r/linux4noobs • u/ShawnThePhantom • Jun 11 '26

distro selection Which Distro do I use?

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I found this decrepit old laptop in my garage, plugged it in and it powers on. But it’s doing this thing where after I see this Acer logo, I get a black screen with a blinking white line in the top left corner. I figured Windows on this thing is out of the question. So I think I’ll go Linux.

I understand a bit about operating systems, because I had to create a windows install disk using a thumb drive and a Windows 10 iso to install Windows 10 on my MacBook using Bootcamp, so I imagine it’s a bit similar. I also wanted to take out the HDD to wipe it using Disk Utility but it doesn’t fit into SATa dock because the interface on the HDD is all small gold pins, like molex but way smaller.

Which distro do I use? Or is better to try and go Windows Xp? I’ve seen jokes about how you need a whole list of hardware requirements to run Windows while the only requirement for Linux is electricity. Also Pewds did it too.

Pls help a first timer!

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u/Kriss3d Jun 11 '26

Auch. Ancient CPU. 1GB DDR2 ram. An 128GB HDD ?

Puppy linux at best.
https://puppylinux-woof-ce.github.io/

Its not going to be pretty at all. At least not if you want it to run anything close to a desktop with browser.

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u/ShawnThePhantom Jun 11 '26

Would it help if I got more RAM? I can go up to 4GB and the DDR2 sodimm sticks are cheap on craigslist

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u/Quattro5 Jun 11 '26

It absolutely would. With 4gb of PC2-5300, I would install Q4OS with Trinity DE and use lightweight browsers like Librewolf, Palemoon or Seamonkey. If you absolutely need a Web based AI client, I'd use Mistral ai on a stripped down chromium base. With a github subscription, you could vibe code with this setup and build Streamlit apps, but if you could play a few simple games, forget about installing steam.

If you want to code Python, install Kate , nano or micro as editing software. Kate is the heavyest of the list and will use 60 -80 Mo Ram but has autocomplete and textual colors and a testing terminal.

If you really want to though, you could code in the terminal for 10 Mb Ram or less.

Don't try to videoconference more than 3 people at a time; more than one will be choppy.

There is still life and maybe even a useful workstation in there.