Can I just get rid of XP and install Linux instead?

Heyyy - Happy New Year guys!!

This may be the wrong board - I know it concerns Linux and I'll hop over there afterward, but right now this tiny old notebook with only 1.2 gigabytes of storage has XP. I don't feel comfortable using XP anymore and I would like to get into Linux without messing around with my main laptop and possibly compromise anything. So, in order to "get rid of" (for lack of a better expression) XP, and install Linux instead, how do I go about it?

Thanks.

Edited by hamluis, 01 January 2017 - 05:23 PM.
Moved from XP to Linux - Hamluis.

It would help if you give the make and model number of the computer. It would also help if you published a Speccy report. 

https://www.piriform.com/docs/speccy/using-speccy/publishing-a-speccy-profile-to-the-web

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/speccy/

I have requested that this thread be moved to the Linux Forum. 

In general if you can run winXP well you can run Linux mint just as well, and when stick the disk in and its boots to the desktop just find the install option, after that its just multiple choice questions and not hard to do and it will format the hole hdd for Linux.

Ps you lose all data doing it this way, back things up first if you have anything worth saving.

https://linuxmint.com/

 

... tiny old notebook with only 1.2 gigabytes of storage has XP.

Hi cooljay and to the Linux & Unix section.

If the above is accurate, then Members should note this disqualifies a large number of Linux Distros that require more space, but still leaves a number of alternatives, dependent on the specs.

Good luck

Wizard - and Happy New Year back at yer!

Well to be fair XP wont run on only 1.2GB of HDD

I think he means memory, a lot of people get HDD space and memory mixed up

http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-xp-system-requirements/

So yeah i bet he has more HDD space than that.

Edited by MadmanRB, 02 January 2017 - 01:41 AM.

DIdn't pick up on that the first time, 1.2gig hdd O_o say what, i still have 120meg hdds that work and use to have a 40meg arond someware.

If the hdd in it is 1.2gigs total and the rest of the hardware is something like from the years were 1.2gig hdds were the norm i don't see how your runing winxp on that system, sounds like hardware made for win95.

Ya speccy time plz.

cooljay,   to the Linux Community of Bleeping Computer Forums!

We're happy to have you here!

Now in regards to your question:

 

 

but right now this tiny old notebook with only 1.2 gigabytes of storage has XP

How in this world are you running XP on 1.2GiB of storage? My first notebook had 20GiB & after a while, began to feel cramped for space, a member of the IT team upgraded it to a wiped 40GiB model, and that was when having that size was a big deal.

I'm hoping that the 1.2GiB is a typo, or that's all you have left, as most Linux ISO's (what we create install media from) are larger than that. If it's really 1.2GiB, you're looking at Puppy. Harder than many popular Linux distros, though we have well qualified help onboard to assist you in learning. 

Like others has stated, I'm interested in seeing your Speccy snapshot. Here's the direct link to the app, you can choose the portable one from the 'builds' page if desired, 2nd link (small footprint, nothing to install).

https://www.piriform.com/speccy/builds

Since I'm now on Linux & can't post mine as an example (though there's a couple in my sig below), the option is beneath the 1st tab from the left, to publish snapshot choose File > Publish Snapshot. Then a link will appear, copy & paste in your response. Note that we'll not see everything that you do, such as your XP license or IP address, these are masked for privacy.

Cat

Edited by cat1092, 02 January 2017 - 06:23 AM.

Hi, cooljay. And 'Welcome' to 'the gang'..!

I tend to agree with most of the others. We need some specs, please. I also agree with Cat; I think you mean 1.2 GB of RAM (not storage), or.....wait, you're not by any chance talking about an Asus eeePC, are you? These typically came with only around 4 GB of onboard storage (and it wasn't easily upgradeable, either.)

No matter. Specs are what we need. But I think you may be a good candidate for Puppy Linux; very small & compact, yet very powerful for its size. Runs entirely in RAM; lightning fast.....and a good replacement for XP all round.

I run Puppy exclusively, and have done for the last 18 months. I'm no longer interested in any other Linux distros.....but there's plenty of folks on here who'll be happy to assist you with whatever you choose to run.

Specifications, please..!

Mike. 

Edited by Mike_Walsh, 02 January 2017 - 07:08 AM.

