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Note that Lubuntu has changed desktop environments from LXDE to LXQt.
So the release notes warn that they do not support upgrading from 18.04 or below. A fresh install will be required.
For old systems, I like Lubuntu. The advantages are:
- Ubuntu based. Which means it has a lot of easy to access software out there. As a normal computer user, if there is something you want to do 9 out of 10 times it’s either already installed or you can download it off the software center.
- Ubuntu based also means that you can easily troubleshoot it. Just Google “Ubuntu 18.04” and your question. You will find an answer.
- In my experience it’s a stable well tested OS. Depending on the hardware you may run into driver issues, but that’s true of any OS install that isn’t the default manufacture OS. Again, Lubuntu will be easy to troubleshoot. And once you have everything running well it remain that way.
- It’s has a lot of similarities to Windows XP and Windows 7. Some differences as well, but nothing that should drive you away.
- Low hardware requirements. If the system has 1 GB of ram or more it should do fine. Even lower than that could still run well enough.
In general, regardless of the flavor of Linux that you go with a couple of other tips:
- Remember to look up tutorials before your first install. Youtube has plenty of tutorials. Amazon has plenty of books. Just make sure that you are using a new-ish tutorial. Nothing older than 2 years.
- You don’t need to use a terminal if you don’t want to. Modern Linux, especially Ubuntu based systems work have great GUI’s just like Windows or Macs. With that being said, the terminal can be very useful and it’s not hard to get a hang of it. Tutorials will help a lot with that.
Windows XP machines should not be connected to the internet.
It has not received security updates in a very long time and Win XP PCs are extremely vulnerable to malware. It doesn't just put your machine and your data at risk, but they are easily targeted to distribute malware to other computers. Connecting a XP machine to the net in 2018 is similar to sending your unvaccinated kid to school with Measles. Please don't!
If it's very old hardware and you want to bring it up to date with a modern OS that is secure, I recommend Lubuntu It's a free Linux distribution based on Ubuntu (an official "flavor" of Ubuntu) and it's designed to be lightweight and works great on old hardware. I recently installed Lubuntu on a XP-era PC with a Pentium 4 and 1GB DDR2 RAM. Firefox comes preinstalled.
From lubuntu.me:
> Lubuntu.net is no longer under the control of the Lubuntu project (we can't say more at this time except that we are in no way affiliated with FOSSASIA) >
Apparently they're not on friendly terms.
Une Debian ou Lubuntu même récente ne devrait pas poser de problème, l'idée c'est surtout de trouver un environnement de bureau suffisamment léger pour tourner correctement (XFCE, LXDE, LXQT...).
Y'a plein de distros orientées "vieux PC" mais c'est basiquement des Debian/Arch ou dérivées donc autant rester sur des trucs connus pour le support.
Si tu pars sur une dérivée d'Ubuntu (Lubuntu par ex), prends une LTS pour le support étendu. Tu peux même tenter la 18.04 si les performances ne sont pas au niveau, même si ça sera globalement la même chose à mon avis.
Pour la prise en main à distance, je fais ça avec Teamviewer ça m'a jamais déçu. On peut l'installer en "client ouvert" pour simplifier la prise en main (juste à retenir un id/mdp, pas besoin d'action de la part de l'utilisateur distant).
Je rajoute qu'un SSD 2.5" peut faire des miracles sur un vieux laptop, pour une somme très réduite.
Well, to be frank, your PC is extremely old and standard Ubuntu just isn't made for machines from that far back. However Lubuntu, as /u/winston_orwell_smith suggested, could probably work reasonably well. It uses a different desktop environment, it's extremely light on RAM and it doesn't require powerful graphics output to run well.
Lubuntu 18.04 will continue with LXDE so there is a very long lifespan of support ahead for Lubuntu with LXDE. The people who want to use hardware from that era can totally use it with the LTS version of Lubuntu.
In my opinion, this will be an upgrade. It will use a small percentage extra for resources but it will still be one of, if not the, lightest distro options.
There is a possibility of Lubuntu keeping the 32 bit option but that depends on the community showing interest and helping out with testing new builds. If you want to help them out to ensure it stays then check out the State of i386 section of one of their recent blog posts.
Depending on the specs of your laptop, and which other games you play on the laptop, consider trying something like Ubuntu with the LXDE desktop. If operating system bloat really is the problem here, you won't be able to de-bloat it any further than that. https://lubuntu.me/downloads/
DotA2 is a native game and you can install steam by opening a terminal (ctrl+alt+t) and just typing "sudo apt install steam-installer"), or by opening the equivalent of a start menu and typing "Discover" which will give you a result for a GUI package manager frontend.
Does your laptop use an AMD or NVIDIA gpu? The Linux nvidia drivers have gotten bad rep but they are a carbon copy of the windows drivers, and the open source radeon drivers are better than the AMD windows drivers thanks to AMDs help.
Yes, it is. You need to go to this site: https://lubuntu.me/
Not sure about the details, but the old .net site seems to have some drama involved. The .me site is the official one.
On the wikipedia page of Lubuntu, lubuntu.me is listed as the official website. Lubuntu Release Manger's comment on the talk page,
"We actually no longer have control of Lubuntu dot net, which is being squatted by FOSSASIA at the moment. We'll redirect net to me when it's sorted." (Source)
This answer goes into more depth and history: askubuntu.com/a/1071325
I tried AntiX some time ago (in a VM), but I struggled to make it work. Actually, you want to go for AntiX Full. It really does have a tiny footprint. There is a price to pay for going so small, though.
You can go for Bodhi Linux, which has a small footprint though not quite as small as AntiX Full. Because it's an Ubuntu derivative, you get more flexibility than AntiX Full.
If you want to go for an official Ubuntu derivative, you'll need Lubuntu, but even Lubuntu might be a bit too much for your netbook.
I would just mess around with homebrew and learn how to install a GNU userland with it... but, well that's me.
