New to the whole Linux scene, have heard really great things figured I'd maybe give it a crack?

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KoolBeansssBro

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Hello, I'm using an HP Pavillion AW15038E. Currently its barely running Windows 11 Insider Preview Version 260521. I say running but really its Snail, pace at this point. I am hoping and praying someone here can fill me in on Linux, how to successfully eliminate system bloat considering this poor laptop is only equipped with 8GB of DDR4 currently only runs 3.9 of those 8 GB though!
 


Hello @KoolBeansssBro
Welcome to the Linux.org forum, enjoy!
Best thing to do is download and burn a live version of Linux. I suggest trying Mint first. See how it runs on that machine.

Home - Linux Mint

Linux Mint is an elegant, easy to use, up to date and comfortable desktop operating system.
www.linuxmint.com www.linuxmint.com
Click to expand...
 
Welcome, @KoolBeansssBro.

The whole thing is highly subjective, IMHO.

I have here a 6C/12T 8th-gen Intel Corei7-8700, 32GB DDR4, a discrete GeForce GT 1030 GPU and around 10 TB of storage.

I could run literally any distro I want.....but by choice, I run a featherweight distro called 'Puppy' Linux. Not because I'm trying to maximize resource availability or anything like that, but for the simple reason that I started using Puppy over 13 years ago when I WAS stuck with very old, limited-resource hardware.....and by now, I know her inside-out.

She does everything I want from her.....and THEN some.

Many folks run low-to-average hardware and a mainstream distro with their relatively heavy DEs. Puppy runs entirely in RAM for the session, so despite no NVMe SSD she'll still fly, even on elderly machines.

IMHO, regardless of hardware availability, my feeling is that most people could benefit from running more lightweight distros.....because they simply leave more of your resources alone for YOUR use (whatever that may be). Unfortunately, most would-be Linux users have been weaned on Windows, and expect the same performance/behaviour when they come to Linux (including all the 'eye-candy').

(Especially the gamers.....who expect exactly the same performance & ease-of-use from ultra-heavy, AAA+ titles.....and are frequently disappointed when things don't work as they do under Windows. Linux has made HUGE strides towards being a drop-in replacement; for many of us on this side of the fence, it already is.....but it still has a way to go to literally replace Windows without the user noticing any difference.)

The only solution here is for you to put the time in, and try out a bunch of distros in 'Live' mode. Only this way will you get a realistic idea of how they actually run.

We're always here to help if you get stuck at any stage of the process.


Mike. ;)
 
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KoolBeansssBro said:
how to successfully eliminate system bloat
Click to expand...
Apologies for the double post.

You may consider running a distribution with XFCE, Openbox, or Fluxbox. For Fluxbox, you might consider trying MX Linux's Fluxbox, as they've done a good job with it. I recommend Debian for XFCE. For Openbox, well... usually I install & configure that myself, so if you're new I honestly couldn't recommend a distribution with Openbox, though they exist.

Some will recommend using Linux Mint and that's fine, though I want nothing to do with Ubuntu so you could try their Debian Edition. I recommend not choosing Ubuntu because of snaps and other reasons which I won't get into here. It's just my preference, coming from someone who started using their distribution when they first appeared on the scene and up until they decided to make some alterations I wasn't kosher with.

You really want to run a lightweight Desktop Environment like XFCE or a Window Manager like Openbox or Fluxbox with that much memory because when you use things like beefy browsers such as Firefox or Chromium, for example, you're going to need all the memory you can get and not waste it on the desktop like Gnome or KDE. Some people recommend the MATE Desktop Environment, though I have limited experience with it.

People may say KDE has comparable memory usage to XFCE. Each distribution is different and may have different programs and services running so it all depends on the distribution. When you're experienced enough you can take something like Debian minimal and build from there so you know exactly what you're getting.

Depending on the amount of free time you have, you could test Gnome, KDE, XFCE and if you're feeling a little brave a distribution with a Window Manager such as Fluxbox or Openbox. Window Managers can be a little rough on the Linux newbie, but you'll thank me with the amount of memory you'll save when you run modern web browsers or venture into something like gaming.

As you advance you can start looking at the services loaded for each distribution and disable or remove the ones which you don't need which may be chewing up memory in the background.

As MikeWalsh recommended, try distributions which have a LiveCD/USB option.

Go nuts and have fun!
 
