The list of best Lightweight OS, Linux distribution, fast and stable, powerful enough to give life back to your old, low resource laptops and Desktops. Aug 11, 2015. Plug in the USB key and when booting, press F10 or whatever you need to access boot options. It should give you the option to boot from the UEFI-enabled USB key at this point, select that. Zorin OS 9 menu should appear, select to install or boot to live and then install, it makes no difference. Open source operating systems are improving day by day. Ubuntu, CentOS, Linux and its different versions have become the primary choice of IT hardware and software industries. Zorin OS is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution designed especially for newcomers to Linux with ease, functions and features.
My PCs are old, so my criteria would be - - Light on resources - Has good availability of programs (applications) - It does not have to match windows interface 100%, but not be too much of a PIA to learn - Able to access my files/folders in my installed Windows (XP or W7) - Can run from a bootable USB thumb drive Which would best suit the above? Can anyone point me to a good article for placing it on a USB Thumb drive? (Do some of the distro's provide a tool to do that for you?) Rob PS I will place you in my will, if it can have a File Manager the way God intended (Tree on the left, and conents on the right) • or to post comments. Rob - it sounds as if you are in exactly the same situation as I was: using XP and Win7 on old-ish laptops, and wanting a light-on-resources and easy-to-use Linux alternative. I respect MC's recommendations and don't want to start a debate over the 'best' Linux distro (different strokes suit different folks). But I offer a few tips: 1) Some older computers have what are called non-PAE processors.
Google for details. But there are various Linux distros which don't work well with non-PAE processors. You may need to check, as this may limit your range of options; 2) There are some Linux distros specifically designed for smaller less powerful computers/laptops. Puppy Linux is just one example. Skitz Beatz In The Zone Rar Extractor Micasa Jika My Babe Free Download more. here. Very lightweight, but also very basic and so probably not really adequate for most users; 3) One of the main variables in Linux is what is called the Desktop Environment (DE) - basically the package of features which makes up the user-interface and makes the system look and perform the way it does. It's largely a matter of taste as to which DE people prefer, as the layout and appearance on screen can vary quite significantly.
But like the Windows 'Aero' interface, the more fancy the DE (3D effects, wiggly windows, and other visual tricks) the heavier its resource-use and/or the slower it runs on old computers. So it is worth exploring the different DEs offered by different distros.
I'm no expert. But for example, the Cinnamon DE (in Linux Mint) and the KDE one (in PCLinuxOS) are much heavier on resources than the XFCE and MATE versions; 4) Most Linux distros can be installed on a USB thumb drive. One useful source of information on this is. But you don't need any special tools.
With most distros, it's possible simply to follow the installation instructions and choose the thumb drive as the location on which to install. You just have to remember to put the Linux bootloader (GRUB) on to the thumb drive as well (careful: because the default is usually for the Linux bootloader to overwrite and replace the Windows bootloader); 5) My advice would be - read up and research first.
There are lots of good reviews on the internet. I would also add, try the Linux distros that are fairly well-established and long-running, and which have a good user-community and forum (most Linux users are both enthusiastic and helpful). Some distros have a limited shelf-life, a small user community, and flourish for a while then disappear. Some (ArchLinux?) are complicated and mainly for serious geeks. 6) So what about my personal choices? I found Zorin easy to use but a bit gimmicky, and it is still a fairly new distro (with a helpful user forum).