I recently picked up an old Toshiba Satellite M45-S265 laptop, which has a Pentium M 1.60 GHz processor. I want to install the 32-bit version of Linux Mint Debian Edition, and it seems like this laptop should be capable of running it. However, it doesn't have USB booting options, so I'm trying to install it with a physical disc. I've burned the install disc at the lowest speed and verified it, but when I insert it into the laptop, it leads to the welcome screen and then hangs if I try to make any selections. I also tried making an installer disc for Lubuntu 18.04, but it freezes just like the first disc. For more context, when I let the installer start automatically, it boots to a black screen with a blinking underscore. Any help would be appreciated!
3 Answers
For a laptop like yours, I’d suggest trying Damn Small Linux 2024. It's designed specifically for older hardware and is fairly user-friendly.
It sounds like your laptop might not have enough RAM for a smooth installation. It usually comes with 512 MB, which is likely insufficient for running a Live image of Linux Mint Debian Edition. If you do have enough RAM, you might need to use the "PAE forced" option since the Pentium M often appears as if it doesn’t support PAE. This could help with the installation issues you're facing.
Make sure you checked your BIOS settings and selected the option to boot from the DVD/CD drive first. You could also try hitting F12 to see if there’s a boot menu. Given the age of your laptop, I recommend trying Q4OS instead of Mint or Lubuntu; it might perform better.
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