I need to run Windows on a 10 y/old PC. - eviltoast

Howdy!

My parents have a 10+ years old HP that is almost unusable, but they want to keep the computer since they use it to print documents and it “looks nice.” I’m trying to find a viable solution to make the PC run smoother. Here are the options I’m considering, and I want your opinion on those:

  1. Install a Windows-like Linux distro so my parents aren’t lost. I showed them Ubuntu, but it wasn’t conclusive.
  2. Running a thin client that connects via RDP to a Windows 10 or 11 VM on my Proxmox server. Would USB passthrough work? We have a stable network, so latency isn’t a big issue.

Since I’m only home during weekends, I don’t want something that could break easily. Technology and them is not a match.

If you have any other ideas, I would really appreciate it.

Happy homelabbing!

  • RandofCarter@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Speaking from experience: do not give your parents something that looks like windows and isn’t. Actually, don’t give them Linux period. I wiped and reset the PC after a ransomware thing. Gave it centos and locked it the hell down to web browsing and mails and no admin perms. It lasted 2 months before failing to get to GUI.