I personally don't share the same definition of e-waste. Having to install Linux, a custom ROM or modded software to make the machine fully usable doesn't make it complete e-waste imo. Conputer users should have technical knowledge to do stuff like that.
That's the point. Most users don't know how to do that, can't be bothered to learn, so this laptop would have been e-waste under most other circumstances.
Why is it "e-waste go brrrrrrr" when OP is presumably saying they're keeping this laptop out of the machine? _ machine go brr is a dumb meme in the first place, people using it the wrong way makes it even dumberer.
Sure, but that's kind of a nonsequitur to the question of whether this would have ended up as e-waste.
A: Would this end up as e-waste?
B: It's the end-users' fault if it does.
A: Okay, so...would this end up as e-waste?
We don't literally know, because we can't predict the future, but we can be reasonably certain that old tech like this laptop would have become e-waste in the hands of your average user, regardless of whether they should have been expected to take the time to learn how to prevent that or not.
Happens. Cars used to need special skills to even get started and drive around. Now a five year old can start one and drive off if they can reach the pedals. But they won't have any clue how it actually works.
Most corporations are not going to do that because they often standardize around products with known solutions for management that come with service guarantees. No one wants to support a small fleet of aging hardware running an os outside the dominant platform.