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@KoolBeansssBro

I tossed EndeavourOS on a low spec mini desktop w/ 4gb ram a few weeks ago (i used to use it as a VOIP solution for my home office but now it's a glorified alarm clock next to my bed) and even with KDE it runs just fine, though it's a bit slow to boot/login. a more minimalist DE would of course use less resources but I dont really care (and KDE is pretty).

I prefer Arch or Arch derivative distros but basically any linux distribution is going to get you to the same spot.
 
Welcome,
as some members have already said Linux is not windows, so don't expect to run all windows programs-so you will be on a learning curve, early Pavilions are not known for speed but reliability for business use, pleas see links below
 
Condobloke said:
G'day @KoolBeansssBro, Welcome to Linux.org

have you investigated why the laptop will only use 3.9 gb or 8gb ram ?

Did the laptop come with 8GB when new?

Tell us more please.

This page deals with problems for that model:

Click to expand...
I've been running DISM as well as SFC scannow and repairhealth neither of which will successfully complete through to 100% unfortunately for me. Not really sure what my next steps are which is why im here asking you guys, a much stronger community than windows lol, also more helpful to the fact that I've garnered 9 responses so fast is impeccible
 
KoolBeansssBro said:
I've been running DISM as well as SFC scannow and repairhealth neither of which will successfully complete through to 100% unfortunately for me. Not really sure what my next steps are which is why im here asking you guys, a much stronger community than windows lol, also more helpful to the fact that I've garnered 9 responses so fast is impeccible
Click to expand...
but yes laptop came with 8.0 GB but for some unkown reason it only ever discovers, or allows the pc to use 3.9 of that at once idk due to how many gigs the system is using or what?
 
beanburrito said:
Apologies for the double post.

You may consider running a distribution with XFCE, Openbox, or Fluxbox. For Fluxbox, you might consider trying MX Linux's Fluxbox, as they've done a good job with it. I recommend Debian for XFCE. For Openbox, well... usually I install & configure that myself, so if you're new I honestly couldn't recommend a distribution with Openbox, though they exist.

Some will recommend using Linux Mint and that's fine, though I want nothing to do with Ubuntu so you could try their Debian Edition. I recommend not choosing Ubuntu because of snaps and other reasons which I won't get into here. It's just my preference, coming from someone who started using their distribution when they first appeared on the scene and up until they decided to make some alterations I wasn't kosher with.

You really want to run a lightweight Desktop Environment like XFCE or a Window Manager like Openbox or Fluxbox with that much memory because when you use things like beefy browsers such as Firefox or Chromium, for example, you're going to need all the memory you can get and not waste it on the desktop like Gnome or KDE. Some people recommend the MATE Desktop Environment, though I have limited experience with it.

People may say KDE has comparable memory usage to XFCE. Each distribution is different and may have different programs and services running so it all depends on the distribution. When you're experienced enough you can take something like Debian minimal and build from there so you know exactly what you're getting.

Depending on the amount of free time you have, you could test Gnome, KDE, XFCE and if you're feeling a little brave a distribution with a Window Manager such as Fluxbox or Openbox. Window Managers can be a little rough on the Linux newbie, but you'll thank me with the amount of memory you'll save when you run modern web browsers or venture into something like gaming.

As you advance you can start looking at the services loaded for each distribution and disable or remove the ones which you don't need which may be chewing up memory in the background.

As MikeWalsh recommended, try distributions which have a LiveCD/USB option.

Go nuts and have fun!
Click to expand...
This is what i came for thanks for so much information in such a small post really stand up guy if you ask me, although no one has asked me, nor will they ever lmao! I'm grateful you commented about ubuntu as that is the Linux i have already downloaded and placed on to a 32GB USB, thanks any info is great for me
 
KoolBeansssBro said:
pretty dog, and yes I'm fully aware that Linux is nothing like windows, which is why I made it a point to inquire before making all sorts of changes i have no clue what to do with lmao
Click to expand...
You could use whatever you have running on your machine for now. Create a live USB with a Linux of your choice and boot from that. That way you can figure out if your Linux is compatible with the hardware, you can get a feel for it, mess around, click op applications and setting. Just to see what it's doing without erasing your existing OS.

It is a great way to get familiar with Linux. And if you mess up, reboot and you will have a pristine first boot OS again.
 
MikeWalsh said:
Welcome, @KoolBeansssBro.

The whole thing is highly subjective, IMHO.

I have here a 6C/12T 8th-gen Intel Corei7-8700, 32GB DDR4, a discrete GeForce GT 1030 GPU and around 10 TB of storage.

