Hi all and thanks in advance for your suggestions!
I would like to run the same distro on these two old laptops if best choice. Ease of transition back and forth a plus.

First, my current laptop I will plan to dual boot at least at first.
Dell studio 1737 64-bit Vista OS
Intel(R) Core (TM)1Dua CPU T6400 @2.GHZ
4.00 GB RAM
Mobile Intel (R) 4 series Express Chipset Family
Generic PnP Monitor
20.2 GB of 288 GB I can take off some old photos/pics to free up space if need be
Base score 3.8

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Old business laptop acquired for free after being wiped
I used to run this semi successfully off cd with Puppy precise distro. I'm now willing to just install the right system to help it limp through its twilight years as second or traveling laptop.
Dell Latitude D630 Windows xp OS
(pretty sure this is 32 bits)
BIOS Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A09
Intel® Corel ™ 2 Duo CPU
T9300 @ 250 GHZ
772 Mhz 1.99 GB of RAM
DirectX Version: Direct X 9.0c (4.09.000.094)
Mobile Intel® 965 Express Chipset Family
88.3 GB of 111 GB
Current Display 1280 x 800 (32 Bit) 60 Hz

I have been reading quite a bit and think Linux mint 17.1 rebecca xfce would work best for the old xp. I wonder if I should use the same distro or could I 'upgrade' to Linux Mint 18 xfce for the Vista? I am aware I will have to download twice because one is 32 bit and the other 64 bit.

I am attracted to light builds allowing for all possible speed with potential to learn and customize. I'm also attracted to different end of support years but really just want the best fit for each. We do edit photos and store music but do not do gaming other then Chess Titans

Can these two versions be tweaked to look approximately the same? Do they have easy learning curve with fun guides like Puppy had? Some users in my household are easily intimidated by computers and do not care go swishing stuff. If this works for everyone, I will likely install linux and never look back.

Thanks!

Both laptops have 64 bit capable Core 2 Duo dual core processors, so you can do fine by installing AMD64 versions of GNU/Linux on both of them. In fact, you can install on just one and clone the drive to the other after you have everything set up how you like it. 20.2GB is easily enough for a Debian install (even 1/3 of that would be enough).

Personally, I'd install the current Debian (Debian 8 Jessie), AMD64 version. When it asks for the software suite, I'd install the desktop with XFCE rather than GNOME3. XFCE4 is nice and zippy compared to GNOME3.

2GB of RAM is plenty, also.

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Hi...

From personal experience, Cinnamon seems to require more. I had an install take up almost 4 GB's of memory just with the DE and Chrome.

@Zupe: Welcome to the forum

You can find a helpful page concerning Mint here. With 2 GB's of memory, I think you're right, XFCE would probably be the best choice. I've included some additional thoughts below.

Regards...

I meant that it's plenty for my suggestion of XFCE4 (Debian 8 Jessie AMD64). I run it on machines with as little as 256MB of RAM, although 1GB is really the minimum for a decent web browsing experience.

Ah, ok, gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.

Regards...

Hi.

netinst

+ http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...0/#post5544589
Have fun!

I'm not sure how 18 will work on your system, you would need to give it a try and see how it works for you. My recommendation is that if you try both, you should install from scratch and not do a "sandwich install."

There are some good photo editors for Linux out there, such as GIMP and Shotwell. For Chess Titans, there's not really a comparable substitute for Linux that I've seen. Dreamchess comes kind of close but there may be others.

I think that depends on the person, although you can find user's guides for the version of your choice here.

EDIT: Unfortunately, it appears the guide for Xfce is only available in Hungarian.

Regards...

Hail All!
IsaacKuo: I double checked my xp under System Properties it does not say 64 bit so by default it is 32 bit. Unless the dual core processing doubles it?? I have long struggled with that question.
I also read in the link ardvark71 provided the following: (BTW https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/mintthe Easy Linux Tips Project is GREAT!)
SO with no or crumbling support for 32 bit machines I am leaning toward just kicking the xp to the curb. Likely there will be a lot of old vistas going up for sale on ebay in 2017. Its been 10 years, a think I can afford another used laptop with more guts.

jamison20000e; The thread you posted to incidentally mentioned no support for HP Printers for Linux which would cause a big problem for me.
I understand that I need to post a new thread to ask a new question but I did find this page which says HP has support for Ubuntu. Since mint is a umm offspring(?)of ubuntu would those drivers likely work?
http://www.linux-hardware-guide.com/...800-x-1200-dpi

Since this is a thread for general compatibility questions for aging windows machines I think everything is still relevant. Sorry about the sloppy links BUT I had to retype my entire answer twice. Gak! A too short little finger hits the ctrl button!

