Need OS Recommendation: Want YouTube, Net Surfing, and Watch Videos on Acer Aspire Switch 10

topcat989

topcat989

Extremely [H]
Joined
Jan 2, 2001
Messages
33,345
What I have:

So I managed to dig up my Pop's old Acer Aspire Switch 10 <-- SPECS

It's slower than a sloth swimming in molasses in wintertime with the included Win 8.1.

Factory reset does nothing, it's like the recovery partition has been deleted. Which doesn't surprise me, my Pop always did like "fixing" his PCs.

So there's an old Win 8.1 install that chokes on Win updates, etc.

What I want:

All I want to do with this tablet is watch YouTube Videos, play 720p 0r 1080p MKV/MP4 (.264 and .265) videos, and general surf the net, like visiting [H].

That's it. No games, no real work, etc.

I'd like to do it with an OS that runs the tablets full capabilities (ie: touchscreen, Bluetooth, sound, etc)

Suggestions? Thoughts?

TIA
 
Thanks!

Everyone keep the suggestions coming, I want choices :D

On another note, looks like I need to update BIOS..........
 
is that link right that it only has 2GB ram and 32GB ssd? could try tiny 10 but anything more than 720p youtubes might be wishful thinking....
 
topcat989 said:
Thanks!

Everyone keep the suggestions coming, I want choices :D

On another note, looks like I need to update BIOS..........
Click to expand...
There really isn’t any choices with the specs of that machine. A lightweight Linux distro like the one I suggested will let you get the most juice out of your tablet. Anything more demanding is going to make it choke.
 
This above, and the different between lightweight distro to do simple stuff is not necessarily worth debatting much.
 
From the spec page, it maybe had a spinner or a SSD? If it doesn't have an ssd, get it one or it's gonna be real sad with modern OSes.

2GB ram is limiting too, if you can upgrade that would help. ChromeOS Flex says 4GB required, but maybe you can find an older Chrome for PC build that could work with less? Otherwise, you're probably looking for a lightweight Linux build and hope it works with the hardware. Use like fvwm or something ancient and lightweight to help reduce resources spent on that. Could probably not run a WM at all and just run Chrome or Firefox, but that may be too barebones.
 
toast0 said:
From the spec page, it maybe had a spinner or a SSD? If it doesn't have an ssd, get it one or it's gonna be real sad with modern OSes.

2GB ram is limiting too, if you can upgrade that would help. ChromeOS Flex says 4GB required, but maybe you can find an older Chrome for PC build that could work with less? Otherwise, you're probably looking for a lightweight Linux build and hope it works with the hardware. Use like fvwm or something ancient and lightweight to help reduce resources spent on that. Could probably not run a WM at all and just run Chrome or Firefox, but that may be too barebones.
Click to expand...
I was going to suggest that. Too bad it needs 4GB now. CloudReady ran really well on 2GB. Then Google bought them and turned it into ChromeOS Flex.
 
Any thoughts on running a stripped down Win 8.1? I remember the days of Nlite when you could strip a bunch of WinXP down and run lean versions....
 
topcat989 said:
Any thoughts on running a stripped down Win 8.1? I remember the days of Nlite when you could strip a bunch of WinXP down and run lean versions....
Click to expand...
there is already a tiny8/8.1, same guys that do the tiny11 i suggested, i think....
 
Last edited:
topcat989 said:
Any thoughts on running a stripped down Win 8.1? I remember the days of Nlite when you could strip a bunch of WinXP down and run lean versions....
Click to expand...
It's still going to run like trash on your device. Even if you do a clean install, after a while, the RAM usage is going to go up again, and you'll be in the same situation. Not to mention the amount of space that the base Windows install takes up. You'll be using at least half of your 32 GB SSD.
 
