Beginners advice on linux

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Check your system it maybe loaded with a 32 bit OS but supports 64, mine was. It's a Toshiba Satelite L305. I've been using linux mint 18 for a few weeks. I like Mint 18 mate the best of all the ones I've tried. I also like ubuntu 16.04 mate edition as well.

If someone is new to linux I personally think mint 18 mate or ubuntu mate are the best options. Mint has all your codecs loaded already and ubuntu mate makes it extremely easy to load them right on the welcome screen. Make yourself a bootable usb and try them out until you find something you like.
 
Quote:

The difference would be profound if the system were configured with 4+ GB of RAM, which cannot be addressed by a 32-bit OS


OT: linux 32 bit has no problem addressing up to 64Gb RAM with PAE; It is windows that has chosen not to implement this except with only enterprise versions.

That being said, older servers that would have a 32 bit processor with a capacity of > 4Gb generally are bank breakers.

http://www.cnet.com/products/ibm-netfinity-7100-8666-piii-xeon-550-mhz-256-mb-0-gb/specs/

Quote:

We're all ahead of most users because we're not using a two-bit POS like Windows grin


Word! (pun intended)
 
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The laptop in question is a Compaq, bought in 2003. Both the HD and the memory have been replaced. It is a 32 bit machine. It's running XT and still is fully functional, although it is slow by todays standards. I was going to donate it to goodwill, but it is a great machine to play with.
 
Linux Mint is about the best one you'll find. it's very easy and intuitive to use. some of the ubuntu and KDE desktops are not as easy as one would like.
I've been on mint for about 7 years now. not a virus one. not an issue one. i use Mint cinnamon though.
it's free to DL the live CD and test drive them. try them all.
 
Thank you all in advance,

I have Dell Vostro 1000 with Window XP Home Edition Service Pack 3. Hardware: AMD Athlon 64X2 Dual-Core Processor TK-53 799 MHz, 1.87 GB RAM. Is this a 64 bit system ?

It is very slow lately. It takes about 20-30 second to load yahoo mail. Google mail is very slow to load too.

Which OS is best for this system and for someone who has no idea what he wants(that is me).

In one hand my laptop is still working(very slow), on the other hand I like to watch few videos on youtube but afraid of downloading a new OS will disable my laptop.

Which is the easiest to down load and easiest to use for my obsoleted laptop ?

I read all posts but still don't know which OS is best for my laptop and for me to navigate.

PS It took me more than 5 minutes to find my "System Properties"
 
Linux Mint cinnamon x64
it'll run great.

here's an idea
Click start go to run type msconfig.
click startup tab, uncheck most of it accept maybe an antivirus software.
then reboot see if it's any faster.

to get system properties, right click mycomputer then click properties.
 
Originally Posted By: Ethan1
I'm not sure why 32-bit is being recommended. Even an "old" laptop by most standards is probably 64-bit anyway, and i386 support is going to be gone from major linux distros within the next year.


32 bit applications, kernel, etc. use much less RAM. Whenever someone uses the word "old" regarding the machine they're considering loading with Linux, 32 bit is still my "safe" advice. I recommend MATE over Cinnamon for the same reason: It does not require 3D-accelerated graphics drivers and cards; which most systems have some a few really "old" systems don't.

i386 will be abandoned by Canonical (the folks behind Ubuntu) in the 18.04 release (ie. April or 2018; some distros may hang on farther beyond that). 16.04 (the base upon which the brand new Linux Mint is derived) will get support for 5 more years.
 
Originally Posted By: Cup of Joe
Check your system it maybe loaded with a 32 bit OS but supports 64, mine was. It's a Toshiba Satelite L305. I've been using linux mint 18 for a few weeks. I like Mint 18 mate the best of all the ones I've tried. I also like ubuntu 16.04 mate edition as well.

If someone is new to linux I personally think mint 18 mate or ubuntu mate are the best options. Mint has all your codecs loaded already and ubuntu mate makes it extremely easy to load them right on the welcome screen. Make yourself a bootable usb and try them out until you find something you like.


Thanks, I never thought to try that.

I ran this at the terminal: frank@frank-Vostro-220-Series ~ $ lscpu|grep "CPU op-mode"
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit

Then this: frank@frank-Vostro-220-Series ~ $ uname -m
i686


I think its 32 bit? Thanks!
 
