Total newbe windows 7- Linux

markp

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I have a hp pro book 4525s which is currently running windows 7 I have extremely little knowledge of Linux but did have a dabble many years back. due to financial restraints, I am thinking I have two choices Linux or the dreaded windows 10 which I would have to purchase a code from a defunct machine form a well-known auction site.
I would like to ask for help in choosing a distro which will work well on my machine and pretty much out of the box as my knowledge of the command line also pretty much zero I guess what I trying to say is like a distro that is easy to learn and grow with. I feel that I have narrowed down possible contenders to be Manjaro, Mint, or ubuntu. any help very much appreciated
 


@markp
Welcome Mark,
I am not exactly a newbie, but close to it.
I came from Windows 7 and had an easy transition to Linux Mint.
I have been using Mint for a couple years now and still like it very much.
Just thoughts of an Old Geezer, Tango Charlie
 
Mint to be fair is not bad; cinnamon live 64 bit works on my PC but mate gives glitch on graphics for some reason .Mint and ubuntu have a common ancestor with Debian ; there are some recent divergence which i don't need to go into. Manjaro ? thats Arch based which is a different story. Out out interest how did manjaro end up in the final 3 ?
 
Hello, @markp , and welcome!
I'd like to know more about your hardware before junping in to recommend a distro.
laptop-spec.com shows these options:
Graphics Card
Integrated: ATI Mobility RadeonTM HD 4250
Discrete (DirectX 10.1 capable): ATI Mobility RadeonTM HD 5470 (Direct X 11 capable) with 512 MB dedicated video memory with HyperMemory support

Processor (CPU)
Type : AMD Phenom II Triple-Core Mobile Processor P820
Speed : 1.8 GHz
Cache : 1.5 MB L2 cache

Type : AMD Turion II Dual-Core Mobile Processor P540
Speed : 2.4 GHz
Cache : 2MB L2 cache

Type : AMD Athlon II Dual-Core Processor P340
Speed : 2.2 GHz
Cache : 1MB L2 cache

Chipset
AMD M880G

Memory
DDR3 SDRAM 1024/2048/4096 MB
Total slots : 2
Max : 8 GB

Which options does your machine have?
 
Mint to be fair is not bad; cinnamon live 64 bit works on my PC but mate gives glitch on graphics for some reason .Mint and ubuntu have a common ancestor with Debian ; there are some recent divergence which i don't need to go into. Manjaro ? thats Arch based which is a different story. Out out interest how did manjaro end up in the final 3 ?
hi Captain Sensible
I really can't remember where I came across the idea that manjaro would make a good option for me but it would have been on one of my many searches looking for a viable option as I seem to remember reading that it works well out of the box and was fast and had all the staples needed. would you not recommend Manjaro for a newbie with nearly 0 skills and experience in the Linux world?
thanks for your help
 
Create a bootable usb thumb drive and give this a try and see what you think before installing onto you computer.



Thanks will have a look and possibly give it a try as typical I can't find any of my memory sticks but will get one and have a look
thanks for your advice
 
to be honest i've never used Manjaro but this is my thinking :

if a distro is based on Debian then you know it has a long pedigree and you can be confident that you can install software from the command line using :

apt
apt-get

etc also that there will be tons of help tutorials on getting software.

If a Distro is based on whats considered a" Distro for mature Linux users" i.e Arch then you are likely to be jumping into the deep end ! There are a lot of Mint users on here or others who have previously used Debian types(including myself) so good chance of getting help here on this friendly forum
 
i don't disagree with Nelson . I would get a 14 or larger usb ; get it ready using Ventoy and stick a few iso's on it . eg Mint Cinnamon , manjaro
 
@markp
Welcome Mark,
I am not exactly a newbie, but close to it.
I came from Windows 7 and had an easy transition to Linux Mint.
I have been using Mint for a couple years now and still like it very much.
Just thoughts of an Old Geezer, Tango Charlie
Thanks for your advice I did try mint many years ago must have been when it first went live and can remember that even then I was impressed with the whole look etc. Think I just need that push as I know my windows 7 is going too crash and burn sooner rather than later and I know of the potential of Linux I just need to be 100% confident that I have a working machine that I can use and understand without having to keep typing in commands in as I have 0 knowledge of that and this is why I went back to windows, 10 or so years ago but I am sore in the way Microsoft force and charge for the privilege of updating a perfectly good working machine and so Linux here I come. you gotta be in it to win it
thanks for your help and advice
 
Hello, @markp , and welcome!
I'd like to know more about your hardware before junping in to recommend a distro.
laptop-spec.com shows these options:


Which options does your machine have?
HP Pro book 4525s
AMD Turion II 540 dual-core processor
installed memory RAM 3GB [2.74GB useable]
64-bit operating system
this is all I could find does this help?
please let me know if you need any more information and if poss, where I can find it as this, is all I could find in the system info that resembles what you have shown. really sorry as I have said I am totally thick when it comes to the inner workings of a computer only know how to work one and not how it works.
thank you so much for your help and patience
 
@markp -- with only 3GB Ram, 32bit would function on your machine better, IMO.
2X2GB DDR3 SDRAM available on ebay for from $10-12, I see. With such an upgrade to RAM, the gate is open as far as full performance from a 64bit distro is concerned . You may want to consider this RAM upgrade seriously.

Graphics wise, your GPU will perfom better with proprietary driver -- see here for recommendations of former users of your hd-4250

Yes, the CPU is 64bit. IME, 3GB is marginal for 64bit distros. Hence, these are my considered suggestions --
32bit-lubuntu.png

32bit-MX.png


FYI --
32bit-NOT.png


Best wishes, and try my colleagues' suggestions of distros on a USB -- I like Puppy Linux Slacko 6.3.0, myself (at ibiblio)
 
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Thanks for your advice I did try mint many years ago must have been when it first went live and can remember that even then I was impressed with the whole look etc. Think I just need that push as I know my windows 7 is going too crash and burn sooner rather than later and I know of the potential of Linux I just need to be 100% confident that I have a working machine that I can use and understand without having to keep typing in commands in as I have 0 knowledge of that and this is why I went back to windows, 10 or so years ago but I am sore in the way Microsoft force and charge for the privilege of updating a perfectly good working machine and so Linux here I come. you gotta be in it to win it
thanks for your help and advice

Good news Mark,
You can do almost everything you want to do without using the terminal. Linux has come a long way since its' beginning.
Old Geezer
Tango Charlie
 

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