Doing some cleaning I just found an old laptop that I haven't use for ages but, oh surprise !, still fully functioning. According to the files inside I stopped using it around 2006 and the last time I started it was 2013.

It's a Sony VAIO, with a 40 GB HDD and 256 MB of RAM. OS is Windows XP !!!

 

To give it a second life I was thinking of installing a lightweight Linux distro . Before I brick a still functioning computer, any advise about that  ?

If you stopped using it in 2006 then it is probably a few years older. Windows XP was released in 2001..so in computer terms this computer is 'ancient'.

 

However, you might try adding RAM to get at least 1 GB and preferably 2GB and run a distro like Elementary OS, but the CPUs of that day are reasonably slow not just in ghz but in size of level 2 cache and memory bus speeds. Honestly, it would be easier and cheaper probably to pick up a used 3-5 year old computer and go from there.

You might take a look at Puppy Linux.  Doesn't need much in the way of hardware. 

 

Link here:  http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview and Getting Started.htm

 

DM

Mint or Mate both only use about 9 gbs,  both should run fine on it; better than the XP ever did anyways

 

Lubuntu is ultra light and in my use of it, very stable. The desktop is very configurable too and pretty, especially considering that it's ultra light. Plus it has the support of a large user community so it's easier to find answers online if you run into trouble.

 

Then there's xubuntu, which is also light (though not as light as lubuntu) and stable. The desktop (xfce) is stable though not as easy to configure to your taste as  the Desktop Lubuntu uses.

 

Both of these distros run well on very light machine specs (eg with machines light on ram and disk space), and would probably function well without hardware upgrades (eg memory). Lubuntu requires a minimum of 128 MB of RAM and 2 GB disk space, so it should run on half a gig of RAM. D/L it, slap it onto a stick and try it out, and install if it's not hopelessly slow on the stick.

 

I'd run a light browser though, unless you upgrade your memory. Browsers are memory hogs. I'd research this a bit. An ultralight browser is Midori, very quick, but it's a bit basic but takes up very little memory as long a you don't open a ton of tabs. The whole browser size is something lke 50K.

 

http://thesimplecomputer.info/1-month-with-the-midori-web-browser

 

Three's a light version of Firefox called Palemoon, but some extensions don't work on it. It's pretty close to a real FF experience though so what you'd expect is there.

 

cheers.