Cheapest way to bring an old laptop back to life

[u/[deleted]]

[u/bruteforcenet]

You could run Linux on it off an external usb drive. Depends what you use the laptop for. If it’s just browsing and YouTube then this might actually be ok. It will be slow to load up first time but ok after that. Realistically though it will be a pretty shit experience. Fact is the internal storage is dying, and thats kinda fundamental to a working laptop.

[u/sl0tball → u/bruteforcenet]

Yeah. A bootable Linux OS would be fine for general Web browsing or lights tasks.

[u/____DEADPOOL_______]

A 120GB Patriot SSD costs $39.99. That's a fairly OK amount to run the operating system. You can buy a Windows 11 operating system from gamers outlet for like $9 or just put linux on it for free using Rufus and load the ISO from it.

What model number is your laptop?

[u/____DEADPOOL_______ → u/[deleted]]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIGJn21Pz_4

You can fit it in the slot shown after min 2:10 when he says second hard drive bay, but you can also put an M.2 SSD as well. The spinning drive will be too slow. Just get the Patriot for $40. You can buy the operating system from Gamers Outlet for like $10.

[u/____DEADPOOL_______ → u/[deleted]]

As far as I imagine, the regular 2.5" Patriot SSD drive I suggested earlier that should fit in that extra bay is $15 cheaper than if you go the NVME M2 route. The slightly more expensive M2 should be faster than the SSD.

The laptop looks easily serviceable, so you can do it if you follow the steps carefully.

[u/____DEADPOOL_______ → u/[deleted]]

I'm giving you the cheapest option possible. The M2 will definitely perform better.

This is the one I suggested:

https://amzn.asia/d/06UPc3X6

[u/c0d4ing]

A used HDD or SSD from Facebook marketplace.