XP refugee

S

Scott D

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I'm a complete newbie to this forum & Linux. I bet you all are sick of people like me since the end of Win XP. I will go ahead & apologize now. Sorry! I've been doing some reading the last couple weeks but have confused myself alittle so I have not tried to download anything yet.

I guess I should start by letting you know I have an "HP Pavilion a1013w". It has a Pentium 4. It's been a pretty darn good computer for what I need it for. I have even liked XP for the most part (maybe out of ignorance). Had a few problems & had to do a full re-install a couple times. I do not like the sound of this touch crap win8 at all. If I'm on the computer, I'm at my desk & want to use a mouse & keyboard. I don't want to poke at my screen! This is why I'm not too interested in a win upgrade or replacing a computer that's hardware still seems to work well.

Linux has so many versions that I'm not sure where to start! I'd like to find the right version & make one of those bootable flashdrive USB's to start with. I like the idea of being able to keep XP on here for awhile anyway in "limited user mode".

Can you all point me to a version & place to make a Linux USB stick? Something maybe "XP like" that will work on my HP.
I'm mostly just a web surfer But I do need something that will let me work with audio files. I need to record & edit.

Sorry for being long winded but I know you need details to answer the question. Thanks
 


1) You can make Linux LOOK like XP, but at the end of the day Linux is Linux and Windows is Windows, so there is a learning curve. Like there is a learning curve when moving between XP, Vista, Windows 7 and WIndows 8.

2) Recently many "experts" have been giving there opinions about what it the best move from XP to Linux. There have been several different suggestions from Xubuntu to PCLinuxOS.

3) One distro I have found quite good (here I go suggesting something else) is LXLE. It has "paradigms" e.g. it can be XP "like" or OSX "like" or Ubuntu Unity "like". It might be work a look , http://lxle.net/

4) If you want to record and edit one feature of Linux is that you can quickly and freely (as in no cost) add apps.

5) If you want to look at a pre-configures distro to record and edit you might look at Ubuntu Studio, although it might be beyond what you need. http://ubuntustudio.org/

6) Both my suggestions are based on Ubuntu. If you want to put a distro on a stick look here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick
 
Choice of distros has a lot to do with how much RAM is installed. If 512MB, it's limited; however, with 2GB it's pretty open. Since you work with audio, you must have more than the minimum, I'd think. Mint 17 XFCE may work well for you, as it has a "familiar" interface for XP users. AFA other 'buntu derivatives go, Linux Lite I found lively and well put-together, too. Arochester has good suggestions here regarding bootable usb sticks.

LGA775 Socket will allow a Core2Duo, which are cheap now (except for the E8400). If not at least 2GB RAM, I'd max it out at 4 (2X2), as a suggestion. Go with 32-bit, also, at present.

A Distrowatch search for old computers [ distrowatch (dot) gdsw (dot) at/ ] will give you more
 
Probably puppy linux for older machines like that or porteous both are geared towards running from usb sticks or full HDD install. USB option would allow you to retain HDD install of XP. (HDD= hard drive). There is also Debian Dog.

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=93225
 
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As you may have guessed there are different installs to a USB stick...

a) An ordinary install. Like a LiveCD. Can't save anything. Can have an install. Some installers are easier than others - some are almost automatic. Some will expect you to manually partition.

2) An install with "persistence". Two partitions. One, like a Live CD. Second to save some stuff.

3) A full install to the USB. Can save everything if there is space.
 
Thanks! I've got to do some reading on the links you've gave me. I'll probably go with one of the lite-er versions sence my HP is 10 years old.

Do these just download from a link onto the usb or do I need an installer program? I saw somewhere a software intaller for Linux OS's. I'm confussed on that now.

I was going to put it on a clean 16 GB usb drive. Will I be able to save anything under Linux? I know I would run out of space before long but I could save to a different usb flashdrive right?
 
Like you, I have an older machine that isn't compatible with newer Windows releases. For me I found Mint 13 Maya (Mate) to be that happy fit. It "looks" and "feels" like a Windows machine and it will be supported for the long term. Mint 13 incorporates Ubuntu 12.04 Precise so updates and apps are plentiful. I would suggest, download and try out a few distros yourself. If you're looking for lite then you might want to consider Linux Deepin as well.
 
Well I tried Precice Puppy. Seems like it might be ok but it locked up on me twice so not impressed so far. I burnt the iso on a dvd & put the sfs? File to a flashdrive. It would boot from the flashdrive & worked fine for awhile the freeze. I could only kill & shut down with power button. I must have made an error on the flashdrive because now it will only run a memtest86 test for hours if not days !

