What distro do you recommend?

[jacc90220]

Hello, I have a Toshiba m645 laptop, Intel i5, 8gb RAM, 500 HDD. Install Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. It takes 4 minutes to start and 15 seconds to open any application. I tried Linux Mint but it was bad for me. What distro do you recommend? I use it for web development and I have vmware with win 10 for the compatibility with office for work topics (libreoffice lacks a lot).

 

[KGIII]

Your hardware will support any major distro, so I'd suggest this article:

Finally, an Answer to What is The Best Linux Distro? • Linux Tips

Finally, an attempt to answer to the age old question: Which Linux distro is the best? Read on to find out which distro is the best Linux distro.

linux-tips.us

 

[jacc90220]

Thanks, is an interesting article, but i am looking for a more specific answer. I do not know why mi laptop start very slow. I have not installed several apps, only the necessary. Any idea?

 

[Deleted member 101831]

Where did you install the apps from in Ubuntu.

 

[SpongebobFan1994]

It all depends on which distro you feel the most comfortable with, which is why I always recommend newbies grabbing a series of distros, running them in Virtual Box, and playing with each one for a while to learn how they work from a first-hand experience. Maybe you could take notes on what you learned from each one so you can narrow down your choices. Another thing is a distro that works for you may not work for someone else (ex: you said you didn't like Mint, whereas I've gotten comfortable with it for the last 10 years, despite some occasional annoyances). Just out of curiosity, how long did you use Mint for?

 

[darry1966]

You may want to look at what Desktop you are using if default Ubuntu one then maybe try xfce and LXDE and LXQT for example not just which distro. You can install other desktop environments with your installation.

 

[Brickwizard]

I have a Toshiba m645 laptop,

is this the 2010/2011 model ? it should run any version of Linux, but being an older machine I would consider a build with a medium/lite desk top based on [XFCE ,LXDE, Enlightenment etc..] as to best that is more a personal choice

 

[wizardfromoz]

....but i am looking for a more specific answer.

There isn't one.

There are likely 20, maybe more.

G'day @jacc90220 and welcome to linux.org from DownUnder.

Take a look at DistroWatch.com and its page hit ranking tab. There you will find 274 Linux, and that is by no means all. I have used about a quarter of them.

I run 67 Linux on this Dell rig, but a number of them are the same Distro with a different DE (Desktop Environment).

If a Distro does not meet my requirements after a month, it goes. About 65 of my stable have been installed over a month ago (some 4 years), so I must like 65 of them?

IMO (not a lot Humble about my opinions), your best beginning steps are to

1. Have a supply of USB sticks you can put Live versions of Linuxes on (or use a multibooting burning solution such as Multisystem or Ventoy). This will give you the Look and Feel of the distro, and allow you to check that your video and graphics work OK, your printer, your wifi and so on - if it works from the stick it will work from the installed version
2. Try some under VM - you are already familiar with VMWare with your Windozer, Linux will work too
3. You will only get a true idea of performance in your PC's environment with a physical install. With a 500 GB HDD, you can easily install 10 to 20 Linux, but allow for some space for Timeshift snapshots for those you like or place personal data on. For Timeshift, preference is to have a separate drive or external drive for its Snapshots

I can provide more suggestions, but digest these first. Each and every input you have received above has merit, and you may decide e. None of The Above.

Cheers and Avagudweegend, all,

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

 

[Lord Boltar]

The main thing I see slowing your boot up time is the Hard Drive it is a 5400 RPM spindle drive you might want to consider a SSD drive for faster boot time and overall efficiency

 

[kc1di]

Please boot to Ubuntu or Mint and execute this command in a terminal

systemd-analyze blame

This will show what is slowing up the boot process.
Also this blog may be of help in speeding things up once booted.
speed up
Other than that the choice is yours try different distros see which one is most comfortable for you and your work flow and also meets the requirements of your hardware. The suggestion to change to an SSD drive is a good one though.

 

[jacc90220]

Hi everybody, sorry for the delay in answer. I replaced my HDD with a SSD and the system startup in 10 sec. It still running Ubuntu 20.0.4 and works fine. Thanks for your kind support and your suggestions.