Ubuntu 16.04 (32bit) on an old Laptop. Should I go to lubuntu?

[igognito]

Hello all,

I have recently installed ubuntu 16.04 on my old laptop (it used to have 12.04).
12.04 worked like a charm but 16.04 is ridiculously slow. I changed to classic desktop (metacity) which improved the performance significantly but I still feel the laptop suffers.

I hadn't noticed lubuntu before, which probably would have been the correct dist to install.
How can I go from ubuntu to lubuntu without doing all the work again.

Thank you

ps1: I have already installed some packages like (subversion, git, texlive etc)
ps2: disc space is limited (10gb free from 20gb)
ps3: I also have a windows xp particion with 20gb free and probably could remove some stuff to make more space if need be.

tech specifications: 1GB of ram, Intel Atom N270 (1.7GHz multi-threading)

[Bucky Ball]

Short answer to the question in the title of your thread? Yes. Don't even bother with Ubuntu. (IMHO)

I prefer Xubuntu myself; not quite as light, but may give a nice experience. If you really wanted to hit the learning curve, install the Ubuntu minimal ISO or Lubuntu-core. That will be getting toward the lightest you can go, at least in the official Ubuntu flavours.

Ubuntu is not the only horse in the stable, as you've recently found out. The flavours supported here are Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Lubuntu, UbuntuGnome, Ubuntu Studio, Mythbuntu, Ubuntu Mate, Ubuntu Budgie and Ubuntu Kylin.

[Autodave]

2 votes for Xubuntu.

[RobGoss]

Hello and welcome to the forum, with only 1-GB of Ram the lighter distributions would be the better choice. Xubuntu is a great distribution very fast and will not use much resources. If I were you I would bump up that Ram to maybe 2-GB, to get an even better experience it never hurts to have more Ram, this way you can try other versions of Ubuntu as well

[miseliger]

I would try Lubuntu and Xubuntu. Xubuntu looks more "modern" then Lubuntu, but Lubuntu is smaller and needs less ressourcen. An alternative would also be LXLE (which is build up onto Lubuntu):
http://lxle.net/

[igognito]

Thank you for the suggestions.
No one though told me if I can install l/xubuntu without starting from scratch.

Thus I guess I will have to start from scratch :-/

[Bucky Ball]

Certainly the best option in your situation with such small specs. Lubuntu takes a lot less disk space than a full Ubuntu install. Anything you load onto Ubuntu would only slow things down further.

Start from scratch with a fresh Lubuntu 32bit install and enjoy the improvement(s). ;)