I have a 5 year old laptop that was pretty advanced for its day but it no longer has an operating system. I would like to use it as a spare but DONOT want to put any money into it. I HATE windows 10 and really do not want to go that route. I've seen Windows 7 and 8 on eBay for a decent price. Is there anything other than Windows I should look at?

 

What is it that you "HATE" about Windows 10 and like so much about 7 or 8?  8 is a completely different OS and 7 is an awful lot like 10......and all other windows systems with the exception of 8.  Unless you are getting into the guts of the OS,  7 & 10 are basically the same and share an almost identical GUI. I'm not judging, I'm just wondering. 

With that being said, the only thing I cannot tolerate with 10 is Microsoft Edge but with one click and literally 30 seconds it can be disabled and a browser of your choice can be set as the default.

Not sure why you dislike 10 but you can put a Linux system on. Be prepared to learn command prompt and a whole new way of working with a computer. You can also change it into a chrome book and go that route. What is it about 10 that you do not like?

Do yourself a favor and get an apple computer ?

I just don't like the layout. I loked 7 better. Senko lover I would love to get an Apple but not in the budget right now. 

The school I work for just upgraded all the teachers laptops to Mac Airs. I wanted to buy one of the old ones but due to contract issues with Apple that is not a possibility. Sad because Apple is going to take the old ones, refurbish them, then sell them online.?

8 hours ago, Senko lover said:

Do yourself a favor and get an apple computer ?

Apple computers are limiting in my experience... Especially when it comes to gaming, but I'm sure the OP isn't gonna be no life-ing video games on his PC lol

Linux Mint Cinnamon if you want something that closely resembles Windows. Easy peasy to use with almost no learning curve.