I agree that system would really only be good for running one of the linux distros and you can even get some light versions of those. My preferred distro is SimplyMepis7 there is a light version called AntiX. This would be a good opportunity to play with linux. That is what I did and today I rarely use my windows boxes. If you decide to do that and have not messed with linux before just come on back and hollar out we can give you some help and tips.

Cool, I got Debian installed and I am posting this from my laptop. Got wi-fi working. Got a new battery. Got a DVD Drive. I am officially mobile. It was alful getting the display drivers and wi-fi card to work. And I still don't trust the display drivers. I get blank screens. But I sure have learned a lot about finding my way around using only the command line interface. Now to see what this thing will do. It runs a lot better than when it had XP on it. A lot faster. I just may become a Linux convert. Pooh Bear IBM Thinkpad T22 900Mhz processor 512 MB RAM

Okay - so the Lenovo gets respect here - but not unilateral. There's still a plug for Toshiba. Raven - you're right - I do want XP. The one I linked to included a downgrade to XP option. At the time I was looking earlier, that's the only option I saw for XP. Since reading your post, I've noticed Lenovo's with preinstalled XP at Newegg and Tigerdirect, I think. Or maybe it was also at Best Buy. I don't want to get involvd in having preinstalled Vista - and then switching it myself to XP. If that were within my capabilities, I would have switched my husband's operating system from Vista to XP. But from what I read here and elsewhere, it's a huge undertaking - that might leave some problems in the end. Thanks for telling me that this really is a good time to buy. I'll be researching over the next week. In the end, I think prices are low enough - and my inexperience high enough, that I'm better off buying new and not dealing with potential ripoffs and how many new things I would need to do to check out a used laptop thoroughly. I probably could do it if I had to (based on your detailed instructions on the other thread) - but I could imagine that taking a long, long time. And if the first laptop isn't good, it could be quite a time killer to search for several. I did note that Lenovo's come in a huge range of prices and options - from many $600 units - up to the seeming popular T61P thinkpad for about $1700.

Not in my opinion. Even after the upgrades those are really limiting specs. Further, none of the operating systems you mentioned are being supported by Microsoft anymore, and newer ones can't run on that machine. You're talking about approximately $150 in parts, plus the labor to install, and, after the upgrades, something else could fail. You could take that money, add about $130 to it, and get a brand new HP or Acer netbook that will be up-to-date, run well, and last you much longer than that Thinkpad. I hate to get rid of a device when it still works, and that was a great laptop 10 years ago, but with some stuff you finally have to pull the plug.