Linux: which variant is easiest for Win XP user to adapt to?
Discussion
My old XP laptop is pretty much useless these days. It's bogged down with all manner of crap such as third party antivirus programs and the like, struggles to run bloated modern browsers, no longer updates and is generally a sluggish pain in the arse to use.
The hardware is fine, and was fairly quick in it's day (AMD Turion ML34 1.8Ghz, 1Gb RAM, Radeon X700) although gutless by 2014 standards. The battery even holds a charge despite being 8 years old. It's got a pretty nice screen too. Far too good to throw away, so I'd like to try installing Linux on it to see how I get along with it. If I find something I can get on with I'll also install it on my desktop XP machine which is mainly used for storing photos etc.
I tried Puppy linux several years ago, as it booted and ran from USB, but I hated it: it was awkward to use and looked dreadful.
Of the modern Linux distributions, then, which one behaves most like Windows XP in terms of the user interface? Basic things like right click for context menus, double click to navigate through folders, copy/paste commands, settings all in a central Control Panel, that kind of thing.
Mint looks like it could be worth a look, are there any others I should consider?
The hardware is fine, and was fairly quick in it's day (AMD Turion ML34 1.8Ghz, 1Gb RAM, Radeon X700) although gutless by 2014 standards. The battery even holds a charge despite being 8 years old. It's got a pretty nice screen too. Far too good to throw away, so I'd like to try installing Linux on it to see how I get along with it. If I find something I can get on with I'll also install it on my desktop XP machine which is mainly used for storing photos etc.
I tried Puppy linux several years ago, as it booted and ran from USB, but I hated it: it was awkward to use and looked dreadful.
Of the modern Linux distributions, then, which one behaves most like Windows XP in terms of the user interface? Basic things like right click for context menus, double click to navigate through folders, copy/paste commands, settings all in a central Control Panel, that kind of thing.
Mint looks like it could be worth a look, are there any others I should consider?
On older laptops and PC's I've had success with Lubuntu. Seems to work well.
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=lubu...
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=lubu...
skelters said:
On older laptops and PC's I've had success with Lubuntu. Seems to work well.
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=lubu...
Thanks, that definitely looks worth a try! http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=lubu...
Jonny_ said:
Marvellous, thanks chaps. Seems that Mint and Lubuntu are the favourites, then. I'll try both, as it seems reasonably easy to make a bootable USB for either.
Will let you know how it goes!
More than reasonably easy. Download Unetbootin:Will let you know how it goes!
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
Which will do all of the legwork for you on a lot of the distributions - you don't even need to download the ISO in advance, just click the one you want and it'll do the rest. For any other distributions just download the ISO and it will make a boot USB from that. Very handy tool.
davepoth said:
More than reasonably easy. Download Unetbootin:
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
Which will do all of the legwork for you on a lot of the distributions - you don't even need to download the ISO in advance, just click the one you want and it'll do the rest. For any other distributions just download the ISO and it will make a boot USB from that. Very handy tool.
That's precisely my plan! http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
Which will do all of the legwork for you on a lot of the distributions - you don't even need to download the ISO in advance, just click the one you want and it'll do the rest. For any other distributions just download the ISO and it will make a boot USB from that. Very handy tool.
I say reasonably easy because there's always a good chance I'll balls it up
Jonny_ said:
That's precisely my plan!
I say reasonably easy because there's always a good chance I'll balls it up
Many folk make a mess of their first Linux install -- but you'll get there.I say reasonably easy because there's always a good chance I'll balls it up
For what it's worth, my Desktop run Debian Squeeze, my little EEE Netbook runs Knoppix installed from a micro drive made from the Knoppix DVD on my desktop PC.
I've been using Ubuntu 12.04 LTS since it came out (slowly moving to the new LTS) however not everyone gets on with Unity.
Therefore it might be worth trying http://ubuntugnome.org/
I did try Lubuntu for a while, but all guides / hints / faqs are written for Ubuntu default packages, so why trouble yourself with Lubuntu for a slight performance upgrade.
Therefore it might be worth trying http://ubuntugnome.org/
I did try Lubuntu for a while, but all guides / hints / faqs are written for Ubuntu default packages, so why trouble yourself with Lubuntu for a slight performance upgrade.
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