Desktop varients
 

Hi,

Brand new here and to Linux. Basically I have a Compaq Presario M2130 about 6/7 yrs old. It still works but Windows is now to much for this bag of bones. I researched and thought LinuxMint Cinnamon seemed good. However much I tried it would not run on this laptop. Neither did Mate. However, the KDE version works but looks clunky to me.

Having said all that would any have any idea why Cinnamon or Mate might not work, and if so, would you know how I might fix this.

Many thanks,

Pete

on a OLD laptop the mint xfce or lxde desktop would be a bit better

KDE uses a LOT of Ram A LOT
and Gnome 3 is even worse

how much ram is on this?
if you have less than 256 meg you WILL have problems

32 bit xfce
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=113

old mint 12 lxde 32 bit
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=98

If you're really having problems, you might consider trying a window manager as opposed to a full-fledged desktop environment. This (slightly outdated) article may be of help: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/20...-window-manag/

Good luck!

Desktop varients
 

Thanks for that JVV. The Compaq has 1g ram, nothing these days, but can't add any more. I'll try your suggestions and see how I get on.

Thanks, I'll have a look.

It would help to know more about your hardware (CPU, video card). With 1GB you are not really limited. You shouldn't have a problem with MATE with that.

I run several laptops from that era with Linux. ANY desktop should run well. If not, I suggest you upgrade your RAM, it's not that expensive.

The Compaq won't take any more RAM.

Thanks

1GB is fine for Linux: you don't need more. With your CPU, KDE might be a bit sluggish, but anything else will be fine. I see the video chip is Intel, so that shouldn't be a problem.

The fact that one Mint disk worked and the other didn't suggests that one disk was faulty. Did you check the MD5sum and then burn the disk at the lowest speed? Could you tell us exactly what happens when you try to use the Mate/Cinnamon disk?

Incidentally I'm using a 1GB desktop I built nearly 8 years ago. My laptop is even older and has been under-clocked to reduce power usage. Both use standard Linux distros, although neither is happy with KDE.

Thanks to all of you for suggestions. The ancient Compaq worked but very slowly and, well, just wasn't worth it. So now trying to learn Linux on a much newer and more powerful Sony.

Pete