[Solved] Mint 19 on T400 - experiences?

[turboscrew]

Has anyone installed Mint 19 on T400?
If, what are the experiences? Is Mint 19 too heavy on T400 (4GB RAM)?

I'm thinking of upgrading from 17.3 (Cinnamon) due to newer HW, and since the support is going to end soonish anyway.
I've been happy with 17.3/Cinnamon.

[Hoser Rob]

That's a 10 year old machine and I suspect it'd have more to do with graphics support than RAM. May be best to just dl a copy of the iso and boot it from a USB key if possible to test.

[turboscrew]

It's just that I don't know how well the test form DVD/memory stick shows what's like to run an installed system.
At least DVD is pretty slow. I just wondered if someone has first hand experience. I know there are several T400 machines running Mint 17.x. And I think some even running Mint 18.x.

Of course I'd test the HW compatibility with a DVD or memory stick before trying to install. I remember vaguely that this machine needs "forcepae".

[turboscrew]

And about graphics (now with Mint 17.3):

Code: Select all

$ inxi -G
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Mobile 4 Series Integrated Graphics Controller
           Card-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] RV620/M82 [Mobility Radeon HD 3450/3470]
           Display Server: X.Org 1.17.1 drivers: ati,radeon,intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1440x900@60.2hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Mobile Intel GM45 Express
           GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 10.5.9

[KBD47]

My T400 is running Kubuntu 18.04 on just 3 gb ram. You will do fine with any of the Mint 19 versions, though Xfce might be a bit better as it uses less ram. My understanding is you can max out the T400 at 8 gb of ram, so you can future proof it by maxing out the ram and it should run anything Linux.
Edit: replace the hard drive with a SSD drive and that would be better still. I don't use mine much but those are the upgrades I plan on making to keep it relevant.

[Derek_S]

Hello @ turboscrew - I installed LM19 on my own T400 earlier this week and have had no problems whatsoever with my meager 4GB of installed memory. Purrs like a kitten. Give me a chance. I'll check out memory usage and report back, I'm on a different machine right now.

[turboscrew]

Sounds good.

[Derek_S]

Hello @ turboscrew - I'm running Linux Mint 19 64 bit with the Cinnamon desktop. Memory usage looks to be about 832MB running the desktop by itself, and 1.1 GB with Firefox running. If I remember correctly, that's about the same as LM18.

[turboscrew]

Hello @ turboscrew - I'm running Linux Mint 19 64 bit with the Cinnamon desktop. Memory usage looks to be about 832MB running the desktop by itself, and 1.1 GB with Firefox running. If I remember correctly, that's about the same as LM18.

Great, thanks!