Aadvark71 Thanks for the link to the user guides (even in only Hungarian) I understand Mint 18 is really new so I suspect english will come along soon enough and your link would be helpful to other newbies. Would you recommend getting any particular Linux Mint book in addition? Which one? Especially a reference look up as you hit a wall guide? I'd like to eventually learn to do terminal commands because that sounds just so sexy.

I'd like to add an addendum to my last post still in the moderators safe hands. Aadvark71 had recommended the Easy Linux Tips project where I just found the following page regarding compatibility of linux Mint with HP printers. I'll start another thread if I have problems but feel it would be good to add this link here to clarify a misunderstanding I had,
[HP support]https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/14[/URL]

HP does support its printers for Linux Mint!

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It doesn't matter what version of Windows XP is installed. Both of your laptops can run both 32 bit and 64 bit operating systems. The Core 2 Duo processor is backwards compatible with 32 bit Intel processors. So, you can choose to install a 32 bit OS, or you can choose to install a 64 bit OS. Either will work on either laptop. Unless you have a specific reason to install a 32 bit OS, though, install 64 bit on both.

The number of cores has nothing to do with whether or not the AMD64 instruction set is supported by a processor.

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You're welcome, I hope they do release an English version soon.

I can't recommend a particular book because I've never read any concerning Mint. Take a look around on Google and see what you can find. I did find this one on Amazon, although I'm not sure if it's a good reference guide or not. Perhaps other members will have some suggestions.

While I don't think of the command line (or terminal) as very attractive, there are free tutorials to help you with this...

http://linuxcommand.org/

http://ryanstutorials.net/linuxtutorial/

You can also find some general Linux tutorials below...

http://www.tecmint.com/free-online-l...for-beginners/

http://www.linux-tutorial.info/

http://linuxsurvival.com/

Hope these are helpful, please let us know if you have any further questions!

Regards...

IsaacKuo: Thanks for the clarification! I thought that was the case but couldn't quite find it spelled out in print plus the obvious clue, 2x32=64

Aardvark; I was considering Linux Mint 17.1 xcfe for my XP but when I looked at documentation I found this page from 2015. It seems the xfce documentation is historically only in Hungarian! I like having a book around or at least having two computers so I can have access to information. I am continually amazed at the depth of support available for Linux Mint and especially encouraged by the quick responses on this forum. Thanks to all!

I have downloaded Linux Mint 18 xcfe and decided to give it a go. Even if the xp runs less then optimally I will switch to something else later maybe Debian 8 Jessie?? But I want to get a stable start with one before I do the second laptop. The xp can be my practice run.
I googled linux "sandwich install" and think it means piecemeal versus a clean complete from CD of new installation. Like I can even think of being creative at this point in my learning?? NOT! Clean installs, step by step, by the guide!

Thanks, I'll report back my results. I won't have a good chunk of time to work on Mint until after this Thursday. Cya!

As well as Mint 18 Xfce, you should give Mint 18 MATE a whirl. I'm just about to move to it from Mint 17.3 KDE, and from the testing I've done so far, it looks the business and has modest resource requirements.

Progress report and a few lingering question around set up.
I loaded Linux Mint 18 'Sarah' xfce 64 bit on the older Dell Latitude D630 laptop. I dual booted with the Windows XP at a partition of 30/70. Question: What is a minimum partition for windows? I read a lot of different answers.

WOW! Much faster and I LOVE the bouncing cow screen saver!
Also NO problem at all using my HP Deskjet 2130 printer. All automatic, far easier then installing on Windows, I didn't even need to sue the installation CD.

I did the 10 Things to do first in Linux Mint 18 Xfce Very interesting! This particular laptop was an old business laptop my husband got for free from work. It had been wiped of all work related information but had never been able to play movies off DVDs. (Business tactic to keep workers on task) By working step by step through the instructions in this article it automatically guided me to fill in all of the absent multimedia codecs and drivers and Presto Chango Zowie now it plays movies!

I can't say enough !!!s on how thoughtfully the Easy Linux Tips Project is written. The author really has the timid newbie in mind by using helpful repetition and appropriate advise to consider regarding actions with relative risk versus stability choices. Really confidence inspiring! Also a fair amount of teaching happens painlessly with the walk through process.

Questions I have regarding set up: Right now I am using same a Rocketfish Mouse switching back and forth between the two laptops. I understand that sometimes one mouse can interfere with another if kept in close proximity. If I order from another company such as Logitech Do you think they will be less likely to fight for dominance?

I plan to report back after loading Linux Mint 18 Sarah Mate on my 2nd Vista laptop

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