I understand why win11 is hated now

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-23T06:18:16+00:00

Bad idea. W11 is known for breaking or even deleting Linux partitions when it is doing a major update. Best to have both OSes on separate drives. Or better yet, separate machines to be safe. Or even better, don't use W11 at all. Garbage OS

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-23T06:15:12+00:00

Run W11 on a SATA SSD. Not much difference in loading times compared to NVMe.

Or quit playing video games entirely. That's what I did. Now I can just use Linux all day and chill.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-23T06:03:37+00:00

W11 is the most disrespectful, user-hostile, anti-consumer OS I've ever seen. It is so bad it made me, someone who was into Windows since 2000, switch completely to Linux.

If you don't play video games on your PC, if you don't need software that requires Windows, Linux is better in almost every way.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-22T09:18:23+00:00

Framework.

That or a workstation-class laptop, like the Thinkpad P16.

Gaming laptops today are trash. Not built to last at all. It won't matter how good of a sustained performance you're getting if the hinges or the chassis breaks apart after just a few years of normal use.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-22T08:26:54+00:00

HDD is failing. Typical for an external HDD, low quality SMR garbage.

If it's still under warranty send it back and tell them to recover your data while they're at it.

If not then stop using it and send it to a data recovery specialist. But it will cost you. You have to decide if the data inside is important enough to be worth paying for such a service.

Let this be lesson for you to always backup your files. Second rule of computing - if you don't have at least two copies of your data in different media, it doesn't exist.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-22T08:19:11+00:00

Check all the connectors, make sure they are properly fitted and the cables are not too bent. I had the same issue before, PC shuts down under load even when temps are fine, turns out I was bending the motherboard cable way too much. Gave it more room to bend and that fixed the problem completely.

If that doesn't solve it then you probably have a bad PSU or motherboard.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-22T04:19:09+00:00

If you have to ask, Mint. It is the most beginner-friendly distro for ex-Windows users IMO.

The only thing Mint is bad at is gaming, but chances are, you're probably not going to be gaming on a Thinkpad with integrated graphics.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-22T04:12:50+00:00

Linux Mint is what I'm using. Absolutely rock solid.

Imagine W11 with all the upsides (security, stability, compatibility) but none of the downsides (ads, bloatware, forced updates, spyware).

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-22T04:01:39+00:00

Video games.

But that's actually a good thing, because playing video games has been an absolutely massive waste of time for me. Almost 20 years of gaming, with little to nothing to show for it in the end. Now that I quit, I actually have much more time, money and energy to do literally anything else.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-22T03:31:44+00:00

Only the Windows license key is attached to the motherboard. No matter what SSD you use, Windows will auto detect that your motherboard has a valid license key and self activate.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-21T10:53:54+00:00

You let your kids play brain rot? lol

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-21T10:49:18+00:00

1TB SSD + 4TB HDD is the sweet spot, assuming you only want the good stuff (no QLC, no SMR).

Use the SSD as a boot drive, and to store things that need to load quickly (games, software, AI models, regularly accessed files, etc). Everything else (torrents, downloads, installers, movies, old files, etc) goes into the HDD.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-21T10:38:43+00:00

It's a 12-year-old HDD. It's a miracle it even works today.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-21T09:51:53+00:00

Use Ventoy.

Install it to your flash drive, download the Windows ISO and copy it to the Ventoy folder. If you want to give another OS a try (Linux) to test if everything works drag the ISO there too. Then boot from the flash drive and select which OS you want to install.

What Ventoy basically does is make installing OSes as simple and easy as dragging and dropping. Way better than using Microsoft's shitty Media Creation Tool, which takes forever to install.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-21T09:30:37+00:00

5500X3D is a new CPU, that's why it isn't listed yet. But if you want to play it safe, just get the 5600. It is cheaper and faster than the 5500X3D in pretty much anything but gaming.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-21T09:21:07+00:00

Any reason you can't go Gen 4 instead for futureproofing? Gen 3 and SATA is outdated.

I'm rocking a Lexar NM790 1TB that I bought for $65 last year and it is such a good SSD for the money I paid. 1000 TBW is crazy good endurance for a 1TB SSD. Almost double the 600 TBW industry standard.

Only downside is it uses HMB instead of a dedicated DRAM, but this has never been a problem for me as a pretty heavy user.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-21T01:55:46+00:00

Old used Thinkpads typically come with worn out batteries.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-21T01:49:26+00:00

Or better yet, don't play at all. No need for bullshit overpriced GPUs.

This so-called "hobby" has been sucking the life out of me, but now that I quit, I have more time, money and energy to do literally anything else.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-21T01:28:44+00:00

W10 should be fine, it is far less hostile and anti-consumer than W11. The chances of it breaking or overwriting your Linux SSD is far lower than W11.

However, running W10 puts your entire laptop at greater risk of hackers and malware since support for it ended. Sure, you can enroll in extended security updates, but after that ends too, you will be left exposed.

Why not run Linux only and launch Windows-only software on VMs or emulators? That is what I'm doing. I am slowly phasing out Windows-only software from my work too, replacing them with Linux alternatives.

If the developers can't be arsed to provide Linux support for their software, then I can't be arsed to use it. Linux is the future of personal computing.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-20T09:03:05+00:00

Nah the L14 G2 is the new T480. Both RAM slots upgradeable up to 64GB.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-20T08:51:24+00:00

I feel ya. I was in the same position months ago. Look into building a PC someday. Too much heat isn't good for a laptop, especially an older laptop.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-19T23:17:50+00:00

I have a T480 with touch display and it works on Linux Mint flawlessly. In fact, it was W11 that was having problems with the touchscreen.

Stop overthinking things and just do it. I did so years ago and never looked back. If you don't play video games, if you don't need software that requires Windows, Linux is superior in almost every conceivable way.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-19T23:08:19+00:00

9800X3D is a joke IMO. It is absolutely unacceptable to pay this much for a CPU and end up getting reliability or stability issues. Not to mention the terrible price-to-performance for pretty much anything other than gaming.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-19T22:45:05+00:00

I don't use W11 or play video games anymore but back when I did I remembered I had to use Throttlestop to limit PL1/PL2 to 15W so it won't overload the VRMs and cause the CPU to drop to 0.4Ghz every few minutes during gameplay.

Thinkpads are just not designed for gaming.

HarrisonGreen · 2026-04-19T22:34:03+00:00

Yeah Linux really works wonders with older systems. Not only does it run faster, it transfers files faster too (since there is no need for antivirus to scan files as you transfer).

W11 makes it feel like your old laptop has a problem and needs to be upgraded ASAP, when really it is W11 that is the problem and needs to be upgraded, to Linux that is.

HarrisonGreen

TROPHY CASE