Hello, and thank you for all the replies. I will provide the specs.

And yes, Mike, very clever of you: I am indeed talking about the Asus eeePC! It's a very cute little thing that I bought used a few years ago for almost nothing, handy to take to the library, etc.

Hi, cooljay.

Mm. In that case, there's a build of Puppy Linux which was tailored specifically for the eeePC's peculiar set-up. I say peculiar, because the eeePC's onboard storage is not recognised in the normal way, like a regular hard drive is.

These used, in the early models, IIRC, flash storage which was soldered to the board, and couldn't be upgraded (max of 4 GB). Later models used a small, SATA flash drive (I think it was 8 GB of eeMC flash storage, somebody correct me if I'm wrong), which connected via the PCI lanes, and was upgradeable. This may help with upgrading, if you're able to:-

http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2007/12/27/add_more_storage_space_to_your_asus_eee_pc/1

This page may help you to determine which type of storage you've actually got, although it sounds like you've got an early one:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus_Eee_PC#Storage

Let us have those specs, please.....then we can take it from there. If you can upgrade the storage, you can probably go for one of the more mainstream distros, if that's what you'd prefer....although 4 GB is heaps of space for Puppy to run & jump & play in! Average ISO file is only around 150-200MB.  

Edited by Mike_Walsh, 14 January 2017 - 08:56 AM.

Mike, you beat me to the last link you posted above.

Until then, didn't realize that any type of SSD was installed out of the box on any computer (at the time of build). I have a Samsung notebook built in 2012, that shipped with a super slow 5400RPM HDD, and there is a SanDisk 8GiB 'Express Cache' SSD soldered to the MB. After cloning the OS to SSD, had to disable it, because it was badly holding back performance of the 256GiB Crucial M550 SSD, slicing performance by more than 50%, like it was connected to a SATA-2 port. 

Once the Express Cache was disabled, all was fine. It's unfortunate that mine is only 8GiB, some other models had as much as 24GiB, making it suitable for most any Linux root partition, and making the HDD /home & a small Swap at the end of 512MiB, or whatever is leftover after partitioning /home. Since newer drives also require aligned partitions, if it's a few MiB's off one way or the other, that's OK. 

Yet a 8GiB partition of this type is useless, at least on a Samsung notebook or AIO PC, as these OS's semi 'bricks' the MB. It can be rescued if one knows how to, though Samsung has kept a lid on the secret of how to do it, other though they're using a Linux based rescue tool for the job.

The only way that this notebook can run Linux is if everything is set to Legacy (no AHCI for SSD's), and that's no fun. However one can install a SSHD on there for any performance gains, am unsure if AHCI is needed for that type of Flash or not, being it's built into the HDD. 

Mike has some great points above, if you're stuck with 4GiB of space, with Puppy, it's by far not the end of the world for the computer, as long as the Flash storage is not worn out, and even when this happens, can still get a good rated USB Flash drive that could possibly outperform the eMMC SSD, especially early versions. Some Samsung USB flash drives are capable of 130MB/sec on reads & up to 60-70MB/sec on writes, which is often better than most any HDD will deliver in terms of performance. Samsung also has some of their PRO line of SDHC cards that can hit 90MB/sec reads, 80MB/sec writes, when used with a card reader, mine's a 32GiB model still unopened nearly 2 years after purchase. I have stockpiled USB sticks & SDHC cards from promos & even some 120-128GiB SSD's are beginning to accumulate, as I've moved on towards larger ones & one PCIe model (look at 1st Speccy link below). 

Final thoughts, as long as the notebook is in otherwise good health, you have lots of Linux options to choose from.

EDIT: Corrected typo to reflect having a 8GiB Express Cache SSD soldered to the MB, rather than 8MiB.

Cat

Edited by cat1092, 21 February 2017 - 02:47 PM.

Hi guys!

I am doing the spec thing now, uploading it shortly.

Here is what I found on Wikipedia just now:

"At the time of its introduction in late 2007, it was noted for its combination of a lightweight, Linux-based operating system, solid-state drive (SSD), and relatively low cost."

What???

The fact that speccy is portable, does it mean it HAS TO BE downloaded on a stick? (Sorry, my ignorance is rearing its ugly, ugly head... )

No. Just treat as you would any other program.