VMs are relatively straightforward to set up and probably fine for command line stuff. In fact, you could even just SSH into it from your Terminal on the OS X machine. So yeah, probably fine.
I would try installing this in the VM: https://lubuntu.me/
But well, see how it goes. There are guides specifically tailored to getting Linux to work in a VM, so maybe they'll suggest something else
Np. But since you have to download an ISO from the Library (and I'm sure their speeds aren't fast or there might be a download cap), I made a comparison for you of the latest lightweight distros and their filesize:
​
| Distro: | Size: |
|---|---|
| SparkyLinux 4.8.1 LXDE | 1.29 GB |
| Lubuntu 18.10 | 1.4 GB |
| Arch Linux 2018.11.01 | 586 MB |
Please upvote respones that you found useful
> 18.04 LTS requires a 2.0Ghz processor. Mine is an older celeron 1.4 (or 1.7). > >
You know they just say that, right? Those aren't aren't hard restrictions just guidelines. If it boots and installs okay then you're probably good to go.
> Tried 18.04 at first, but it would slow down to a halt every once in a while. 16.04 didn't.
Which version? Ubuntu proper would probably do that to you because it's well known the GNOME isn't exactly very good with resource usage. The best flavour you can probably get is Lubuntu because for now they're still using GTK2. This has significantly less memory usage than GTK3 desktops.
Firstly, Lubuntu 18.04 LTS is EOL (end-of-life) so you're now using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS with LXDE in my opinion.
Refer - https://lubuntu.me/bionic-eol/ & https://fridge.ubuntu.com/2020/08/14/ubuntu-18-04-5-lts-released/
You can confirm with ubuntu-support-status to view the packages that are still supported (ie. those used by Ubuntu) and those unsupported (the Lubuntu packages).
Installed programs don't use RAM when not in use; so removing them won't help with lack of RAM.
Most important is using libraries/toolkits that are common between the programs that are running (ie. sharing the limited RAM). You also need to consider what the desktop itself requires.
I actually use x86 devices that still have 1GB of RAM (inc. a Ubuntu 18.04 LTS with LXDE, XFCE & more installed), but I'll pick the desktop I login with by what I'll be doing on it during that session (ie. Xfce in bionic is a mixture of GTK3 & GTK2 so can be better with GTK3 apps than LXDE which is GTK2; so what apps will I use).
I don't care about disk space used - it's RAM I worry about; where it's the toolkits & libraries that need to be shared between the running program & desktop (thus I don't care that I'm wasting disk space on my old thinkpads by having full xubuntu-desktop, lubuntu-desktop & more installed...)
Removing packages you don't use won't really help with RAM (just reduce the disk space being used).
By the way, you can go directly to the blog posting here:
https://lubuntu.me/focal-3-released/
There's no commenting there or anything, so if you want the devs to see any comments you're better off on the forum.
As you have nothing else on the computer, I'd go for a full-disk installation.
Be sure to get your Lubuntu from the official website: https://lubuntu.me (if you search for Lubuntu, the top result is an unofficial website with outdated and unapproved software).
I suggest Lubuntu as a better alternative to Xubuntu or Mint. Like Xubuntu, it's an official Ubuntu derivative (Mint is a popular unofficial derivative), but it's lighter, specifically designed for low-spec computers.
Hi,
If you're doing a fresh install of Lubuntu, get the ISO image again from https://lubuntu.me/ and make a bootable pen drive.
If the problem occurs again, use another Pen Drive as the one you're using might be having issues.
​
Thanks
Nope 18.04 is supported until 2023
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BionicBeaver/ReleaseNotes
https://lubuntu.me/bionic-5-released/
https://lubuntu.net/downloads/
Support lifespan
"The 'main' archive of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS will be supported for 5 years until April 2023. Ubuntu 18.04 LTS will be supported for 5 years for Ubuntu Desktop, Ubuntu Server, and Ubuntu Core."
yes!
So, VM will be the easiest option—I recommend VirtualBox. It will be really clunky at first, until you install “VirtualBox guest additions” on your Linux VirtualBox, then things will get a lot smoother.
I recommend you install Ubuntu. Not only is it one of the easiest distributions, but also one of most software-compatible ones.
The distribution doesn’t affect how the operating system looks, though. It’s just the internals. If you install Ubuntu with defaults, it comes with a Gnome desktop, which is pretty resource intensive.
You can install any desktop manager you’d like, but Ubuntu makes it really easy by giving some pre-configured ones set up by default. The lightest one is LUbuntu, see here: https://lubuntu.me.
Install that one.
VM will be good to practice, and eventually you may choose to install Linux as your primary OS. I generally don’t recommend dual booting.
Head over to /r/linuxfornoobs if you need help, or PM me! (:
PS. Like the other poster above, I also recommend the windows subsystem! It works well for most learning situations.
From the original article:
> we will no longer provide minimum system requirements
That's the part that worries me, not their plan of dropping support for systems older than a decade.
give Lubuntu a try. It's got all the same packages as normal Ubuntu but it uses a different low resource desktop and will run perfectly on your machine!
https://lubuntu.me/ (official website with download link)
Yeah, changing desktop environments in Ubuntu has caused countless little issues and headaches for me, nothing severe though. I also always recommend getting a tailored flavor if you don't like Gnome, my favorite being Lubuntu for simplicity and performance.
I've done this for several friends and family over the years when their computers didn't work any more on Windows. It works well. Every single person picked it up fast.
For a modern computer, I use Ubuntu, because of how it's designed and for its level support. For an older computer, I use Lubuntu, because it's specifically designed to work well on older computers, and (being an official derivative of Ubuntu) has the same level of support.
As another poster said, be sure to enable automatic updates (not just security updates).
Ubuntu 16.04 reached the end of it's <em>standard</em> support some time ago so I hope you're using the system off-line. Yes ESM support is available; but LXDE/Lubuntu isn't included in that support option.
