Solved Mac user needs help putting Linux on PC

[ddee]

Hello, first post here. Lifelong Mac user who doesn't know how to code (not even a little); I want to salvage my late mom's PC so my sister (also a Mac user) can use it for internet only. The laptop is a Lenovo G575, from about 2011 or 2012. It came with Windows 7. Mom never used it much, she had a stroke about a year after getting it. When W7 was reaching end-of-life, I managed to put Windows 10 on it, but it never seemed to work right (I have since learned that the laptop's hardware most likely isn't W10 compatible).

I tried to reset to factory settings, thinking I could go online and download Linux, then make a bootable USB to completely overwrite Windows and turn it into a Linux-only laptop. The process stuck at 34% -- like, it stayed that way all night.

Is it possible to use my Mac to download Linux and make a bootable USB that can be plugged into the laptop and used to install Linux, completely overwriting Windows?

I had previously backed up what few files were on the laptop before putting W10 on it, so I'm not worried about losing anything. Mom only used it for email and Facebook, so no apps to worry with, either.

If it is possible, please advise which version (I think it's "distro"?) would be best for getting a dinosaur to go online for simple browsing (no streaming, no games). I have seen a few lists, but it's all Greek to me.

Full disclosure -- I use a Mac from 2007, and it still works great for my design business. What web sites I can't reach are accessible from my Android tablet or semi-smart phone. Not a Luddite, but definitely not an early adopter. Or even a not-quite-late adopter.

Thank you for any advice you can offer!

 

[Condobloke]

G'day ddee, Welcome to Linux.org

From this site: (This is being done on your Mac...correct?)

balenaEtcher - Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives

A cross-platform tool to flash OS images onto SD cards and USB drives safely and easily. Free and open source for makers around the world.

etcher.balena.io

go to Downloads, and download the appropriate balena etcher .iso for your mac.

etcher will function ok on your Mac to 'burn' the iso file to a usb stick (8GB)....bigger is ok




Download the .iso to either downloads or the desktop.....somewhere where you can find it easily

Follow the destructions to make the usb bootable

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On the Lenovo, I am seeing that it only has 2GB of ram, and probably a HDD (not an SSD)

2 GB ram = slow
A hdd also = slow

A really good move would be to double the amount to 4GB of ram and insert a ssd (solid state drive) .....this would give your sister a reasonably usable/quickish machine.

The next step after this is to start the Lenovo and immediately start tapping the F2 (or Fn + F2) key to enter the bios. In bios you need to disable the Secure boot (It may not be present) and turn off fastboot.

Let me know how you want to proceed.

You could always boot the lenovo to that usb stick and see how it runs....if it is too slow....you can abandon it or update the ram and hdd.

To boot it...turn The lenovo off....insert the usb stick.....The turn the pc on and start tapping either the F12, F8 or F10 key...you may have to be really patient....and try them individually, with a shut down and start again, in between.


That's a bit of a mudpile, I know.

The make or break factor may be the fact that it will be slow. Start there. Tell you sister it will be similar to dragging a knife through treacle.

 

[Brickwizard]

the 575 was Lenovo's entry level notebook with the AMD-e series CPU so it won't be fast the CPU only supports 1 array of ram so you can't add, but you can replace, but for basic safe surfing with a medium/lightweight distro it should be fine, I would suggest [I do not recomend] Mint LMDE,Parrot Home edition Linux Lite, & Anti-X [please read linkx in my signature below]

 

[ddee]

Thanks to both of you! I will check out the links and see what happens. Might be a couple of days, but I'll report back with results.

Happy New Year!

 

[ddee]

Success! I am posting this from the laptop -- woo hoo!

Everything went surprisingly fast; the most time-consuming part was finding the right version of Etcher for my old Mac OS. After trying a few that were supposed to be compatible with OS 10.10, I finally just downloaded the oldest one in the list (Etcher 1.5.115) and it worked great.

So far I have opened my email (browser, not app) and printed an article I found online. It took a little searching to find the correct print driver (the printer is kind of old, too -- we tend to use electronics until they no longer function).

Even though I made no changes to the hardware, everything moves much faster than Windows ever did. Not as fast as a Mac, but my sister will have no complaints, I'm sure.

Thank you both for the help. Happy New Year!

 

[Brickwizard]

Success! I am posting this from the laptop -- woo hoo!

Everything went surprisingly fast; the most time-consuming part was finding the right version of Etcher for my old Mac OS. After trying a few that were supposed to be compatible with OS 10.10, I finally just downloaded the oldest one in the list (Etcher 1.5.115) and it worked great.

So far I have opened my email (browser, not app) and printed an article I found online. It took a little searching to find the correct print driver (the printer is kind of old, too -- we tend to use electronics until they no longer function).

Even though I made no changes to the hardware, everything moves much faster than Windows ever did. Not as fast as a Mac, but my sister will have no complaints, I'm sure.

Thank you both for the help. Happy New Year!

if your now happy, please go to your first post, click on edit, and in the dropdown box by the title select SOLVED

thanks

 

[LlNUX]

Great work