Just got a secondhand thinkpad, it's slow as fuck. Suggestions for Linux distros, software and hardware...

Just got a secondhand thinkpad, it's slow as fuck. Suggestions for Linux distros, software and hardware? I'm new to the thinkpad meme
I haven't bothered changing the OS yet

Other urls found in this thread:

voidlinux.eu/packages/
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

upgrade the ram to the highest possible spec as per Lenovo's site, change the HDD to a SSD, and use a linux distro that gives no errors while installing,

Done and done. What distro should I try to install considering this is slow as dogshit? Puppy? Lubuntu? Gentoo? Slackware?

bump

arch, duh

Gentoo is my go-to distro but if you don't want to spend hours compiling, Void is a good lightweight binary distro that mostly just works and still makes customization easy. I have a dying X60 and a new to me T60 in the mail. The X60 used to be a Gentoo machine, but it has developed an overheating problem that thermal paste didn't fix among its other problems, so it's on Void instead. Planning to install OpenBSD on the T60.

Check out ThinkPad General if you haven't already.

only use this if you have no idea what you're doing.
It can work, just stick to the terminal or bare CLI if you want to do anything productive. wireless never has been nice to me outside of XFCE- which is a shame because windowmaker is comfy as hell, and all those K-programs hang whenever I use them.
if you have the time and patience, do it.

I can't say anything on puppy because I don't have any experience with it.

what the fuck is this

go back to /g/ with your shit thred

sage

Install gentoo if you want speed. The compilation can be optimized for your hardware configuration.

Thanks lads, i think i'll go with void. How large is its software library?

...uh.
d-dont worry about it.

Honestly, not that big. It will have the basics plus some Holla Forums favorites that you don't find in many other distros. We discussed this in the Void thread recently. Ctrl+F packages and read the posts that appear in the search. Use the Void package search to look for what you think you'll need here before you install.

voidlinux.eu/packages/

Setup a Gentoo binhost if you already have a desktop running it. Alpine if you don't want difficulty.

It's slow as fuck because you got an E series Thinkpad. They're budget as fuck and the E420 has a Sandy Bridge i3.

LXDE

I used to have a T30 and R40, and both were fast enough for me despite having only 512M RAM. I ran OpenBSD and mainly stuck with Links browser. Firefox wasn't *quite* as bloated at the time either, and it actually ran ok for short sessions (good enough for the few times I needed it). This was 2009-2013.
Instead of looking for more speed, you'll get more mileage by decreasing your bloatage. Avoid GUI apps whenever possible, use small WM, avoid big browsers with JS.
Actually now I'm using an even slower machine than those Thinkpads, because this one has no GPU support yet. I run Firefox even less...

Alpine looks like some tig old bitties. Thanks, user.

I wouldn't call it Thinkpad. If it's have AMD you may have some fight with drivers.

Libreboot it if you can, install Parabola with i3 gaps for a fully dank experience

[insert smug anime face]

bruh, you got a shitpad, i hope you didn't pay too much

I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.

Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

Bless you.

E-Series are not actual Thinkpads.

you got ripped off. you should have read the guides.

change the hard drive if it's past 2000 hours it's already dead since the hdd provided per default are the most worthless shit in existence.

Then install Gentoo or Trisquel.

I have a T42 as well, any suggestions for that one?

goodluck with your malware + //INTERDICT then.
arch gentoo trisquel+libreboot