Recommended Linux OS for an old Dell clean install?



Wow, I missed a few days wrestling with the new windows 10 machine...and all kinds of wonderful info has arrived. Thanks everyone. Did I say I hate windows!!! I hate windows 10 the most. It is not geared for dial-up and as my first Linux guru said today, neither is Linux any more. I hope those developers out there don't leave we who live in the woods in the dust. I actually like that I'm not bombarded with many cell towers and satellites. I have some research I see. I will try the OS which ran on other Dell Inspirons.

Thanks Wizard for suggesting to VP9KS that I might need specific directions on where to find things and how to do things in step by step fashion. Your're right! Thanks for the translation as well. DSL looks interesting. Wizard, you said 'if you are searching use, eg'. What is 'eg'...you know there are large holes in my knowledge base ;)

VP9KS: Is the processor different than the CPU? CPU is Intel Pentium III E. I don't have that machine with me today. At hispeed with the new HP windows 10. I see in my Dell notes that the motherboard is a Dell computer corp Inspiron 8000e microprocessor, so I guess a processor is different. I'll look again when I get home.

So I'm off to restrict this windows from running away with my dial-up with it's frivolous apps. The new HD should arrive this weekend so that I can create a wonderful dedicated Linux machine. I bought the windows before I figured out I might salvage the old machine. Perhaps it is best as they don't seem to play well together. At any rate, it is what it is. Updates soon.
The processor and the CPU are the same thing. So your laptop has a Pentium 3. Sorry, I should have mentioned that, but I did not know your experience level. No worries, there is much to learn young padawan, and you are in the right place to do that. Enjoy the journey of enlightenment.:).
Sorry, I missed the fact that you are using a dialup connection. Gonna be a mite slow, don't ya know.

Happy Trails,
Paul

P.S. I understand your hatred for windows!!
 
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a note to helpers is that the unit the OP refers to has

- 512 MB RAM (maximum it can take, it will be 2 x 256 MB sticks) and
- she has a need for dialup access using an external ZOOM on the outside, Conexant USB CX93010 ACF Modem
Yeah, I looked it up also. That is why I asked which processor she had.:D
 
VP9KS: Thanks for the guidance. Yes I am a noobe, and I sure am learning things...it's great. Finally think I've got WDS 10 corralled, so that it let's me use my dial-up. Sheesh, everything is so challenging to find. Now I can at least read the directions from the forum and do some research. Thanks for all the help, it is supporting my sanity. I downloaded DSL and Linux Lite 3.8 for the Dell, yet haven't had time yet to look at that in depth. Been wrestling WDS 10 and catching up on work. I hope to be able to refocus on Linux next week.

Wizard: Thanks for the language review. I didn't have that reference in my fore brain, if I every had it. Will let you know if I can revitalize that Fujitsu with a new HD. Then I'll be clean installing some Linux. Maybe Mint 19.3 unless you have a better idea. Thanks for the guidance.
 
Hello Vicktoria,
Great advice from the above posters. There are several distros that will run on older computers. I'm running LXLE on an old Dell Inspiron 1545 (it runs better than my windows 10 computer) and am planning to check out some of the other distros.
Best Wishes,
Buzzzer
Hello Buzzz, Thanks for your assistance. I'll check out the LXLE next time I connect to hispeed. Such a drag doing research on dial-up.
 
" . . . the other issue we were working on is that you cannot put a EFI OS on a MBR system. I'm hoping I can bring the machine back to life with a new HD. . . "

Recommend antiX with a swap file, if all that is available is 512MB RAM and et cetera, as wizardfromoz details
Hi Sp331yi. Thanks for the info. I'm a noobe...what is 'antix' ? .I've become familiar with the 'swap' file while wrestling with the Fujitsu machine.
 

Also have a look at;
Vrai, Once again you're a life saver!!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I got to read some before I got kicked off line, and that was enough to get me on the trail to taking my new machine back from WDS 10. Dial-up is frustrating enough without band hog issues. So was that wonderful usb you sent suppose to have persistence? As soon as I catch up on work I can focus on Linux again. Looking forward to it My new HD should be here beginning of the week.
 
RE: antiX
It's a distro ! Especially for limited-resource machines, it's fast.
(click on highlighted link)
 
Wow, I missed a few days wrestling with the new windows 10 machine...and all kinds of wonderful info has arrived. Thanks everyone. Did I say I hate windows!!! I hate windows 10 the most. It is not geared for dial-up and as my first Linux guru said today, neither is Linux any more. I hope those developers out there don't leave we who live in the woods in the dust. I actually like that I'm not bombarded with many cell towers and satellites. I have some research I see. I will try the OS which ran on other Dell Inspirons.

Thanks Wizard for suggesting to VP9KS that I might need specific directions on where to find things and how to do things in step by step fashion. Your're right! Thanks for the translation as well. DSL looks interesting. Wizard, you said 'if you are searching use, eg'. What is 'eg'...you know there are large holes in my knowledge base ;)

VP9KS: Is the processor different than the CPU? CPU is Intel Pentium III E. I don't have that machine with me today. At hispeed with the new HP windows 10. I see in my Dell notes that the motherboard is a Dell computer corp Inspiron 8000e microprocessor, so I guess a processor is different. I'll look again when I get home.

So I'm off to restrict this windows from running away with my dial-up with it's frivolous apps. The new HD should arrive this weekend so that I can create a wonderful dedicated Linux machine. I bought the windows before I figured out I might salvage the old machine. Perhaps it is best as they don't seem to play well together. At any rate, it is what it is. Updates soon.
Well, i use Windows 10, but it causes so much trouble, that i hate it. Im actually working on a windows 7 replacement for that.

