Most Suitable Linux Software

Slim

I've been given an old Evesham laptop which is running extremely slowly on Windows XP professional. Processor details are - Mobile Athlon XP-M 2200+, 1.79GHz with 224 MB RAM.(Hard drive 37GB with 28GB free)

What is the most suitable Linux software to initially try out from a DVD and if happy to install as a hard disk replacement for XP. First thoughts are the Maya Mint KDE with Cinnamon desktop environment or is this too large?

I'm only of average or below computer literate and I don't want to try reinstalling XP.

Many thanks.

pcombo

install windows 98 or 2000

GunJack

puppy linux will fly pretty well on that lappy, and you run it from cd rather than install it, you just save the session on the hdd when you shut it down.

XP will struggle on 256mb RAM, but with careful tweaking it can run ok if a bit slow. If you could find an extra 256Meg stick of the correct RAM, XP on 512 meg is fine once you tweak it correctly

bluesnake

Slim wrote: »

... I'm only of average or below computer literate...

Installation of Linux and virtually any operating system is usually simple, the poblem is getting stuff running on them.

XP will your run on this spec of PC and you are familiar with it. More importantly, you are more familiar with how to install s/w.

puppy will run on virtually anything http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=puppy. Centos should too.

other type like ubuntu and suse recommend either more memory or high cpu. Although they may just about work. With the spec you gave, you are looking at a more text based, than graphical os

prowla

Assuming a GUI is required, CentOS and Ubuntu would probably need a beefier machine than that.

If the machine can take more memory then an upgrade might not cost too much. If you go to Crucial UK, and enter the model details they can usually show what the options are.

Kernel_Sanders

GunJack wrote: »

puppy linux will fly pretty well on that lappy, and you run it from cd rather than install it,

OP you can install it on your HDD (in fact it will run faster than from a CD). You can also run it from a USB drive. Either way, you will have problems if you're accessing the www via a mobile bb dongle.

tweeter

Zorin based on Ubuntu is free to download and can be made to look a bit like XP. clicky There's Zorin OS 6 Lite for old and low-spec computers as well - links on how to install on the page. clicky

esuhl

Slim wrote: »

I've been given an old Evesham laptop which is running extremely slowly on Windows XP professional....

I'm only of average or below computer literate and I don't want to try reinstalling XP.

If you aren't particularly knowledgeable or interested in computers than I think you'll find most Linux distros quite tricky to set up and use. The ones that are designed to be easy to install & use tend to be the ones that are the most bloated (and so won't run as well on old hardware).

I think you'll find it much easier to stick with XP. You'd be surprised at how reinstalling it can improve performance. But a much better bet would be to use nLite to create your own custom version of XP. nLite allows you to remove various parts of the OS that you might not need or can live without to improve performance. In my experience, it can make a massive difference.

http://www.nliteos.com/nlite.html

pedrothefish

I was given a very old laptop with xp on it about 6 weeks ago I,ve tried puppy, slacko, but have settled on zorin lite, its very like windows and easy to use.
mine now boots up in less than 2 minutes and browsing is quite fast.
I've now got rid of windows xp altogether and installed on the hard drive.

timbim_2

The best trade-off between ease of use and speed is Lubuntu, based on Ubuntu but without the extremely heavy Unity desktop. Download the "PC 32Bit" file from here, use this to install the downloaded image on a USB flash drive, insert that into the laptop and boot from it, and off you go. Most common software is installed already, but installing more software from the software centre is dead easy. If you get stuck anywhere, the community here are absolutely fantastic.

The days of normal users having to operate in the terminal to get a working system are now thankfully over, with Ubuntu and derivatives at least.

Kernel_Sanders

esuhl wrote: »

http://www.nliteos.com/nlite.html

What do they mean by Service Pack Integration? Does XP SP3 usually come with SP 2 incorporated, so you end up with 2 x SP2?