Why does Linux Mint work when others don't?

[nomad1980]

I am a teacher with a computer lab, and I have pretty much switched the classroom over to Linux for multiple reasons, but especially because Windows is such a memory hog on older computers. I also get random older laptops donated, and Linux does such a great job breathing new life into them. Whether Windows, Mac, or a Chromebook I can almost always switch them over to Linux so students are just using the same system.

Sometimes many of the regular distributions just don't take on some computers. But it seems like Linux Mint always does. Occasionally I even install Linux Mint first, then the other distribution will successfully install.

Why is this? Is there something included in Linux Mint that makes it more versatile? Even "fixing" some computers so other distributions can then be placed on them.

Just curious. Thanks to everyone for such a great operating system!

[gm10]

Let's say I'd be surprised if Mint installs where the corresponding Ubuntu base doesn't. That aside you probably just lucky. Enjoy your Mint.

[jglen490]

I am a teacher with a computer lab, and I have pretty much switched the classroom over to Linux for multiple reasons, but especially because Windows is such a memory hog on older computers. I also get random older laptops donated, and Linux does such a great job breathing new life into them. Whether Windows, Mac, or a Chromebook I can almost always switch them over to Linux so students are just using the same system.

Sometimes many of the regular distributions just don't take on some computers. But it seems like Linux Mint always does. Occasionally I even install Linux Mint first, then the other distribution will successfully install.

Why is this? Is there something included in Linux Mint that makes it more versatile? Even "fixing" some computers so other distributions can then be placed on them.

Just curious. Thanks to everyone for such a great operating system!

Just curious, but do you have any examples of what won't install? What kind of errors do you see?

[nomad1980]

One example would be netbooks running emmc drives. Some different distributions crash during install.

[DAMIEN1307]

netbooks such as eeepc etc. can be tricky...ive tried different OSs in mine that i use for experimenting only and most operating systems do not play well in the playground with netbooks such as mine...the only two OSs that have played well with mine are Linux Mint XFCE version and Peppermint 9 at present...they both generally require much less of the limited resources that is inherent with netbook systems...hope this may be of useful info for you and your class...DAMIEN

PS...as New Mexico still has no computer science classes in its school systems, im it for now here in Alamogordo NM for students at a local youth center that wish to learn.

im teaching them exclusively with either LM XFCE or Peppermint 9, which work very similar to each other in almost all respects and because being a much "poorer" area of the country, these kids have access to only much older computers to work with and these 2 particular OSs have worked the best with consistency then any others out there for older and slower computers.

[absque fenestris]

Last year I made a trip to a rolling release of openSUSE: WOW! well done animation in the start sequence, all the latest graphics and photo programs installed, KDE to create my own personal desktop...
It would be nice - but after about a week my dreams were in the bucket... where are the beloved Mint updates? Synaptic Package Manager? Inxi, Xed - and and and... and also the nice animation was gone!
That was it then, too...
Linux Mint (Mate...) in my perception is like an old leather sofa - not the newest, not the most stylish - but comfortable and robust.
And yes - Mint Mate Rosa in the last version I want to preserve - simply beautiful.
So as a grave addition to MacOSX 10.4.
Yes, yes I know - something pathetic...

[Hoser Rob]

It's just luck, there's no reason that would apply in general for any hardware. Others would find another distro worked more reliably depending on their sample of hardware. I'm not entirely sure what would constitute a statistically meaningful sample size here but I don't think you'd be near it either.

However, Mint is a good distro, I can think of much worse ones to have such luck with.

[Namf_Mint]

Ubuntu put a lot of work into having wide hardware support and Mint is based on Ubuntu. However, I have found that Mint worked on hardware that Ubuntu did not . . I found that Antergos worked well on some hardware that other Linux distros, inckuding and perhaps especially Debian, had trouble with. (But perhaps I tried 'Debian Stable', which has notoriously old software.)

[lcquerido]

Really, I tryed Bug-Untu (lol) many times and thats looked like a EverBeta. Mint ubuntubased is so more light, eficient and clean. Manjaro is good too but there are not many programs like Mint. For exemple, I installed FLowblade in both and to work in Manjaro, is about command line. I don't have time to learn command line, I hate command line and I don't want to do nothing in command line.

Mint to me is the Red Hat and Ubuntu is Fedora. Simple like this.

[lcquerido]

It's just luck, there's no reason that would apply in general for any hardware. Others would find another distro worked more reliably depending on their sample of hardware. I'm not entirely sure what would constitute a statistically meaningful sample size here but I don't think you'd be near it either.

However, Mint is a good distro, I can think of much worse ones to have such luck with.

Look don't excist ind S.O. Or the sistem is very good or not. And Mint proof that its very very supperior about Ubuntu. May be the team be more cautelous and whim or look to the really end user.

[CaptainKirksChair]

I think it's just the time and effort Clem and his team put into each release.

I use an iMac 9.1 with Mint 19.0 Cinnamon and it's my daily driver. When I boot to any Cinnamon LiveUSB on this iMac, I just run Driver Manager, enable the Broadcom wireless drivers, and I'm connected. Even Ubuntu didn't do that. And if Ubuntu can, then it's not as easy to find as it is in Mint.

Any computer on which I have installed Mint works right out of the box. The only problem I had was with a home built PC and an Atheros wireless card. I had to disable IPv6 and it's been working flawlessly.

Mint just works!

[powerwagon75]

One example would be netbooks running emmc drives. Some different distributions crash during install.

Gallium OS is a okay little OS that would work on that. I use it on a Chromebook. Has its own simple updater to run, uses Synaptic as well. Only issue I've had with it is I'm too lazy to install MrChromebox, which if done correctly will allow you to alter some low level/bios settings, so if the battery dies, it will retain your current OS, and not revert back to a crashed system of Chrome.

[ganamant]

Compared to, say, pure Debian, Mint has more support for proprietary firmware and so will work out of the box on a wider range of machines. But in general, I see no reason why Mint should work where Ubuntu does not.