Talking about the question you asked here, a common example of a lightweight distro is Lubuntu, which still supports 32-bit hosts. There are much more light linux distros out there, but thats the one i mostly know.
 
Sp331yi: Thanks for info. I will look at it. Seems everyone is saying the Dell is a lightweight. So I appreciate the guidance.

It'sNestor05: I've always hated WDS 10 when I was helping others and when I first got this machine. Now that I'm getting good guidance on how to make WDS 10 behave itself, I appreciate it much more. You may want to try the fixes suggested here. The 'geek link' on how to control WDS10 given by Vrai is awesome. I have a tower Kubuntu 4 something which has been great for over a decade. I was wondering about Lubuntu...thanks for the info.
 
So was that wonderful usb you sent suppose to have persistence?
Yes. It worked fine when I tested it. I saved some files which should still be on there and changed the desktop background. After several reboots and a 'cold' start everything was still there. The 'persistence' was working fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Yes. It worked fine when I tested it. I saved some files which should still be on there and changed the desktop background. After several reboots and a 'cold' start everything was still there. The 'persistence' was working fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
!

How odd. Just to determine if I'm crazy or just incredibly incompetent...is it possible that you sent the wrong one? I have a SanDisk with a blue label saying Unetbootin Linux Mint 19.3, that's it. Do you think that is the one you sent with persistence? When I first booted it, it had the plain black screen. No background. If you left a different background on it, It doesn't make sense it would be gone...does it? I just want to figure out what is up. Thanks for the response.

I tried the OOShutUp10, and the machine is dang near wonderful. Thanks so much!
 
How odd. Just to determine if I'm crazy or just incredibly incompetent...is it possible that you sent the wrong one? I have a SanDisk with a blue label saying Unetbootin Linux Mint 19.3, that's it. Do you think that is the one you sent with persistence? When I first booted it, it had the plain black screen. No background. If you left a different background on it, It doesn't make sense it would be gone...does it? I just want to figure out what is up. Thanks for the response.
Hey Vicktoria,
Letting you know I just checked my 'other' SanDisk USB thumb drive with Linux Mint 19.3 on it and it is not the one with 'persistence'. You have the one with persistence which I created with UNetBootin.

Look in the 'Music' folder - there should be one .mp3 file in it.
Look in the 'Pictures' folder - there should be some screenshots in there.
 
Vrai, I'm sure I looked in the doc, music and picture folders and there was nothing there. I'll look again yet I'm sure I looked already. And Thanks again for the OOShutUp10...that is an amazingly wonderful utility. New HD for the dead Fujitsu should arrive tomorrow. I'm excited to try to revive the machine.

So gentlemen, and ladies...How do I reformat the Dell drive so I can install Linux? May I have some recommendations as to how to succeed in that. I've finished my charts and I'm ready to play again! I did download Linux Lite and Linux Mate 19.3 32-bit and DSL So I'm ready to move forward with one of those. Perhaps the Dell is too weak for the Mint 19.3. I just downloaded things when I had hispeed connection. Should I make a live usb with rufus or Unetbootin first to make the install? Which of those OS would you recommend? Thanks
 
Hello All. I miss connecting with you guys regularly, even though it is due to high frustration. So can someone tell me what a diskette is? Since I can't fix the fujitsu till I get the proper tool, I've been trying to get the Dell on linux, yet it won't boot from a usb. That option isn't present on the boot menu. It appears the optical drive is broken. The bootable CD tries to load yet it won't play any CD. So I have the first boot option set to diskette, yet I don't know what that is and i can't find any other slot for an SD card or even a small floppy. There is an area that is missing some part. The guy who gave me this used some device for internet connection. Any clue how to get Linux on this Dell? Thanks for your attention.
 
Hello All. I miss connecting with you guys regularly, even though it is due to high frustration. So can someone tell me what a diskette is? Since I can't fix the fujitsu till I get the proper tool, I've been trying to get the Dell on linux, yet it won't boot from a usb. That option isn't present on the boot menu. It appears the optical drive is broken. The bootable CD tries to load yet it won't play any CD. So I have the first boot option set to diskette, yet I don't know what that is and i can't find any other slot for an SD card or even a small floppy. There is an area that is missing some part. The guy who gave me this used some device for internet connection. Any clue how to get Linux on this Dell? Thanks for your attention.
I just happened to have one sitting on the desk, so I took a picture. This is a 1.44MB version, also known as the "High Density" version. It is also known as a "Floppy Disk". If your laptop was made in the last 10 years or so, I doubt that it has the proper drive for this installed, even though there is a setting in the bios for it. You said that there was no setup for booting from the USB drive. Did you get this information from the bios screen, or did you go to "Setup" when turning it on? If you plug the usb stick into the computer before you turn it on, it may show up in the setup screen. Try that, and let us know what happens.:)
Diskette.jpg


Happy Trails,
Paul
 
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Thanks Paul, It is so much fun to have others to help solves puzzles with. I'll try the usb before turning the machine on. I got the diskette info from the BIOS boot menu. No usb option there. It does read usbs, just didn't boot from one yet. Will try and report back. Thanks again.
 
Thanks Paul, It is so much fun to have others to help solves puzzles with. I'll try the usb before turning the machine on. I got the diskette info from the BIOS boot menu. No usb option there. It does read usbs, just didn't boot from one yet. Will try and report back. Thanks again.
Good Luck.
 

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