Old laptop and installing Linux

calleyw

I have a laptop that is really old ok well about 6 years old. It is has a Celeron chip set (not sure which as not at home at the moment) and 256mbs of ram (I know, I know).

It runs so slow on windows XP. I was thinking of sticking extra memory in to take to it's max which is 512mbs and sticking a Unix Flavor on it.

As I can't really justify spending £300/£400 on a laptop. When so many jobs need doing in my house.

I only want to browse and maybe do a bit of tip tap typing :rotfl:So far I have downloaded Ubuntu unix.

Is that the best one or is there one better. As I said it just needs to be really basic and easy to use as I am limited in my knowledge of unix commands.

Thanks in Advance.


Yours


Calley

trcooke

Ubuntu is one of the more popular distrubutions of Linux (not Unix). The installations and setup is fairly painless and the Gnome desktop is pretty intuitive allowing you to perform general administration and usage without the need for any terminal command knowledge. Even if you need to do something a bit more complicated then the Ubuntu support community is very active and very helpful.

I had Ubuntu running on a very very clunky old Compaq laptop a couple of years ago and it was fine, where the XP installation I removed was painfully slow and sluggish.

No need for apologies, 256MB or RAM for Linux is not widely frowned upon like it would be in the Windows arena. If Ubuntu runs a little slow for you then you might want to consider xubuntu (http://www.xubuntu.org/). This is essentially the same as Ubuntu but uses the xfce graphical desktop as opposed to Gnome. xfce is not as resource hungry so runs quicker.

Be prepared though: Each Linux user has their favourite flavour so don't be expecting a unanimous recommendation for one in particular. We've all tried a few and have stuck with the one we like the best.

Good luck!

calleyw

trcooke wrote: »

Be prepared though: Each Linux user has their favourite flavour so don't be expecting a unanimous recommendation for one in particular. We've all tried a few and have stuck with the one we like the best.

Good luck!

That is what I thought. My main exposure to unix was via a main frame which was command driven.

I really just wanted to get a feel of what people thought of the different flavors as I know that everyone has there own favourite.

The reason I choose Ubuntu was because it was on a web site and mentioned as good for beginners.

Also wanted to know that it was not such an insane idea :rotfl:and that it was doable.



Yours


Calley

trcooke

A terminal only installation is hell for someone just starting out. I was forced to run Ubuntu in Terminal only mode for a couple of months because the graphics system (x server) had some serious objections to my graphics card. Even as a relatively hardened Linux user it was not the most enjoyable period of my life. My O'Reilly Linux in a Nutshell book lived close by for the whole time. Thankfully it was just running as a local web host so didn't have to touch it much after I'd set it up.

It's not such an insane idea. In the context of this forum it's a perfectly sensible idea to save yourself a heap of cash by not forking out for a Windows licence.

superscaper

calleyw wrote: »

That is what I thought. My main exposure to unix was via a main frame which was command driven.

I think you missed "Linux (not Unix)" from previous post. Linux (in all its' flavours) is a different operating system to Unix. It simply was inspired by/based on it to begin with, e.g. you wouldn't describe Mac OS X as Unix.

calleyw

superscaper wrote: »

I think you missed "Linux (not Unix)" from previous post. Linux (in all its' flavours) is a different operating system to Unix.

Sorry you are right I meant Linux. D'oh I use to be really bad trying to use unix commands in Dos window :rotfl:

But what I was trying to say was only exposure to command driven software was unix based.

I knew what I meant even if others didn't.

But I did find the linux version I downloaded by searching for unix.

Yours


Calley

trcooke

calleyw wrote: »

D'oh I use to be really bad trying to use unix commands in Dos window :rotfl:

For the 50th time....

C:\>ls -la
'ls' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

C:\>_

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

mikegahan

I had an old Sony Vaio to revive and i used a distribution called Mepis. It worked very well on an ethernet cable but i have not been able to get the wireless to function but that is not unexpected as Sony vaios are notoriously fickle with this. I tried many other Linux distrubutions as live bootable Cds, eg you can try the distribution without actually installing it onto your hard drive; if you like it then you can do a full install. The cheapest place for these is ebay or Ebid, some of the prices are ludicruously cheap as they are being sold at cost by devotees. Many of the big name distros I could not get to work even with the ethernet cable and I do not have the skill to endlessly tinker with them. The main problem with many distros is that getting wireless working on a laptop needs geek skills and a lot of patience.

There are also a number of online linux shops in the Uk that will sell live or full installation; one that springs to mind is the Linux shop, also cheap Linux. The great thing about my Mepis Vaio is that security is so much better that i use it for intenet banking. One Distribution that I have heard good things about is Puppy linux. There is a gent who sells a usb stick with it installed for about £9, or you can buy a live cd cheaply

trcooke

mikegahan wrote: »

There are also a number of online linux shops in the Uk that will sell live or full installation; one that springs to mind is the Linux shop, also cheap Linux. The great thing about my Mepis Vaio is that security is so much better that i use it for intenet banking. One Distribution that I have heard good things about is Puppy linux. There is a gent who sells a usb stick with it installed for about £9, or you can buy a live cd cheaply

Or you could download the ISO for free and burn your own installation / LiveCD disk.

nomoneytoday

Umbuntu and others are available as cds that don't impact your existing setup. I would suggest you check your wifi and gfx cards work with the Linux distro you choose.

If they work then ready to rock and roll

D.K.

Someone recommended DSL (Damn Small Linux) to me. 50MB. I've only just downloaded but it looks impressive... so far