I would normally recommend Linux Mint as an excellent operating system. However for a computer with limited resources RAM and hard drive and processor then something slightly lighter is probably best.
Lubuntu works really well. I have used Lubuntu 10.10 on a netbook for the last 18 months with no problems and it is a good compromise between a full system like Linux Mint and a very light operating system like Puppy.
My other computer systems use Linux Mint 13 (Maya) Cinnamon edition.

I'm running Linux 13 Mate on low spec PCs and it works great.

Well, KDE is awesome but, CRASHCRASHCRASH!! I've never known such a crash prone environment. Boot up, crash. Open Amarok, close it, crash. Open almost anything openGL related, crash. Arrrrghh!

I wouldn't mind, but otherwise it's so sweet. It's the perfect desktop. It does so much and offers every type of configuration to every type of user. But at version 4.8, it really ought not be so prone to these issues. So, I'll give it a while longer, keep an eye on version 4.9 (without expecting miracles), and see what happens next. I'm fed up distro-hopping about the place.

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/07/v...-linux-support

Is Steam really going to land in Linux? Exciting times ahead.

I don't quite get the excitement. Steam is a game manager isn't it? Games which use DirectX are (probably) never going to run on Linux and not many support OpenGL.

Sorry to hear about the crashes you're getting with KDE Kal. Probably doesn't help if I say I never get any and I use it for 12 - 15 hours most days. Any unusual hardware which could be causing it? Which graphics card? As you mention OpenGL being troublesome.

If Steam ports to Linux perhaps the game developers will follow suit, though.

Looks like my Linux project is on hold at the moment Mum's new laptop doesn't work properly (graphics issue) so she'll be using the old one for a bit longer.

Actually I think it was just a couple of dated programs that were causing my issues, because it's been absolutely fine since. I had some problems with ProjectM, but this has been problematic in the past for me. I think it's no longer being maintained so I imagine that's the end of that one. There was a massive roster of KDE updates yesterday, and I think this helped a little too. Amarok isn't crashing on close any more, and everything has been solid. I can't fault it. I love it. And I'm not moving. Really this time.

As for Steam, I have to say I think some people have gotten a little overexcited. As archiver says, it's not like all of a sudden there'll be a huge roster of Windows games immediately available for Linux users. However, it is a terrific start and I've no doubt it will become something special over time.


Yes I do think this will happen. I'm looking forward to it, but the cynic in me is waiting for the sucker punch too.

Looks like I'll be starting on my Linux project this week! Mum's new W7 laptop is up and running (was an issue with the graphics card drivers, a pretty simple software problem really) so the old one can now be used for Linux I'll pop in here if I have any questions.

I was going to suggest trying a Live Linux disk in your mum's laptop Maybe one day.

I agree Steam coming to Linux is good and will cause some game developers to look at the possible extra customers they'd get for their trouble. Luckily the OSX potential is at least worth looking at, and porting from there to Linux would be a little easier. With MS holding the Xbox market though, and the possibility of Windows games selling on that platform, MS may even subliminally suggest to developers that games which are MS Windows only will be more likely to receive the required Xbox licenses.

It's a shame really, but then 7 and project CARS is only a reboot away. Maybe virtualisation will be good enough soon. At least then we'd get to switch as easy as switching to a virtual desktop. Pretty sure I read about some CPU features designed to improve virtualisation. I'll go Google.

We're on KDE 4.8.4 then. I was having a problem with desktop widgets being elsewhere than their "Locked" locations after reboot, but it looks like Wine integration was the culprit. Maybe that's fixed now. Good to hear yours is better now Kal, and you'll probably stick with it...

Probably not a good idea yet. She's fine with Windows and she's never used a Mac as I never let her near my Macbook Pro (only I can use that ) but I don't think she'd get on with Linux at the moment. I can make a Live Linux disk though and keep it in my bag when I go to fix people's Windows computers. If I have to fix a Vista machine I should carry the disk along with a bottle of holy water

See, I can tell by your tone that you don't believe me.