I'd have opted to use a Lubuntu 18.04 system, which whilst technically EOL as well (for Lubuntu); at least parts of the system still get security fixes applied. FYI: Users have reported the t41 runs fine with 18.04 using the GA kernel
Thanks. I have installed a newer version after discovering lubuntu.net is not the correct site and lubuntu.me is the correct one.
Also I did reinstall 18.4 multiple time and did not work.
I am now having another problem that is completely unrelated.
Right. Some time ago, to prevent exactly this kind of situation, I suggested the mods to add a link to the official web site https://lubuntu.me/ prominently under the "About Community" block in the right hand side.
As you discovered, if you search for lubuntu in DDG, the first result is a web site with the title "lubuntu - lightweight, fast, easier" which is NOT the official web site.
The lightest official derivative of Ubuntu is Lubuntu. I would recommend that, as it's saved many an old laptop and desktop for me, my family and my friends.
Special note: Don't search for Lubuntu, because the top result is an unofficial website with outdated and unapproved software. Use this link for the official website:
A thought about your choice of distribution…
It sounds as though you're using fairly old technology, i.e. a low-spec computer. Ubuntu doesn't work well with low-spec hardware.
However, Lubuntu — an official derivative of Ubuntu — specialises in low-spec technology. So, if you are using a low-spec computer for your Linux box, choose Lubuntu rather than Ubuntu.
Special note: If you search for Lubuntu, the top result is an unofficial website with outdated and unapproved software. Use this link for the official website:
How much RAM do you have? I believe that it's only 3Gb, am I right?
To work reasonably well, Ubuntu needs at least 4Gb, preferably more. For less than that, you need a lighter distribution.
With a mere 3Gb available, you need the lightest decent distro available.
I recommend Lubuntu, the lightest of the official Ubuntu derivatives. It's not as pretty as Ubuntu, but it's a solid, competent and reliable distro that has saved many of my desktops and laptops over the years.
(Be sure to use the link that I've given you, because when you search for Lubuntu, a renegade website with outdated and unapproved software shows up at the top of the results.)
You can find even lighter distros (e.g. Bodhi Linux, an unofficial Ubuntu derivative), but with Lubuntu, you get the same software and the same support as you do with Ubuntu.
I can't guarantee that this will solve your problem, but I recommend that you try.
Lubuntu from lubuntu.me
xubuntu
zorin OS (lite recommended but the standard one will do)
or lastly, arch… literally the most customisable and if nothing else works for you, this will. i have been distro hopping on hardware less powerful than yours so if these don’t work I don’t know what will
Actually it was an ISO (20.04) downloaded from lubuntu.me ; The same boot usb drive was used in other old laptop and it didn't get similar error messages...
But this "lubuntu[dot]net" almost got me when I searched for the ISO!
Thanks!
Have you tried something else beside Rufus, and did you check hash of iso, just in case something downloaded wrong?
Also did you download image from lubuntu.net or lubuntu.me? As Lubuntu.me is official page. Looking in https://lubuntu.me/downloads/ at bottom I found link for your 18.04.5 image.
https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/18.04.5/release/
Try it might be really slow with your ram but give it a shot.
https://distrowatch.com/table-mobile.php?distribution=mx
You want this it’s number one distro or
https://lubuntu.me/ 21.04 ver just came out it’s quick and modern and best support
Personally, I'd go with Ubuntu because it's designed for beginners and non-technical people.
Mint is based on Ubuntu, but it's not an official Ubuntu flavour. However, it is popular.
As you have low RAM, I suggest that you look at Lubuntu. It's an official Ubuntu flavour specifically designed for lower-spec computers. I've used both Ubuntu and Lubuntu extensively, and I've been happy with both.
Be aware that the official website for Lubuntu is https://lubuntu.me/ The other website that comes high in the search rankings isn't official, is out of date, and isn't controlled by the Lubuntu team.
Lubuntu should update with no problems. They're still making updates and keeping it current. Is there some problem where it's not working properly? https://lubuntu.me/
If you must change the OS then I'd suggest Kubuntu or Xubuntu. Either will have the familiar start menu, taskbar, system tray and traditional desktop setup they're familiar with from Lubuntu. Possibly consider the LTR version. The software Discovery app will send a desktop notification when updates are available. You could setup NoMachine or Teamviewer to allow you to access it in case they need tech support from you and you aren't nearby.
The reason for the change to LXQT was that the lead (sole?) developer of LXDE did not like the GTK3 license and decided to switch to the QT framework. For a while both were co-developed but LXDE has been out of active development for several years. The Lubuntu team explained their decision on the Lubuntu.me website. My hats are off to them for the work they do, however at this time it is not the best distro for me.
The beauty of Linux is the freedom to tinker or to chose. A couple of my PCs still run Lubuntu but my main PCs no longer host it. I am loyal to Debian forks strictly out of familiarity. I value practicality and prefer feature stable OSes over cutting edge releases. I want a consistent user experience over anything else and LXQT isn't providing that at this time.
I found links in your comment that were not hyperlinked:
I did the honors for you.
^delete ^| ^information ^| ^<3
>lubuntu.me
https://lubuntu.me Just want to make sure an actual hyperlink is listed. The other site is linked to here; I don't want the Google crawler seeing it and giving it another promotion.
the latest LTS is 20.04 - It just came out this (or last) week i thought..
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases
Unless there was a delay and I missed it...
NOW... the special variants of Ubuntu ( such as Lubuntu, Kubuntu, xubuntu) ISO files May come out a bit later.
But really you should be able to do a release upgrade - since those variants are just Ubuntu-Gnome+SomeOtherWM and a few things...
shows a 20.04 LTS release download.
Non-LTS releases go EOL like 6 months after release, when the next release comes out. So 19.04 basically became EOL when 19.10 came out, and then a few months later, the servers for 19.04 went dark. (i think i got that right)
So... the thing is to either stick to LTS - and go LTS to LTS upgrades.. or use Non-LTS and upgrade to each new release as it comes out.