Shoganai said:
It's still going to run like trash on your device. Even if you do a clean install, after a while, the RAM usage is going to go up again, and you'll be in the same situation. Not to mention the amount of space that the base Windows install takes up. You'll be using at least half of your 32 GB SSD.
Click to expand...

tiny8 runs on 1gb ram and uses less than 4gb drive space. it probably wont be great but it would be usable.
 
pendragon1 said:
tiny8 runs on 1gb ram and uses less than 4gb drive space. it probably wont be great but it would be usable.
Click to expand...
On a fresh install, yes. After Windows updates and app installs, Windows 8.1 is going to naturally start to slow down and use more RAM. I've installed these "tiny" versions on many PCs and Windows naturally becomes bloated over time. He can certainly try it, but a lean Linux install isn't going to bloat like Windows.
 
Shoganai said:
On a fresh install, yes. After Windows updates and app installs, Windows 8.1 is going to naturally start to slow down and use more RAM. I've installed these "tiny" versions on many PCs and Windows naturally becomes bloated over time. He can certainly try it, but a lean Linux install isn't going to bloat like Windows.
Click to expand...
never had that problem with them, "tiny" specifically. never used any of the build it yourself or "mini" versions, so maybe?
sure, but now the problem is finding a linux distro that will even run on it in the first place. he already has 3 options on the windows side...
 
pendragon1 said:
never had that problem with them, "tiny" specifically. never used any of the build it yourself or "mini" versions, so maybe?
sure, but now the problem is finding a linux distro that will even run on it in the first place. he already has 3 options on the windows side...
Click to expand...
It may work just fine. He should probably try it first since he's used to Windows. As for compatibility, I already linked him a distro that works with his device.
 
topcat989 said:
What I have:

So I managed to dig up my Pop's old Acer Aspire Switch 10 <-- SPECS

It's slower than a sloth swimming in molasses in wintertime with the included Win 8.1.

Factory reset does nothing, it's like the recovery partition has been deleted. Which doesn't surprise me, my Pop always did like "fixing" his PCs.

So there's an old Win 8.1 install that chokes on Win updates, etc.

What I want:

All I want to do with this tablet is watch YouTube Videos, play 720p 0r 1080p MKV/MP4 (.264 and .265) videos, and general surf the net, like visiting [H].

That's it. No games, no real work, etc.

I'd like to do it with an OS that runs the tablets full capabilities (ie: touchscreen, Bluetooth, sound, etc)

Suggestions? Thoughts?

TIA
Click to expand...
On my decade old beast with i5 2520m, running mint xfce, the youtube website has been steadily going down the drain performance wise. Nowadays, I've disabled javascript on most websites (noscript) and prefer to use the minitube application for viewing youtube videos.
 
Keep the advice/suggestions coming, I'm reading every post. Debating whether to order recovery USB stick from Acer. I've got the USB cable adapter coming Weds so I can use the USB (micro) port on the tablet which is needed for booting from USB stick (whether factory image or linux). The regular USB port on the detatchable keyboard is unreliable for that purpose.
 
topcat989 said:
Keep the advice/suggestions coming, I'm reading every post. Debating whether to order recovery USB stick from Acer. I've got the USB cable adapter coming Weds so I can use the USB (micro) port on the tablet which is needed for booting from USB stick (whether factory image or linux). The regular USB port on the detatchable keyboard is unreliable for that purpose.
Click to expand...
Don't order a recovery USB stick from Acer. You're just going to end up installing their stock, bloated version of Windows with all of their crap on it and you're going to end up in the same situation as you are now.


emphy said:
On my decade old beast with i5 2520m, running mint xfce, the youtube website has been steadily going down the drain performance wise. Nowadays, I've disabled javascript on most websites (noscript) and prefer to use the minitube application for viewing youtube videos.
Click to expand...
If you're using Firefox, then that's the issue. Google purposely hobbles non-Chromium browsers on YouTube, which will be an even worse experience for older devices. Brave is the best option and has a Linux version.
 
There's also puppy linux, tiny core linux, knoppix, alpine. Puppy is my personal favorite of the stupid small linux distros.

