Solved Resurrecting an old Netbook PC (and consequent problems)

[ZaphodB]

Okay - so clearing clutter before a downsizing house move.

I found an old ASUS eee PC Seashell 1015PEM netbook and power supply.

Wouldn't fully boot - asked if I wanted to repair - then told me it couldn't repair the OS.

So I tried various up-to-date distros of Linux. Ran Linux Mint 22.3 'Zena' with Cinnamon desktop happily as a live session but when unstalled got stuck in a sign-on/enter password loop.

Downloaded an .iso of Windows 7 Starter and installed that and everything works BUT the browser is a problem.

Couldn't get anything to work except Seamonkey - but that had issues with very irritating security warnings popping up for every website I clicked on.

Are these security certificate issues and if so, how do I resolve them?

Trawled the net to find that Firefox did an ESR version that works with 7 - so I've just tried that to be told that FF requies Win 10 or later!

So, with a sore head from bashing it against the wall repeatedly, i wonder if the good folks here have some solutions.

Not bothered about Edge (would prefer not to), used Chrome for years (used to be a FF advocate years past), would use Opera. Won't use Brave (I gather there is some underhand telemetry going on there).

Is there a version of FF available that will run om this Atom-powered netbook?

Situation si that currently the netbook works but won't connect to the internet through a browser - so I need an appropriate browser that I can download onto a USB on a different pc to plug into the eee PC.

Over to you.

I hope folks can help. Please supply links if you can rather than suggesting somthing - thank you.

Zaph

System Specs of Netbook PC

OS: MS Windows 7 Starter
Version: 6.1.7600 Build 7600
Manufacturer: ASUStek Computer Inc.
Model: 1015PEM
Processor: Intel Atom N550 @ 1.5GHz
Graphics Card: Intel Atom N5xx Integrated Graphics Controller
Installed RAM: 2Gb
HDD: 500Gb

 

[Bree]

Is there a version of FF available that will run on this Atom-powered netbook?

Have a look at r3dfox, a fork of Firefox designed for Vista/Win7.

Releases . Eclipse-Community/r3dfox . GitHub

...R3DFOX is a fork of current version Firefox (modified version to run on Vista and Windows 7)...

 

[townsbg]

It's not that the internet isn't working but that the browsers aren't working. IE 8 (what comes with 7) is so antiquated it's pretty much useless. IE 11 isn't much more useful. I don't know about seamonkey but it doesn't sound like you found the correct version of FF for 7 which is 115 ESR. However like Bree said R3xfox is a much better choice because it is based on a modern version of FF but it's backported to 7. There's also Supermium if you want a chrome based browser. GitHub - win32ss/supermium: Chromium fork for Windows XP/2003 and up . GitHub Don't forget to update 7. You should use simplix. Набор обновлений UpdatePack7R2 для Windows 7 SP1 и Server 2008 R2 SP1 — simplix.info

 

[torchwood]

the bigger problem is that its the >>> starter version of W7 <<< its rather limited if you have a higher version key use it

 

[ZaphodB]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the suggestions.

Went to Waybackmachine to find earlier versions of Firefox This then took me to mozilla.org where I downloaded and installed FF 70. Then went to Help > About > Update and after a couple of intermediate versions and updates, eventually landed on 115.

All good now.

@torchwood

It is only an Atom N550 CPU with 2GB Ram. Will it even run Win 7 Home??

I mean it does meet the minimum specs for Win 7 of 1GHz plus CPU, 1GB RAM (32-bit OS) or 2GB RAM (64-bit) and in excess of 16GB (32-bit) or 20GB (64-bit) hard disk space.

I have .iso images from the origial installation disks so I can make a bootable installation USB. Only issue with that is they are pre-SP1. If I went down that route, is there an SP1 package that I could download & install.

I do have some valid licence keys from pcs that I owned that are no longer in use, so I can transfer the licence over and I guess I could swap in a new HDD and give it a shot!

Zaph

 

[torchwood]

2gb ram is fine for a 32bit version of w7 home.... just go to control panel >> system >> change product key (input your home key)

 

[spapakons]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the suggestions.

Went to Waybackmachine to find earlier versions of Firefox This then took me to mozilla.org where I downloaded and installed FF 70. Then went to Help > About > Update and after a couple of intermediate versions and updates, eventually landed on 115.

All good now.

@torchwood

It is only an Atom N550 CPU with 2GB Ram. Will it even run Win 7 Home??

I mean it does meet the minimum specs for Win 7 of 1GHz plus CPU, 1GB RAM (32-bit OS) or 2GB RAM (64-bit) and in excess of 16GB (32-bit) or 20GB (64-bit) hard disk space.

I have .iso images from the origial installation disks so I can make a bootable installation USB. Only issue with that is they are pre-SP1. If I went down that route, is there an SP1 package that I could download & install.

