cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Which free distro

win7xp
Grafter
Posts: 124
Registered: ‎14-03-2010

Which free distro

Got an acer aspire one netbook sitting here doing nothing.
Toying with the idea of loading linux as it will just be used for surfing.
spec is
1gb ram
Intel atom processor
160gb hard drive
Any recommendations as to which free distro would be best
thanks
8 REPLIES 8
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Which free distro

Try several.
Use those that can run (sluggishly) from CD "a live disk" - these won't touch your disk.
Ubuntu and Mint seem popular. Cheesy

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

HairyMcbiker
All Star
Posts: 6,792
Thanks: 266
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎16-02-2009

Re: Which free distro

With that spec any of them!
What size screen is it? If it is 7-9" I would recommend a nettop version, or the standard with the NBR remix added, if it is a 10" or above then OOB will be fine.
The NBR gives you a large onscreen menu and maximises the apps as they run. Also look at easypeasy (a Ubuntu remix for netbooks)
If you are loading from a M$ OS then download the unetbootin app to create a bootable USB to work from if it doesn't have a cd drive (which I think is the case?) 1Gb or larger required,
MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,575
Thanks: 5,411
Fixes: 385
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Which free distro

@win7xp,
I've had an Aspire One with similar spec ( 9" screen ) running Ubuntu NBR for about 9 months now. As HB says NBR is better on the small screen.  I started off with 9.04 but recently upgraded to 10.04. Performance is excellent , I use mine when away from home for browsing, email etc.
USB 3g dongle support is much improved in 10.04 but there was an issue with Skype and sound.
Shout up if you need more info.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

win7xp
Grafter
Posts: 124
Registered: ‎14-03-2010

Re: Which free distro

Thanks for the advice.
Am downloading NBR later
MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,575
Thanks: 5,411
Fixes: 385
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Which free distro

You'll probably need something like this http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ to make a bootable USB stick from the ISO.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

win7xp
Grafter
Posts: 124
Registered: ‎14-03-2010

Re: Which free distro

have external usb DVD drive and netbook supports boot from this so I should be OK.
any going to format the drive and blow windows off completely
MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,575
Thanks: 5,411
Fixes: 385
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Which free distro

That makes like a bit easier then! although TBH I've not had any problems booting from USB memory sticks.
My AA1 came with Linpus installed but I rapidly decided that Ubuntu NBR was much better.
When you get it all installed you might want to read this http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1424043. the acerhdf fan control module is now part of the standard kernel but you do need to put specify some modprobe parameters for it to work effectively. Its worth it though, the AA1 fan can be a little noisy!.
I ended up having to set up about 8 of these AA1's with UNR in the office, I found an offer on the Linpus one with 120Gb disc and 1Gb memory for £150. When people in the office saw mine with UNR on it many of them went and bought them, course they all wanted me to set them up with UNR instead of Linpus  Roll_eyes
IIRC I also updated the bios on the machines to the most recent ( 3310 I think! )  before I started.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

win7xp
Grafter
Posts: 124
Registered: ‎14-03-2010

Re: Which free distro

Just a quick update
Downloaded any tried them all and have plumped for Mint.
Just seem to like it better than the others.
Running like a dream - fast and reliable
thanks for the advice