Do NOT wait until the thing hits EOL+a few Months and wonder why things break. :) I have basically seen this exact question 'why is my old release all now 404' when trying to install stuff.. kind of question several times, they seem to pop up with each new release when the server names get moved over.
Are you sure it’s 19.04? It doesn't seem to be available in a 32-bit since they decided to drop support for 32-bit a while back.
18.04 and 18.10 seem to have 32-bit versions though. Since there won't be any more 32-bit versions, 18.04 seems to be the wisest option as it's the LTS one.
You installed mainline Ubuntu which is a great OS but a little taxing for the ultra-low-power processor from 2016 that is in the Atomic Pi. The pre-installed OS is an official Ubuntu flavor called Lubuntu, and the latest version with its new desktop environment (19.04) is pretty slick. You note a few performance issues, like Firefox, and I believe that if you install Lubuntu again rather than full-fat Ubuntu, you'll have a much better time.
Note: the ONLY official Lubuntu website is https://lubuntu.me. You'll probably see a lot of references to Lubuntu.net, which is NOT official. Like every open source project, there's a history of drama there...
Note: Ubuntu 18.04, the current long-term support (LTS) release, does not offer a Desktop version for 32-bit architectures (i386, i486, i586). Downstream distributions such as Xubuntu and Lubuntu still offer 18.04LTS for the i386 architecture. However:
>After careful consideration, we regret to inform our users that Lubuntu 19.04 and future versions will not see a release for the i386 architecture. Please do note that we will continue to support Lubuntu 18.04 LTS i386 users as a first-class citizen until its End of Life date in April of 2021.
Source: Lubuntu - Sunsetting i386, Dec. 2018.
I don't have a source handy, but from poking around on reddit and DuckDuckGo, it looks like the same is true of Xubuntu.
That has led me to pursue other options. It appears that Debian, the upstream distro from Ubuntu, has no intention of dropping i386 support any time soon: discussion in rdebian from Feb. 2019. So, my plan is to install Debian (probably Testing but maybe Stable) and install a lightweight desktop environment like XFCE of LXDE.
I guess... Lubuntu 18.04 LTS (18.04.1 now), which still uses LXDE. With the 18.10 version it uses LXQt which uses more resources. Get it from here: https://lubuntu.me/downloads/.
Might have better luck with a version of Lubuntu (https://lubuntu.me) which would be current software but can run on G4 hardware.
Check out this article - https://www.macobserver.com/tips/deep-dive/revive-powerpc-mac-running-linux/
Install Linux for real. WUBI is a discontinue option, for a reason.
So download Lubuntu ISO. Burn to USB, VM, or actually install on physical hard drive. Then you'll meet the real Linux.
Tiene su curva de aprendizaje, y hay muchas distribuciones diferentes. Una vez instalado, el entorno gráfico es muy parecido, y los equipos van más desahogados. Yo tengo un ultraportatil viejo, que con Windows estaría ya fuera de juego. Le instalé lubuntu, la versión LTS: https://lubuntu.me/downloads/ Va como un tiro.
I'd also check you were on the official site; ie. I see no reference to x86/32-bit on https://lubuntu.me/downloads/ which is the official site.
(though if you follow links to previous releases you'll find them too; but they are unsupported)
Pop OS is based on Ubuntu. So, why not try the official Ubuntu derivative that's specifically designed for low-spec computers, Lubuntu?
The official website: https://lubuntu.me/
I recommend using the LTS version, which is 20.04. The next LTS will be 22.04.
Pop 0S is based on Ubuntu. So, let's stick with an Ubuntu derivative.
If you want a lightweight version, I suggest the official derivative, Lubuntu, which is designed specifically for low-spec computers.
Be sure to use the official website: https://lubuntu.me/
Don't use the website that comes at the top of an internet search, because it's an unofficial, unapproved site with questionable software.
Stick to the LTS version, currently 20.04. The next one will be 22.04; the computer will automatically recommend an upgrade in time (not as soon as 22.04 is released).
Be sure to help your friend implement a backup routine.
Are you wanting to replace Mint with Lubuntu?
If so, all that you need to do is install Lubuntu over Mint (make sure to back up your data first!).
The default swap mechanism for Ubuntu and its derivatives is to use a swap file instead of a swap partition, so don't worry about unmounting swap.
You can safely delete the swap partition. I don't even know why the instructions mention it in the first place. Are you sure that you're on the official website and not the unapproved one?
For older hardware, I always recommend Lubuntu, an official derivative of Ubuntu that's specifically designed for low-spec computers. It's saved many computers of mine, my family and my friends.
It's a good distro, because it has the backing of Canonical (who creates Ubuntu), plus the full support that comes with Ubuntu. It's the lightest of the official Ubuntu derivatives.
If you wish to try it out, use the official website:
https://lubuntu.me/
(The top site on an internet search is an unofficial, unapproved website with software of doubtful origin.)
Another poster mentioned Bodhi Linux. It's an unofficial derivative of Ubuntu, and it does work, and is even lighter than Lubuntu, but it's not as complete.
I'm wondering why you are restricting yourself to just those two distributions?
They are both Ubuntu-based (albeit unofficial derivatives), so have you considered other Ubuntu derivatives?
My recommendation for old hardware is Lubuntu, an official Ubuntu derivative specialising in running well on older hardware. I think that you should try it as an experiment.
Warning: If you try Lubuntu, use the link that I've given you, because the top search result for Lubuntu gives an unofficial, unapproved site with outdated and unapproved software (which cannot be guaranteed free of malware).
Lubuntu 18.04 LTS is EOL as are all flavors are with regards the teams that created them.
