What linux distro should I install for my pc?

[CaffeineAddict]

Kubuntu

Why would you suggest KDE desktop for his 4GB RAM laptop?

I'm using Plasma, and with only Firefox open right now it consumes 3.9 GiB, so he will be with no memory left to run at least 1 other program without suffering:

 

[Brickwizard]

my error should be Lubuntu [lxqt DE]

ammended

 

[Graveworm]

my error should be Lubuntu [lxqt DE]

ammended

I decided to install Lubuntu. Thank you very much for your answer. <3

 

[bob466]

Welcome to the Forum.

I have a 13 year old Laptop running Mint xfce...runs like new. The only thing I did a few years ago was replace the HDD with a 500GB SSD.

 

[MikeWalsh]

@Graveworm :-

First of all, thank you for your kind words and explanation. As I said, I have no expectations from this computer. As long as it works stably, does not give a blue screen, and does not freeze while watching videos, it is enough for me. I did the test that your other friend posted and the result was Lubuntu. Do you think this is a good option?

Heh. I'm something of an outlier here. A few of us fit this description; we run the more lightweight, often slightly "oddball" or "off-the-wall", non-standard distros.....often because they suit our hardware better, or in some cases because we simply like these alternative choices.

Still; I digress.

If I go all the way back to 2013/14 - some 11-12 years - when I first started with Linux at EOL for Win XP, I followed the same road most Linux noobs go down.

I did the usual "distro-hopping".....trying stuff out, experimenting with different DEs, alternative ways of doing things, etc.

Before ending up with Puppy - hardware reasons; Canonical's 'custom' kernels eventually dropped support for some of the components on the ancient 2003 Compaq desktop rig I had at the time - I, too, tried Lubuntu. I'd tried most of the 'buntu 'flavours' at that point, and Lubuntu was the only one I hadn't looked at.

I have to confess, I liked it.

It was a very simple (almost 'plain'), ordinary, easy-to-use OS that nonetheless did everything you could want from it, yet kept out of your way and left you to your own devices. I used it for several months, and was perfectly content with it.

Coming to Linux after Windows, it made a nice change to find OSs that didn't constantly try & draw attention to themselves. So...

....to answer your question, yes; I would have no hesitations in recommending Lubuntu to anyone who just wants to get on and do "stuff". It's that easy to live with, and should be a decent choice for your older hardware.


Mike.

 

[KGIII]

@Graveworm, this is off-topic, but your name reminds me of Shakespeare.

There's a bit of dialogue from Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (Act 3, Scene 1), when he's dying (having been struck with a sword). The line is, "They have made worms' meat of me!"

But, back on topic, you could get into some of the more 'quirky' distros. There's a whole host of Puppy Linux examples out there. If you want, you can even use something like TinyCore Linux. These things will run 'quick enough' on your old hardware, though they may take a little while to load.

You'll be able to browse the web, do some word processing, or even play some small/light games. With DOSBox, you'll have a ton of games available, and they'll run fine on your hardware.

Due to the way YouTube works, you'll probably have issues using that site. There are sites out there with video in other formats. YouTube pretty much demands that your CPU have certain features, which your CPU will certainly not have.

You MIGHT be able to watch YouTube at a low bit rate.

Anyhow... Your username made me chuckle. It's not often that one gets to throw down a Shakespeare quote on a Linux forum.

 

[ML_113]

I recommend AntiX or Puppy running from a SD card.

 

[KGIII]

Why would you suggest KDE desktop for his 4GB RAM laptop?

I saw this and hit reply, just to say pretty much this:

my error should be Lubuntu [lxqt DE]

Yup. That's one choice. It's 64 bit only, so if they have one of those wonky computers that require a 32 bit BIOS, it's going to be a problem. I don't know if that's the case here. I just thought I'd mention it as a potential hurdle.

I like the Lubuntu idea, though my comment suggested maybe going with something even lighter. Lubuntu is more bloated thanit once was. (It's still less bloated than many other choices. With 4 GB, they can probably have both Firefox and Thunderbird open. They can probably even have a few tabs open. They can even listen to music at the same time. As mentioned in my other comment, they probably won't have a good experience with YouTube. It might play in a lower bit rate, but YouTube wants certain CPU features to work well, especially with higher quality streams.

 

[Graveworm]

@Graveworm, this is off-topic, but your name reminds me of Shakespeare.

There's a bit of dialogue from Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (Act 3, Scene 1), when he's dying (having been struck with a sword). The line is, "They have made worms' meat of me!"

But, back on topic, you could get into some of the more 'quirky' distros. There's a whole host of Puppy Linux examples out there. If you want, you can even use something like TinyCore Linux. These things will run 'quick enough' on your old hardware, though they may take a little while to load.

You'll be able to browse the web, do some word processing, or even play some small/light games. With DOSBox, you'll have a ton of games available, and they'll run fine on your hardware.

