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Windows 7 and Fujitsu Siemens Amilo la 1703

Lannes5859 Posted messages 5 Status Member -  
pingouinormand Posted messages 1829 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -
Hello dear friends skilled in IT,

I have an old Fujitsu Siemens Amilo 1703 PC that I would like to put back into service for my granddaughter with "Windows 7" (the PC was originally configured with "Windows Vista").
Here’s my problem: when I boot from the USB stick, it starts the installation, copies the files, and all that... but it gets stuck on the function: "the installation is finishing." It's been almost 24 hours that it's grinding away, we can see it’s working, but not making progress. The progress bar remains as is.
Moreover, I cannot restart in safe mode, not even with the old "Vista" configuration, nor reconfigure from factory mode; it tells me it's installing functions, then I get the error message: the PC must be restarted, and this loops endlessly.
When I try to start in safe mode, it offers me 2 "Vista" installations and 2 "Windows 7" installations, and of course, I cannot delete them as I cannot access the partitions since it won't boot.
Who can help me easily get out of this absurd situation? Is there a simple and easy solution to apply? I’m not a whiz at IT; I need explanations as if I were a child to understand.
Thank you in advance for your valuable help. You will make someone very happy if we find a solution.

Best regards

12 answers

  1.
    Malekal_morte- Posted messages 178136 Registration date   Status Moderator, Security Contributor Last intervention   24 712
     
    Hello,

    You can remove the Windows 7 startup entry using msconfig from your Vista.
    See: https://www.malekal.com/supprimer-dual-boot-windows/

    As for old PCs....
    Maybe it would be better to try a lightweight version of Ubuntu?
    => how to install Ubuntu.

    Otherwise, you can keep Vista.

    --
    Please press any key to continue the disinfection...
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  2. Lannes5859 Posted messages 5 Status Member
     
    Good evening,

    Thank you for your quick response.
    But the problem is that I can't access the "Windows" startup.
    The computer crashes beforehand, telling me it's loading the startup files, and then I have to restart the PC, and it happens all over again... In a loop.
    Furthermore, I have no access to the configuration file, which makes it impossible for me to access the "msconfig" function and remove the Windows startup entries.
    For the same reason, I can't access "Vista," nor can I restore to factory settings.
    I'm at a loss, for whatever little I still have left.... Lol
    Is there another possible solution through the BIOS functions???

    Sincerely,
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  3. Panth33ra Posted messages 23141 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   Ambassadeur 2 365
     
    Good evening,
    Vista has definitely been abandoned along with Windows 7. Try installing with Windows 8.1, or directly with the latest OS.

    --
    ASUS ROG G752 VSK | QuadCore Intel i7-7700HQ | 32 GB-DDR4 | 2 SSD M.2-500 GB | 2 HDD-Seagate 2TB | GeForce GTX 1070M-8 GB | 17.3" screen (120 Hz) | DirectX 12 | Windows 10 (x64)
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  4. Lannes5859 Posted messages 5 Status Member
     
    Good evening again,

    I will try this Windows 8.1 solution as a second option.
    We'll see how it goes.

    However, when loading Windows 7 onto the USB stick: MBR - BIOS (or UEFI-CSM) mode
    Is this the right choice??
    Here's where the installation gets stuck:
    1) collection OK
    2) Installation
    All required information has been provided. Your computer will restart several times during the installation.
    Copying Windows files - OK
    Unpacking Windows files - OK
    Installing features - OK
    Installing updates - OK

    And this is where the problem lies, the installation does not complete.... the progress bar remains stuck at around 60-70% and it has been hours, and hours, and hours that everything is in this state....

    Do you have a solution to suggest, please???? Help....

    Did I make the wrong choices from the start???

    Thank you in advance.

    Best regards.
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  6. pingouinormand Posted messages 1829 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   527
     
    Good evening,
    Could you give us the hardware specifications of this PC?
    - CPU,
    - GPU,
    - Installed RAM.

    I think a Linux distribution would be a better option.
    ZorinOS Lite education might be suitable. The interface is similar to Windows 7.
    We can better guide you once we know the hardware specifications.
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  7. Lannes5859 Posted messages 5 Status Member
     
    Good evening,

    Here is what I have gathered:
    CPU AMD Sempron 3500+ 1800MHz Mobile
    Chipset VIA K8M890
    Memory 512 MB DDR2 533MHz
    GPU VIA Chrome 9
    Hard drive 80GB 5400rpm

    Can this help you?
    Thank you again for your assistance.

    Have a good evening.

