Embedded Files
What is Linux?
Linux is an Operating System (OS).
You should at least read the introduction (prior to the contents).
In 1991, as a college student, a fellow named Linus Torvalds became frustrated by licensing issues surrounding a "Unix-Like" OS called MINIX, and started writing his own Unix-like "Kernel". The result was a new OS called "Linux".
Linus + Unix = Linux
Linux is a "Free and Open Source Software" (FOSS) project... which is also associated with the GNU Project.
The good news is that there are many different "Distributions" ("Distros") of Linux, which offers a lot of variety regarding how you want to apply Linux, and what type of hardware you are using. The bad news is that there are many different "Distributions" ("Distros") of Linux, which means it can be fairly overwhelming trying to decide what to use.
System Resources
Your system RAM (Random Access Memory) and CPU (Central Processing Unit) will be the primary deciding factors for which Linux Distro you will want to choose. Other factors will include what software you want to have come bundled with it.
If you are running MS Windows, read-up on Belarc Advisor (try this C-Net Review), then download it, and run it. The resulting report will give you a complete list of all your system resources, including a list of all the installed software. Another nifty utility is CPUID / CPU-Z, which will also list your Windows (and Android) "System Information" (main hardware resources) and allow you to export a report.
I have been through a number of distros, and for now (2016) have settled on Linux Mint, which will run quite nicely on 4 GB RAM and a Dual-Core CPU. I usually install the "Cinnamon" desktop environment (DE), but have also used the Xfce DE on systems with lower resources (down to 1 GB RAM, and a single core CPU, and/or with lower clock-speeds).
CPU "clock-speed" is measured in Hz (cycles per second). In general: > 2 GHz is best, but lower clock speeds down to 1 GHz will be OK.
Linux Mint (like many distros) comes in both 32-bit & 64-bit architecture. 64-bit is better, and anything less is probably a waste of time for most folks. With the release of Windows-10 on 2015-July-29, it is a lot easier to find used 64-bit systems.
Do I Have to Give-Up MS Windows?
No.
It is possible to install Linux alongside Windows. You typically cannot run both of them simultaneously, but you can easily run one or the other. You can also run some Linux Distros in RAM, and not install anything to the HDD (hard disk drive), except maybe a "session file", which will allow your next session to start more quickly.
There are basically two ways to install Linux alongside Windows... Fast and Furious (not so safe), and Safely (can take a LOT of time). How attached you are to your Windows installation will determine the path you choose. In a safe installation alongside Windows you will always want to make a "System Image" of your entire Windows system, AND be sure you have some form of bootable media to start the system restoration, should something go wrong. In any case, ALWAYS backup your data!
If you decide to install Linux to the HDD, many distros of Linux include a wizard for installing a "boot loader", which allows you to choose which OS you want to run at the initial start-up of the machine. Getting all this to work right can be tricky though. (Linux Mint does the bootloader installation really well.)
You can also usually "Test Drive" Linux by running it off a CD or DVD in RAM... which is introduced below.
Salvaging Really Old Systems
If you want to keep using a really old system (with significantly lower resources that that mentioned above), then the simplest solution is to run a "Lightweight" version of Linux off of a "bootable" CD, DVD, or USB drive. CD's are by far the easiest, and the most common choice on older PC's... it does need to be new enough so that you can set the BIOS to look for the CD Drive 1st. (If your PC is not already set to boot off the CD or DVD drive, it takes a fair degree of confidence to monkey with the BIOS settings to set this to be so.)
Google: How Do I Boot Off a CD?
Once you boot off a CD, you can then create a bootable USB Drive to run Linux... which, if possible, is even easier than a CD or DVD. Be aware that some older machines do not support booting off a USB port (or even a CD Drive, but this is pretty rare now).
All this can be fairly complex though, especially if you have never burned an ISO Image, etc... so see if you can get someone to get you set-up for all this. Once it is all set to go however, it is very easy to run Linux off of a CD Drive (etc.).
These "lighter" versions of Linux run entirely in RAM, so the more the better. Learn to check the resource requirements of a Linux distro before you try it out. Below are some suggestions, for a start.
What is a Torrent Download?
