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View Full Version : [all variants] Best Ubuntu (or Linux) for this laptop



pezonik
August 8th, 2009, 05:33 PM
I want to install Ubuntu on my parents laptop. They have an acer Aspire 3623WXCi:

- Intel Celeron M processor 370 (1.GHz, 400MHz FSB)
- Intel graphicsmedia accelerator 900.
- 40 GB HDD.
- 256 MB DDR2 (support dual-channel)

The computer is barely working with Windows XP. I need to install the new OS this weekend.

Thanks!

raymondh
August 8th, 2009, 06:05 PM
Ubuntu-flavored ..... my choices are either crunchbang (http://crunchbanglinux.org/) or Xubuntu. Otherwise, I use PUPPY.

Read the release notes to compare system specs and minimum requirements.

Good luck.

jaxxstorm
August 8th, 2009, 06:09 PM
I'll second crunchbang. Xubuntu is a bit heavy nowadays and isn't quite the lightweight warrior it used to be.

pezonik
August 8th, 2009, 07:00 PM
Is CrunchBang intuitive enough for my parents? My mother used Ubuntu and she felt OK, but if things get too technical I donīt think they will be able to use it properly.

raymondh
August 8th, 2009, 07:30 PM
Is CrunchBang intuitive enough for my parents? My mother used Ubuntu and she felt OK, but if things get too technical I donīt think they will be able to use it properly.

"Intuitive" is quite subjective.

My 9-year old son uses crunchbang ... having gotten used to Ubuntu himself. In that case, yes, it is as intuitive as possible. Still, he's limited to games and a few websites. Nothing "terminal-work", etc.

Try it for yourself ;)

snowpine
August 8th, 2009, 11:45 PM
CrunchBang is very intuitive. If you want to browse the Web, press Windows+W. If you want to hear/watch some Media, press Win+M. If you want a File manager, Win+F. And so forth. It also comes with Flash and lots of other codecs pre-installed.

pezonik
August 9th, 2009, 06:49 AM
I'm a bit confused right now. I tried Xubuntu and CrunchBang Live CDs and both went awful. I couldn't open Firefox and I had to turn off the computer manually (I mean, pressing the physical button). Do you think it will run OK if I install it, or is the Live CD failure a warning?

snowpine
August 9th, 2009, 02:14 PM
I'm a bit confused right now. I tried Xubuntu and CrunchBang Live CDs and both went awful. I couldn't open Firefox and I had to turn off the computer manually (I mean, pressing the physical button). Do you think it will run OK if I install it, or is the Live CD failure a warning?

If they don't work live, they won't work installed either. You mentioned Windows doesn't work, too. Sounds like you may have some hardware problems...

raymondh
August 9th, 2009, 02:49 PM
If they don't work live, they won't work installed either. You mentioned Windows doesn't work, too. Sounds like you may have some hardware problems...

Snowpine may have a point ....

Did you also compare the minimum requirements of the distro vis-a-vis your system specs?

Have you tried puppy?

pezonik
August 9th, 2009, 05:29 PM
As I wrote, this laptop has an Intel Celeron M (1.5GHz), a memory of 256MB and enough hard drive space. It should be working. It's supposed to be designed for Windows XP, so it should work at least with with CrunchBang... am I wrong?

snowpine
August 9th, 2009, 05:50 PM
As I wrote, this laptop has an Intel Celeron M (1.5GHz), a memory of 256MB and enough hard drive space. It should be working. It's supposed to be designed for Windows XP, so it should work at least with with CrunchBang... am I wrong?

You`re right; the specs are fine for CrunchBang. So clearly there is something wrong with either 1) the CrunchBang CD or 2) the computer.

You can check the first by verifying the md5sum of the CD: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToMD5SUM

The second is trickier, and I`m not really an expert... a good place to start though would be using the test memory feature of your Xubuntu Live CD.

As you mention the computer is behaving strangely with Windows and two different Linux distros, I suspect hardware problems.

Good luck!

DaveRowell
August 9th, 2009, 08:22 PM
Seems to me that in both cases you're below the lower memory limit requirement. You have 256 M from that the graphics will claim something. You'll need to expand memory (I can't imagine XP running on 256M either) or use the "alternate install".

pezonik
August 11th, 2009, 04:56 AM
Thanks everybody.

My parents are going to check the laptop for hardware problems. Maybe I will install Linux next time.