Windows 10 viability - Old laptop

Hello I guys, I was recently given an old laptop for basic internet browsing and maybe some Microsoft Office use; however it is a really old outdated laptop. I was planning on leaving this at home for whenever anyone needed to access the internet or something.

Its currently in Windows Vista Home Premium and I am thinking about upgrading it to Windows 10 Pro.

Dell Inspiron 1525

The specs are the following:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2 GHz
RAM: 2 GB DDR2 (I may be wrong about the DDR type)
Display: Intel 965 Express Chipset
HDD 150 GB

I believe I am within spec for the Windows 10 64 BIT version, but unsure if it will only get worse/slower with Windows 10. I know Vista was pretty bad on lower end machines.

You could also recommend another Windows OS.

Thanks in advance for the help.

I was thinking of buying one of those OEM keys for $14.00

 

I would upgrade it to Windows 7 and disable Windows updates then use the Simplix Pack (you might have to register and login to be able to see the download links) to manually update it for the latest features/security updates.

I wouldn't use Windows 10 EVER if I didn't have to, in my case, I HAVE to because of driver issues with my laptop and Windows 7 due to its newer hardware.

 

I run windows 10 on my acer 7720 with no issues what so ever. I had to wait to get the touchpad drivers. But they are there now. I would not hesitate to run 10 on that system. 10 is not nearly as bad as it's made out to be here. Keep in mind that some people here like Mr Male (while crazy knowledgeable) are Enthusiasts. Most people will run windows 10 and be extremely happy.

 

Yeah. Win 7 is the best option. Hardware from Vista’s gen shouldn’t run Win 10.

 

Personally I wouldn't waste my time updating it and just run it the way it is. My wife have older laptop, with better specs (for example 4GB RAM and 600GB HDD), it took 6 hours to update to Win 10 and even my kids don't wan't to use it for basic web browsing, deeming it too slow, so knowing what I know now I wouldn't do it again. I have dual boot laptop Win7/Win10, I don't care what anybody says, Win7 is faster and better in pretty much almost every way.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys!

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Beg to differ. As I said, My 7720 originally shipped with vista, is now running 10 perfectly fine. It's probably running faster than with vista or 7. The driver situation has caught up again since windows 10 has matured. I would not hesitate to run 10 on any computer at this point. One caveat. I have an SSD in the 7720 so that will make it snappier than if you are running a HDD.

 

Don’t expect all older models from all OEM’s out there will perform equal good as you stated (even if they use same hardware as in your model).

And God knows how many different benchmarks tests bro @Mr. Fox have tested with worse results from Win 10 vs. Win7

 

Going by my experiences on my older machines. I also have an Acer S3 running 10 perfectly fine. It's now a little macbook air beater. I just need to swap out the HDD in that to a 500 gb SSD after Christmas. I love that little thing. Oh, it also needs a new battery, both items can be installed by me for about 150. Great deal for a little lightweight computer that looks the bees knees. I like it way better than my other son's 2017 macbook air.

 

@xLima I'd recommend Windows 10 32bit instead of 64bit unless you want to upgrade RAM at some point, and some SSD regardless of OS you end up with. Booting 7 & launching programs on it will be sluggish on such low-end hardware, even compared to newer 8.1 & 10 - and 10 has the best interface for productivity, thanks to Snap feature & WinX menu, so that's my recommendation. Just make sure you remove all the telemetry and useless apps from 10 after install (covered in NBR guide), and disable visual effects (as pictured).



(In my opinion) Windows 7 is better than Vista in terms of responsiveness but not much. Benchmarks don't tell the story of actually using the device; I have experience servicing a number of C2D laptops over the years, gradually upgrading them from XP/Vista to 7, 8.1 and finally 10 - and while 8.1 is sometimes slightly more responsive than 10, particularly boots faster - 10 is still better overall and provides best user experience as long as you set it up properly, which isn't hard.

