It’s on a bootable USB stick. I was using that on my belly up msi computer that was only 18 months old. 
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Every computer has a lifespan. Whether you prefer to use a laptop , tablet or a desktop, your computer will eventually need upgrading or replacing. From sluggish performance to programs that do not working properly, there comes a time when everyone needs to upgrade.
Upgrades to your computer will improve performance, responsiveness and quality of output. Sometimes, you can replace smaller components such as batteries, RAM, CPU or the graphics card to help boost sluggish load times. However, in many situations, it’s cheaper and more cost-effective to replace the machine entirely.
It is important to keep an eye on your machine as there are a few tell tales signs that it is time to change.
One of the more obvious signs of age in a computer is the noisiness, especially if you notice this during routine use. Newer software or more complex programs can often cause the computer to work harder, meaning it will regularly make more noise. You may also notice the device getting hotter as the fan struggle to cope.
Sometimes people have come to accept the fact that it takes 10 minutes for their PC to be ready to use when powered on. If you add up the personal time lost of that hour a week that’s a lot of lost productivity!
If software applications or key features run slowly or stop loading altogether then it may be a sign that your hardware has aged. More importantly, if a software vendor will no longer release updates for software you are running on an old operating system, that exposes you to an increased risk of cyber crime.
If you notice regular slowdowns, especially when multiple applications are open, then this could be a sign that your computer can no longer manage the demands of your workload. Again, consider the cost of wasted productivity.
Cybercrime and attacks, including malware and viruses, are becoming more sophisticated. Data breaches and other opportunities for crime prey on system vulnerabilities, especially where out-of-date computers may lack proper protection and security. Patch updates are important to maintain but some computers may not be able to support them.
So ask yourself what are you going to design, make and sell in the approximate 4hours a month one might spend waiting for their slow computer to boot.
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Rather have the slow one than the ‘belly up’ one… 
Try running a ‘live’ version of ubuntu, it won’t write to disk, so it won’t corrupt whatever os you have installed.
Slow is better than nothing.
If you are planning on using your laser as a business and selling your items then consider spending a bit more for your computer. Spending $400 - $600 for a new computer is an investment that pays off in production time and running time. You will find the worst time for a computer to go down is when you want it working its best. ie. when you get an order worth hundreds of dollars and have to explain to the customer it will be late. Nobody wants to lose $1000 order because they saved a couple hundred bucks. Whatever direction you decide to go with, have a great new year.
I agree with you 
% however I do not think that the user asking for the advice is wanting to do volume and that might be why he said and I’m paraphrasing: “slower is better than nothing”
That is correct. I’m not doing volume and I don’t have one of the big lasers. My lasers are out in my work shed.
I’m still looking at that Fusion5 tablet that was posted and I may go that route. I have another laptop that I can use for now but really want a dedicated machine for my lasers.
I have given up on trying to revive the Vista computer so I will have to make a decision on a tablet or another computer.
Yes, everyone have a great new year.
I had one of my friends get rid of his old computer, I ended up with it… not super fast, but Ubuntu on it…
It’s in the garage with Lightburn and the laser…
I can connect both the garage computer and the computer in the house to the laser… simultaneously… it being UDP.
I wish I could connect either of my two lasers from the house but mine are USB connect only.
I had Ubuntu on a computer a long time ago. Can I install that without wiping out Windows? Just curious.
I went and looked at the dual boot link and after reading through that realized that won’t work. This little ‘old’ computer has Vista. I think I will try installing Ubuntu on it and wiping out Vista. If That doesn’t work it’s going to be the recycle bin.
That’s what I’d suggest… probably faster anyway with Ubuntu…
Good luck
I just found out this Vista computer is 32 bit. I didn’t even think about that and found out there’s a version of Ubuntu for 32 bit. I’ll download that version and see if maybe that’s why Ubuntu wouldn’t boot off the USB stick on the computer.
This is getting to be so much fun! I downloaded and burned the ISO to a DVD. Fired up the computer and inserted the DVD into the drive. It automatically started the install process to which I got this error message.
'Cannot download the metalink and there for the ISO.
For more information please see the log file:
c:\users\travel~1\appdata\local\temp\wubi-14.04-rev286.log’
I wasn’t online the first time I tried but was the second time and got the same message. There was a link in the file so I just figured the computer needed to be online. No luck. I guess I’ll try copying that link and see what I get.
After searching online and finding out to get this to work on 32bit there’s a rabbit hole about 10,000 feet deep I’ll have to follow. I went in a little and figure I’m in WAYYYYY over my head. I’m calling it quits with this Vista computer.
I would have liked to at least try ubuntu and see if it would work with Lightburn and my laser.
I’m not going to waste any more time on this so I’m sorry I can’t give anyone an answer about Windows Vista and Lightburn. Thanks all for the suggestions and help.
Ernie
Good luck to you I think the Windows tablet is the best solution for you and will allow you to use a current OS.
There’s no 32-bit version of LightBurn for Linux in any case so would have just been a learning exercise.
Note that it looks like you were trying to install Linux through a Windows application. You might have better luck booting directly off of the DVD without going into Windows. Your bios will likely have a key you can press to choose your boot device, possibly F12.
Thank you very much for your reply. Booting from the DVD did the trick. I was just following the instructions from their site.
I guess I should have been a little more detailed in my referencing a ‘32 bit version’. What I read said after a certain version ubuntu would not work with 32 bit. I installed version 14.04.6 LTS and now it says there’s an update to 16.x.x I’m going to try and see if that works. If not I’ll go back to 14.04.6.
Thanks agian and when I get Lightburn set up on this computer I’ll update this thread.
It’s possible you have a 64-bit capable CPU that was running 32-bit Windows.
You can check the capability of your CPU by running lscpu in a Terminal.
How do I do that in ubuntu? I wiped Windows Vista off the laptop.
I checked system info on the laptop and it says OS type 32-bit. So that’s not the CPU is it?