Got my $40 dollar Dell Optiplex from eBay, the USPS shipping box was a little torn up in shipping...

[G+_Ronald Stepp]

Got my $40 dollar Dell Optiplex from eBay, the USPS shipping box was a little torn up in shipping, the lid of the Dell had sprung loose, but snugged the lid, plugged in the power supply and turned it on.. came up promptly with no OS seen... which was right since the guy said it came with no OS installed.

 

It does have a Windows XP Pro sticker on the side with the key, but I got into the old-style BIOS, set it to USB Floppy as first boot device. Hooked my USB external floppy with the spinrite disk in it, and it promptly powered up and allowed me to run spinrite...

 

YIPPEEE!

 

Now I am wondering what would be a good version of Linux to install on the 80gb disk? I really don't want to go XP, which is still my 2nd favorite after Win7.

[G+_John Hillen]

I totally agree with your assesment of Windows versions. I have several machines running Ubuntu now and I am very happy Ubuntu as a replacement for windows.

[G+_Todd Barnard]

I buy these old Dells from a local campus when I need them...they install 64bit Ubuntu on them just to endure the machines are alive!

 

I've played with it, but it seems I never have one around long enough to get proficient. Someday I'll have a Linux box long enough to a handle on it!

[G+_Keith Mallett]

Debian!

Give Win10ToGo a shot too... You might like it.

[G+_Chris Skinner]

I have three Optiplex 760s that I use as media players. They all have kodibuntu on them and they run great.

[G+_David Wiggins]

They'll also run emulationstation. Also, if you don't want as much headache with codecs and stuff, in think Mint I'd back up and good now. I use Fedora and freeBSD here.

 

If you want to get yourself in a little trouble, try Kali. It's Debian based, possibly Ubuntu variant. It has some cool network analysis tools. Rapid 7 have some lessons to get your started and maybe make you afraid of any web form fill (and more). Granted, it can also be misused by skiddies, but it can also be enlightening. A tool defined by the holder and all.