I've had my T61 since forever but don't use it anymore as it's XP

When its hard drive started failing a year ago I bought a used W520 which runs fast and I can use it as a desktop replacement for my photography business (real estate) if needed. My T61 is sitting in my closet, unloved. The bonus with my W520 is it has the same keyboard as my T61!

I would like to have a notebook just to check email, minor stuff, no photo processing and have thought of getting something, anything cheap (W7 and above) just for that purpose. Then I think of somehow getting my T61 back up and running.

Is it worth it? With the buying of a new OS (probably W8.1), the updating of drivers if the T61 will accept them...and on and on with compatibility issues, should I just buy something already updated from the Lenovo Outlet store and just forget my T61?

 

The ThinkPad T61 is still a capable machine in this day and age, especially for casual web browsing and web mail. If the hard drive is on the way out then consider putting a cheap, small capacity SSD in (around 120GB or less) which should dramatically reduce the loading times and increase longevity due to its non-shock design.

Also for your usage I probably would ditch Windows altogether and try out Linux instead. Not only it should work straight out of the box for the T61, it's free and generally very secure to use - especially against the non-supported Windows XP for internet usage. Plus it gives a good learning experience on trying out something different too!

 

Can it be that easy? Slip in a new SSD, push the ON button and...well, I don't have an OS at that point, what, already have Linux downloaded onto a thumb drive and insert that and my T61 magically boots? New territory here, for sure!

 

Make the USB thumb drive into a Linux Live CD/boot disk using Pen Drive Linux and an ISO from whichever Linux distribution you want (Mint, for instance). Then it goes pretty much like you said. Swap in the new SSD, plug in your bootable Linux USB, and follow the instructions on-screen to either try it out or install.

Installing programs works different from Windows, and there is a learning curve. But Linux tends to run well on just about anything and there are many online guides that can help you learn the ropes. The main difference between Windows users and Linux users in their forum discussions are what they talk about. Windows users talk about privacy and hardware preferences, whereas Linux users tend to have more ideological positions on software preferences and how open and/or free programs are.

 

So I guess what you all are saying is if I don't get the OS for free (Linux of some sort) it's not worth it? Just buy something with W10 already installed?

 

Ran Linux on my R60e using an 8GB Kingston SSD. It was the fastest machine I had at the time.

Worth is highly subjective. Some may say yes while others no, but both are right for them. Since you're using XP, upgrading it is going to be expensive, so I don't see how the numbers work for a light usage machine, but it's your money and call.

 

Pretty much, when you factor the cost of a brand new Windows Operating System (including OEM versions) and new hard drive you probably can buy a slightly faster ThinkPad model for similar money.

If you have no love for your T61 anymore consider selling it, as they say "one man's trash is another man's treasure" and there will be takers which you can recoup the cost for your next replacment.

Plus it doesn't have to be brand new, a second hand but well looked after ThinkPad T410 or even T420 (for roughly the same price as the OS upgrade and drive) will easily provide enough performance to do your tasks and still run circles around the Atoms, Celerons and low end AMD processors in budget notebooks of today.

 

+1 for installing Linux and living happily ever after.