[SOLVED] A distro for old laptop?

turboscrew · 04-03-2015, 01:35 PM

Hi. I'm asking about distros again - this time for my neighbour.
The machine is Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo A1630:
Athlon 64 3000+
512 MB RAM maybe to be upgraded to 1GB (=max).

My neighbour has no experience with Linux, and she is not very computer-literate in general either, so the distro should be very easy to use, and run at least somewhat well on the HW.
The disk is 40 GB, so it won't be a limiting factor (I think).
The machine would be used mostly for office-kind of work and some net-surfing.

Installation of programs should be easy, and (bigger) OS updates rare.

I'd do the installation, so that can take some experience.
I was thinking something like Zorin, Sparky or LXLE? Maybe PCLOS?
Many distro-selectors offer Mint with MATE or Cinnamon, but I think it's way too heavy. Otherwise that would be ideal.
(The processor shows PAE support.)
I guess #! is out of the question, because it's now discontinued.

Also experience about distros on Athlon 3000+ / 512 MB RAM (or 1 GB RAM) would be welcome too.

zdanb · 04-03-2015, 02:00 PM

Ubuntu Mate 14.04 LTS. It is light and responsive. I do a lot of installs on old hardware and I am impressed by Ubuntu Mate.

rokytnji · 04-03-2015, 02:26 PM

Quote:

The machine is Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo A1630:

I guess if you want. Here is a thread you can follow

The distro in question is using XFCE and is based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

Posting this answer from a older laptop than the one mentioned in this question.

Code:

harry@bikertest3:~$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: bikertest3 Kernel: 3.2.0-4-486 i686 (32 bit gcc: 4.6.3)
           Desktop: IceWM 1.3.7 Distro: antiX-M11- Jayaben Desai 12 April 2011
Machine:   System: Matsushita product: CF-48V4HLUQM v: 004
           Mobo: Matsushita model: CF48-4 v: 001
           Bios: Phoenix K.K. v: V4.00L13 date: 12/12/2002
CPU:       Single core Intel Pentium 4 Mobile (-UP-) cache: 512 KB
           flags: (pae sse sse2) bmips: 2392 speed/max: 1200/1600 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] ATI RV200 [Mobility Radeon 7500]
           bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.12.4 driver: radeon
           Resolution: 1024x768@60.0hz
           GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on llvmpipe (LLVM 0x209)
           GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.5 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel 82801CA/CAM AC'97 Audio Controller
           driver: snd_intel8x0 ports: 1c00 1880 bus-ID: 00:1f.5
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: 1.0.24
Network:   Card-1: Realtek RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+
           driver: 8139too v: 0.9.28 port: 4400 bus-ID: 02:02.0
           IF: eth1 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG [Calexico2] Network Connection
           driver: ipw2200 v: 1.2.2kmprq bus-ID: 02:03.0
           IF: eth0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 100.0GB (28.3% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: FUJITSU_MHU2100A size: 100.0GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 29G used: 8.5G (32%) fs: ext3 dev: /dev/sda3
           ID-2: swap-1 size: 1.55GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda5
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 72.8C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 83 Uptime: 1:40 Memory: 217.8/1263.8MB
           Init: SysVinit runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 4.7.2
           Client: Shell (bash 4.2.371) inxi: 2.2.19

turboscrew · 04-03-2015, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zdanb

Ubuntu Mate 14.04 LTS. It is light and responsive. I do a lot of installs on old hardware and I am impressed by Ubuntu Mate.

Then Mint/MATE should be light and responsive too. That's not what I experienced when I tried it on my StinkBad T42 or my son's Acer Aspire 5536 (briefly after Cinnamon version). Ended up installing PCLOS.

turboscrew · 04-03-2015, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rokytnji

I guess if you want. Here is a thread you can follow

The distro in question is using XFCE and is based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

Ummm, didn't quite get the message...

Quote:

Posting this answer from a older laptop than the one mentioned in this question.

Code:

harry@bikertest3:~$ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: bikertest3 Kernel: 3.2.0-4-486 i686 (32 bit gcc: 4.6.3)
           Desktop: IceWM 1.3.7 Distro: antiX-M11- Jayaben Desai 12 April 2011

Distro: antiX-M11- ?

Are you suggesting Linux Lite or antiX?
(I happen to have 32-bit MX 14.2 PAE CD already burned. Tried it on another machine earlier.)