I do have some valid licence keys from pcs that I owned that are no longer in use, so I can transfer the licence over and I guess I could swap in a new HDD and give it a shot!

Zaph

Yes, it will. I had a netbook running Windows 7 Starter and I upgraded it to Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit. Luckily it had Intel 945G graphics which had an WDDM graphics driver, so I even had Aero enabled!

 

[townsbg]

You'll only be able to transfer a retail key from one computer to another. OEM keys are tied to the computer they're first activated on. 2 gb of ram is really pushing it. You will only be able to do like one thing at a time on it. You should run msconfig and turn off any processes you don't need. Lots of programs like to create auto-starting programs and they consume more and more memory. Without enough memory your computer will seem so slow. Netbooks though are designed for price and portability not performance. Keep that in mind.

 

[SIW2]

OS: MS Windows 7 Starter
Version: 6.1.7600 Build 7600

suggest you install 7601 instead

en_windows_7_starter_with_sp1_x86_dvd_u_678562.iso
SHA1 Hash E1653B111C4C6FD75B1BE8F9B4C9BCBB0B39B209

en_windows_7_home_basic_with_sp1_x86_dvd_u_676470.iso

en_windows_7_professional_with_sp1_x86_dvd_u_677056.iso

en_windows_7_ultimate_with_sp1_x86_dvd_u_677460.iso

The official ms iso files contain ALL the editions . You only need any one of those



Update your Win 7 installation media

 

[ZaphodB]

Thank you SIW2

Would you have a secure/verified link to a Windows 7 .iso?

I didn't have a copy of Win 7 Starter and the .iso I found is yelling that the OS isn't a genuine copy even though I used the key that is printed on my CoA stuck to the bottom of the laptop.

I may have an .iso image somewhere but in the middle of a house move so unlikely to be found in the short term.

Cheers,

Zaph

BiB - actually it was easier than I thought. My younger self was obviously more organised than I am now!

 

[SIW2]

Search the internet for the iso file name in bold below. You will find it immediately, it is the first result on google

en_windows_7_starter_with_sp1_x86_dvd_u_678562.iso
SHA1 Hash E1653B111C4C6FD75B1BE8F9B4C9BCBB0B39B209

 

[spapakons]

You'll only be able to transfer a retail key from one computer to another. OEM keys are tied to the computer they're first activated on. 2 gb of ram is really pushing it. You will only be able to do like one thing at a time on it. You should run msconfig and turn off any processes you don't need. Lots of programs like to create auto-starting programs and they consume more and more memory. Without enough memory your computer will seem so slow. Netbooks though are designed for price and portability not performance. Keep that in mind.

On such weak systems you don't upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate to run many tasks at the same time, you do it for access to all the features and for enabling Aero, provided the graphics driver is WDDM. I agree you have to disable stuff to make it faster. Don't forget to also disable visual effects such as animations and fades. In fact I keep only the modern theme and shadow under the cursor and text. Much faster without resorting to classic theme.

- - - Updated - - -

suggest you install 7601 instead

en_windows_7_starter_with_sp1_x86_dvd_u_678562.iso
SHA1 Hash E1653B111C4C6FD75B1BE8F9B4C9BCBB0B39B209

en_windows_7_home_basic_with_sp1_x86_dvd_u_676470.iso

en_windows_7_professional_with_sp1_x86_dvd_u_677056.iso

en_windows_7_ultimate_with_sp1_x86_dvd_u_677460.iso

The official ms iso files contain ALL the editions . You only need any one of those



Update your Win 7 installation media

Not sure about other versions, but the Windows 7 Ultimate ISO contains all versions so you can install anyone using the respective key.

- - - Updated - - -

I would like to remind you that upgrading from one Windows 7 version to a higher version you don't use the ISO. You go to Control Panel, Anytime Upgrade and you type the key of the higher version. After upgrading you have to activate again.

 

[ZaphodB]

As per the advice given earlier in this thread, I've put Windows 7 Home Premium on the netbook and it seems to be quite happy.

Microsoft have authenticated the installation so all is good.

Many hanks to all who offered help and suggestions - especially @torchwood and @spapakons - you rock!

Zaph

Thread now marked [SOLVED]

 

[spapakons]

That's the forum is for. To share our own experiences and get help faster than asking official Microsoft Community. Almost always the first replies from the Community are things you have already tried and much later, if ever, you read something useful. OEM supports are many days later by when you have found the solution yourself. Forums like Sevenforums, Tenforums and Elevenforum provide valuable help within the same day!

PS: I have a low rank in this forum because I discovered it much later when I had abandoned Windows 7 on my own PC and had already moved to Windows 10. So naturally I don't post frequently. At Elevenform I have over 7500 posts and I am a Guru, so I am far from novice. You can ask me whatever you want and I will gladly do my best to help.