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Help with choosing a distro for a first time linux hope to bring life to an old pc

Good day

I would please like to ask for suggestions for first time installation of linux on an old pc that has recently come into my possession

It is

Pentium 4 3.4 Ghz (2 cpu) 2 Gb Ram 1Tb hardrive Onboard graphics 128 mb

I have been looking at Mint and I am assuming that the Xfce Edition would probably be the smarter choice, but I am curious to know if I could use something like Cinnamon Edition and will it run smoothly hitting at the minimum spec of 2Gb RAM. Is their other alternatives that provide a good exprience for the limited resources as I decide to take the plunge?

JayEchoRay OP ,
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

Hello, writing this from the recently installed Mint Xfce install. so far the only thing I am still a bit confused with is some of the keyboard input is swapped around like " is @ and a couple other keys. Also not too sure where the check if a headset I have has microphone drivers, but that is something I think I need to read up on

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/771dc3ee-04ee-4968-bba8-fb539ba95a35.png

KISSmyOSFeddit ,

Sounds like you have the English keyboard layout set and expect German.
This should be changeable somewhere in Xfce’s settings.

JayEchoRay OP , (edited )
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks I will have a look at it

Edit Exactly as you said, the language prompt that I thought as default language was the prompt for “keyboard language” during installation

Thanks again for the help

KISSmyOSFeddit ,

The language you set during installation sets the environment variable LANG which is picked up by the desktop environment to set keyboard language, date format and a few other things.

JayEchoRay OP ,
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

The more I know, did throw me off though and changed the keyboard setting to US and haven’t had issues. At least all the other information will be to my liking so that is a happy accident at least.

Appreciate the information, thank you

Kory ,
@Kory@lemmy.ml avatar

Hey, looks good! The sound panel (Menu - Sound & Video or simply type “sound”) should let you choose and test your headset. Let us know how it goes!

JayEchoRay OP ,
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks, and in regards to the sound I think it might be a failure of the mic itself and not a software thing ( seems to not pick up audio on two different devices - tried on one before and now again on the new install seems to be the case - audio just picks up a popping sound and not voice at all) . I probably need to look at a cheap one-off microphone to get me by. 2 Browser stuff is a bit harsh with only 2Gb - need to look at maybe getting firefox lite or something lightweight, but I can get used to 1 tab at a time, can think of it as an opportunity to try work towards something more, but overall pretty impressed by what it is able to accomplish with the old tech.

I feel I have been converted away from microsoft and like what I am seeing with Linux systems so far. I will likely consider it for future systems if I am able to get something more capable later down the line

Kory ,
@Kory@lemmy.ml avatar

Oh I see. I personally haven’t used any particularly lightweight browser, but maybe one of those would do the job: itsfoss.com/lightweight-web-browsers-linux/Glad to hear you like it so far! Hope it all checks out.

JayEchoRay OP ,
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you for the link, I can definitely have a look at that to get better performance with limited resources

KISSmyOSFeddit ,

I’d go with Mint Xfce and if that feels too sluggish, Lubuntu would be even lighter and also focussed on ease of use for new users.
Keep in mind that the OS probably won’t be the biggest issue, running a modern web browser is.
Cause nowadays that’s basically its own OS, running code from god-knows-who.

JayEchoRay OP ,
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks for the suggestion (Lubuntu added to my list) and the heads up in regards to me needing to do some research in regards to web browsers as well.

KvasiroftheWoods ,

Puppy Linux is a light ram usage distro that only needs 512mb of ram to run. It’s what I would use on older hardware a lot.

puppylinux-woof-ce.github.io

JayEchoRay OP ,
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you for the link. This is the site I found while browsing. It will require reading on my part to know which version is what I would need as I see, I stand to be corrected, there is 5 versions, but I am not exactly sure what the differences between them are. Which is something I would need to do further reading on

pastermil ,

MX Linux, LMDE, Peppermint, Debian

I’d recommend Linux Mint, but they only got 64-bit now.

JayEchoRay OP , (edited )
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks, I can add it to a list and can go through it if I run into troubles or wish to adjust my experience

Wiz ,

Linux Mint Debian Edition is 32 bit

JayEchoRay OP ,
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you for the information

I guess that is for even older systems that one knows will run within the limitations of 32-bit systems but will not be negatively impacted by it?

pastermil ,

Just make sure you pick the 32-bit image.

pastermil ,

Yes, I did mention that in my first sentence. The second one refers to the Ubuntu edition.

halm ,
@halm@leminal.space avatar

Mint might work but in my experience the big snag with older hardware is the desktop environment. I’ve had the most success with really low end DEs like Openbox (technically only a window manager I believe?). That frees up what little RAM is available for other processes.

JayEchoRay OP ,
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you for your suggestion

I am currently downloading cinnamon and xcfe (leaning towards this) but while waiting looking around a bit.

I did have a quick look at Openbox wiki and looks like it is something to consider once I am more comfortable with the Linux environment as it seems to require a user to have a bit more experience with it. Or at least appears so from my very limited knowledge of what I am seeing

I did run across something called “Puppy Linux”, that seems lightweight and geared towards older pcs and a consideration if Mint doesn’t work out. Again I am still very new to this and I think I looked at the distros that are considered best for beginners so I don’t mess anything up until I get more confident and knowledgeable

WeLoveCastingSpellz ,

xfce should be nice and lightweight

JayEchoRay OP ,
@JayEchoRay@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you, will be trying it first once it finishes downloading. It seems I chose a slower link, but committed to now.

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