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2ndLife: Revive HP Stream Notebook PC 13 With Linux Mint 20.3 Xfce


I recently acquired an HP Stream Notebook PC 13 with a problematic keyboard (some keys not working). The limitation of this laptop is as follows:
  • Limited RAM (only 2GB) and unable to upgrade higher
  • Limited storage (32GB) and unable to upgrade
  • Running Windows 8.1 or 10 (Are you CRAZY??)

    This laptop reminds me of the netbooks, with a 10-inch screen and size with limited RAM or the newer Chromebooks. This budget laptop is only suitable for light users, who may consider using a tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard instead. With the above limitation, especially the limitation of internal storage and RAM, there is only so much you can use this laptop for, right? 

    Well, there is always Google Chrome OS Flex operating system, meaning you just need a browser for all your work online, provided with a stable internet connection. I am not a fan of doing everything online as I prefer to do work offline as well. So not Chrome OS Flex for me. 

    I played with lightweight Linux distributions and I would like to try Sparky Linux but upon bootup, I noticed that the wireless adaptor is not recognized (Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8723BE PCIe Wireless Network Adapter). As I hate wasting time using an ethernet connection to manually download the driver, I chose to use Linux Mint 20.3 Xfce instead. Linux Mint 20.3 Xfce has the built-in Realtek wireless drivers so I do not need to waste time looking for an ethernet connection. 

    Even though Linux Mint 20.3 Xfce is not really considered a lightweight Linux distribution, after installing and removal of unwanted pre-installed apps and installing my preferred apps, I still have 15.7GB of free space. I removed the backup tool (timeshift) as it takes up too much space for backup. As for RAM usage, it takes about 571MB of RAM, leaving me more than 1GB left for other apps.  

    So far the laptop is pretty fast and after loading the Brave browser and Whatsapp client, hitting 1.3GB of RAM. This laptop's hardware is not meant for heavy-duty work (running virtualization, photo editing, animation rendering, or compiling programs) but light work such as web browsing, word or excel processing, simple graphics editing is fine. 

* After using it for a while, I noticed that due to limitations of CPU (almost 100%) and RAM (almost 1.42GB), there are actually lags sometimes but are still bearable. 

    For extra storage, there is a micro-SD slot you can use if you have spare micro-SD cards. I have a spare 16GB micro-SD card so I am using it for extra storage. There are 3 USB ports so you may use an external hard disk or USB drives to increase storage capacity. 

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