Right now it's on XP & it' cleaning up the C drive. I'm going to defrag next. Then try again with dvd boot & put the save file on the harddisk.
 
lol I just bought a Windows 98 Desktop from a garage sale and seeing what I can do with it. Unfortunately, I think the RAM was harvested by somebody and I only have 64mb. However, right now it's installing FreeBSD. I'm interested in trying Slackware on this machine as well.

Also, I do have some old RAM chips so maybe they'll fit.
 
Well I tried Precice Puppy. Seems like it might be ok but it locked up on me twice so not impressed so far. I burnt the iso on a dvd & put the sfs? File to a flashdrive. It would boot from the flashdrive & worked fine for awhile the freeze. I could only kill & shut down with power button. I must have made an error on the flashdrive because now it will only run a memtest86 test for hours if not days !

Right now it's on XP & it' cleaning up the C drive. I'm going to defrag next. Then try again with dvd boot & put the save file on the harddisk.


You May need to run Precise retro or Slacko for older kit,
 
Well tonight's update it that I've done what I said in my last post. Pre Pup boots fast off the dvd & the sfs file is set on the HDD. It takes almost nothing to cause it to slow & then freeze. Just using the Seamonkey browser will cause it to. I can't even work with it long enough to know if I would have liked it. I think I need to bail on the PUP. I don't know why a lite version of Linux wouldn't work on this machine. It still works fine on XP. I can work with audio for hours with no real slow downs or lock ups. I've always used Firefox with XP & the only trouble with it is occasional unresponsive script freezes only on YouTube. Seamonkey seems like it can't even handle more than one tab opened.

I guess it's worth keeping the dvd but if I have another blank CD here somewhere I'm going to try one of the other versions you all have suggested.

Thanks for the help
 
lol I just bought a Windows 98 Desktop from a garage sale and seeing what I can do with it. Unfortunately, I think the RAM was harvested by somebody and I only have 64mb. However, right now it's installing FreeBSD. I'm interested in trying Slackware on this machine as well.

Also, I do have some old RAM chips so maybe they'll fit.

I have and old HP with 98 on it. I'd sell it to you for 50 cents (that's my final price, I won't go lower) but the shipping may not be worth it. haha
 
Well I've looked it up to be sure & It says I have 504 MB of RAM. Pentium 4 cpu 3.00GHz.

Whats the short list of distros that I can use?? How do I know if I need the 32 bit or 64 bit version?? My head hurts!!
 
Waiting for the Linux Lite 2.0 32bit ISO to download to my HD. This will let me keep windows I hope.

Reading that I may need to reinstall XP with this. It would not hurt me to re install XP also as long as I can get the service Pack 3 again.

I've got Linux Lite 2.o 32bit on a dvd from Burncdcc. I'm going to stop here & wait for info from you all before I use it to boot.

Thanks for your help
 
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Okay I wasn't sure you wanted to keep XP. I haven't dual booted with Windows in a long time. I'm not sure if certain distros are more friendly for that.

If you have any spare USBs, it might be handy to try Porteus. They have a handy download page where you pick basic starter tools you want.

Personally, I used the Porteus ISO file plus the free tool Unetbootin to create my bootable Porteus USB. I think the directions on Porteus' website are unnecessarily complicated.

I have not made a Porteus CD or DVD, but that should also be an option.
 
Have not tried the Linux Lite 2.0 yet. I have just ordered a 2 GB RAM upgrade for this old HP though!! I ordered it from smsassembly. I hope this will but life into my old hp.
 
Imgburn is what is needed to burn the ISO file for LinuxLite.

2GB RAM will definitely liven up the old P4 machine -- you'll be happy.
Stick with 32-bit distros like
DEBIAN-based AntiX, CrunchBang
Ubuntu-based (jillions of 'em) LinuxLite, SalentOS
Slackware-based Salix 14.1 xfce, Zenwalk openbox, absolute

Pay attention to the Desktop Environment (DE) of the distro when using old computers, and stay away from all but the lightest or use a distro with only a Windows Manager (WM) like IceWM, openbox, fluxbox, etc.

See LinuxLite Help
first, then come back here and ask if needed.

With 2GB though, one could run 32-bit Linux Mint or other popular distros, but I'd still stay away from KDE unless you absolutely have to have eye-candy
 

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