Here's a list of distros that will run in memory from a CD/USB flash drive, some can be installed to disk, or can be configured to save to the flash drive when you shut down.
 
Keep in mind when recommending OS it has to be able to run the features of the tablet: touchscreen, sound, etc
 
Shoganai said:
Don't order a recovery USB stick from Acer. You're just going to end up installing their stock, bloated version of Windows with all of their crap on it and you're going to end up in the same situation as you are now.
Click to expand...

The only reason I might is because the recovery partition is borked, so "factory reset" doesn't work. I like having the option to reset and start again
 
topcat989 said:
The only reason I might is because the recovery partition is borked, so "factory reset" doesn't work. I like having the option to reset and start again
Click to expand...
Then enjoy having a bloated version of Windows that runs like garbage, I guess. I'm glad you've taken absolutely none of the advice in this thread. Wasting people's time is super neat.

thumbs-up-well-done.gif


topcat989 said:
Keep in mind when recommending OS it has to be able to run the features of the tablet: touchscreen, sound, etc
Click to expand...
Yes, we all kept that in mind, and yet you disregarded all the suggestions anyway.
 
Look into building your own stripped Windows 10 ISO using the Slimdown10 script. I have used this to build a stripped ISO with Defender disabled and have disabled even more services and what not. Installed on an ancient Dell Latitude 2120 netbook with a pathetic Atom N550 1.5GHz dual-core, 2GB DDR3, 120GB SSD and it's the most usable the machine has ever been. It can even do YouTube OK still as long as I use the YouTube High Definition add-on in Firefox and force videos to 360P. I have had 7, 8.1, and various Linux flavors on it over the years as well and it didn't run as good as it does now.

https://www.google.com/search?q=slimdown10
 
70 Polara said:
Look into building your own stripped Windows 10 ISO using the Slimdown10 script. I have used this to build a stripped ISO with Defender disabled and have disabled even more services and what not. Installed on an ancient Dell Latitude 2120 netbook with a pathetic Atom N550 1.5GHz dual-core, 2GB DDR3, 120GB SSD and it's the most usable the machine has ever been. It can even do YouTube OK still as long as I use the YouTube High Definition add-on in Firefox and force videos to 360P. I have had 7, 8.1, and various Linux flavors on it over the years as well and it didn't run as good as it does now.

https://www.google.com/search?q=slimdown10
Click to expand...


https://forums.mydigitallife.net/th...-ltsc-2021-into-classic-legacy-windows.86552/
 
Shoganai said:
Then enjoy having a bloated version of Windows that runs like garbage, I guess. I'm glad you've taken absolutely none of the advice in this thread. Wasting people's time is super neat.

View attachment 661919


Yes, we all kept that in mind, and yet you disregarded all the suggestions anyway.
Click to expand...

I haven't disregarded anything yet. I'm gathering suggestions and will evaluate them and go from there. Sorry you're offended by that :whistle:

If it makes you feel better the recovery disks aren't available from Acer anymore anyways. Hopefully you can sleep better now.

AliensGIF.gif
 
topcat989 said:
I haven't disregarded anything yet. I'm gathering suggestions and will evaluate them and go from there. Sorry you're offended by that :whistle:
Click to expand...
You read everything and then decided that your first course of action would be to install bloated garbage on your device.

topcat989 said:
If it makes you feel better the recovery disks aren't available from Acer anymore anyways. Hopefully you can sleep better now.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I was tossing and turning all night because of this.
 
What about running android on the tablet? Or is that a no go from the start. I'm running android on my ancient kindle fire 7 via cyranomod, but it is now so far out of spec it no longer updates.
 
topcat989 said:
What about running android on the tablet? Or is that a no go from the start. I'm running android on my ancient kindle fire 7 via cyranomod, but it is now so far out of spec it no longer updates.
Click to expand...
It's a Windows 2-in-1 device with a touchscreen, not an Android tablet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top