Revive Your Old Computer With Lubuntu Linux

Published: Jun 20, 2022

My father-in-law has an old Dell Inspiron 660s desktop computer from 2012. The hard drive crapped out, so he started looking for a new computer, planning to throw this one away.

Here are the specs, which aren’t too shabby for a 10 year old machine: OS: Windows 7, CPU: Dual-core Intel i3-2120 @ 3.3 GHz, Memory: 6 GB DDR3 1600 MHz.

If he paid for a new hard drive, I offered to replace it and install Lubuntu Linux. So, he ordered a new one for about $50, a Western Digital 1 TB 7200 RPM (model WD10EZEX), and we were off to the races.

There are a bunch of Linux distributions, so why Lubuntu? Well, I wanted a lightweight OS, a simple UI, and for it to be Ubuntu-like. Lubuntu meets those criteria. He uses a Chromebook every day, so learning a non-Windows UI wasn’t an issue.

The install wasn’t too bad:

Replace the physical hard drive
On another computer: Download the Lubuntu ISO, preferably an LTS one, then burn it to a USB stick
Reboot the desktop and mash F12 until the boot menu comes up
Select the USB stick, then follow the GUI install steps
After the install, connect to WiFi, then run lubuntu-upgrader to check for further OS updates
Run the Driver Install Tool for his Brother MFC-9130CW printer. It’s a shell script and you just follow the prompts

My initial reaction was shock… I couldn’t believe how “snappy” everything felt. The LXQt (Lightweight Qt) Desktop Environment was, well, lightweight. Opening a Firefox window, and subsequent tabs, was quick. LibreOffice was responsive. Terminal even felt zippier. It made the previous Windows 7 experience feels like wading through mud (no disrespect, I’ve got some good Win7 memories).

There you go. Don’t throw your old hardware away just yet, you can squeeze a few more years out of it.