# FreeBSD on a Pentium 4 Laptop



## peumo-champ (May 3, 2018)

Hi!

I've been using Slackware Linux 14.2 on my laptop - an IBM Thinkpad G40, which has a Pentium 4 processor. On the kernel version I'm using, there is an i915 driver bug that used to absolutely freeze my computer untiI I updated the system. Nevertheless, the problem still persists - just with the system rebooting automatically instead of freezing.

So, because Slackware's support isn't very good, I have decided to move to another operative system with a newer Linux kernel - or a BSD kernel.

My question is, are there any known bugs with the Intel Pentium 4 driver in FreeBSD? I am not happy with any Linux distro alternative that I can think of. Thanks in advance.


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## Deleted member 30996 (May 3, 2018)

Hi, peumo-champ.

My FreeBSD based pfSense box had a P4. I ran it for 2 years without any problems.

Business lease returns on Thinkpads can be had dirt cheap on ebay. I own a budding Thinkpad farm with 2 T61, an X61, a T400, a W520 and an IBM T43. I paid just over $50US each for my T61's and am using one now. My W520 was the most expensive at approx. $200US, but it's the most powerful and a lease return as well.

It's in knowing what to look for in signs of wear, to be looking at the right time, going with a seller who has a high rep and your  luck. Shiny keys or a spot on the spacebar are signs of heavy use. If the stickers are still on the palmrest it's a good sign. That and the obvious signs. Watch to make sure what it does and does not include, like battery, HDD and memory, too.

If it's a business lease return it's the luck of the draw as to which one they pick up. A private owner you can query more easily. I've purchased them as  lease returns and from private owners and had good luck every time. All are Vista or Win7 vintage, most with Intel Core2 Duo processors and 4GB RAM, so the hardware is supported well, too. 

Just putting that possible option out there for your perusal.


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## peumo-champ (May 3, 2018)

Trihexagonal said:


> Hi, peumo-champ.
> 
> My FreeBSD based pfSense box had a P4. I ran it for 2 years without any problems.
> 
> ...


 
Thank you. My Thinkpad is like new - it had been bought by a company that ran out of business, and had never used it. I haven't openned it yet, to see the state of the inner hardware. But overall, it is in an excelent state 

I guess I'll be moving to FreeBSD.


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## Deleted member 30996 (May 4, 2018)

peumo-champ said:


> Thank you. My Thinkpad is like new - it had been bought by a company that ran out of business, and had never used it. I haven't openned it yet, to see the state of the inner hardware. But overall, it is in an excelent state
> 
> I guess I'll be moving to FreeBSD.



Welcome. 

I love getting a good deal and it sure sounds like you got one.  MyT43 is similar in specs to yours with a 2.0GHz Pentium M and 2GB RAM running OpenBSD 6.3. it's a pleasure to type on.

If you have any problems setting it up I have a beginners tutorial that uses ports and a x11/fluxbox desktop that may be of assistance. The target audience is someone who has never used UNIX or the command line so ignore that. You can substitute pkg for ports and save a lot of time, it's just the way I learned and what I like to use;

https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/...-set-up-a-freebsd-desktop-from-scratch.61659/


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