Any comments on either antiX or Linux Lite (new to me) on your machine?
Slow? Fast? Stability?

nixfreakz · 04-03-2015, 07:13 PM

slitaz is great

rokytnji · 04-03-2015, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Slow? Fast? Stability?

Depends on the dude. This install (AntiX 11) on this Panasonic Laptop is 4 years old.
The pansonic is low powered/low spec in this day and age and runs pretty fast.
I am not suggesting anything by the way. Just supplying info.

Quote:

Any comments on either antiX or Linux Lite (new to me) on your machine?

I run Linux-Lite on a dual-core Dell XT2 Touchscreen laptop with 4 gigs of ram.
But other Linux-Lite forum users run Linux-Lite on computers as old as this panasonic
I am posting from.

No. Do not download and install AntiX 11. The updates alone for Debian Squeeze would be very large and may break the install. Like I said. This install is 4 years of installed "apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade" and I have migrated this from Debian Squeeze to Debian Wheezy.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ml#post5236866

I pointed you to the Linux-Lite thread because the user in that thread has the same laptop and is pretty inexperienced when it comes to computers and operating systems.

MX-14 is now up to version 14.4 in case you are interested in trying it out.
MX-14.2 is older and a update and dist-upgrade would be senseless instead of downloading the newer 14.4 iso and using it since it is more current.

Linux Lite is up to version 2.4 so if interested in that. Then try that.

AntiX 15 Beta 1 is what I am debugging and testing for the later AntiX 15 Final Realease.
Then we move on to building MX-15 after that.

Sorry if this is confusing you but all I post is info. The road you travel is your own.
I don't know if speed or ease of use is you or your friends priority.

Being on the Mexican Border and all.
Happy Trailz, Rok

turboscrew · 04-04-2015, 12:13 AM

Quite a good lump of info - thanks!
I guess I'll drop antiX from my list of candidates.
I think Linux Lite might be something to have a further look into.

Speed and ease of use are both high priority, but speed only to the point:
It doesn't have to be lightning fast, but it must not be irritatingly slow either.
The ease of use is a must, because my neighbor is not very computer literate,
and this is also a Linux-puffing case. ;-)

turboscrew · 04-04-2015, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nixfreakz

slitaz is great

It might be just a bit exotic - at least because of the package system.
Have to remember it, though. Looks like a puppy competitor.

turboscrew · 04-04-2015, 09:53 AM

It begins to look like Linux Lite or Zorin.
What do you guys think?
Any pros/cons I should take into account?

albinard · 04-04-2015, 10:27 AM

Lite vs Zorin is pretty extreme - Zorin needs a whole lot more resources to run smoothly. Sure, it has the Look Changer, but face it - looks aren't everything, and what matters is that for someone new to Linux a familiar-looking interface can be even more confusing than a totally new one.

I've tried both, also looking for something to get a friend into Linux from MS, and I usually come back to looking at something in the Xfce/LXDE mode. Lite tempts me, if only because updating is only via the CLI: a shock, but once they get used to it the major hurdle is overcome.

Just my 2 cents.

rokytnji · 04-04-2015, 10:33 AM

If me. I'd avoid Zorin. (personal opinion, not reflected on the quality of the distro)
Anyways. You asked.

Quote:

What do you guys think?

But that is what live sessions are for. Give either a Test drive. Decide for yourself.
Your ideals/likes are probably different than mine anyways.

rokytnji · 04-04-2015, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Lite tempts me, if only because updating is only via the CLI: a shock, but once they get used to it the major hurdle is overcome.

That was changed in the 2.4 version. It is all gui now.

BenCollver · 04-04-2015, 11:15 AM

I'm a big fan of Puppy Linux (slacko), which runs great on old computers with 512mb memory.

DavidMcCann · 04-04-2015, 11:21 AM

A RAM of 512MB limits what you can use on a 32-bit system, and it is quite restrictive on a 64-bit one.

I'd consider AntiX MX. That has the Xfce desktop and is a very light implementation: it uses only 3/4 of the RAM required by Linux Lite, for example.

Linux Lite didn't work perfectly out of the box for me. It installed with a US locale, and (being very close to Debian) lacked a simple tool to change that. It also came without spell-checking.

I wouldn't use an LXDE desktop because they're tricky to customise, if she wanted to change anything, and because they're in the middle of a re-write (converting from GTK to QT).