--system installed: Linux debian 3.16.0-4-686-pae #1 SMP Debian 3.16.39-1+deb8u1 (2017-02-22) i686 GNU/Linux
--hardware core2duo T2050 (2 cores @ 1.6ghz), 1.5gb ram ddr2 533mhz, 80gb hd, 1280x720
--issues encountered 1) kernel type; i installed kernel for 586 cpus first, but this only supports single core functionality and this old laptop has a core 2 duo intel cpu. i installed 686 kernel and this allowed me to use both cores.
2) 686 kernel introduced a couple of issues.
2.1) wifi hard blocked. i installed a bios update which allowed you to specify the default state of wifi card. previous bios had it set to off and you couldn't modify this without using wifi button on the laptop. as of kernel update to 686, the wifi button was no longer recognized. with new bios, i could just set default state to on, which solves the issue. also wrote a script to switch it off when necessary (flying) using "rfkill block 0" command.
2.2) computer would hang on shutdown / reboot. this is caused by module wistron_btns crashing on shutdown. i added this to the /etc/modprobe.d/fbdev-blacklist.conf to blacklist that module from being loaded on start up. this solves the shutdown / reboot issue.
--notes it also seems that wistron_btns is responsible for issue 2.1 because it's a module that's supposed to enable laptop buttons, such as hardware switch for wifi. i guess it just doesn't load properly for some computers - even though the amilo pro v3505 is listed in it's list of supported computers.
--.. anyway, this older laptop with 1.5gb ram and a core 2 duo @ 1.6ghz is running fast and efficiently with debian. impressed with how little resources are used when carrying out tasks