[netbook] Use for old netbooks with 4GB HDDs

[ITManLT]

Hello all,

 

This is my first post on Edugeek.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any solutions to make use of some old netbooks we have laying around..

 

We have considered converting these to some form of Chromebook using Neverware's CloudReady which we use on some other devices, however these netbooks only have 4GB HDDs that are soldered on (fantastic I know...). We would need something smaller than 4GB after install.

 

Has anyone re-purposed something with 4GB HDDs to make use of today? Even if these are just for quick internet access and Google Docs this would be useful for now.

 

Thanks,

L

[Fazza]

You could try putting Linux on it - just find a distro that is small and then install a web browser. Not sure on how quick an old Netbook will be, I guess you wont know until you try it on one!

[Steve21]

Whats the model of the netbooks? 4GB seems verrrry low for anything in the last 10 odd years. You sure it's not a built in 4GB flash section designed to sit on top of a normal HDD or something?

 

There are tiny Linux distros etc as mentioned, but in all fairness if they're that old/low spec you might run into other issues trying to manage them etc

 

The only ones with that low a HDD I've seen recently are the Android netbooks (Normally China ones) which then might cause another problem with BIOS etc if you're trying to overwrite it

 

Steve

Edited August 14, 2017 by Steve21

[ITManLT]

Hi Steve

 

The netbooks are little Asus Eee PC 4G devices. These have Intel Celeron M CPU, 4GB SSD Soldered On and 512MB RAM by default. The school have about 60 of them.

Im just installing Lubuntu Core on as a test and then bobbing Chrome on to see how well this works.

Reading the Lubuntu documentation, they have had this running on Intel Pentium 2 CPU with 64MB of RAM (not sure on the HDD).

 

If this doesn't work I don't think they're going to be much use, but I thought I would ask and see if anyone had converted them to Chromebooks somehow.

 

Thanks,

L

[Steve21]

Ah ok yeah they are over 10 years or more then haha

 

There's damn small Linux and mint that run on small ones too if you don't have luck with yours

 

The other option would be setting them up as vdi clients if you have the server stuff to support it if it's just basic web browsing etc

 

Steve

[AlanD]

Would they work as discless clients such as Linux terminal server client ....yes you would need a server....and maybe you would need some boot code in that 4gb. No chance of running an app locally, but .... this does seem like a back to front solution. First identify what you want to achieve in rather classroom, then decide on hardware required to deliver it....but guessing you are looking at a load of kit wondering how can we use it.

[Fazza]

To be honest if they're 10 years old it's not worth spending much time on it as they're not going to be up to much (if anything) at all. Try a cut down version of Linux, see how easy it is for your end users to use and see how quick it is accessing a website and make a decision from that.

 

We tried this on some very similar netbooks of a similar age and we tried it on one and then we put them in the WEEE!

[free780]

You also have the authentication issue to contend with. You need any flavour of Linux to authenticate with your filtering.

[round2it]

door stops you can never find one when you need one

[ITManLT]

Thanks for the replies all,

I tried a flavour of lubuntu core. This would have been okay with Chrome on as we have a smoothwall device that can not authenticate using Google sign on.

 

However, the devices are that old they will only run 32bit and there is now no 32bit install/support for Google Chrome on Linux.. so these would be vulnerable.

 

I think these are destined for the bin unfortunately..

 

Thanks,

L

[AlanD]

....Still think that using them as thin clients is the way to go....You could pick up a server of Ebay - if you don't already have something suitable - for a couple of hundred....and fill it up with memory chips (once you are happy it works) and install the Linux Server Terminal Project. I've used it with PXE boots running on old clients - but you should be able to get a Linux terminal server completely inside that 4GB SSD which should save on book times further. Then you can run Chrome, firefox or whatever ...I even had MS Office running under WINE. using clients that were so old they couldn't run windows.

[FN-GM]

....Still think that using them as thin clients is the way to go....You could pick up a server of Ebay - if you don't already have something suitable - for a couple of hundred....and fill it up with memory chips (once you are happy it works) and install the Linux Server Terminal Project. I've used it with PXE boots running on old clients - but you should be able to get a Linux terminal server completely inside that 4GB SSD which should save on book times further. Then you can run Chrome, firefox or whatever ...I even had MS Office running under WINE. using clients that were so old they couldn't run windows.

 

By the time you have spent money on a server, upgrades, electric, windows licences, RDS CAL and then time setting it all up and maintaining it you might as well buy a bunch of brand new budget Chromebooks.

[3s-gtech]

Agreed - it's not worth your time. They'll be miserable to use with their tiny screens and slow old components, even as TS clients. Users will feel pretty hard done by having to use them, they may get trashed as a result. The other inevitable is a teacher tries to use the whole lot of them to do something silly like making posters with a class and the whole shebang explodes.

 

Recycle them and save your time - that costs the school a good chunk of cash on a project like this!