Linux for older laptops, Any Suggestions ?

[YeOldeStonecat]

http://distrowatch.com
Great resource for various distros.
Download some live CDs and boot from them...that way you can "test drive" a bunch of different distros to see how they work on your hardware.

Ubuntu has a light version called Lubuntu..meant for netbooks and older PCs, much lighter on resources.
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=lubuntu

Peppermint is a cool one based on Lubuntu...aimed at cloud stuff
http://peppermintos.com/

Also check out TinyMe.....Unity based yet still fine on older hardware
http://tinymelinux.com/doku.php

[gunslinger]

Another vote for Lubuntu here. I also like Elementary OS http://elementaryos.org/.

[Deadeye]

I have to go with puppy, especially if you like the windows layout.

[JW The Computer Guy]

Debian with LXDE. I ran it on a Pentium 133MHz with 32mb ram, it ran quite well.

[Cornerstone Technologies]

I find it interesting that most, if not everyone have suggested a distro with some kind of GUI. I have found that for the most part, a cli install works on most anything with more than 32mb of RAM. I dont have anything that sparse, but I have a trio of older HP thin clients that I couldn't get rid of. I currently have one that boots off a USB flash drive and is able to play mp3s in-shop when I want something to listen to. And its a crappy thin client with 128MB of DDR RAM and a VIA 800mhz processor.

And also, using pure CLI is great to learn Linux if you have the time and patience. I started by wanting to do something, and gradually moving on to wanting a Linux box to do just something more. But my suggestion is pure CLI if one is brave enough.

[gunslinger]

Originally Posted by Cornerstone Technologies

I find it interesting that most, if not everyone have suggested a distro with some kind of GUI. I have found that for the most part, a cli install works on most anything with more than 32mb of RAM. I dont have anything that sparse, but I have a trio of older HP thin clients that I couldn't get rid of. I currently have one that boots off a USB flash drive and is able to play mp3s in-shop when I want something to listen to. And its a crappy thin client with 128MB of DDR RAM and a VIA 800mhz processor.

And also, using pure CLI is great to learn Linux if you have the time and patience. I started by wanting to do something, and gradually moving on to wanting a Linux box to do just something more. But my suggestion is pure CLI if one is brave enough.

I was under the impression that these refurb laptops would be used by customers and not the tech. If that is the case a GUI is a must and the more simple the IU the better.

[Cornerstone Technologies]

I have always operated under the assumption that if someone was aware enough to know about Linux and get it on their own, they have no need to buy something preloaded. As you can see from this thread, there is a mix and varied preference to distro. I just figured the original request was for personal use.

[SunBreeze]

+1 for Lubuntu, also check out Xbuntu, Any Ubuntu OS is good because of the excellent hardware support.

[SilverLeaf]

A little while back, Phoronix did a nifty little comparison between the major DE's (KDE, Gnome, Xfce, and LXDE) in regards to power consumption and memory use. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...p_vitals&num=1

As expected, LXDE did quite well. Xfce, however, was not that far behind.

But, again, application selection and running services are key to usability with older hardware.

[doortodoorgeek]

P2... really?

What is the mhz

if it is crazy low you might have to run DLS, Slitaz, Puppy or maybe Lubuntu might work

but dang, a P2, heck spend the 40$ USD and get a Raspberry Pi, it is faster then a P2