 

OP want's to setup this computer as backup/ guest computer, so all the productivity enhancements are kind of moot point IMO, even if you find them useful (I don't). The computer will be started on infrequent basis and the first thing Win10 will do is start updating itself, making it even more sluggish. There is no official MS way to stop updates or telemetry, so OP will have to hack into his own computer and do this all over again after every major update and set it up "properly" is not trivial or that simple, especially for casual user.

 

I'd choose Latest Linux LTS version especially Lubuntu or if you're a windows user, choose W7 SP1 w/ Simplix pack like Papusan and others said.

 

To all those whom never installed Windows 10 on a Dell 1525 shouldn't make any comments on here. I have a Dell 1525 with a upgraded T8100 and it works just fine with Windows 10x64 1803. So those thinking they know better actually don't have clue here. I even installed it on a HP DV5, DV6 without issue so unless you actually did it don't go making misleading comments. Upgrade it to a Windows 10 even if you don't have the CPU upgraded I say it is far better to have a more better stable O/S then outdated even if it just a guest computer. Far better then they use yours and something goes wrong.

 

No one told OP not to install Win 10! The OP wanted to re-purpose the old laptop as guest PC so that family users can use it instead of sharing their personal laptops.
I saw few members here who installed Win 10 v1803 on dell 1525 with maxed out RAM and SSD and said they can use it for another 2 years w/o any issues.

 

Poster are giving them the wrong info and not thinking it through is the problem. So if one wants to say don't or can't should be only if they done it for that particular model not just make a general statement based on wrong information. But those whom done the upgrade like me on Two Dell 1525 had no issues using it with W10 it's not going to be your i-series iNtel CPU powerhouse but it will hold its own. Mine has W10x64 1803 Pro and Office 2016 Suite and has no problems it's not going to be a Gaming laptop but everyday laptop.

 

I went ahead and installed W10 Pro, office 365 and running NOD32, so far so good. Haven't really tested yet but seemed stable and fast 'enough', but this maybe placebo effect of fresh windows install.

I was considering upgrading RAM but 4 GB DDR2 is expensive, 2x2 GB isn't too bad, or maybe 1* 2gb and reuse and old 1gb for 3gm ram, but unsure if I want to invest $50+ on such an old system. (2* 2GB DDR2 and a 120GB 2.5"SSD).

I will report back when I get a chance to use it more often, I have been busy with Uni.

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64bit windows 10 needs atleast 6GB to saturate itself.

 

Yeah I will need to get my hands on a windows 7 ISO. If you guys have any secure links to download please list them.

I will make a RUFUS USB disk to install it with.

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Try the tweaked W7 ISO from scarface. https://mega.nz/#!0RxB0axA!TUl4xKl3-6_0Xg0aUyYShEa4tXrg7RlZGnuBnqIsE5Y
Very lite and very fast too.

 

Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool - HeiDoc.net

 

The link in post #19 is December version of w7 with updates. I'm using October edition in a VM for legacy apps which needs IE11.
Its fast and has no MSFT bloatware.

 

I know. But Not all want others tweaked OS ISO. Hence a second option with clean state.

 

Only thing that reduced the size is Rebase a tool developed by Harkaz similar to Dism for w7. It has super slim model to stop win updates permanently, scarface decided not to use it.
You can use NTLite and a profile to slim the current 3.1GB file to 2GB as well.
EDIT: You can find the profile here http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=3350.msg29669#msg29669

 

Am I correct to assume 32 bit would be my best alternative?

 

If you plan on keeping it at 2GB RAM, yes. What version of Windows would be better for your laptop, 7 or 10 - well, as you may see, opinions on this subject are polarized. (=

 

Have you considered installing Linux on your old machine?
Linux seems to work better on older system that don't have a lot of resources (at least vs Windows), so that might be a viable option?

P.S. It wouldn't hurt to give that machine some extra RAM (such as doubling it).
Web browsing is hardly a light activity on the hardware after all. But other than the RAM, I don't think its worth further investing in it.

 

I have not, no previous experience with Linux, I should probably attempt to learn it. Anyway, here is an update, my wife has been using the computer and feels its a lot snappier than Vista or Win 10 Pro 64 bit, i opted for 32 bit Win 7.