Refer - https://lubuntu.me/bionic-eol/
The last bionic release was 18.04.6 with a notice here https://fridge.ubuntu.com/2021/09/17/ubuntu-18-04-6-lts-released/ where you'll note no mention of flavors like Lubuntu is mentioned, because they were all EOL & thus did not participate. If your machine is fully patched, you won't thus be able to boot a Lubuntu 18.04.5 LTS media (as keys on it are expired), which was the reason for the need to re-create 18.04.6 media. If your system isn't fully patched (eg. i386) or doesn't have secure uEFI enabled it likely won't matter.
Lubuntu 18.04 LTS is mentioned here - https://discourse.lubuntu.me/t/lubuntu-18-04-lts-end-of-life-30-april-2021/2466 and I'd suggest reading it.
Also take note of the ubuntu-support-status command as that will let you see how much of the system is still supported and thus receives security patches & fixes, and what components of Lubuntu 18.04 LTS & EOL & thus get none.
With this knowledge you can assess for yourself how or if you'll use it, as only you'll know how much security matters to you. For many packages; replacing them with snap packages maybe an option to increase security (ie. with 16.04 ESM you'll find that notice too; as many deb packages included with 16.04 LTS are now EOL and support is now only via snap packages), but that's not required for 'main' packages for 18.04 yet (only 'universe').
A Lubuntu 18.04 LTS install I consider a Ubuntu 18.04 LTS with LXDE desktop, given Lubuntu 18.04 is EOL. Yes it's supported; but not all of is. If you're using i386 and thus it's the last supported release; it's your only choice (outside of switching to Debian) and I use it that way, but I'd not use it for a amd64 machine that is going to be used online.
Yes, your CPU and RAM are adequate to run Ubuntu.
You may like to try out Lubuntu 20.04 as it is quite lightweight and would run quite fast with those type of specs.
Suggest you make a bootable copy on a USB flash drive. You may then boot up into the flash drive and test drive your hardware without installation on your PC.
This link contains the resources for download as well as a detailed manual for Lubuntu.
I'd agree here, though some issues with floppy installs were noted in recent installs so ensure a floppy isn't inserted when you start the installer (bug report here or filed upstream here so as always, read the release notes on issues.
The OP didn't provide any specs; but floppy drives were still installed the first 3-4 years of amd64 desktops meaning you maybe able to run current releases; but pre-2004 & desktop it maybe i386 only (late-2005 for laptops).
(my comment added here as Lubuntu specific; but recent releases of Lubuntu will use floppies; floppy testing isn't as thorough as few people use it)
Would suggest Lubuntu for a low end system. It will work fine with 4GB RAM. And it will at least install on 16 GB storage (leaving a few GB of free storage space.)
Laptops/notebooks tend to have compatibility issues due to specific components as observed from numerous posts on this sub. So do not install straight away but test your Chromebook from a bootable USB drive as indicated below.
A) Suggest you download the Lubuntu 20.04.03 LTS version from the official link here.
B) You should plan to make a bootable copy on a USB flash drive.
c) You may then boot into the USB drive and 'test drive' Lubuntu from the USB drive before you install on the laptop.
D) Please check if it can boot up, the LAN connection, WiFi connection, touchpad and mouse and audio at the very least several times. It is better to spend about a week booking from the USB alone, testing everything carefully and getting familiar with the basics before carrying out a full install on the laptops hard drive. That will spare you from a lot of painful mess ups if things don't work.
e) Please read the helpful Lubuntu manual for detailed installation from the same website.
Good luck and hope everything works on your Chromebook.
It's hard to say, because it's a personal decision. However, Ubuntu was created specifically as "Linux for humans." This meant that it was designed to be simple to use, so it's great for beginners.
Ubuntu also has a great support system: A friendly forum, and a no-nonsense Q&A (hosted on Stack Exchange). (There's also paid support, but it's really for businesses.)
If your computer has limited resources, try the official Ubuntu flavour for older computers, Lubuntu.
Have fun!
FYI: Lubuntu 18.04 LTS is EOL; see
- https://lubuntu.me/bionic-eol/
- https://discourse.lubuntu.me/t/lubuntu-18-04-lts-end-of-life-30-april-2021/2466
The second is provided as it includes some talk about ubuntu-support-status which lets you see how much of your system is still supported; how much is not - thus you can access the security impacts of your own not-fully-supported system. It may not be that useful given your system appears not to boot, but if you get it booting it's still worth checking out if your machine will be on networks or online.
I doubt you'll have bricked your machine; I'd boot live media and confirm that.
You weren't specific as to what Lubuntu 18.04 LTS media you used to install (Lubuntu created & releases seven ISOs of Lubuntu 18.04 media during the 18.04 cycle; some may perform better than others on your hardware as two kernel stack choices are offered by all Ubuntu LTS and you didn't specify which you chose to use; selected by the ISO used to install).
A quick look online tells me you box is an Atom N450; which I believe is <em>amd64</em> capable thus a fully-supported releases should work; I used a Atom N270 in QA-testing Lubuntu releases up to 19.04, thus is limited to 18.04 now; but you don't appear to have that limitation.
Yes, it should work, but most (all?) of the Flavours switched from 5-year to 3-year LTS Support (in your case: https://lubuntu.me/bionic-eol/). However, the underlying Ubuntu base should still get updates for the full five-year term. So, while critical security bugs will be fixed in the base, they will not be fixed for your DE or DE-specific software.
Just as a recommendation for someone who has zero linux experience, don't start with Arch. If you want an arch base go with EndeavourOS which will do the install work for you, or try out using the archinstall script in a VM. If you're willing to take on the challenge of starting your linux journey with vanilla arch then more power to you but I think most linux users would agree that that probably isn't the best idea. Personally I recommend Lubuntu for low-end machines.
There is no "should" about it; just do what works best for you.
Reading others' comments indicates that you'll struggle to get native Linux to work. You really have only two options.
- Get a new computer.
If you have the budget to do so, sell the Surface and get a new computer from a company that explicitly supports Linux, such as Dell or System76.
- Use a VM.
I run Linux Ubuntu (on a Dell machine). For the rare times when I need Windows, I run Windows in a virtual machine.