I could run literally any distro I want.....but by choice, I run a featherweight distro called 'Puppy' Linux. Not because I'm trying to maximize resource availability or anything like that, but for the simple reason that I started using Puppy over 13 years ago when I WAS stuck with very old, limited-resource hardware.....and by now, I know her inside-out.

She does everything I want from her.....and THEN some.

Many folks run low-to-average hardware and a mainstream distro with their relatively heavy DEs. Puppy runs entirely in RAM for the session, so despite no NVMe SSD she'll still fly, even on elderly machines.

IMHO, regardless of hardware availability, my feeling is that most people could benefit from running more lightweight distros.....because they simply leave more of your resources alone for YOUR use (whatever that may be). Unfortunately, most would-be Linux users have been weaned on Windows, and expect the same performance/behaviour when they come to Linux (including all the 'eye-candy').

(Especially the gamers.....who expect exactly the same performance & ease-of-use from ultra-heavy, AAA+ titles.....and are frequently disappointed when things don't work as they do under Windows. Linux has made HUGE strides towards being a drop-in replacement; for many of us on this side of the fence, it already is.....but it still has a way to go to literally replace Windows without the user noticing any difference.)

The only solution here is for you to put the time in, and try out a bunch of distros in 'Live' mode. Only this way will you get a realistic idea of how they actually run.

We're always here to help if you get stuck at any stage of the process.


Mike. ;)
Click to expand...
By far the most well worded paragraph i believe I've ever had the pleasure of reading or responding to, thank you for such an explanation, i believe im going to do just that, download a bunch and try them out and see which would be best for my usage, I didn't come here for a replacement to windows, i came here for an upgrade (regardless of effort on my end i have an Adventurer 5M PRO and i can't hardly even run the software to use the damn thing, yeah she's got 947 Hours print time on her!) Which if I'm being honest seems astronomical to me, but she still kicks plenty of ass and id really like to be able to allow my daughter to get familiar with some coding experience, as i remember very well my father and my entire house (when i was just 3-4) playing LAN Unreal Tournament 2004. Man those were the fucking days.
 
Brickwizard said:
Welcome,
as some members have already said Linux is not windows, so don't expect to run all windows programs-so you will be on a learning curve, early Pavilions are not known for speed but reliability for business use, pleas see links below
Click to expand...
Heh! I am using a 9yo and 10 yo HP Pavilion to run and test Pups. The older one is running EasyOS and is used for banking and such. These lappies are great. Very stable, indeed not that fast but they never fail me. All hardware (including the dreaded WiFi always works OOTB.

I recently was given a ASUS X75A which is even older (BIOS released in 2012). Also running like a charm and running legacy Puppies.

One the greatest benefits of Linux is that it keeps old(er) hardware alive and makes it perform even better than it ever did with whatever MS it was running before. Or MacOS for that matter.
 
For pure simplicity and especially for newcomers to Linux, I generally have two recommendations:

MX-Linux, and Linux Lite. Here's why:

Both are much speedier and more responsive than any Windows since XP, both have infinitely configurable desktops, and both are meant for beginners.

I give Linux Lite the edge for being beginner-friendly because - and this seems to be unique to Linux Lite only - they name applications after their function. For example, how is a beginner supposed to know that "Thunar" is file manager? I'm like, "Thunar is the name of Thor's hammer, but what's it doing in my computer?" In Linux Lite it's simply called, "File Manager."

Little thoughtful things like that give Linux Lite extra points for new-user familiarity and an easier learning curve than most of the other "beginner friendly" Linux distributions (we call them "distros" for short). It's based on Ubuntu, which in many ways is an advantage but in many other ways is a great disadvantage. The Ubuntu people don't seem to mind making unwitting "beta testers" out of their users, which is inexcusable in a distro intended for beginners! This is where MX-Linux shines brightest, being based on ultra-super-mega-solid and reliable Debian Stable. That and the wicked cool toolbox they have for frequent tasks like formatting a USB stick, writing a Linux .iso file to a USB stick, etc. You can even make a bootable copy of your existing OS when you've got it all set up just the way you like it - as a full, bootable backup of everything - not just the operating system (OS for short).

Try them both "Live" without installing anything until you're ready to. Here is why a lot of us just stick with the so-called "kiddie distros" while our geeky, techno-wizard friends go all advanced for bragging rights and stuff. As the above article says, "we just want to run applications, not the operating system, thanks anyway!" Enjoy!
 
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