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Will Windows 7 Run on a Pentium 3?
The answer to this question is a resounding yes.
As a project, I took a Dell Latitude PCx Laptop, a P3 500Mhz with 512MB RAM, and installed the Windows 7 Starter Edition from the RC DVD from Microsoft. At this writing it is running well, at least as responsive at the original Windows 98 (the label states it is Windows 2000 ready).
This is how I was able to accomplish this:
The laptop has one internal drive but comes with a floppy and a CD. An included cable allows one external drive to connect (your choice) while the other can be inserted internally. There is one USB port.
First I created a Windows 7 System Repair Disc for 32 bit. You can install a 7 x32 on a 64 bit system, but not the other away around. I had a Dell Inspiron 1100 with the 7 RC and used that to create the Repair CD. Now I can boot into a Windows 7 x86 shell and proceed with the install.
Next I used a 4GB laptop hard drive and a USB case as my USB drive. Using a working 7 x64 computer, I inserted the multi-edition DVD of 7 I created, using this tutorial (thanks septprince), and copied the files to the 4GB USB drive. Then I plugged the USB drive into the USB port on the Latitude.
Now boot the Latitude with the 7 repair CD. The Latitude requires a F12 during boot to bring up a boot menu and select CD. System Recovery Options opens with choices of language and keyboard. Next "Use recovery tools" and at the bottom of the next menu select "Command Prompt". (I really dislike using the command prompt; I can never remember the syntax of those little commands)
At the command prompt you need to find the USB drive and "setup.exe". Type: "C:" without the quotes and hit enter. The command prompt will change to "C:\>". Type "dir" without the quotes and hit enter. This command will show you a list of what is in drive C, though most likely C is not your USB drive. Next try "D:", enter, "dir", enter. Then "E", etc until you find the USB drive. It helps to have given the USB drive a "Label" you will recognize when you were copying files to it earlier. Once you have located the USB drive, type: "setup.exe" without the quotes and hit enter. If it is there the Windows 7 installer will start and the rest is just a normal OS install.
The "Starter Edition" took up 7.5 GB of space. A recent "Ultimate" install used 9.26GB.
I am delighted with how the Latitude works with Windows 7. I believe it will breath new life into this old brick. However, I am having difficulty with the Ethernet. I am looking for newer PCMCIA nic cards that will be compatible with Windows 7 or other possible solutions.
Conclusion
Windows 7 is capable of running on Pentium 3 computers. However, performance is limited by the lack of processing power as compared to current computer technology.
Last edited by iseeuu; 06 Aug 2009 at 11:12. Reason: Recalcuated size of OS