I would like to try Linux on this unit and see if it will be faster, I do not need a lot of programs on it just simple. Any recommendations will get a big THANK YOU...

I do not have one myself, but I have seen Ubuntu Mini Notebook version mentioned, so Linux Mint should also work. Mint is good.

It really depends upon your purpose. What do you want to USE it for?
IT does not have huge memory (2G max, normally comes with 1G) and ATOM processor (nearly all INTEL internal), so do not expect to get video rendering station performance. Large, heavy, slow software is going to be painful, but trim, efficient software and most average desktop user applications should be fine. You may want to avoid loading too many applications into memory at the same time.

Hi TwoNativeBreed and Welcome to LQ.

I agree with all of wpeckham's comments above. That hardware will do fine with a lightweight linux distro. Couple of additional comments:

- The determining factor in the system's overall performance will be the desktop environment you choose. Several of the most popular distros come with very complete DE's that require fast hardware to perform well. You would be best to stick with XFCE4 or something even lighter (LXDE for example) or even just use a basic Window manager.

- The laptop you have may or may not support 64 bit processing. The model number of your Atom processor (N5xx series) suggests that it does, but this depends on the other components on your systemboard. In any case, since the system supports a maximum of 2 GB RAM, you will not really see the benefit of a 64 bit operating system. It was shipped with Win7 32-bit probably for that reason. My suggestion would be to opt for the 32 bit version of whatever distro you choose, unless this is not available.

- Concerning the above comment, although your system supports a maximum of 2 GB, you don't mention how much is actually installed. If you really want to get the most out of the system, make sure to install the maximum amount of RAM. It's cheap these days, so worth it.

- Another factor that will determine your choice of distros is how familiar you are (or not) with linux already. Since this is your first post, I'll hazard a guess that you are not that familiar with linux. In such a case, a distro that is appreciated by beginners would be appropriate. Amongst these are Ubuntu and Mint, currently very popular. Ubuntu packages a version with the LXDE desktop environment called "Lubuntu", which might be a good place to start.

Hope this helps - let us know should you need any other assistance !

Always supply a link to specs when asking a question like this because forum members are not mind readers and most won't post a link like I do.

http://laptops-specs.blogspot.com/20...05-n500bl.html

It helps members decide what to answer with with more detail. I would run MX linux on it myself.

Taking into consideration you are new,and your equipment is 2011 mini netbook tech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA0QGL2d2Zk

I had a couple of netbooks with similar specs as that, it will work OK with any light weight Linux distro.
You will have a slow internet experience with Firefox, owing to only having 1mb ram, but it will suffice.

I always advocate AntiX - http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

I wish to Thank with much respect to all that posted a reply of my question, Tried all the comments that was posted but have chosen to go back to windows 7 32-bit as it works best for me. I wanted to try Linux because I like to play with computers and see what i can get out of them. This Toshiba has 2 GB Ram and is old but works great, I do not use it just play with it and keep it for a backup if my good ones go down. I installed windows 7 64-bit and then windows 10 but it became very slow so I did a clean install of windows 7 32-bit, this one is working better than all others. Again thanks to all of you for your info as it was very helpful.

Glad you found a solution that works for you, TwoNativeBreed.

Feel free to return for help should you ever decide to give linux a try again.

Cheers :-) !