Free, simple OS

[TheBossMan]

Try Linux although I think she might have some problems.. She might surprise us all..
If not check for a windows license sticker on the laptop and just load the version it came out with.. You would not need to buy windows then..

 

[d0b33]

WINDOWS 3.1

Yeah.. good luck finding drivers.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

Mepis Linux?

 

[The_Unbeliever]

Ickdoze 3.1 suxx0rz

besides drivers, where would you find applications which will work on that POS?

 

[Jabberwocky]

look for a miniature linux distro like puppy linux
http://www.puppylinux.com/about.htm

"A complete operating system with suite of GUI apps, only about 50 - 95MB and boots directly off the CDROM."

 

[CathJ]

Quick update - this is an ancient laptop!

It's currently win98 (partly in French, although the language is set to english) and it only has 64Mb ram! So winXP (or worse, vista) is simply not an option. I'll try gOS, otherwise I might have to go with puppy linux.

(BTW, she's not my grandmother Just an old lady my father knows and was trying to help)

 

[d0b33]

Ubuntu might still run...

Desktop installation

Most people will want to install a desktop system such as Ubuntu or Kubuntu. A desktop system is typically used for personal computing tasks and has a graphical user interface.

Bare Minimum requirements

It should be possible to get Ubuntu running on a system with the following minimum hardware specification, although it is unlikely that the system would run well. You should use the Alternate install CD to attempt such an installation.
300 MHz x86 processor
64 MB of system memory (RAM)
At least 4 GB of disk space (for full installation and swap space)
VGA graphics card capable of 640x480 resolution
CD-ROM drive or network card

Low-spec computers (Xubuntu)

If you have an old or low-spec computer, using a lightweight desktop system such as Xubuntu is recommended, as it should make more efficient use of your system's resources.

If your system has less than 192 MB of system memory, use the Alternate Installation CD.

Note: If you have a low-specification computer, certain features may be automatically turned off to conserve system resources. For example, if you have a graphics card with only a small amount of video memory (VRAM), the boot-up screen may not be shown.

Follow this link for detailed instructions: Installation/LowMemorySystems.

Minimum requirements
166 MHz processor
64 MB of system memory (RAM)
At least 1.5 GB of disk space
VGA graphics card

If you choose a window manager like XFCE or install Xubuntu it should run fine but if it does not run smoothly then you should try puppy I guess.

 

[Sackboy]

A few distros use a LIVE installer. Those will kill that PC, so avoid them.

 

[TheBossMan]

An oldish lady has been given a laptop by her son, but it appears that he formatted the hdd before giving it to her. This obviously leaves her without an OS, and since she knows nothing about computers (and I mean nothing), I'm helping her out.

She can't really afford to pay for Windows XP or Vista; and I suspect they'd be too complicated for her anyway.

I'm sure I saw a very simple *nix OS, which came with Firefox and Thunderbird built in and was extremely easy to use. I just can't remember what it was...

Does anyone have any suggestions? She really won't be using the laptop much except for email, maybe a bit of browsing, and probably getting photos via email.

and

Quick update - this is an ancient laptop!

It's currently win98 (partly in French, although the language is set to english) and it only has 64Mb ram! So winXP (or worse, vista) is simply not an option. I'll try gOS, otherwise I might have to go with puppy linux.

(BTW, she's not my grandmother Just an old lady my father knows and was trying to help)

So it does have Windows on... Buy her a french dictionary... LOL

 

[SlyFly]

Windows 7 Beta anyone

 

[Tux]

Found myself in a similar situation a while ago (She destroyed the XP installation with a nice fat worm) and setup OpenSuse10.3 for me mum

Now she can still check her email. Surf the net, and "HEY! This version of windows have a lot more solitaire games! Cool!" which brings me to another matter.. hearing a 60y/o biddy calling something "Cool" just sounds wrong...

 

[cerebus]

Yeah...I'm confused. Does it have Win98 installed on it?

 

[CathJ]

To clarify - my dad tried to boot it up, but just got a blinking cursor, from which I deduced (without seeing the laptop) that it didn't have an OS installed.

I got hold of the laptop last night, and discovered that it does actually boot (not sure why it didn't when my dad tried it), and has a half-english-half-french install of Win98