Downloading Ubuntu now. I'm going to put that onto a CD and then use it on my old laptop. I've got the blank CDs beside me. Then I'm gonna download some software for it like a web browser, LibreOffice/OpenOffice, GIMP, VLC and some games. I was reading about VirtualBox as well to run several distros on the same machine. Would that be very demanding on an old PC?

Depends on how old a computer you're talking about. A Core 2 Duo or above should give decent performance. Lower spec machines will work (i used to use virtualisation back in the 90s), it'll just be slow.

Virtualbox is available for OS X too, and is an easy way of checking out other OSs without effecting your Mac.

As for applications on Ubuntu, most of the stuff you listed will be included on the ISO you're downloading and will be installed by default.

Why you downloading them, they will come with Ubuntu

Have you actually had a go at a Linux distribution yet?

Sounds not. I think you have to properly use an OS before you can come to any proper conclusion surely.

Trying to install Ubuntu on the laptop now. I booted from the Live CD I made on my Mac and when I boot to it all I get is a black screen with blinking cursor. What does that mean? Would it be worth trying another distro? I have a CD of some I got with Linux Format magazine last week.

You need to burn the disc as an ISO. On your Mac right-click on the ISO you downloaded and open it in "Disk Utility". Click on it in the sidebar and then click the Burn button.

There's no harm in trying any number of live CD/DVDs of different distros. You don't have to install them if you don't like the look.

I did that and when I put the disk into the old Windows laptop I'm using I got a blank screen. I burned another one using the Windows machine and I got an error message that the kernel didn't have a component called pae or something and wasn't compatible with my CPU (or something along those lines). Might upload a photo.

PAE is only needed on 32bit machines which have more than 4GB RAM and only then if the more than 4 gigs must be accessed, so unless this old laptop has more than 4G you don't need PAE. Some distros (used to?) provide a specific PAE version for download, so maybe you got one of those by mistake?

cnbcwatcher
The only machine I've had trouble running live CDs on had only 512MB RAM, and most modern distros like Ubuntu need more than that to run a live CD nowadays.
I was still able to install the OS directly though, as it doesn't need as much RAM when installed to the hard drive.

That machine is currently running Ubuntu 11.04, and is used as a sort of server - always on, hosting a 2TB drive for the rest of my network to access.
I recall that the 11.04 live CD wouldn't run, but it offered me the option to install without trying, which worked.
When I started with linux in 2007 live CDs worked fine on that machine, but RAM requirements have increased over the intervening years.

However, you have said your laptop has 1GB RAM which should be ample for any live CD.
Have a look on XP and make sure it's reporting 1 GB.

Having said that, it should still be able to start the CD without error messages? Although I know some people do have problems with some live CDs on certain hardware?
(you can probably tell you're nearing the limits of my linux' expertise' here )

It was the latest version of Ubuntu. Maybe I need to find the latest PAE. The laptop's too old to have 4GB RAM anyway I'll try it again later (probably will be this evening as I'm going out in the afternoon) and write down the exact message I got.


I'll boot the laptop into Windows again and see how much RAM it reports. If it reports 1GB then I should be ok. I always thought Linux distros worked well on older computers

You can forget PAE as you only have 1GB. You could try the "PC (Intel x86) alternate install CD" which is listed at http://ftp.ticklers.org/releases.ubu...eleases/12.04/ as ubuntu-12.04-alternate-i386.iso

You'll just get a text based installer which is pretty easy to use. I've installed Kubuntu 12.04 a few times using it and I'm usually here if you need help with it.



They do, but not always. If the alternative installer doesn't work either, then it would depend how much work you want to put in to getting it going. It may be possible, for instance, to remove the HDD from the laptop and connect it to a desktop (preferably as the only drive) and install and then stick it back in the laptop.

Googling your laptop make/model and ubuntu 12.04 may throw up some difficulties others have encountered.

The alternate installer might be worth a try. I won't do it now as I'm supposed to be going out but I might try this evening. Taking the hard drive out is another good option and the machine has been out of warranty for a few years now so it doesn't matter what I do with it I will of course ask here if I've any questions and update you guys on how the project's going