Ubuntu/Linux: raring to go!

[fredwilliams]

Wanting Win 10's BSOD out of my life ASAP...

...based on my system spec (see pics), 1. which version should I install and 2. to USB or HD, please?

Thank ye kindly!

[fredwilliams]

1 of 2

[fredwilliams]

2 of 2

[BobHelm]

Jeez Fred, without being offensive, not much of a PC you have there.
I am surprised Windows 10 ran at all..

As for what to replace it with & how, there is no simple answer, just a variety of options that you must decide upon.

I think that if you use any of the major Linux systems (Unbuntu, Mint, Debian etc.) that you are probably going to run into performance issues - because of the equipment that you are using. So you maybe have to look at the the distributions that are designed to take minimal system resources - Puppy Linux for example.
That being said, all the Linux systems are free & will only cost you the price of a blank CD/DVD so it is easy to download & try any that can be run as a 'live disk'. That means that you can run it from the CD/DVD rather than installing it to your hard drive.

I would recommend downloading the ISO files & then running them as live disks in order for you to decide which system you like & are eventually going to use as your future system.

You could then continue to run your system from a live disk in the future. There are advantages & disadvantages in doing this.
The main advantages are security & portability.
The main disadvantages are speed & the inability to save system changes.

You can, as you say, also burn your selected Linux system onto a USB & run it from that instead of a CD/DVD. It is not as simple to do that as to create a disk image, but can be done.
This helps with some of the disadvantages of a disk (system changes can be saved) but eliminates the enhanced security of a live disk.

Personally I would never consider using the live disk (disk or USB) as a way of running my computer life. I might if I was paranoid about security or had a variety of different PCs that I wanted to run the same system on.

Longer term, if it was me, I would use GParted to remove the 2 partitions on your hard disk & then permanently install the Linux system of choice on it.
That will involve a bit of re-partitioning of your hard drive, but most Linux systems will take care of that before they install themselves.

However, other will have different ideas that are probably equally efficient & sensible.
The Linux distributions offer almost unlimited personal choice, however, that means that the user has to do a bit of upfront investigating themselves, unlike Windows where you just take what is given..

[fredwilliams]

^ Thanks, Bob.

Win 10 was running just fine until that recent MS Update... the one that is nigh on impossible to uninstall and then just finds ways to reinstall itself regardless. ("Something" switched off and removed my 'previous version/s'!)

[BobHelm]

I believe that the older versions of Windows 10 are no longer supported after April (the 10th. I think) so even if you could back out the latest changes it would not do you a great deal of good!!

[BobHelm]

These 2 sites are worth a view before you start downloading systems, Fred.
At least you will get some idea of what they look like & what they need before you actually try..

https://fossbytes.com/best-lightweight-linux-distros/
https://www.techradar.com/news/best-lig ... nux-distro

Note:
If someone is looking to install a Linux Distribution on more modern equipment then these are probably a better read:
https://fossbytes.com/most-beautiful-linux-distros/
http://www.itpro.co.uk/operating-system ... ems-around
https://itsfoss.com/best-linux-beginners/

There are usually 'trade-offs' involved with Operating Systems, so it is unreasonable to expect an old machine running a resource friendly system to have all the bells & whistles of a system designed for modern equipment...

[fredwilliams]

^ Many thanks, Bob.

The Puppy versions I'm finding from source-site/s (and cross-checking in enthusiast-sites) all look VERY specific, example: Sony Vaio VGN-xyz123 (version, singular) vs. Sony Vaio VGN (versions, plural).

Quite why/how anyone would ever be walking around with "VGN-CR220E" in their head is beyond me, LOL...

...but that be moi land!

Is there an app available that'll make at least one recommendation, please?

[BobHelm]

I'm not sure exactly where you are coming from with this Fred..
Are you looking at the
http://puppylinux.com
site? or somewhere else??

If it is the Puppy site then your choices are not very many - basically 32 or 64 bit & Ubuntu or Slackware.

I am not at all sure where you are that worries about exactly what model, let alone type of model, of Sony laptop you have comes in???

[rjj04]

It looks like you have quite a bit of spare disk space. I would just install Ubuntu Desktop in parallel with Windows. When you do an Ubuntu install it will see the Windows OS and give you the option of dual booting. Ubuntu will use about 10-12GB for a basic install if I recall correctly. Ubuntu should be able to mount your Windows partitions so you can use the data on them, as long as they are not encrypted by some Windows app.