The "VUZE Bittorrent Client" (Torrent Downloader) is a good bet ... it worked great!
VUZE - Wikipedia - About Bittorrent Protocol
MD5 Checksum ... + About "SendTo"
This is a process for checking the integrity of your ISO Download.
The Linux Mint web will give you some options that are handy if you are starting from a Linux system... but if you are starting with a MS Windows system, then consider the following:
Option #161219 ... Win-OS
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Review and Download MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility (ref). This is an excellent MS-Win utility that runs in RAM (no installation needed). Useful for checking ISO hashes for your Linux ISO downloads.
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"MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility is a tool that allows you to verify the integrity of a file by finding out its MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 and SHA-512 signatures."
Option #160428 ... Win-OS
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Review and Download md5sum.exe [ref] from the PC-Tools.net site. This is a very handy MS Windows program for doing this task. Others are available, bit this one is really simple and fast. It runs from the command line, but if you setup a "Send To" entry for this, it is really easy to do from Windows Explorer.
To use the "SendTo" feature from MSW Explorer (the file manager):
right-click on the ISO file
"Send" it to the shortcut you created for md5sumes.exe
A DOS window will pop-up and process the file.
When done, access "Edit" in the context menu at the left corner of the title bar (i.e. the far upper left of the program window) with a left-click.
"Mark" (or "Select All")... "Edit" again, and "Copy" the result (or just hit "Enter" after you "Select" it).
Check the result against the MD5 Sum posted at ISO download site.
For example, here is the source for the MD5 Sum for a specific Linux Mint Edition.
Try using a simple ASCII Text Editor (like MS Notepad, or TED Notepad) to compare the source with your result.
Once you have confirmed that the MD5 Sum is correct, then you can burn the ISO with confidence.
More about the "SendTo" feature...
For any .EXE
Create a "Shortcut" to the .EXE
Rt-Click on the .EXE, select "Create Shortcut".
Try renaming the shortcut to something like: "check-iso_md5sums.exe".
Shortcuts are easy to identify, as they have the crooked arrow embedded in their icon.... so renaming them is not a big deal.
Use the appropriate process for editing the "Send To" list in MS Windows (nearly every version is different)... and "Copy" the new shortcut into it.
Here are the Instructions from Microsoft for XP.
Shortcuts are easy to identify, as they have the crooked arrow embedded in their icon.
Burn an "ISO" file
If you are running MS Windows, there is a really nifty program called;
The help documentation on how to "Burn ISO Files to Disc" is really good.
Note that you want to "Burn" and ISO Image... not create one.
Linux Suggestions
on: Wikipedia ... Google: Linux Mint
Extremely popular Linux Distro.
Based on Debian and Ubuntu.
Best on 700MB+ RAM ... (but will work on less).
This should be an excellent choice for most PC's that sold with Win-XP pre-loaded (i.e. not an upgraded machine), which typically have 1MB+ of RAM.
on: Wikipedia ... Google: Ubuntu Linux
Very popular Linux Distro.
Ubuntu means: "Humanity Towards Others"
on: Wikipedia ... Google: Lubuntu Linux
"Light Ubuntu"
on: Wikipedia ... Google: Slacko Puppy Linux
Excellent lightweight Linux Distro.
Slacko-5.7 works great!
The "Non PAE" distro is best in most cases... especially if you have under 4GB RAM.
Best on 500MB+ RAM ... (but will work on less).
I particularly like this one because it easily boots off a CD, fresh from the initial ISO burn, with the Firefox Browser ready to go.
There are Other "Puppies" out there, such as Macpup, Precise, Wary, Racy, Quirky, and Lucid, but I like Slacko the best so far.
(More) Skinny RAM Distros ... (64MB or less)
Damn Small Linux (DSL) ... <64MB RAM
Barebones and Cutdown "Puppies"
Good for 64MB RAM, and even less.
Notes about Skinny RAM Attempts...
At this point though, really, you may as well just recycle the PC. Trying to surf most popular webs will be near impossible, with browsing pretty much limited to just text reading.
For other uses though, as some sort of control device for example, this could become a useful machine with these "Lightweight" versions of Linux.
Become Certifiable!
LPI - Linux Professional Institute
:-)
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