[Texan Tory]

I have a question for anyone really knowledgeable on Linux...which distribution would you recommend for a Linux beginner? In my case, I have a system that I got in the early days of Vista, and it is barely capable of running Vista. I would like to switch to a leaner operating system that could actually work effectively with my limited hardware.

[ShadowAce]

There are at least three that should work to your specifications: Linux Mint, PCLinuxOS, and Zorin OS.

There's also a list of LiveCD distros that may be able to help you make a decision--try out a LiveCD before you install a distro on your hard drive.

[wrench]

You do need adequate physical memory for a happy experience. I have a 10 year old laptop running Ubuntu with 500 megs physical memory. It does fine normally, but would be better with twice the memory.

I am thinking of switching to Mint or Lubuntu because of the age of the hardware. I have had this system up and running for 2 years now.

[kevao]

I’ll second ShadowAce’s recommendation for PCLinuxOS. I’ve resurrected half a dozen old Windoze desktops (several dating back to the late 1990s) and never had any hardware incompatibilities. It has simply worked out of the box on every computer I’ve installed it on, old or new.

When I began using Linux three years ago, I was just a typical Windoze user, with very little computer knowledge. So if I could do it, anyone can.

[Utilizer]

Try the Live DVD of Mepis Linux. Works on a wide variety of machines and is absurdly simple to set up. Other than asking you for a name for your machine, and a username with password if you decide to install it, it is quite simple for most newbies to use. Plus, the live disc allows you to run it on your machine for awhile to see if you believe it to be compatible and useable enough to run on your personal rig.

Plus, it is based upon Debian Stable, so a solid distro with a good support userbase.

[Moonman62]

I have a question for anyone really knowledgeable on Linux...which distribution would you recommend for a Linux beginner? In my case, I have a system that I got in the early days of Vista, and it is barely capable of running Vista. I would like to switch to a leaner operating system that could actually work effectively with my limited hardware.

I used Linux for a few years and for most people it is terrible as a desktop computer. But one distro I always liked was Puppy Linux. It's very small and efficient and extremely easy to get up and running. If you just want to surf the web and other simple stuff it's great.

[TexasRepublic]

“which distribution would you recommend for a Linux beginner?”

My 1st & 2nd recommendations for a beginner are Mint, then Ubuntu. They are the easiest to install (easier than Windows!) and the most likely to work. You might have to try several brands to find which ones are most compatible with your computer. Mint is sometimes fussier about video cards, in own my experience. There are several desktop flavors of each brand. Visit those websites, download some of the various versions, and burn bootable DVD’s from them on your Windows machine. Then boot from the DVD’s and test drive them.

Years ago I had tried several other brands of Linux (Mepis, Puppy, Knoppix) with general success, except I could not get them print after manually installing the drivers. When I tried Ubuntu for the first time, it automatically detected the right printer and installed the driver without asking. And it printed fine. I was an instant convert.

[martin_fierro]

I’ve had very good experiences with both Ubuntu and xubuntu Linux.

I’m running xubuntu on 3 older laptops. Definitely worth a shot!