Due to the way YouTube works, you'll probably have issues using that site. There are sites out there with video in other formats. YouTube pretty much demands that your CPU have certain features, which your CPU will certainly not have.

You MIGHT be able to watch YouTube at a low bit rate.

Anyhow... Your username made me chuckle. It's not often that one gets to throw down a Shakespeare quote on a Linux forum.

I don't know about Shakespeare (I'm sorry for disappointing you), but for me Graveworm is an Italian Death Black Metal band. By the way, thank you very much for your answer, as I said before, I downloaded Lubuntu and will install it when I am available today.

 

[kc1di]

Hello @Graveworm
Welcome to the Linux.org forum, enjoy!
You've already recieved many good options Lubuntu would work well for you I believe. Good luck in choosing. one thing about linux is you have choices and if one doesn't work out for you you can try another.

 

[MikeWalsh]

Welcome to the Linux.org forum, enjoy!
You've already recieved many good options Lubuntu would work well for you I believe. Good luck in choosing. one thing about linux is you have choices and if one doesn't work out for you you can try another.

Yeah, that's the one thing we all like about Linux, I think; choice. You're not stuck with whatever comes OOTB.

As David ( @KGIII ) says, you may benefit from something even lighter. My old Core2Duo-powered D630 Dell Latitude ran Puppy for a couple of years, and though I'm biased - of course! - I honestly believe she was one of the best choices. I don't, however, recommend Puppy to noobs.....not until they've got used to how things are done on a more 'standard', mainstream distro.

(Puppy does things just differently enough that if you begin with her, then decide you want to try something else, you'll need to re-learn quite a bit of stuff. I don't think that makes a lot of sense, so I reckon it's best to let folks come to Puppy once they've "cut their teeth", so to speak, with the mainstream way of doing things. If they then decide they don't like Puppy, they can always return to the mainstream where they WILL already know what they're doing.....no harm, no foul).

As mentioned above, MX Linux (or even AntiX) would also be worth investigating. TinyCore, too. All three can, if necessary, be run entirely from a USB stick (with 'persistence', which maintains your settings).

We'll get you 'sorted', @Graveworm .....never fear. There's tons of options!


Mike.

 

[Graveworm]

I need your help, my friends. As you can see in the image, it is stuck at 90%. It has been like this for about 10 minutes. Is there anything I should be worried about?

 

[Graveworm]

@KGIII @MikeWalsh @CaffeineAddict

 

[Brickwizard]

I need your help, my friends

Sorry, I don't do [what looks like] Turkish,
looking at the screenshot, there are no errors or reports showing, it looks like it is just slow decompressing and installing the larger files. I have an old Jerry rig made from components of that sort of age, i will try an installation of lubuntu and see what happens.

 

[Graveworm]

Sorry, I don't do [what looks like] Turkish,
looking at the screenshot, there are no errors or reports showing, it looks like it is just slow decompressing and installing the larger files. I have an old Jerry rig made from components of that sort of age, i will try an installation of lubuntu and see what happens.

Yes, it's in Turkish and yes, it doesn't seem to be an error code. I think I'll wait a little longer. Thank you for your answer.

 

[Brickwizard]

ok so I downloaded Lubuntu from the link i gave you, wrote the ISO to an old {but good condition] usb2 4 GB pen-drive, now using Jerry [4 MB DDR2, SATA SSD, 3.2GH core 2 duo] and hit the go button, it took 22 minutes to install

 

[CaffeineAddict]

I need your help, my friends. As you can see in the image, it is stuck at 90%. It has been like this for about 10 minutes. Is there anything I should be worried about?

Initially I abstained from suggesting any distro, too bad I didn't stick with that.

If it doesn't work maybe it's time to try something else because it seems impossible to say why it doesn't install.

 

[Graveworm]

ok so I downloaded Lubuntu from the link i gave you, wrote the ISO to an old {but good condition] usb2 4 GB pen-drive, now using Jerry [4 MB DDR2, SATA SSD, 3.2GH core 2 duo] and hit the go button, it took 22 minutes to install

Initially I abstained from suggesting any distro, too bad I didn't stick with that.

If it doesn't work maybe it's time to try something else because it seems impossible to say why it doesn't install.

OK guys. It installed without any problems. After 15 minutes of "how to install Opera" research, I'm ready for anything. LOL

 

[CaffeineAddict]

I'm ready for anything.

For saying this I see you have potential for becoming a Linux super user in time.

Never give up, boosting your Linux skills requires dedication and constant readiness to learn and troubleshoot to master various OS components.
In the end it will pay off with you having a system that works the way you want and most importantly having the capacity to deal with issues in shortest time possible. it just takes time investment to gain confidence.

 

[Brickwizard]

how to install Opera

open menu [blue circle bottom left] find click on system tools, find click on discover, and then search the software manage