Old Compaq Presario 2500 Laptop

[nano00]

Hi all:

I have tried to install linux mint on my old laptop (works ok with windows XP) and it is impossible. The laptop freezes to one point, so I cannot run Linux. I have also tried with ubuntu, suse, and kubuntu (which works but really really slow).

Do you think my laptop is too old to run Linux mint?. Is there another light version to use?

Thanks and regards

Ignacio

[rivenought]

How much RAM do you have? That is my first thought.

To run the Mint 6 GNOME Live CD, you really need 512 MB, but once it is installed, it will run on 256 MB.

[nano00]

I have checked the memory and only have 256 Mb.

[rivenought]

I have one machine that has 256 MB of RAM and Mint 6 runs just fine on it. However, the GNOME Live CD was slow as syrup. I took my Mint 5 Xfce Live CD, used the partition editor to set up my partitions and give a /swap file for Mint 6 to use. I switched discs, booted Mint 6, and I was able to install without difficulty. This machine is only used for email and web browsing, so the amount of RAM + GNOME has not been a problem.

Now, the Xfce version of Mint is much lighter weight, as well as the Fluxbox version being even lighter, I do believe. All of these versions benefit from Mint underneath, but with different desktops. Those may be a better fit with your hardware. You may wish to test them out and see what you think.

[nano00]

Thanks a lot for your comments, really appreciated.

Ignacio