I'm Mintless

[stephanieswitzer]

Sadly my MacMini has given up and with it my mint installation. When I booted-up this morning, nothing happened. No lights, no boot chime, nothing. I hoped it was the SSD, but it turns out the Logic Board is fried. I could install Mint on my iMac 27", but it's pretty much brand new, so I've opted to save up and buy a Mintbox 2 Pro.

Isn't technology wonderful.

[DAMIEN1307]

im sorry to hear that stephanie...you could always opt to find just another computer/laptop etc. at a pawn shop for cheap money...then install mint 19 from there rather than wait...DAMIEN

[JoeFootball]

... turns out the Logic Board is fried.

Eeek. Sorry to hear.

... so I've opted to save up and buy a Mintbox 2 Pro.

Not to dissuade you from doing so, but I know I've acquired several old desktops and laptops from people whose Windows installation became so polluted/corrupted that they just bought another computer. Rather than have make the trip to electronics recycling, they happily just give it to me, where I nuke the hard drive, install Linux Mint, and I've got another speedy machine.

My point being, ask around, and you may find similar to keep you company while you save up for that MintBox 2 Pro.

Joe

[stephanieswitzer]

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like I'll be off to check out pawn shops, second hand stops and yard sales

[lsemmens]

In OZ we have auction houses that sell of redundant govt computers. Sometimes you can get a bargain there, too. Depends upon the day, of course. Occasionally you get idiots paying twice as much for gear that you can buy new for less.

[DAMIEN1307]

hi stephanie...make sure during your search that you try to find a computer using at least an i5 or i7 intel core and hopefully at least 4 gigs ram, 8 of course even better...you can find many dell inspiron n5110 series that have a core i5 with 8 gigs that are pre-owned...the only problem i find with them is a crappy keyboard, all i do with them when people just give them to me is plug in a cheap wired or wireless keyboard into the USB port and problem solved...thats my spare computer and its lightening fast...hope this helps in your happy hunting...DAMIEN

[HaveaMint]

I don't know your budget allowance on this but here are some refurbished somewhere in CA.
https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/category/l ... efurbished

[stephanieswitzer]

hi stephanie...make sure during your search that you try to find a computer using at least an i5 or i7 intel core and hopefully at least 4 gigs ram, 8 of course even better...you can find many dell inspiron n5110 series that have a core i5 with 8 gigs that are pre-owned...the only problem i find with them is a crappy keyboard, all i do with them when people just give them to me is plug in a cheap wired or wireless keyboard into the USB port and problem solved...thats my spare computer and its lightening fast...hope this helps in your happy hunting...DAMIEN

Just checked eBay and they have some of those Dells at a very cheap price. I'm off to England for a Month or so, so I'll dig into it more when I get back. Thanks for the tip Damien.

[DAMIEN1307]

you are more than welcome...have fun in "olde blighty"...DAMIEN

[AZgl1800]

our local city government has an annual auction to sell off surplus equipment, but the laptops are so ancient as to be useless.

[KBD47]

Keep an eye out for X and T series Thinkpads. They do a great job with Linux.

[AndyMH]

+1 for thinkpads, you can pick up a t430 here for £150 - £200.

[AZgl1800]

for myself, it must have a 15+ size screen, and it must have a Full Keyboard complete with the 10 key number pad.

that lets a lot of tiny stuff go bye bye for me.... I looked at the Thinkpads and no thanks.

[KBD47]

for myself, it must have a 15+ size screen, and it must have a Full Keyboard complete with the 10 key number pad.

that lets a lot of tiny stuff go bye bye for me.... I looked at the Thinkpads and no thanks.

Thinkpads have awesome, some would say the best, keyboards Check out a T520 Thinkpad. My smaller T420 and X220 Thinkpads have the best keyboards I've ever used.

[AZgl1800]

for myself, it must have a 15+ size screen, and it must have a Full Keyboard complete with the 10 key number pad.

that lets a lot of tiny stuff go bye bye for me.... I looked at the Thinkpads and no thanks.

Thinkpads have awesome, some would say the best, keyboards Check out a T520 Thinkpad. My smaller T420 and X220 Thinkpads have the best keyboards I've ever used.

again,,

it is a great business machine, but no 10 key number pad, and I have Large Hands, I need a full size keyboard...
I read that is very fast at bootup in the factory configuration.


Pros /

Fast boot time; Great keyboard; High-resolution display; Extra-long battery life
Cons /

No USB 3.0; Small touchpad; Bulky design
Verdict /

The 15.6-inch Lenovo ThinkPad T520 is a business workhorse, offering solid performance and graphics, excellent battery life, and a great keyboard.

[AndyMH]

I use my T430 sat in a docking station attached to a 2560x1080 monitor with a wireless MS natural keyboard and separate wireless numeric keypad. And, as I'm left handed, I can have the number pad to my left!

The T430 has 2 x USB3.

[lsemmens]

I always swear by Toshibas, never had an a issue with them (apart from wearing them out). I used to think that Thinkpads were the gold standard, but that was back when they were made by IBM. (and, I must admit, I also sold them )

[stephanieswitzer]

Wow... Some many suggestions. Thanks so much everyone.

[BG405]

You might find a decent one whilst here in England. Depending where you're visiting, there should be plenty of secondhand shops, there are several stores selling used computers quite near me for example. Pawn shops tend to be found mostly in the city centres. Just make sure the PSU will work on 120V 60Hz (most do). See if they'll let you try them out with a USB flash stick loaded with the Mint flavour of your choice.

All but one of my machines are secondhand (or third, fourth even). All work well with an appropriate version & DE of Mint, except the really ancient ones. For those, there's Peppermint, AntiX, Puppy, DSL etc..

[DAMIEN1307]

hi stephanie...i dont suppose that you are going to be anywhere near St Austell, Cornwall when in "olde Blighty"?...DAMIEN