    Best regards.
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  8. pingouinormand Posted messages 1829 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   527
     
    It's a very small setup.
    No modern Windows will be able to run. It must have been very borderline to run Vista.
    Even an ultra-light Linux distribution won't be very responsive.
    512 MB of RAM. A minimum of 2 GB would be needed.
    Personally, I'd try to install Q4OS with the Trinity desktop.
    If this PC can boot from a USB drive, test the Q4OS live USB and see how it reacts.
    To download the ISO image: https://q4os.org/downloads1.html
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  9. 5859lannes
     
    Hello,

    Thank you all for your valuable help.
    I ended up opting for the ultra-light configuration of Zorin OS Lite. It's the only one that the computer was willing to accept.
    Now I have to get used to the new operating system; coming from Windows, it's going to be tricky.
    Is there a manual in French, not for installation, but for usage, for example: how and where to find the screen resolution settings, or how to configure the keyboard? For now, I have to left-click and "enter" to enter a function.
    Finally, in summary, I'm looking to get the basics to start reconfiguring the workspace.
    Thanks again to all for your time and dedication.
    Today, I suggest a new step, help me understand Zorin.

    Best regards.
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  10. pingouinormand Posted messages 1829 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   527
     
    Hello,

    Are you using a live USB or have you installed the distribution directly?
    If it is installed, the keyboard should be in French and the resolution should be the best by default.
    To get a better understanding of ZorinOS Lite, I encourage you to watch this video (starting at the 34th minute):
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMj9jygwIZU

    ZorinOS Lite uses the XFCE desktop, which has been redesigned to resemble Windows 7. It is a very easy distribution to handle. The learning curve is quick. With 512 MB of RAM, you might not be able to use the default installed web browser.
    Install Falcon, which will be lighter. Be careful, under Linux, software is installed through the store that is included in the distribution.
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  11. 5859lannes
     
    Thank you,

    If I encounter any problems, I'll come back to you.
    Thanks again.

    Didier
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  12. 5859lannes
     
    Hi again,

    I'm bothering you for a few more moments...
    My keyboard is not responding well under Zorin, I don't have direct click access. I have to use the left key and the enter function to access the functions.
    Any solution???
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    1. pingouinormand Posted messages 1829 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   527
       
      I really don't understand the problem you're describing.
      Do you have to use the mouse and the Enter key on the keyboard to launch an application or a file?
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      1. 5859lannes > pingouinormand Posted messages 1829 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
         
        That's exactly it, did I make a bad choice of keyboard in the beginning during the installation???
        I told you, I'm terrible at computers.
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      2. pingouinormand Posted messages 1829 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   527 > 5859lannes
         
        For your keyboard, it’s quite possible. Check the settings. Are you using QWERTY or AZERTY?

        I’m going to test Zorin OS Lite and Emmabuntus in a VM with your PC's specifications. I want to see which of the two is more responsive with only 512MB of RAM. At least 1GB of RAM is recommended under XFCE. Emmabuntus offers either the XFCE or LXQT desktop (the latter is lighter as it is recommended for a minimum of 512MB).
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      3. pingouinormand Posted messages 1829 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   527 > pingouinormand Posted messages 1829 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
         
        I just installed ZorinOS Lite in 32-bit version.
        It’s impossible to launch the installation with only 512MB of RAM. So I added more RAM and set it to 1024MB. The installation went smoothly. Once the distribution was installed in the VM, I switched back to 512MB of RAM.
        It’s hardly usable. It’s constantly swapping.
        I managed to achieve a better result by installing zram.
        Not much to do after the installation. It’s complete. You need to perform the updates, complete the French translations, and install Falkon (be careful, there are 2 versions. Don’t choose the snap version).

        Here are some command lines that might be useful to you. Open the terminal emulator and paste this:
        Install Zram: 
        sudo apt install zram-config

        => type your password (it won’t be displayed, that’s normal) => enter
        Check for updates 
        sudo apt update

        Install updates 
        sudo apt full-upgrade

        then to clean up: 
        sudo apt autoremove


        Downloading the Emmabuntus ISO takes time. I chose version 3 based on Debian in 32-bit version. I hope to get better responsiveness than with Zorin.
        ISO if you want to test: https://sourceforge.net/projects/emmabuntus/files/Emmabuntus%20DE3/Images/1.02/emmabuntus-de3-i686-10.4-1.02.iso/download
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  13. pingouinormand Posted messages 1829 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   527
     
    I just tested Emmabuntus.
    I was able to install it with 512MB of RAM and a single-core CPU.
    The LXQT desktop is lighter than XFCE. The difference is minimal, however.

    I took screenshots to compare Zorin and Emmabuntus. Both distributions, installed in a VM, have the same configurations.


    Here is the RAM consumption at startup, cold. We can see that it is swapping. Installing Zram significantly improves responsiveness. This seems essential to me.


    Emmabuntus is a bit more responsive in use.
    Its installation was very pleasant. Many scripts run to guide us.

    If you have the option to upgrade to 2GB of RAM (the maximum allowed by your motherboard), your experience would be more enjoyable. Moreover, you could consider installing a 64-bit version.
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