Best, simplest version of Linux to put on old Sony Windows XP laptop?

[primestar31]

Well, got another issue I can't figure out: When I close the lid, it goes into some sort of SUSPEND or hibernation mode. That is, the lights turn off, and things seem to stop. The power light then just blinks. However, IF you push the power button, it wakes right up back to the desktop. I can't seem to find any setting to turn this "feature" off. I prefer it to ignore the lid switch.

The Channels Server somehow keeps running though, I can still access the guide and such from my Firestick, so that part is ok. However, when the laptop is in this mode, I can't SSH into it remotely to make any changes. I could do that before IF I left the lid up, and it was actively running.

I could also just pull the wires on the lid switch, if I can figure out where it is. It might be a magnet setup, as there's no little flip tab anywhere.

 

[harshness]

Hybernation is probably a hardwired state on most clamshell devices. I have a suspicion that it may be imperative to proper cooling. Just leave the lid open.

If you figure out how to defeat the switch, make sure you also determine how to dispose of the upwards of 68 watts of heat that is being substantially captured inside

For reference, a Raspberry Pi consumes less than 6 watts.

 

[primestar31]

Hybernation is probably a hardwired state on most clamshell devices. I have a suspicion that it may be imperative to proper cooling. Just leave the lid open.

If you figure out how to defeat the switch, make sure you also determine how to dispose of the upwards of 68 watts of heat that is being substantially captured inside

For reference, a Raspberry Pi consumes less than 6 watts.

I just used a neodymium magnet to figure out where the switch was. Lower right corner of the Trackpad. So, the magnet had to be in the lcd bezel, top-right center. It was there, a real tiny one also. I removed it, and no more switching off.

As for cooling, it's plugged into a port replicator that's made of solid cast metal, and actually is quite hefty in weight. Heavier than the laptop for sure. That makes an excellent heatsink. Regardless, I plan on sitting it all on a laptop cooler

A Raspberry Pi would be great, and I had planned on using one. However, they can't be found right now. Unless that is, you want to pay BIG bucks for one. I could buy a used laptop, with an i7 Intel processor for that same cost...

IF I could find a Pi for like $50, which is all they are worth, I'd jump on it. $150+? NO way.

 

[Comptech]

I see a Pi4 in someones future. It's a great way to get used to the linux environment.

 

[harshness]

As for cooling, it's plugged into a port replicator that's made of solid cast metal, and actually is quite hefty in weight. Heavier than the laptop for sure. That makes an excellent heatsink. Regardless, I plan on sitting it all on a laptop cooler.

If only the expansion port was what gets hot inside a laptop. As it is, closing the lid covers over the biggest opening in the case (the keyboard) and surely impedes the flow of air. This is important as many of the older designs employed passive cooling rather than the modern squirrel cage fans.

I'd recommend installing and monitoring the results of hddtemp (for the hard drive) and lm-sensors (for the chips) to make sure that the cooling you think is happening actually is. A motherboard makes for a fairly excellent windbreak against a laptop cooler.

I could buy a used laptop, with an i7 Intel processor for that same cost...

And that would likely represent a significant power savings given the efficiencies associated with the newer chip designs (and cooling isn't passive with these processors).

If you can buy a laptop for X dollars, you can surely buy a proper desktop for considerably less and not have to depend on external storage. Laptops aren't the poor man's rack mount server.

 

[arlo]

Of course if the cover hasn't been popped open to see if the cooling system is clean and the fan runs well.
Maybe a re-pasting of the processor and/or gpu. The battery isn't responsible for excess heat generation.
On old laptops and desktops I've used MXLinux. Or just search for 'best linux distro for <whatever> pc'.
I'll probably never get used to Linux GUI distros. Mainly because of a couple of things.

You never quite know where in the filing system where that cool download is at after you build it, make it, make install and all that crap. There is no shortcut, symbolic link, or whatever to it might be called n your desktop or or applications list. By the time you dig for it. You pull out whatever hair you have left to see if you can get it to run.