You could do the same but in reverse, i.e. run Linux in a VM on your Windows machine. The only downside is that less RAM is available to you, so you'd need a lightweight distro such as Lubuntu (please be sure to use the official Lubuntu website).
Good luck!
Lubuntu 18.04 LTS was the end of the road with regards LXDE/Lubuntu.
If you scan release notes for later releases you'll see warnings like
> Note, due to the extensive changes required for the shift in desktop environments, the Lubuntu team does not support upgrading from 18.04 or below to any greater release. Doing so will result in a broken system. If you are on 18.04 or below and would like to upgrade, please do a fresh install.
Yes your Ubuntu base will upgrade your system, and you may end up with LXDE & LXQt, but you'll have a number of issues that the Lubuntu team documented (they even wrote documentation on resolving some of the issues before the decision was made that it was unsupported as issues varied on what package(s) users had added to their systems). Much of that documention is now harder to find as Lubuntu/LXDE has been unsupported for some time.
The Lubuntu installer (all Ubuntu desktop flavors do technically) does allow for a re-install & have it auto-reinstall packages where they are found in Ubuntu repositories for your new release, and some details maybe found on this page https://discourse.lubuntu.me/t/testing-checklist-understanding-the-testcases/2743 (see the "Installing with existing partition" testcase summary), but I no longer remember the pitfalls from bionic to focal as that was too long ago, with much of the knowledge gained during 2018 (ie. 18.04 to 18.10; given it was deemed unsupported prior to 20.04 so testing of it was far less, but that was still >18 months ago!)
Your stripping out base applications just likely makes it harder (it may help too in some cases!), but either way it's outside of what was QA (Quality Assurance) tested so QA-test it yourself in a VM to see the effects, what are the best alternatives etc.. ie. the various alternatives the Lubuntu team explore going from LXDE to LXQt for users long ago.
It's unclear what you're asking.
You've not provided any release details, Lubuntu has been using LXQt for the last 7+ releases so Qt5 is of course installed, but it's the runtime libraries & not dev libraries used for compilation. But without clear details I really don't know what you're asking.
If you're after support I'll provide https://lubuntu.me/links/ or for Ubuntu support which can be helpful too https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/community-support/709 but I'd suggest being clear with details.
Granted, I use DuckDuckGo not google. But Lubuntu.me, balena.io and brave.com are the top results for me.
My advise for noobs would be if you are looking for the official links to a distro's website and you aren't sure. Go to it's distrowatch page and get it from there.
Also, no matter where you get the link from you should use your head and verify the website is legit. Wikipedia isn't free from human error or malice either.
Ubuntu uses the year format releases for snap only products, such as Ubuntu Core 16.
Lubuntu is a desktop release based on deb packages; thus is year.month in format; eg. the latest is Lubuntu 21.10 or the 2021-October release.
There is no Lubuntu 16, and the oldest supported release of Lubuntu is actually Lubuntu 20.04 LTS (see here). Being a flavor only 3 years of support are offered for LTS releases; though packages that are common with main Ubuntu (which has 5 years of support) will still receive upgrades & security fixes; but only those. You can use ubuntu-support-status to confirm for your own install, however do note even Ubuntu 16.04 LTS reached end of <em>standard</em> support months ago.
If your hardware is i386 only; the last supported release was Lubuntu 18.04 LTS, which still receives some updates/security-fixes for the packages that were common with main Ubuntu LTS.
Suggest you:
A) Create a bootable ISO of the current Lubuntu 20.04.3 LTS on a USB stick from here.
B) Test drive the new edition BEFORE installing on laptop by booting into the USB drive. Especially keyboard, Wifi, Ethernet, Touchpad and Audio.
C) If test drive works well then backup your data files.
D) Perform a fresh install from the USB ...DO NOT update as this is not recommended.
Please also read the helpful Lubuntu manual found here.
​
There have been many changes and improvements on Lubuntu and default applications since 2017.
A couple of weeks test drive using the bootable USB stick will familiarize you with the current LTS version and make sure your laptop's hardware works as intended.
You need to do a fresh install. Lubuntu doesn’t support upgrades for anything older than 2018.
Modern Lubuntu still might be light enough for you. If not, you can install Debian with LDXE.
You do realize Lubuntu 20.04 LTS is the oldest supported release of Lubuntu. Refer https://lubuntu.me/bionic-eol/ or https://discourse.lubuntu.me/t/lubuntu-18-04-lts-end-of-life-30-april-2021/2466
You can use ubuntu-support-status to see the packages which are still fully supported and receive security patches on your actual installed system, and those which don't (all LTS flavors of Ubuntu come with three years of support with packages from 'universe' or a repository that doesn't have a 5 year support guarantee)
As others have noted. https://lubuntu.me is the up-to-date website. The old https://lubuntu.net is no longer updated, and subject to some sort of issue between the current maintainers and the project founder:
You are aware that Lubuntu 20.04 LTS is the oldest supported release of Lubuntu (3 years is the LTS support life) - see https://lubuntu.me/bionic-eol/ for Lubuntu but it applies to all flavors (except Ubuntu Studio 18.04 which wasn't a LTS; it's support was via PPA which has been removed)
I actually used pentium M, pentium D, pentium 4, even old celerons for QA-testing releases up to Lubuntu 19.04 (until i386 ISO were no longer available) which included
asus eepc 1000HE (intel atom n270, 1gb, intel mobile 945gse integrated), wireless RT2790
and Lubuntu 18.04 LTS performed as well as say Debian did (actually on the lowest powered device; a 2003 celeron, Lubuntu 18.04 LTS actually outperformed Debian (10) Buster rather easily which surprised me; I was interested in why, alas not enough to work out what Debian was struggling with on that box; as it wasn't fun to use).
There are tweaks you can perform; but like everything, there are pros & cons to everything.
Ensure you're using apps that share resources with the desktop (otherwise switching desktop maybe better); ie. police how you use the machine for efficient use of it.
