MarkR wrote:Is it possible that this distro is not right for this old Dell laptop or is this old Dell laptop simply not right for Linux period? I saw a number of reviews stating that Linux Lite OS has functioned well on this model, but that is anecdotal.
That... is a question I could not begin to answer. I just am too ignorant of all the factors involved.
Even On Topic: There may be a Simple Solution to your Problem that we have not yet found. That once found, everything will start working well with it.
What little I know involves:
Manufacturers always gear toward MS products. MS products dominate about 90% of the market. Because of this, occasionally, the hardware just does not mesh well with any Linux Distro. Sometimes some hardware does and sometimes that same hardware with that same distro on a different machine just doesn't.
And yes, some machines just don't like Linux no matter what you do. It happens. The best thing to do is to build a machine For Linux at the outset if you want a good Linux machine. But if you are trying to salvage an old machine- you are taking your chances. It probably will work. But won't always work.
Recently, I bought a small old Panasonic Toughbook that was built for Windows XP Tablet Edition.
I tested -many- Linux distros on it. Some gave major faults and problems, several had major errors on installation. Some worke quite well, but bogged down under a load.
The One Perfect Performer was AntiX. But AntiX was just too lightweight to handle what I needed to do (Toughbook is being used as an Automotive Diagnostic Machine).
Finally, I tried out using Zorin 12.4 Lite. (Not the Education one).
No installation issues, everything meshed perfectly, it accepted the SSD hard drive with no problems and carries what I require it to do very well. Unlike all the other distros I tried, the CPU usage does not flatline at 100%.
Why we have different experiences over-all, with two older machines, I couldn't try to understand at my current understanding. Perhaps a more experienced Linux user could help.
Sadly, ZorinAntwerp has left this forum.
Swarfendor is taking a much needed break- He has been voluntarily helping Zorin Users for Years and lately, doing it almost single handedly.
The Zorin Borthers team is reduced to just the Two Zorin Brothers, now. The over-all Zorin Group has been overworked and this is what happens... So we cannot even be sure if AZorin can chime in on the thread at this point without passing out on the keyboard. How he keeps his cool with his posts amazes.
The Simplest thing you can try is test a few distros on it. Try out Sparky Linux, for example. Or MX Linux. I do not know the difference between Zorin 12.4 Education and Zorin 12.4 Lite, but it may be well worth a shot to see if 12.4 Lite shines when Education didn't.
In the end MAYBE a Linux Guru could help get that running like a champ, if you can climb the mountain and find him -or MAYBE you might have to just let this one go. I don't know. What I do know is that it will still work out alright. You might find another older computer for Dirt Cheap like I did and save that one, instead. OR maybe as I said above, a simple solution awaits being found and you may have to set that machine aside a bit. I will keep looking...
