Need Help Switching From XP to GNU/Linux
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Hey Techies,
Greetings to all! David here in NY. I'm so wanting to switch my OS from XP to GNU/Linux. I have a somewhat ancient Gateway desktop PC I bought back in '04 which I mostly use to surf the web and to download things of interest. I'm just not looking to spend on a new PC or laptop just yet. Though, I am certainly looking forward to building one of my own (PC) in the near future to save on costs.
I'm no techie or geek by any means but I enjoy learning about new tools, systems, and software, and understand some techie-speak. So here it goes...
Specs:
Gateway 504GR
Intel Pentium 4 CPU
3.00 GHz
504 MB of Ram
Windows XP Home Edition
Version 2002 (Service pack 3)
I really like the Tresquil OS and Mint, but will consider a more compatible Linux OS for the system I'm currently using if that's even
remotely possible given the specs.
From what I've been able to gather so far, I would probably need to increase my RAM, get ImgBurn, have a bootable disk and/or USB stick, and maybe use Plop if my system doesn't support the USB live boot option.
Any suggestions re: additional software I may need to make the transition to GNU/Linux as smooth and seamless as possible will be
greatly appreciated.
In the same regard, if this would be utterly impossible to accomplish I will also appreciate knowing.
Thank you to all.
Typo correction: I meant "Trisquel". Couldn't find the 'edit' button.
That'll be enough RAM to run Trisquel Mini (LXDE), though it won't be perfectly smooth necessarily (you should give yourself plenty of swap and use lightweight applications, especially a lightweight web browser). I also know from experience that the Pentium 4 is able to run LXDE just fine (my mom has an old computer with a Pentium 4; actually, it runs the normal Trisquel with GNOME, but I think LXDE is a better choice for such a low-end system unless you need accessibility features).
Other than the stuff Trisquel includes by default (LibreOffice, web browser, email client, Pidgin, etc), it's hard to know what software to recommend. If you know what kind of software is most important to you and what you're used to, saying what it is would make recommending replacements much easier.
Thanks, onpon4. I was considering downloading Trisquel Mini, but wasn't sure if it would perform as well. I could certainly use whatever software Trisquel includes, as I don't mind learning how to use something different or new. I'm a pretty down to basics user and not into heavy gaming. I try not to use too many resources.
I use Chrome or Firefox, hardly use OpenOffice, use Windows Media Player to watch downloaded videos and music, and have Avast and MalwareBytes for security.
I appreciate your reply.
Well, you should be fine with most of the default software, then. :) Actually, LibreOffice is a fork of OpenOffice that was made back when Oracle controlled OpenOffice, so you'll find it familiar. Just a couple tips:
* Trisquel's version of Firefox is called "Abrowser". It's called that because of Mozilla's trademark policy. You don't get it by default in Trisquel Mini, but you can install it with the package manager.
* We don't use anti-virus on GNU/Linux (or any system other than Windows, really), because we don't need it. You'll end up appreciating this quite a lot. :)
For Firefox, use Abrowser, as onpon4 said. The only differences are the branding, an addons site that only lists free (as in freedom) addons, and improved default settings (for privacy).
Trisquel includes LibreOffice, which was forked from OpenOffice.
For videos and audio, VLC is really good, and supports a lot of formats. Also Amarok and Rhythmbox are great music players.
There is an antivirus in Trisquel called clamav that you can install, but it's mostly for checking for Windows viruses. There's not much of a point in using antivirus.
Legimet wrote:
> it's mostly for checking for Windows viruses.
Correction: only for Windows viruses. I suppose it could detect GNU/Linux viruses, but viruses not being a real threat for us, there's no point in that. The main use of ClamAV is if you're worried about infecting a Windows computer.
+1
Yea, twice the RAM would help a lot. The more the merrier. But keep in mind that other things might malfunction.
Thanks, elodie. I agree.
I am a member!
One of my machines is a Dell Inspiron, with similar hardware resources to yours, Dave In NY; it runs the full Trisquel 6.0.1 quite well, for tasks other than audio editing, large source code builds and high-bandwidth video watching/conferencing. I use the included apps, plus vlc for media playback, mumble for voice conferencing, and thunderbird for mail. The included messaging app called Pidgin fills all my messaging needs.
Welcome to GNU/Linux,
Dave in MA
I am a member!
I've put Trisquel Mini on an old NEC Pentium 4 and it's fantastic.
I did install Abrowser though as Midori is a very light browser.
Make the switch Dave you won't look back.
Dave in UK
You don't need any hardware upgrades whatsoever - though of course it'll be far from being the last thing you do.
Here's a note about other distributions: Trisquel is committed to using only Free Software: Free in that it respects what for us are the human rights software users deserve.
Linux Mint, on the other hand (and pretty much all distros except the ones listed otherwise( www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html ), and to a very large extent Debian), takes a different view and do include software that we don't see as being respectful to our rights as software users. For example, Adobe Flash and proprietary drivers and firmware doesn't allow people to study its source code (since it's not even released).
ps: If you already know about the 2nd and 3rd paragraph above then I apologise.
dont forgot to use TOR BROWSER
welcome to Trisquel World
In my opinion if you are encountering constrain performance due to insufficient memory , then you might as well upgrade that specific memory to 4gb. Your trisquel will run more smoothly.
I did this with an old 2001 acer notebook that had less than 1gb, upgraded the memory to a 4gb and all my headaches were gone.
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