Linux Distro Recommendations? - Hardware & Software

I'm trying to install Linux onto my Desktop so that way my mother can use it. My Favorite version is Slax but it's tough as shit to get it working on the hard drive Ubuntu uses the system like a bitch. And those are the only distros I use. Can anyone recommend one to me?

Crunchbang is a good one. It's lightweight, and easy to learn. I've been using it without issues.

[QUOTE=SNNS-SEAN;31587457]Crunchbang is a good one. It's lightweight, and easy to learn. I've been using it without issues.[/QUOTE]As of right now, Crunchbang is rocking awesome! Uses only 200MB RAM2GB Of my hard diskAnd runs like a deer on crack.Thanks for the suggestion!

Archbang would be better, far less bloat.

I think that [URL="http://www.frugalware.org/"]frugalware[/URL] would be ideal for your mother(it's great for practically anyone).

Glad I looked at this thread, completely forgot about Frugalware.

-snip

Gentoo

If Ubuntu is too taxing, you ought to give Lubuntu a try. It's Ubuntu, but with a more lightweight desktop environment. It runs really nice on my 2004 toshiba laptop.

Why is everybody against Gentoo.

probably because gentoo is hard on the system [editline]10th August 2011[/editline] and hard on the user, this computer is for his mother

[QUOTE=ButtsexV3;31642381]probably because gentoo is hard on the system [editline]10th August 2011[/editline] and hard on the user, this computer is for his mother[/QUOTE] Bahaha. Then why is he installing Linux on his mothers PC?

because ubuntu and the like holds your hand through everything

[QUOTE=ButtsexV3;31642728]because ubuntu and the like holds your hand through everything[/QUOTE] Yes, but what if she wants to install something that only works on Windows, for example a game or 3d application that requires DX10.

Linux Mint or Ubuntu.

[QUOTE=doonbugie2;31647336]Yes, but what if she wants to install something that only works on Windows, for example a game or 3d application that requires DX10.[/QUOTE] I highly doubt his mother plays any non-browser games or casual games that weren't rewritten/ported AGES ago to Linux. And WINE could probably handle that cute little application she so dearly would miss.

[QUOTE=doonbugie2;31647336]Yes, but what if she wants to install something that only works on Windows, for example a game or 3d application that requires DX10.[/QUOTE] Would you like to give me $100 for a [U]genuine[/U] copy of Windows? Plus she told me me this, "I just want something I can get online with and email. None of this unneeded newfangled whoha." Anyhow to everyone else, I got Crunchbang on there as of right now, I haven't showed it to dear old mom yet, and I'll try different versions if mom doesn't like Crunchbang. [editline]10th August 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Ridz0r;31647356]Linux Mint or Ubuntu.[/QUOTE] I'm not touching ubuntu and heres why Compaq Presario 6019 Pentium 4 1.6GHz 1.5GB RAM 40GB Hard Drive Geforce 4MX Graphics 32MB Ubuntu can be run on this machine but it hogs system resources.

[QUOTE=Michael haxz;31648484]I'm not touching ubuntu[/QUOTE] Lubuntu or Xubuntu then. They make Ubuntu look like a obese woman who's transported around with a forklift.

yeah I'm going to suggest Lubuntu, I had that shit installed on a Pentium 3 with 512 MB RAM and a 16 MB graphics card and it was blazing fast

Just one thing, if she uses a printer, make sure the drivers for Linux work for it. I installed Linux for my Mum because she "only wanted it for emails and browsing" and the printer didn't have Linux drivers, and there weren't open source ones. It wasn't good when she wanted to print an email and couldn't (online train tickets etc).

^Listen to this man^ I found out too late that my printer was the only model in its series that doesn't have a Linux driver.

Actually Linux has excellent printing support thanks to Apple's CUPS. Sometimes you have to mess around to make it work, though (my HP1005 requires a firmware to be loaded on it each time it's turned on, so I had to write some USB hotplug scripts that load it onto the device). Maybe your case was similar? I've yet to see a printer that wouldn't work on Linux.

Alrighty guys I got rid of CrunchBang and put a copy of Kubuntu with KDE I like it Mom likes it I think we have a winner

ubuntu uses too much resources but Kubuntu doesn't? :v:

[QUOTE=Michael haxz;31702711]Alrighty guys I got rid of CrunchBang and put a copy of Kubuntu with KDE I like it Mom likes it I think we have a winner[/QUOTE] Good God, it you're going to be that worried about resources, why don't you just go bare-bones and install Vista? :v:

[QUOTE=Van-man;31651376]Lubuntu or Xubuntu then. They make Ubuntu look like a obese woman who's transported around with a forklift.[/QUOTE] I second this. I've noticed minimal resource differences between XFCE (Xubuntu) and LXDE (Lubuntu), so I'd probably have to recommend Xubuntu, because the desktop environment by default has more options and just looks better. [QUOTE=Michael haxz;31702711]Alrighty guys I got rid of CrunchBang and put a copy of Kubuntu with KDE I like it Mom likes it I think we have a winner[/QUOTE] Ubuntu with KDE (Kubuntu) is still going to be less resources than Windows 7. For me, it uses about half the memory of Windows 7 when idling; and KDE looks sexy. If you ever need a lighter distro in the future, I recommend these. Puppy Linux - Puppy is pretty damn light, and has decent support. It is very easy to use, even for a slight novice. TinyCore - One of the tiniest distros. I think Damn Small Linux is smaller, but its also dead and abandoned so TinyCore is the smallest distro I know. It requires some intermediate experience to get everything up and running, because by default it doesn't come with anything, but it is the best choice for dinosaur hardware.

[QUOTE=DIFTOW;31801133]Ubuntu with KDE (Kubuntu) is still going to be less resources than Windows 7. For me, it uses about half the memory of Windows 7 when idling; and KDE looks sexy. [/QUOTE] This isn't entirely true. Windows 7 marks cached memory as used memory whereas you would generally see the difference between cached and used memory in a linux variant of a task manager. Right now, if I choose to display cached memory as free, I only see about half of my memory being used, whereas if I don't display it as free, I see nearly the entire bar is filled.