I mean. I dabble in it. Simple things like controlling a sound card and having to launch terminal for Alsa.
Grrrr. And besides. I type for crap. Really. As far as remembering commands and having to rely on 'how-to' web pages.

But. Tiny Windows 7 from eXPerience and 10 works well on older lappys and desktop pc's if you treat them like they just need to live a bit longer and you realize the hw limitations.
Hell. XP would work great in an XP pc. IF you could get a browser to play nice and if you lived behind a pfSense firewall made from another 'obsolete' computer.

 

[primestar31]

I'll just prop the lid open a little bit with a bottle cap or two, if there's an overheating issue.

 

[TheKrell]

IF you could get a browser to play nice and if you lived behind a pfSense firewall made from another 'obsolete' computer.

I thought that was hardware. Is it open source software?

 

[primestar31]

I thought that was hardware. Is it open source software?

Yes, open source: pfSense® - World's Most Trusted Open Source Firewall

 

[primestar31]

Of course if the cover hasn't been popped open to see if the cooling system is clean and the fan runs well.
Maybe a re-pasting of the processor and/or gpu.

I can assure you, that IF you put this laptop on a store shelf with a brand new one out of the box, it would be just as clean. Maybe cleaner. We hardly ever used it, I'd bet that before I put Linux on it for this server, it only had maybe 48 hours runtime TOTAL on it. We didn't watch much tv up there.

We only used it when we went to the cabin, for playing dvd's, and hooked to a tv set while using a neighbors free wifi (he did that for others) for streaming. We sold that cabin in 2011, and this went into the closet back then.

I removed the keyboard and looked inside, and everything is completely clean. No dust, nothing.

 

[arlo]

I can assure you, that IF you put this laptop on a store shelf with a brand new one out of the box, it would be just as clean. Maybe cleaner. We hardly ever used it, I'd bet that before I put Linux on it for this server, it only had maybe 48 hours runtime TOTAL on it. We didn't watch much tv up there.

We only used it when we went to the cabin, for playing dvd's, and hooked to a tv set while using a neighbors free wifi (he did that for others) for streaming. We sold that cabin in 2011, and this went into the closet back then.

I removed the keyboard and looked inside, and everything is completely clean. No dust, nothing.

I can assure you, that IF you put this laptop on a store shelf with a brand new one out of the box, it would be just as clean. Maybe cleaner. We hardly ever used it, I'd bet that before I put Linux on it for this server, it only had maybe 48 hours runtime TOTAL on it. We didn't watch much tv up there.

We only used it when we went to the cabin, for playing dvd's, and hooked to a tv set while using a neighbors free wifi (he did that for others) for streaming. We sold that cabin in 2011, and this went into the closet back then.

I removed the keyboard and looked inside, and everything is completely clean. No dust, nothing.

Simmer down son. Lol.
When in doubt with overheating and you're capable. Repaste the danged thing. The 'Desitin' zinc oxide heat sink compounds even have a tube life printed on them. And that's not exposed to air and heat.
Clean.... Reminds me of Florida when I started working on pc's. Having to leaf bag them and raid the hell out of the inside then seal it tight to kill the cock-a-roaches on the porch for a week. Creepy.

My company's hardware vendors did the same thing as hospitals and lot's of other folks to keep XP living as long as it possibly could. With stuff not connected to the 'net. They could live virtually forever.
I've got boxes of 'obsoleted' components deemed so when 7 was put out there. Sucks.
My ATI Radion All in Wonder....Nice even for capturing video, audio, and FM today. Try running it on 7,8,10? Nope!

Anyhow. Sucks that you put a pc away for a rainy day only to find out you can't buy points and a condenser for any more. Don't it!?

 

[harshness]

When in doubt with overheating and you're capable.

No need to be in doubt as there are monitoring solutions available.

My ATI Radion All in Wonder....Nice even for capturing video, audio, and FM today. Try running it on 7,8,10? Nope!

