LAB NOTE 003 // LAPTOP HAUL // USED HARDWARE
SEPTEMBER 2026
I was only looking for one cheap laptop, but somehow I ended up buying a bundle of four older machines for €95.
The haul included a Lenovo ThinkPad SL510, Dell Inspiron 1545, Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V3545, and a tiny HP Mini 110. Even better, all four turned out to be working.
01 // HOW I ENDED UP WITH FOUR LAPTOPS
I originally started looking for a cheap laptop that I could use mainly for writing OpenBootLab posts, browsing, and some light Linux testing.
My budget was around €100, and at first I was looking at inexpensive refurbished Chromebooks and other low-cost used laptops. One of the options I was seriously considering was a refurbished Dell Chromebook.
Instead, I contacted a seller I had bought hardware from before and asked if he had any older laptops available. You may already recognize the seller from the Mainframe project, where I previously bought a €30 bundle of old PC hardware from him. He usually has quite a bit of interesting older hardware around, so I have a feeling this probably will not be the last time something from him ends up in OpenBootLab.
He had several laptops available, and after going through the options I ended up choosing four of them: a Lenovo ThinkPad SL510, Dell Inspiron 1545, Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V3545, and a tiny HP Mini 110.
The total price for all four was €90.
What made the deal especially interesting was that I paid less for these four machines combined than I would have paid for the single refurbished Dell Chromebook I had been considering. At that price, I expected at least one of them to be completely dead or to need quite a bit of work.
Instead, all four powered on and worked.
So what started as a search for one inexpensive writing laptop somehow turned into four different machines, four potential OpenBootLab projects, and plenty more content for both me to make and you to enjoy.
02 // WHAT I ACTUALLY GOT
Now that the story behind the haul is out of the way, it is time to look at the four machines themselves.
The four laptops are all from slightly different parts of the same era, but they are also very different from each other. There is a business-oriented ThinkPad, a mainstream Dell, an older Fujitsu Siemens machine, and a tiny HP netbook.
The lineup looks like this:
- Lenovo ThinkPad SL510
- Dell Inspiron 1545
- Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V3545
- HP Mini 110
All four came with their power adapters, and all four were able to power on. Some of them also already had useful upgrades such as SSDs or additional RAM, which made the deal even more interesting.
Of course, they are far from perfect. The cases show their age, there are scratches and signs of use, and the batteries on the larger machines are basically finished. But that is also part of the reason I wanted them.
These are not collector pieces or restored machines. They are old laptops that have clearly been used, and now they get another chance to do something useful.
From here, I will take a closer look at each one individually.
03 // LENOVO THINKPAD SL510
The Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 was probably the machine I was most interested in when choosing the four laptops.
I have always liked the more practical design of older ThinkPads, and this one still has a lot of the features people usually associate with them: a solid keyboard, the red TrackPoint in the middle, a fairly simple black chassis, and a design that is more functional than flashy.
Cosmetically, it definitely shows its age. The lid has plenty of scratches and marks from years of use, but I actually prefer leaving that visible instead of trying to make it look brand new. This is a used machine, and the wear is part of its history.
The good news is that the laptop itself works. The main downside is the battery, which is basically dead, so for now it needs to stay connected to the charger.
My current plan is to turn the SL510 into a simple Linux laptop that I can use for writing OpenBootLab posts, browsing, terminal work, and some light testing. I am also considering replacing the battery later if I can find one at a reasonable price.
Out of the four laptops, this is probably the one with the best chance of becoming an actual everyday-use machine rather than just another experiment.
04 // DELL INSPIRON 1545
The Dell Inspiron 1545 feels quite different from the ThinkPad. It is more of a mainstream consumer laptop from its era, with a simpler design and a glossy finish that definitely shows fingerprints, scratches, and years of use.
Like the SL510, the important part is that it works.
One thing I noticed immediately during the first boot was the charger situation. The seller had already mentioned that if I wanted the battery to charge properly, I would probably need to get an original Dell charger. He did not have one available, so he included a compatible HP power adapter instead. It powers the laptop without a problem, but the Inspiron does not recognize it as a proper Dell charger because it is missing Dell’s identification chip. Because of that, the laptop can run from the adapter, but battery charging is limited or unavailable.
