Help Choosing a Linux Distribution

[-Mad Skillz-]

I have an older PC that I have been wanting to install Linux on for quite some time. I've decided that I'd like to try it out, but the obvious immediate problem is: which distribution should I pick? Since the computer is old, I'd prefer something that is relatively fast and isn't very resource heavy. At the same time, I want something that will support a good amount of hardware and software and has a decent set of features (I dont expect all the latest, but I'm planning on actually running this PC for a while so I want to be able to do stuff with it). Playing a ton of games on it is a non-issue since the PC is too old to play anything new anyways. In terms of gaming I really only plan on doing some small emulation. Since I'm actually going to attempt running this system I'm looking for something that has atleast a bit of a Windows feel to it...dont want to dive too far into the Linux world into some some huge non-Windows world right away. To sum it up, I want something that will be functional and quick (as well as stable, obviously) that features most everyday features and tools while also maintaining atleast a bit of a Windows feel. I've been thinking about Ubuntu and Vector for a while, as well as Debian, but I though I'd ask for more expert advice since I really dont know much about Linux.

So, any suggestions?

[Tursiops_G]

I think that Ubuntu will be the overall "Best Fit" for your PC...

-Tursiops_G.

[chris]

Id personally pick debian, just my 2cents, But what do you concider old?

[GHDpro]

How old is "old" exactly? There is a difference between say, a 486 with 64 Mb RAM and a Duron 1 Ghz with 256 Mb RAM.

RAM will be the most defining factor btw, as long as you have 256 Mb or more, you can run
just about any Linux distribution, I think.

[-Mad Skillz-]

Originally Posted by GHDpro

How old is "old" exactly? There is a difference between say, a 486 with 64 Mb RAM and a Duron 1 Ghz with 256 Mb RAM.

RAM will be the most defining factor btw, as long as you have 256 Mb or more, you can run
just about any Linux distribution, I think.

Its a computer thats about 5 years old: around 700MHz with 128mb RAM. Its pretty much a certified POS, which is why I was looking at Vector.

[Epyon9283]

Ubuntu might be a little painful to run in 128mb of ram.

The truth is that the "windows like" desktop environments are ram hungry so you might not get the experience you're looking for. With only 128mb, I'd recommend going with something like http://www.xubuntu.org/ since XFCE is quite a bit lighter than Gnome.

[Proto]

If it is way, way too old, I'd choose something like Damn Small Linux or Puppy Linux.

If it's a little more recent, say you have 128 Mb in RAM I'd try the special installation disk of Xubuntu (don't try the normal one), Slackware, or in general any distribution based on the Xfce windows system or something akin. Xfce has the advantage over Gnome and KDE (the other 2 popular window systems) of being much lighter and friendlier to older computers, so you may want to try that

PS: After reading your second post you might want to check Xubuntu's special installation disk, or an older Red Hat's version or something like that. I'd go for Xubuntu

EDIT: As Epyon said before my post, duh!

[Sides]

You should try DSL, as ProtoMan suggested.

[Sylf]

Just a testimonial -
I have Xubuntu running on my PII 400MHz with 228MB. I'm happy with its performance. Then I even went as far as installing pretty much the same thing on PII 300MHz laptop with 64MHz of RAM. That was borderlining painfully slow. I bought extra RAM for it, and now it runs much smoother. (256MB, but only 228MB recognized by the BIOS)

[-Mad Skillz-]

What do you all think of Xubuntu vs Vector?

[Sylf]

If you want the speed, my guess would be that Vector will win hands down. Xubuntu is built on top of Ubuntu, which was built on top of Debian based system. While the use of XFCE desktop would help speeding up the system, I don't think it's the most optimized distribution out there.

Vector Linux is based on slackware. Slack is a pretty lean system to start with, and Vector linux tailored it more for speed on older PCs. Personally, I've never got the chance to us Vector linux before, but that's the impression I've got so far.

One of the reason I've stayed away from Vector is that it looks a bit more involved to get it set up. Ubuntu/Xubuntu package is made so well that a lazy guy like me can set it up pretty easily. While I'm not really a linux newbie, Ubuntu's ease of set up is still very attractive.

[-Mad Skillz-]

Originally Posted by ProtoMan

If it is way, way too old, I'd choose something like Damn Small Linux or Puppy Linux.

If it's a little more recent, say you have 128 Mb in RAM I'd try the special installation disk of Xubuntu (don't try the normal one), Slackware, or in general any distribution based on the Xfce windows system or something akin. Xfce has the advantage over Gnome and KDE (the other 2 popular window systems) of being much lighter and friendlier to older computers, so you may want to try that

PS: After reading your second post you might want to check Xubuntu's special installation disk, or an older Red Hat's version or something like that. I'd go for Xubuntu

EDIT: As Epyon said before my post, duh!

When you say "special installation disc" are you talking about the "alternate install CD" thats listed on the Xubuntu download page?

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/re.../6.10/release/

Lists two versions: Desktop and Alternate...I'm assuming you're talking about the Alternate.