Alternative OS

I need an alternative OS. I have an old Acer Aspire One AOA 150-1742 (NetBook) that has XP Home. I bought 2nd hand 6 years ago for my oldest daughter who was using in all the way through High School and her first year of College (she has a brand new Asus laptop now and 2nd year of college).

This netbook is still in perfect working order....still fires up and runs great, it's just slow. I've thought about replacing the HDD with an SSD and maxing out the ram (if I can still find some for it) but I just cant justify sinking any money into it.

So I thinking some sort of Linux Distro for it. That said, does anybody have any suggestion on what flavor. And, I'm not sure if I want to completely wipe the existing OS (sentimentally attached) and go with a Linux flavor or dual boot it. Any suggestions and ideas on any of it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Mint is well thought of and is supposed to be the most "Windows Like".
BTW I went through what you are with adding memory up to 2 Gb, Ssd drive etc....then Windows 8 starter
and while each move felt great, within days I could not stand to use it. Then daughter-in-law laptop died
so I gave it to her. She brought it back a month later just too slow to use so I finally sold it on eBay.
My favorite flavor is "Pc Linux"...have always preferred that one.
http://www.pclinuxos.com/

 

What size it the HDD? Do not forget that you can Burn the disk or USB and try it before you install it.

 

Mint is thought of as more "Mac like" by those that actually use it but it's like a combination of Windows and Mac. I use it along with Ubuntu, and I agree with Rich PCLinuxOS is a nice little distro. I also use Arch which is a very powerful and customizable distro, though Arch isn't for beginners. I actually slightly prefer Ubuntu to Mint to be honest. They are similar Mint is based on Ubuntu but again after using both for 2 years I recently went back to Ubuntu.

 

Hi @IceMan37 ! This is a little off topic but I think it fits in as the Op is a experienced PC user.
Ubuntu is a excellent program when your darn old Windows don't want to boot and you would like to recover your data.
Ubuntu is my choice also!
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...backup-files-from-your-dead-windows-computer/

 

Zorin OS is a multi-functional operating system designed specifically for newcomers to Linux. It's based on Ubuntu Linux, so you can rely on it for rock-solid performance, dependability and support.

 

Well now that is a new one on me I must check out thanks Doc.

 

You're more than welcome Rich.

 

I know the OP is an experienced tech I was merely pointing out that Arch Linux is not for the unexperienced with Linux. I do not know the OP's experience with Linux - as it were, so just covering that base in case. I really like Ubuntu I am considering the switch to it as my primary OS booting to win only for gaming.

 

I like Ubuntu as well. If one doesn't know Linux well some of them may be a handful to use.

 

Indeed Ray. getting DVD's working and things like Netflix working are the first hurdles for new Linux users, learning where everything is etc. Luckily Ubuntu and Mint make things rather user friendly.

 

I remember my first attempt at Linux. It was Mandrake and it took me hours just to get off the text screen to get into the OS. LOL Ubuntu I learned it in one night basically as it is very user friendly. Start X eluded me.

 

I did Mandrake and Red Hat for servers sometimes remember those days well. Huge learning curve with those. Arch is like in between those and Ubuntu/Mint. There is an installer called "Architect" that makes installing and configuring Arch easier though. Ubutnu is easy as you know and also a nice, safe, great looking operating system. Man once you get all the nice extra's up and running it blows any version of Windows away.

 

The main goal of Zorin OS is to give new users easy access to Linux. That is why Zorin OS incorporates the familiar Windows 7-like interface by default to dramatically reduce the learning curve of this system while still experiencing the main advantages of Linux. You can also utilize the desktop with other interfaces thanks to the exclusive Zorin Look Changer which lets you change your desktop to look and act like either Windows 7, Windows XP or GNOME 2 in the free versions of Zorin OS. Premium editions also include the Windows 2000, Unity and Mac OS X looks.

http://zorinos.com/tour.html