The battery itself is already in poor condition anyway, so this is not a major problem for what I currently want to do with the machine. If I eventually decide to replace the battery, I will probably also look for a proper Dell charger.
Unlike the ThinkPad, I already have a fairly clear idea for the Inspiron. This will probably become one of my main Linux distribution testing machines, especially for lightweight distributions designed for older hardware. Instead of only testing them inside a virtual machine, I want to see how they actually behave on real hardware from this era.
That should make the Inspiron useful for future OpenBootLab posts where I can compare different lightweight Linux distributions, installation experiences, hardware support, performance, and how usable they still are on an older laptop.
So while it may not become my everyday writing machine, it could end up being one of the most frequently experimented-on laptops from the entire haul.
05 // FUJITSU SIEMENS AMILO PRO V3545
The Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V3545 is probably the most unusual laptop in the group, at least compared with the Dell and ThinkPad. Its design feels noticeably older, with a chunkier chassis, silver trim, and a much more early-2000s business-laptop look. It also stands out visually because of the light-colored keyboard and the large silver hinge area.
Like the others, it is far from perfect cosmetically. There are scratches, marks, and signs of long-term use, but the machine itself still works, which is what matters most here.
This one also came with Windows XP already installed, and I have decided to keep it that way.
Because the laptop has a dedicated NVIDIA graphics card, my plan is to turn the Amilo Pro into an XP gaming laptop for older PC games and software from that era. Instead of trying to modernize it too much, I think it makes more sense to keep it close to the period it originally came from. That should make it useful for testing older games, software, drivers, and other Windows XP-era experiments without needing to set up a virtual machine every time.
So unlike the Dell, which will mainly become a Linux testing machine, the Amilo already has a much clearer role in the lab: a dedicated Windows XP gaming and retro software machine.
06 // HP MINI 110
The HP Mini 110 is easily the most different machine in the whole haul.
Compared with the other three laptops, it is tiny. The small screen, compact keyboard, and lightweight chassis make it feel more like a little portable experiment than a normal laptop, which is exactly why I like it. This particular one is also a special edition model, which makes it even more interesting. Instead of the usual plain finish, it has the distinctive white floral-patterned lid, giving it a very different look from the typical black and silver laptops from the same era.
It also surprised me in another way: the battery still works.
That already makes it more practical than the larger laptops, especially for something I can actually carry around and use away from the desk. Performance is obviously limited by the Atom platform, but that is also what makes it interesting.
I have already started experimenting with antiX Linux on it, and the goal is to see how usable such a low-powered machine can still be today with lightweight software. I want to try things like lightweight web browsing, IRC, terminal-based tools, music playback, writing, simple file transfers, and other low-resource Linux applications.
The HP Mini will probably become my dedicated ultra-lightweight Linux experiment.
It is definitely not the fastest machine in the group, but because of its size, working battery, special-edition design, and limitations, it may end up producing some of the most interesting Lab Notes from the entire haul.
07 // WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
What started as a search for one cheap laptop turned into four different machines, each with its own role.
The ThinkPad SL510 will probably become a regular appearance on OpenBootLab. It is the machine I can see myself using most often for writing, Linux, browsing, and general testing. The Dell Inspiron 1545 will mainly be used for experimenting with different lightweight Linux distributions on real hardware. The Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V3545 is staying on Windows XP and will become my retro gaming and older software machine. And the tiny HP Mini 110 will continue as my low-power Linux experiment.
For €90, I am more than happy with how this turned out.
This post was only the introduction to the haul. I also plan to make a separate post for each laptop, where I can go into much more detail about the hardware, specifications, condition, upgrades, operating systems, performance, and what I eventually decide to use each machine for.
None of these laptops are perfect. They are scratched, worn, old, and limited in different ways, but that is exactly what makes them interesting. They are not going onto a shelf. They are going back to work.
And this definitely will not be the last time you see them on OpenBootLab.