Distro for Celeron (M) 1400Mhz

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Kiwifruta

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#188983 12-Dec-2015 15:52

Hi
I'm looking for a distro to put in my Mum's laptop and need some assistance.

The laptop came with Windows XP and was bought about 2004.
CPU: Celeron (M) 1400Mhz (32 bit non-PAE)
RAM: 1 GB
Hard drive: 80GB
Internet connection is via ethernet cable, and it uses a wireless mouse via a USB dongle.

Mum uses it for online stuff 99.9% of the time, e.g. trademe, google, banking and facebook
The remaining 0.1% is to update her CV with LibreOffice.

The laptop is currently running Linux Mint Maya with XFCE desktop. This distro is no longer supported and it runs rather slow with video. So overdue for an upgrade.

My Mum is not technically minded at all, but I live close by so can do the setting up and updating of the distro for her.

I'm familiar with Ubuntu based distros, so an Ubuntu derivative would be my preference. However if the only way to get the browser running youtube and facebook videos smoothly is with a distro outside the Ubuntu family then I'll change to that distro.

What do you recommend?

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465 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1449233 12-Dec-2015 16:17

Is there a reason you haven't upgraded to the latest mint distro. Maya is mint 13 the latest is 17.

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gzt

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#1449340 12-Dec-2015 19:49

I have a similar project coming up. I will try Mint Mate but I anticipate that will not be great in 1GB, so second I will be looking at Puppy.

dazhann

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Ultimate Geek

#1449355 12-Dec-2015 19:55

Yeah 1gb ram maybe borderline. I have it on a 2.2 dual with 2 gb ram and it works great. Have to say the same machine dual boots with win 10 and that works well also.
(edit)Apparently, according to the Mint site, mint 17.3 will run with 512mb of ram.

michaelmurfy

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#1449356 12-Dec-2015 20:01

I'd say the whole laptop is due for an upgrade. Take a look at getting a Chromebook. Otherwise there is Xubuntu or even Debian w/ XFCE.

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sparky1685

82 posts

Master Geek

#1449375 12-Dec-2015 20:26

I was given an old netbook (Samsung N150 plus) with an Atom N450 CPU and 1GB RAM. It was pretty much unusable with Windows 7 Starter Edition after a few years' of updates.

I installed the Debian version of LXDE on and it was transformed into a perfectly usable laptop, so I imagine you'd have good results with that or Lubuntu (which I think is the Ubuntu LXDE spin).

Kiwifruta

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#1449385 12-Dec-2015 21:18

michaelmurfy: I'd say the whole laptop is due for an upgrade. Take a look at getting a Chromebook. Otherwise there is Xubuntu or even Debian w/ XFCE.

I agree with a Chromebook too, but buying a new PC isn't an option right now.

Kiwifruta

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#1449386 12-Dec-2015 21:21

sparky1685: I was given an old netbook (Samsung N150 plus) with an Atom N450 CPU and 1GB RAM. It was pretty much unusable with Windows 7 Starter Edition after a few years' of updates.

I installed the Debian version of LXDE on and it was transformed into a perfectly usable laptop, so I imagine you'd have good results with that or Lubuntu (which I think is the Ubuntu LXDE spin).

I used Lubuntu a few years ago on an old desktop PC (Windows ME era) and it was so snappy.

Is Debian rolling release?

timmmay

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#1449387 12-Dec-2015 21:22

Just upgrade to the latest version of Mint. If it doesn't work report back, someone might come up with another idea... DOS?

tempohouse

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#1449389 12-Dec-2015 21:38

Have a look at the newish 'minimal Xubuntu' option you can install from the Ubuntu mini.iso. It gets you a very basic Ubuntu with XFCE and zero extras, and you simply add anything else you want. Its very light and should run fine on a Celeron. XFCE is also fairly friendly for users accustomed to Windows, Mint etc.

Kiwifruta

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#1449543 13-Dec-2015 08:35

dazhann: Is there a reason you haven't upgraded to the latest mint distro. Maya is mint 13 the latest is 17.

I've only recently realized that Maya is no longer supported.

Also, since video is slow/jerky with Maya I'm thinking it won't be any faster with Rosa.

timmmay

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#1449549 13-Dec-2015 08:55

I think your hardware probably just isn't up to the task. 11 years old, did the even have HD video back then?

Kiwifruta

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#1449564 13-Dec-2015 09:39

timmmay: I think your hardware probably just isn't up to the task. 11 years old, did the even have HD video back then?

Not on YouTube, no bluray then. Anyway 360p will suffice for now.

michaelmurfy

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#1449574 13-Dec-2015 10:10

Also have a look at elementary OS (based off Ubuntu): https://elementary.io/

sparky1685

82 posts

Master Geek

#1449575 13-Dec-2015 10:13

I used Lubuntu a few years ago on an old desktop PC (Windows ME era) and it was so snappy.

Is Debian rolling release?

It is if you put Debian Testing on there...

With an ancient Atom N450 notebook and LXDE, YouTube videos would play in the browser window in Chromium, but went very choppy when zoomed to full screen.

Kiwifruta

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#1449672 13-Dec-2015 14:31

michaelmurfy: Also have a look at elementary OS (based off Ubuntu): https://elementary.io/

I use this on my own PC, great distro, very polished.

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