FYI: I still use pentium M laptops (the eepc too if I need a portable with longer battery life), and that includes with Lubuntu 18.04 LTS; it can stream fine at resolutions higher than you suggested (it's better on some GPUs than others though without a fair configuration/tweaksl but that's a kernel [module] thing and not Ubuntu/Lubuntu specific). Lubuntu 18.04 LTS was available with two kernels stacks (as applies to all Ubuntu releases); I have two devices that are great with the GA stack but didn't perform with HWE once it reached 5.4; and I've seen 8+ others confirm the same issue (with same brand, some same models; others different but same vintage) so you may need different setups for specific devices, but most will use either (6 other devices are equally great with either).
Neither LXDE or LXQt are supported any longer in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (all flavors are EOL in 18.04 including Lubuntu) however LXQt in 18.04 was not a LTS so it's support ended after 9 months (ie. 2019-January; like Ubuntu Studio 18.04 which wasn't a LTS; though Ubuntu Studio had extended support). LXDE support ended in 2021-April so contains more security patches.
Yes you can, but I'd be asking whether it's a good thing.
That applies to LXDE releases (which are now EOL)[https://lubuntu.me/bionic-eol/] and not later releases. No alternate installer was provided for modern/supported releases of Lubuntu
The Ubuntu netboot installer can be used; then added using lubuntu-desktop using --no-install-recommends as documented on Lubuntu discourse/forum, but that doesn't exist for all releases either as the minimal/netboot installer was never officially supported [by Ubuntu], being produced as a by-product of a build process that is no longer used.
Virtualbox lets you allocate the resources you want core/s memory, etc. Something like Linux Mint XFCE will not need much to run a VPN and torrent. If you are really resource starved, there is Lubuntu. Virtualbox has a function that lets you share folders between the virtual machine and the desktop running it. It will require some work, but its doable and Linux Mint/Lubuntu has plenty of community guides and works with most of the Ubuntu software and setup instructions too.
I too don't know the release you're asking about; as it looks like a no longer supported release.
If this is a really old x86 only laptop & you're trying to install an unsupported release (such as 18.04), I'd suggest you use an ISO using the GA kernel (ie. 18.04 or 18.04.1 media) assuming you're trying to use/install the no longer supported Lubuntu 18.04.
I had two IBM thinkpads from 2004 that didn't like the HWE kernel of 5.4 (ie. 18.04.5) but were great when used with the GA kernel. But you've not provided any release details; and the picture isn't clear, so this response is mostly based on guess & what I recall from not recent QA-testing (~August 2020)
If it's 18.04, please refer
- https://lubuntu.me/bionic-eol/
- https://fridge.ubuntu.com/2020/08/14/ubuntu-18-04-5-lts-released/
where you're now using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS with LXDE in my opinion. You can use ubuntu-support-status to confirm on your actual box and see what is still supported (security wise) and what isn't.
You should try downloading Lubuntu from a Ubuntu or Lubuntu site.
If you use ubuntu.com in searching you'll go to https://ubuntu.com/download/flavours which will send you to the official Lubuntu site.
If you use google or search engine, you'll get various results depending on the language you use to search; these include - fan site(s) - official site - fake site(s)
Yes you'll get the official result, but you need to pick it.
If you're using certain browser extensions; you'll maybe warned you're going to a fake site, but only if that certain extensions are used.
You didn't try using a Ubuntu or Lubuntu site; thankfully a fan site that wasn't offering fake ISOs for download; as it sent you to the official cdimage.ubuntu.com for download (but it's links were wrong as it's link was >12 months out-of-date (19.10 is well EOL, as is 20.10 which is a year newer)
I'd suggest ensuring you go to correct web sites before downloading software.
Suggest you try a lightweight distro such as Lubuntu (20.04.02 LTS version). Its best to burn an ISO to a USB drive first rather than a direct install.
You may then test drive Lubuntu by booting up from USB drive without
installing it on your computer's hard drive.
This will give you a fairly safe way to check for hardware related compatibilities and
familiarize yourself the the OS and the main applications.
The links below are helpful resources for Lubuntu, downloads, and a manual.
https://manual.lubuntu.me/stable/
Give the test drive a try for at least 3 weeks or so to give you time to
check all your hardware. You may install it if you find no issues.
Can you give some more info:
- Did you actually install lubuntu on your hard drive or did you just put the iso on a bootable drive, and open the live environment?
2. What do you want to do? Do want to install Lubuntu only, that way you wipe the entire hard drive and the only OS you have is lubuntu or do you want to dual boot, that way you will be able to choose which OS you want to start(Windows or Lubuntu) every time your PC starts?
^(The official lubuntu website is) ^(lubuntu.me) ^(NOT lubuntu.net.)
With only 2Gb, you need a light distro. If Ubuntu works well on it (that surprises me, because Ubuntu really wants 4Gb or more), you might want to go for an official Ubuntu derivative. The lightest Ubuntu derivative is Lubuntu. However, it definitely doesn't look like MacOS.
Lubuntu 20.10 is EOL - please see https://lubuntu.me/lubuntu-20-10-end-of-life-and-current-support-statuses/
(20.10 = 2020.October, with 9 months of supported life).
Regarding Lubuntu, u/Thelongjohn000 , the website is Lubuntu.me (there was some sort of a split, andI assume you visited the old website). Last version was 21.04 released on 22 of April this year. Which ever ubuntu variant you end up choosing better go with the last LTS one (Long Term Support) so 20.04.2 LTS ( code name Focal Fossa).
I suspect that you found Lubuntu through an internet search. I should have warned you about this. The top result is an unofficial website with outdated and unapproved software. Please don't download software from it.
Here is the correct official website:
They have asked the owner of the other website to take it down, but he has refused to do so.
Try Lubuntu instead of Ubuntu (it's the most out of the box option that has chance of working) it is pretty good for these kinds of situations. Also, use Lubuntu.me not Lubuntu.com. If Lubuntu live ISO is also too much for the laptop, try out some of the other, more high effort solutions on this thread.