A capture card that is dedicated to analog video and NTSC TV tuning is a museum piece in this world of digital video.

 

[primestar31]

No need to be in doubt as there are monitoring solutions available.

A capture card that is dedicated to analog video and NTSC TV tuning is a museum piece in this world of digital video.

I loaded Psensor last night, and am watching the temps and such to see what various things do. Lid open, it's at 120F. Lid closed, it goes up to 142F, and that was when the processor was running at 101% doing something.

Even at 142f, that shouldn't be stressing this at all. Notwithstanding that lower temps are better. This is with NO cooling beyond the Sony heatsink with spreader and fan inside the laptop.

 

[harshness]

Even at 142f, that shouldn't be stressing this at all. Notwithstanding that lower temps are better. This is with NO cooling beyond the Sony heatsink with spreader and fan inside the laptop.

Great! Now on to testing the temperature of the hard drive.

 

[primestar31]

Great! Now on to testing the temperature of the hard drive.

103F idle, and 109f when it was doing housekeeping

 

[primestar31]

IF I could find a Pi for like $50, which is all they are worth, I'd jump on it. $150+? NO way.

I see a Pi4 in someones future. It's a great way to get used to the linux environment.

Well, thanks to Comptech , he saw my reply post to Harsh, and sent me a pm that he had a Raspberry Pi 4b 4Gb with the added ice cooler tower that he'd sell me for $50 SHIPPED! He even included a few goodies with it, including the power supply, a USB pendrive with a linux distro on it, and the mini-HDMI to HDMI cable.

I know a killer deal when I see one, so I jumped on it right away. He mailed it out this past Monday, and I got it on Wednesday. In anticipation, I ordered a 52PI metal case for it that could accommodate the Ice Tower cooler, and installed it in that.

Well, I was able to install the Raspberry Pi Channels server image on a brand new WD Elements 4TB USB 3.0 drive on Friday. I hooked it all up on my dining room table, and got it all up and running. I then brought up the server web page on my Windows laptop, and configured the whole thing. I even started figuring out how to get it to also see my network drives hanging off my older WDTVLIVE, and it can play those files also! I have a Silicondust HDhomerun 4k Flex tuner as the tuner for this. It has ATSC 3.0 capability.

I still have LOTS to learn about using this 100%, but just wanted to give some real KUDOS to Comptech for helping me out like this!

SatelliteGuys has a bunch of GREAT people here, and I really appreciate it! Best forum on the web, IMO.

Here's a photo of the whole thing I just now installed in my tv stand, right above my Tivo Roamio. Had to get it on my UPS right away, since we have horrible winds today, (65-75mph) and am likely to lose power.

This Channels dvr setup is comparable with that Tivo dvr, except even better since it has ATSC 3.0, and is able to see network drives. I'm also told it can run TVE logons from providers, AND M3U channels!

:

 

[TheKrell]

WD TV? I haven't seen one of those in ages!

 

[primestar31]

WD TV? I haven't seen one of those in ages!

They still work perfectly, though they are SMB1. But, I at present have no need to try to access them outside my home network, so that's fine. The Channels DVR image is capable of seeing SMB1, SMB2 OR SMB3 network drives.

 

[Comptech]

Glad it is working out well for you. Those Pi's are pretty impressive.

 

[primestar31]

Using Channels DVR with Dish Anywhere as a source

Provide Channels with a source. Channels is not a streaming provider. Channels works with existing sources of live TV. Use your antenna or cable with a TV tuner. Sign in with your cable or streaming provider. Or even add your own live streaming channels. Mix and match to get as many channels as...

www.satelliteguys.us

I also discovered you can create your OWN "appointment tv" virtual channels to be placed in the EPG guide, with any source of tv shows, movies, etc that you want. I just created a single one so far with the old British '70's series UFO that I have on one of the drives hanging off my WDTVLIVE.

Pretty cool...