I have never used Linux but want to try

trt740 · Jul 8, 2009

My mother has a crappy copy of windows xp on her HP computer and no money to upgrade. Can I use linux and is there more than one version? Which version is the best and is it easy to use.

Deleted member 67555 · Jul 8, 2009

Try Ubuntu 9.04 (x86)It's easy...
Several versions

Frick · Jul 8, 2009

Yeah, go for Ubuntu. It's easy, and there's tons of information on teh internets, and that info is often easy too understand and easy to find. There are of course a ton of different distrubutions and Ubuntu might not be the best for your exact needs, but it's very good for beginners.

There's a few different versions, but the main difference is the desktop environment. Your standard Ubuntu is the most windows-like of them, but I prefer Xubuntu which is lighter.

Just download the live-cd (it's a full OS, but you don't have to install anything so you can play around safely before choosing to install it for real), burn the iso and you're good to go.

InnocentCriminal · Jul 8, 2009

It's definitely worth having a look at the Ubuntu Live CD -however, why not just back up your Mum's data and run the HP recovery on her laptop, remove all the bloatware provided by HP and Microsoft, update accordingly.

NastyHabits · Jul 8, 2009

Ubuntu 9.04 is so easy and contains everything that most users need. I will never give a windows PC to a newbie again. It is definitely worth your while to try.

h3llb3nd4 · Jul 8, 2009

go with the above suggestions. ubuntu is a nice os and it also provides good updates.

A Cheese Danish · Jul 8, 2009

InnocentCriminal said:
It's definitely worth having a look at the Ubuntu Live CD

+1. Try a Ubuntu or Fedora Live CD and see if you like it

Wile E · Jul 8, 2009

I much prefer Fedora over Ubuntu. It's every bit as easy to use, but has more options on install, has a proper root account, and is more compatible with software you may find out in the wild.

That said, just reinstall XP. lol. Her key should be listed on the computer, so all you need to do is find an OEM XP disc of her version.

Frick · Jul 8, 2009

Wile E said:
and is more compatible with software you may find out in the wild.

It is? When I was on Xubuntu full time I don't think I had problems with any software (except some opengl stuff). Next week or so I'll go linux again and then I think I'm going Fedora. Xfce of course. :cool:

Wile E · Jul 8, 2009

Frick said:
It is? When I was on Xubuntu full time I don't think I had problems with any software (except some opengl stuff). Next week or so I'll go linux again and then I think I'm going Fedora. Xfce of course.

I'm talking about non-repo proggies. Most of the pre-compiled stuff you find in the wild is in rpm. Ubuntu uses deb, and even then, they aren't a standard distro, some some of those debs end up not working properly.

Frick · Jul 8, 2009

Wile E said:
I'm talking about non-repo proggies. Most of the pre-compiled stuff you find in the wild is in rpm. Ubuntu uses deb, and even then, they aren't a standard distro, some some of those debs end up not working properly.

Oh well, that's true. But you can get most of the stuff to work, if you give it some time and work.

MilkyWay · Jul 9, 2009

fedora is pretty much what people like to use, ubuntu is the first linux distro people use and the most user friendly because normal things are easy to use on it

its not linux friendly tho as most other linux are not like ubuntu

open suse is another easy to use one thats a bit popular like fedora, open suse looks a lot like windows tbh

trt740 · Jul 9, 2009

InnocentCriminal said:
It's definitely worth having a look at the Ubuntu Live CD -however, why not just back up your Mum's data and run the HP recovery on her laptop, remove all the bloatware provided by HP and Microsoft, update accordingly.

She doesn't have the disks. :mad:

I could reinstall from a full version but some of the drivers are not available.

NastyHabits · Jul 9, 2009

Wile E said:
I much prefer Fedora over Ubuntu. It's every bit as easy to use, but has more options on install, has a proper root account, and is more compatible with software you may find out in the wild.

I'll have to give Fedora a try.

Dippyskoodlez · Jul 9, 2009

trt740 said:
She doesn't have the disks. I could reinstall from a full version but some of the drivers are not available.

Most pre-builts come with a seperate partition containing restore information, instead of reinstall CD's.

However, I vote uBuntu. Its more newbie friendly. the terminal will make them cry.

trt740 · Jul 9, 2009

Dippyskoodlez said:
Most pre-builts come with a seperate partition containing restore information, instead of reinstall CD's.

However, I vote uBuntu. Its more newbie friendly. the terminal will make them cry.

thats not the case here.

Wile E · Jul 10, 2009

What model HP computer, and what drivers are missing?

Dippyskoodlez · Jul 11, 2009

I would give Mint Linux a try.. Its based off Ubuntu, but its really nice and easy to use

www.linuxmint.com

It's my new favorite distro.

vbx · Jul 11, 2009

Try wubi. It installs ubuntu in windows and installs it in the vista bootscreen so you can select ur OS of choice.

