux really shines. Unlike Windows (any version), the Linux terminal interacts seamlessly with its own file system and environment. Nothing is proprietary, no part of the operating system environment is closed off to you. After all, the computer belongs to you — the operating system should too. And programming is difficult enough without having to fight your OS while you’re learning.
So, I think this real world example is one solid reason for converting older PC's to Linux. We can keep these perfectly functional devices out of our landfills. You may even find that you prefer the Linux operating system and open-source applications to the proprietary systems from Microsoft and Apple, as many of us Linux users do.
*Note - Just after writing this article I convinced my wife to let me replace Windows 7 with Linux Mint on her little PC — she loves it and so does the machine.
Ben Santora — September 2024
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