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Originally Posted by Max
If the machine is old, no dubt, an old linux will solve any performance issue...
Windows OS are made for gigantic (when you buy) computer resources... memory, disk space... whatever
Waste of resource happens ALWAYS cause windows is not made to be too efficient (same apply to NT/XP stuff and others business oriented... waste resources and never completely stable).
Linux systems are more compact and more reliable even on old hardware and obsolete stuff...
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This is true.
Many of the newer distributions of Linux will also run on antique equipment. I think Knoppix might work. It can be installed on a camera flash card to use as a hard drive for running linux at the USB port, while the real hard drive is used only as a data disk. Or it can be installed on the hard disk too. There are also other distributions that may work.
But if a person wanted to run Windows on antique hardware, then maybe Windows 98 would work. It was designed to run on 286, 386, and 486 computers. Maybe Windows 3.1 would be good too. These earlier windows versions were still resource hogs, but nothing near as bad as NT and later. They were made to work with limited memory and a weak processor without multi-threading. I remember running Windows 98 from a 486 PC / 128 MB ram and a 10 GB hard disk, and it was very stable. The real IE cache was accessible without hacking any hidden directories. It was my favourite version of Windows for a long time.
One good thing about using antique windows versions is hackers are not looking for new ways to exploit these versions or write new viruses for them. In that respect, they may be better than using XP, Vista or Windows 7. I suppose if someone installed Windows 98, it would be good to install an old version of Netscape for web surfing.
Funny... I have never bothered to install a firewall or anti-virus or adware remover on my Ubuntu or other Linux machines. And I never ever got a hint of web malware on Ubuntu. For now, Ubuntu is my favourite Linux because it is the easiest to use with fewest things to type and click. I can still open a terminal any time I want to do some serious control on the system, but when I'm in a hurry I can get things done fast like when Windows is working ok. Of course, other Linux distributions that don't have all the Ubuntu GUI features installed run faster, but who cares when the machine is running lightning fast?
Best wishes,
J_P