Most Windows users have similar questions as yours. Linux and Windows each have their own strengths and quirks.
You may like to try a few simple things to get a feel of things first-hand.
One way to do so is to download Lubuntu, ( a lightweight distribution of Ubuntu Linux) from the link below and install it on a USB drive. It would be preferable to download version 20.04.2 as that is the current Long Term version.
The second link below contains a helpful guide to get started.
https://manual.lubuntu.me/stable/
You may now boot up from the USB drive and test drive Lubuntu without a full installation on your computers hard drive. This will let you get used to the look and feel of Lubuntu and some applications without messing up your existing installation.
There are other distros just as good - each with their own strengths. I've suggested Lubuntu mainly because it is lightweight, and can run pretty fast on older machines too.
I used Windows (XP and especially Win 7) extensively and liked both. But I've used Linux especially Lubuntu for the past eight years and enjoy learning and using it.
Well, I always go for Ubuntu, because I deal with people (including myself!) who want a system designed for non-technical people, and because it has a friendly and helpful community as well as a Stack Exchange Q&A.
For a low-spec computer, I advise the lightest official Ubuntu derivative, Lubuntu. (If you choose Lubuntu, use the link that I gave you, because a renegade website with unapproved downloads comes top of the search list.)
A lot of Redditors recommend unofficial Ubuntu derivatives such as Mint and Pop OS. I avoid them simply because they don't have the same support systems (for example, they depend entirely on volunteers, whereas official Ubuntu derivatives have Canonical's support); but, that's my personal preference, and one that you are certainly welcome to disagree with.
If you want to move away from a Debian distro, you can go for something like Fedora or Arch. I've never tried a non-Debian distro, but they are popular. Bear in mind that Arch is not for the faint-hearted.
Whichever distro you choose, have fun!
Where are you seeing this? The last blog post is from 2019 and the latest download is 19.04.
I really loved this distro. If you could let me know where you see the newer versions that would make me pretty happy.
Edit
I found it. After finding the first URL I just assumed that was it.
I wonder why there are two?
You're using the wrong site - `lubuntu.net` is NOT the Lubuntu site, and `lubuntu.net` points to outdated releases.
Refer to https://www.reddit.com/r/Lubuntu/comments/nubhx7/lubuntunet_is_not_the_official_site/ - go to our actual site, lubuntu.me, and get the download links from there.
If you're willing to give it another try, try installing TLP as well. It's meant to help with power saving mainly for laptops. For me, it worked really well, went from estimated idle 7 hours to 11-12 hours. In real world usage, I also felt a pretty great boost in battery life.
Install TLP with sudo apt install tlp
The usual limitation for something like this is RAM, and you have enough RAM.
However, Ubuntu is a pretty heavy distro. If you like Ubuntu but want something lighter, Lubuntu is an official lightweight derivative of Ubuntu.
If you use Lubuntu, be sure to use the official website:
Don't search for Lubuntu, because a rogue website comes near or at the top of the search results.
I think you should use Lubuntu (<https://lubuntu.me/>). It's not the prettiest, but it is lightweight and easy to use.
If you want something even more lightweight then you should know there a little bit more advanced options, tell me if you want me to explain more about them.
Also, if Lubuntu is still too slow and you don't want to try the more advanced options then you can choose to use more lightweight programs, e.g. CMus or Yarock instead of Spotify, Vim instead of vscode, etc...
It's such a personal thing.
I use Ubuntu, because it's designed "for humans" — i.e. people like me who need something to just work without having to get technical, and because there is fantastic community support as well as Ask Ubuntu.
For older computers, I use Lubuntu, which is the lightest official Ubuntu-based distribution.
good.
With your spec, it better to run a lightweight distro like
lubuntu or puppylinux so you'll keep your ram for your IDE.
Both are based on Ubuntu making it easy to find package and support.
Just be sure to use the official Lubuntu website https://lubuntu.me/
There's a renegade website that pops up high in the search engines, but it's badly out of date and isn't controlled by the Lubuntu team.
If you want something simple, small and stable, and you don't want Android, I'd go for Lubuntu 20.04 (an official Ubuntu flavour for older computers) or Bodhi Linux (even smaller than Lubuntu, but unofficial). They should cope with your machine.
Ok, I think I understand my mistake here. I was on Lubuntu.net instead of Lubuntu.me i don't understand the difference but apparently, .me is the official.
You need to post more details about your netbook. - What's the wifi model?
Assuming is a boardcom chip, try this:
- Enable the (L)Ubuntu Restricted Extras package. Close the dialog and refresh the repo/sources list.
- Additional Drivers > Check the Broadcom propietary driver, apply and then restart.
Alternatively: - Use the newer LTS 20.04
I have used ubuntu with 4 GB of ram and haven't had any issues, so it shouldn't be a memory issue for you. But just to check it, can you run this in terminal and copy what it returns
free -h
That will show if you are running low on memory for some unknown reason. Also what lubuntu version did you install, from official page? To me older page gets upper in results when searching to new official page.
And in the case it is something else, could you run this and copy back what you get
journalctl -b -p3
That would show us if there is some other issues.
Lubuntu's download page is now here - they have the same versioning as Ubuntu (20.10 is the latest).
Saying that, Lubuntu is no longer focused on minimalism - you should look at antiX, Q4OS Trinity or maybe even Slitaz. If you want a -buntu, try Peppermint or Bodhi.
Lubuntu is my go-to for a lightweight OS when I'm setting up VMs with similar specs so I imagine real hardware will be pretty good for it. It is a flavor of Ubuntu so it has the same benefits but with a lighter UI and a more familiar layout.
As the other comment said, your shutdowns are likely caused by overheating that is unlikely to be handled on the software side. You may want to disassemble your laptop and check that there is no massive dust buildup and that the fans are functional.