Your CPU is 10 years old, and you didn't mention the GPU you have (Nvidea?) I think the graphics will be the problem. If you want to watch 1080P or Blueray encoded movies you are probably out of luck with whatever OS you install. Ubuntu will probably run fine, just a bit slow... still faster than Windows though

[rjj04]

If the OP was satisfied with Windows 10 speed on his system, I'd think that Ubuntu performance would be better than Windows 10, thus he'd still be satisfied. Why direct him into a version of Linux that will probably require a lot more tweaking and has less support info available to him... beginners probably ought to stick with the top distros don't you think? Ubuntu Mate might be a good choice to try, considering the old H/W. I was running with a J1900 CPU (2GB mem) for a long time and the T7250 single core performance beats the J1900, so, I'd think any Ubuntu version will run well enough for the OP. IMHO

[rjj04]

Ubuntu Mate download page... and the "getting started" references...

https://ubuntu-mate.org/download/

->32b
->16.04.4 Xenial

[BobHelm]

I am not 'directing' the OP towards any specific version of Linux.

I thought that I made it quite clear that the choice is his & he should 'look & see' at what is available.

I still think that the low cost of downloading a few different distributions makes that the best thing to do.

I have absolutely no idea which distribution of Linux he would be happy with, so trial & error seems the best approach.
For example, personally I am not much of a fan of Ubuntu & if it was the only Linux offering then I would be using an alternative system...

[rjj04]

I am not much of a fan of Ubuntu & if it was the only Linux offering then I would be using an alternative system...

like "Unbuntu"

[fredwilliams]

Well, I was impressed with:

- the ease of install

- the even easier (for test purposes) uninstall

- and the immediate overall performance

But...

- I did feel like a first-day apprentice twiddling thumbs while the boss was in the boys' room

- it was a bit clunky and unintuitive

What are thoughts/opinions on- and/or experiences of Zorin OS, please?

https://zorinos.com

Thanks,
Fredster.

[fredwilliams]

I am not 'directing' the OP towards any specific version of Linux.

I thought that I made it quite clear that the choice is his & he should 'look & see' at what is available.

^ Vouched for!

[BobHelm]

Zorin is a reasonable choice Fred.
Known as being popular with people new to Linux & especially from Windows 10.

It is one of the distributions that seems to come out with regular updates, so it is well supported.
I had read that it wasn't especially good on older equipment, so, if you were happy with it, that is a big plus..

It has an Zorin Appearance App included that allows you to very quickly change the Desktop appearance to a number of different styles (Windows 7, 10, Apple IOS etc.).

It also automatically includes Wine & PlayonLinux to enable users to use Windows programs on it. But, neither of those programs are for the feint-hearted to setup. Although if you do master that, using them thereafter is easy..

It is about number 12 on the Distowatch popularity table..

[BobHelm]

Good news in that the latest Long Term Support (18.04) version of Ubuntu has just been released.
It being LTS Canonical will supply 5 years of maintenance & security updates to it - so no need to replace it until 2023, unless you want to..
It is available for free download from here:
https://www.ubuntu.com

Personally I think that the changes made since the last LTS (17.04) all make it a better operating system & easier to use.
They have dropped the use & development of their own desktop system (Unity) & are now using the Gnome desktop.
Another slight (but to me important) change is that windows no longer have minimise, maximise & close buttons on the top left hand side of the window but have moved to the more traditional top right hand side.

Ubuntu spawns a large number of variations that attempt to capture niche markets not suitably satisfied by the standard installation. These have also been updated & released today.
They are:
Xubuntu - a version using the Xfce desktop - https://xubuntu.org
Ubuntu Kylin - a Chinese language version.
Ubuntu MATE - a version using the MATE desktop - https://ubuntu-mate.org
Ubuntu Budgie - a version using the Budgie desktop - https://ubuntubudgie.org
Lubuntu - a very light weight & fast version with basic applications - https://lubuntu.me
Kubuntu - adds KDE and the Plasma desktop to Ubuntu - https://kubuntu.org

Linux Mint is also based on Ubuntu & a new version of it (19) will appear in the next couple of months.