On my laptop, I can either boot XP, Win7 or Ubuntu all in 1 bootscreen. Thanks to Wubi.

http://wubi-installer.org/

Deusxmachina · Jul 13, 2009

Something to remember is Linux is pretty much Linux, just some versions are harder to use than others, some are prettier than others, some are made for older hardware, etc. So it depends what you need and want.

There are two main desktops. Gnome and KDE. Gnome isn't ugly or anything, but KDE at times looks better than even Windows does. And with eye candy comes needing decent hardware to run it.

Some easy point-and-click ones I've used lately are PCLOS, Mint, Puppy (small but good!), Mandriva, AntiX, Crunchbang. My old laptop barely ran Mandriva. Looks good, though.

I've used all of the above with basically never needing to type in a command line for anything. Some people like to use versions of Linux with total control, command terminal lines and all that, while other people just want something plug-and-play that works.

The best part of most Linux versions is you can put them on a thumb drive or CD and boot from that to test them out until you find one that fits you the best. Your mom could try half a dozen different ones and choose from those.

kylzer · Jul 13, 2009

I like linux slax and Fedroa but Slax is more for a mobile OS.

System Name	Apple Bite
Processor	Intel I5
Motherboard	Apple
Memory	40gb of DDR 4 2700
Video Card(s)	ATI Radeon 500
Storage	Fusion Drive 1 TB
Display(s)	27 Inch IMac late 2017

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD	Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

System Name	BeeR 6
Processor	Intel Core i7 3770K*
Motherboard	ASUS Maximus V Gene (1155/Z77)
Cooling	Corsair H100i
Memory	16GB Samsung Green 1600MHz DDR3**
Video Card(s)	4GB MSI Gaming X RX480
Storage	256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD
Display(s)	27" Samsung C27F591FDU
Case	Fractal Design Arc Mini
Power Supply	Corsair HX750W
Software	64bit Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	@ 4.6GHz *@ 2133MHz

System Name	Rex
Processor	Ryzen 2600
Motherboard	GigaByte B450M DS3H
Cooling	Wraith
Memory	16 GB Corsair Vengence 3000
Video Card(s)	Evga GTX 1660 SC
Storage	XPG M.2, Samsung 860 SSD, WD Black 1 TB
Display(s)	ASUS VG248
Case	Corsair mATX cube. (Alas they don't make it anymore)
Power Supply	Corsair HX 600 Watt
Mouse	Microsoft
Keyboard	Logitech
Software	Windows 10 64 ibit

System Name	My mobo is Laughing at me
Processor	E7400
Motherboard	P5KPL-E Bios flashed to 0601 (Piece of poo!!)
Cooling	Thermalright Ultra 120a
Memory	GENERIC 2 GB DDR2 800
Video Card(s)	NONE!! Beat that!!
Storage	500GB SAMSUNG SATAII, 250GB SAMSUNG SATAII and o'l crappy 4gb maxtor
Display(s)	ACER X223W Q
Case	AEROCOOL ZERODEGREE (planning to mod)
Audio Device(s)	REALTEK ONBOARD
Power Supply	GIGABYTE 460W
Software	Win 7 x86 build 7022
Benchmark Scores	Super Pi 1m 17.000 :(

I have never used Linux but want to try

trt740

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Memory	8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 6-6-6-15\|\|3GB DDR2
Video Card(s)	Asus 3870x2\|\|nVidia Quadro NVS 140M
Storage	1TB Seagate Barracuda, 1x 2TB WD EARX \|\|Hitachi 160GB 7200RPM
Display(s)	Samsung T260HD\|\|
Case	SilverStone Grandia GD05\|\|
Audio Device(s)	on-board\|\|on-board
Power Supply	Cooler Master 450W\|\|6-cell
Software	Windows 7 Pro x64\|\|Windows 7 Pro x64/Linux Mint x64

System Name	The ClusterF**k
Processor	980X @ 4Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 BIOS F12
Cooling	MCR-320, DDC-1 pump w/Bitspower res top (1/2" fittings), Koolance CPU-360
Memory	3x2GB Mushkin Redlines 1600Mhz 6-8-6-24 1T
Video Card(s)	Evga GTX 580
Storage	Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB, 2xSeagate 320GB RAID0; 2xSeagate 3TB; 2xSamsung 2TB; Samsung 1.5TB
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Case	Technofront Bench Station
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Video Card(s)	GTX 1050/1080 Ti
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Audio Device(s)	Creative E5/Objective 2 Amp/Senn HD650
Mouse	Logitech Proteus Core
Keyboard	Logitech G910

Processor	E8500 Core 2 Duo
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q-EM
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper Z600
Memory	Gskill 4gb DDR2 1066
Video Card(s)	HIS 4670
Storage	WD 320gb black
Display(s)	Asus MS226H 21.5 monitor
Case	Antec P180 Mini
Power Supply	Antec NEO ECO 620C
Software	Windows 7 x64

System Name	NDA BD
Processor	NDA
Motherboard	NDA
Cooling	--------------
Memory	Corsair GTX 1866Mhz 2x4GB
Video Card(s)	--------------
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Case	---------------
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