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Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: Ethan1
I'm not sure why 32-bit is being recommended. Even an "old" laptop by most standards is probably 64-bit anyway, and i386 support is going to be gone from major linux distros within the next year.


32 bit applications, kernel, etc. use much less RAM. Whenever someone uses the word "old" regarding the machine they're considering loading with Linux, 32 bit is still my "safe" advice. I recommend MATE over Cinnamon for the same reason: It does not require 3D-accelerated graphics drivers and cards; which most systems have some a few really "old" systems don't.

i386 will be abandoned by Canonical (the folks behind Ubuntu) in the 18.04 release (ie. April or 2018; some distros may hang on farther beyond that). 16.04 (the base upon which the brand new Linux Mint is derived) will get support for 5 more years.


I guess MS-DOS would be an even better option, then, seeing as it's 16-bit? Never mind the fact that you are purposely leaving processor features on the table.
 
Originally Posted By: Ethan1
Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: Ethan1
I'm not sure why 32-bit is being recommended. Even an "old" laptop by most standards is probably 64-bit anyway, and i386 support is going to be gone from major linux distros within the next year.


32 bit applications, kernel, etc. use much less RAM. Whenever someone uses the word "old" regarding the machine they're considering loading with Linux, 32 bit is still my "safe" advice. I recommend MATE over Cinnamon for the same reason: It does not require 3D-accelerated graphics drivers and cards; which most systems have some a few really "old" systems don't.

i386 will be abandoned by Canonical (the folks behind Ubuntu) in the 18.04 release (ie. April or 2018; some distros may hang on farther beyond that). 16.04 (the base upon which the brand new Linux Mint is derived) will get support for 5 more years.


I guess MS-DOS would be an even better option, then, seeing as it's 16-bit? Never mind the fact that you are purposely leaving processor features on the table.


Well, if your are going to argue about it, I have a virgin copy of OS2 Warp 3 server. I know how well OS2 runs.
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: BikeWhisperer
If you are going cloud, check out Peppermint 7


Another huge vote for Peppermint 7. I've been using Peppermint 6 for a long time and have tried numerous disto's. Peppermint was one of the few that has worked flawlessly! It comes in both 32 and 64 bit versions. Their website is clean... no fluff and they have it down. I like it a lot better than Mint.

A couple of helpful website for beginners - https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/mint

Any this site is really a nice site for help and reviews: http://www.dedoimedo.com/computer_software.html

There's a learning curve for sure... I love my old Toshiba laptop now. Linux has given it a brand new life.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I ran this at the terminal: frank@frank-Vostro-220-Series ~ $ lscpu|grep "CPU op-mode"
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit

Then this: frank@frank-Vostro-220-Series ~ $ uname -m
i686


I think its 32 bit? Thanks!

What CPU do you have?
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Mint for your first install. It just works.


I installed Mint a few months ago,super easy and you wont miss Windows O/S,trust me,I dont
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I ran this at the terminal: frank@frank-Vostro-220-Series ~ $ lscpu|grep "CPU op-mode"
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit

Then this: frank@frank-Vostro-220-Series ~ $ uname -m
i686


I think its 32 bit? Thanks!

What CPU do you have?



HTH

eries ~ $ lscpu
Architecture: i686
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order: Little Endian
CPU(s): 2
On-line CPU(s) list: 0,1
Thread(s) per core: 1
Core(s) per socket: 2
Socket(s): 1
Vendor ID: GenuineIntel
CPU family: 6
Model: 15
Model name: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2200 @ 2.20GHz
Stepping: 13
CPU MHz: 1195.000
CPU max MHz: 2195.0000
CPU min MHz: 1195.0000
BogoMIPS: 4389.21
L1d cache: 32K
L1i cache: 32K
L2 cache: 1024K
Flags: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm lahf_lm dtherm


I have 4GB of Ram in this machine. What confuses me is the 32bit, 64 bit lines in the text above.

And then again here:
frank@frank-Vostro-220-Series ~ $ lscpu|grep "CPU op-mode"
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit

Today would be the perfect day to redo it if I can install the 64 bit OS. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!
 
According to Intel, the E2200 cpu supports 64 bit, so you should be good to go.

32 bit, 64 bit - it means it can support both modes.
 
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