Dell P4 what Linux?

[Ivtec]

Hi guys i've got a Dell 4.500, pentium4, 2,2ghz ,1,g mem ram, 80g hd, what linux distro is good for it?

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by Ivtec

Hi guys i've got a Dell 4.500, pentium4, 2,2ghz ,1,g mem ram, 80g hd, what linux distro is good for it?

Pretty much anything depending on what the main use for it might be and what you might like it to look like. This will help us to narrow down the choice suggestions.

Browsing the screenshot posts for a preferred "look" might be a good starting point.

Might be best to start with the last page of this first link and then work backwards through the posts.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/free...look-like.html

http://www.techsupportalert.com/free...hot-links.html

[Ivtec]

Originally Posted by MidnightCowboy

Pretty much anything depending on what the main use for it might be and what you might like it to look like. This will help us to narrow down the choice suggestions.

Browsing the screenshot posts for a preferred "look" might be a good starting point.

Might be best to start with the last page of this first link and then work backwards through the posts.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/free...look-like.html

http://www.techsupportalert.com/free...hot-links.html

Thanks: i installed Debian Wheezy and than i installed Xfce4, it runs real good,

but Before that i tried to install xubuntu,Mint14, Lubuntu, debian but failed the install,missing some type of file. then i thought of swaping the Nvidia Gforce 4 Ti 4200 card for an Ati 9600 card that i had in my scrap ,than i tried Debian Wheezy 7 and it installed realy great, i did not try any of the others yet.

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by Ivtec

Thanks: i installed Debian Wheezy and than i installed Xfce4, it runs real good, but Before that i tried to install xubuntu, Mint14, Lubuntu, debian but failed the install,missing some type of file.

Unfortunately Windows still scores hands down for its ability to install into a wide variety of hardware configurations. Having said that, if a particular Linux runs OK as a live session, it ought to install OK as well unless you encounter a bug such as:

http://dev.ryzom.com/issues/1021
http://forum.stmlabs.com/showthread.php?tid=8895

I also have better results with live sessions and installs from DVD's than I do from USB.

[Anupam]

Originally Posted by Ivtec

but Before that i tried to install xubuntu,Mint14, Lubuntu, debian but failed the install,missing some type of file. then i thought of swaping the Nvidia Gforce 4 Ti 4200 card for an Ati 9600 card that i had in my scrap ,than i tried Debian Wheezy 7 and it installed realy great, i did not try any of the others yet.

You should have mentioned this in your first post itself. Would have helped people know what all you already tried.

[Burn-IT]

I use Puppy Precise 5.7.1 based on Ubuntu binaries.
There are Puppy versions based on other binary sets, Slackware,Debian to name just two. There is also a version for the Raspberry Pi .

[dollyp]

Originally Posted by MidnightCowboy

Unfortunately Windows still scores hands down for its ability to install into a wide variety of hardware configurations.

I'm going to quibble over this. Windows installs fairly easily because of the huge array of drivers and software that has to be bundled by the hardware manufacturers. I've installed Windows on dozens of computers, latterly laptops, and I've never found it entirely straightforward with usually the network proving most likely to difficult. In many ways it is becoming even more difficult because of the lack of media with new laptops. Clean installs are not easy. (Don't start me on uefi!)

In comparison Linux Mint simply installs and works as do other distros I've tried. I was amazed first time I tried it to simply get a prompt for my wireless code and I was connected. Simple and fast. The only problem I've found is that not all function keys work as they should since each company and model requires different software to work and only Windows software is provided.

Regards
David

[v.laurie]

Originally Posted by MidnightCowboy

Unfortunately Windows still scores hands down for its ability to install into a wide variety of hardware configurations.

Given the various problems with Windows installations that I have encountered over the years, I find this interesting. MC is a Linux expert and I know nothing about Linux but once I had the experience described at this link: A saga of Windows failure and Linux success. Now, admittedly, Windows 7 is better than XP at dealing with various hardware and I haven't tried a Linux installation in several years so I can't argue with MC. But a lot of laptops use proprietary drivers that Windows doesn't always deal with.

[MidnightCowboy]

Well, I can only comment from my own experiences which pretty well match those of our friend Dedoimedo.

He absolutely loved Deepin and yet on both my desktops I ended up with window blind wallpaper after only a few minutes use and installing their suggested driver replacements rendered the system unbootable.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/l...n-12-12-1.html

On the other hand he pretty much slated SuperX and yet it runs flawlessly on all three of my machines including a low end Samsung laptop.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/superx-darwin.html

He also can't even boot Mageia and yet this is one of the most popular distros around.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/mageia-3.html

Lastly, try as I might I cannot get Mint to configure my mobile broadband connection and yet this modem works fine with Windows 7.

Considering the much smaller market share enjoyed by Linux too, I still feel that overall Windows offers a much higher success rate.

[v.laurie]

MC, you have a multitude of experience with Linux and I don't so I'kl certainly take your word for it. I just wanted to say that installing Windows is not necessarily a picnic.