Lightweight linux distro

[Dauk94]

Hi

Does anyone have any good suggestions for Linux distro that is simple to use for non tech people and that would work well on an old laptop?

I am talking IBM Thinkpad T40 (512mb of RAM, Intel Pentium M 1.5 GHz, 72GB HDD)

 

It will be used for web browsing and importing photos from camera to order and print online. nothing heavy.

 

Any suggestions for appropriate OS?

[mahyar]

tinycore

[mahyar]

its a little hard to setup but its a good one

[nox_]

Puppy Linux.http://wikka.puppylinux.com/WhatPuppyLinuxIsBestForYou

[homeap5]

Lununtu.

 

But from my experience - there is no lightweight Linux. Sure - gui may be fast, but try to open 20 tabs in browser and then try to do the same in Windows. Huge difference that you can hear (fans).

[sp331yi]

Non-PAE 32bit distros are almost completely obsolete (as is that machine) ; as mentioned, TinyCore is about all there is left.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with a Pentium M, but your choice!

[sp331yi]

6 minutes ago, homeap5 said:

Lununtu.

 

But from my experience - there is no lightweight Linux. Sure - gui may be fast, but try to open 20 tabs in browser and then try to do the same in Windows. Huge difference that you can hear (fans).

I call BS on that!  What's your experience with a Pentium M?  --  totally irrelevant to question at hand.

[HotCheeseNachozAndBurritoz]

1 hour ago, Dauk94 said:

Hi

Does anyone have any good suggestions for Linux distro that is simple to use for non tech people and that would work well on an old laptop?

I am talking IBM Thinkpad T40 (512mb of RAM, Intel Pentium M 1.5 GHz, 72GB HDD)

 

It will be used for web browsing and importing photos from camera to order and print online. nothing heavy.

 

Any suggestions for appropriate OS?

512 MB of RAM is a hard limit to live in 2020. As long as you won't be using the computer for web browsing and only for word processing like with Vim, you should be fine. If you want a full desktop environment - Lubuntu, Peppermint OS, or anything with a lightweight DE (please no GNOME!). If you are fine with a WM, which I would suggest for such a small limit, pick any window manager e.g. openbox, awesome, i3, or something else and roll with a distro that offers it. Manjaro has a decent selection of Window Managers and is easy for begginers. Arco has an even bigger selection of WMs and includes my favorite (Qtile). 

 

Don't expect to browse the Web smoothly on it. While Linux is fast, light, stable, and secure, the modern web isn't. The internet is bloated so much more than what it used to be when that laptop was made. If you can upgrade the RAM in your laptop, please do so (at least 2 GB or lightweight web browsing will be a hassle). Then disable java scripts or such things to make your browsing experience smoother.

 

Importing pictures from camera and then printing is doable with your laptop but I wouldn't trust it to be smooth. Make sure to use a lightweight file manager like pcmanfm, lightweight pdf viewer like zathura, lightweight text editor like Vim (it is great once you learn to exit it. Trust me here!), lightweight image viewer like feh, and most importantly your browser must be super light. Do not expect Firefox or Chromium to run on your 1900s laptop. For text based web browsing Lynx browser should be good altough limited. 

 

I am assuming your computer is x86_32. Install the image for that architecture then. Do not install the 64-bit image. 

 

Unfortunately, you will not get the most user-friendly experience out of that laptop with Linux because you will have to learn minimialistic tools that are more geared towards Linux powerusers than new-to-Linux users.

[Sandro Linux]

On 8/18/2020 at 6:40 PM, Dauk94 said:

Hi

Does anyone have any good suggestions for Linux distro that is simple to use for non tech people and that would work well on an old laptop?

I am talking IBM Thinkpad T40 (512mb of RAM, Intel Pentium M 1.5 GHz, 72GB HDD)

 

It will be used for web browsing and importing photos from camera to order and print online. nothing heavy.

 

Any suggestions for appropriate OS?

Lubuntu or Ubuntu Mate