Chris,
How much space does Linux use?
New computer
- Thread starter cleanteamofny
- Start date
Help Support :
Chris,
How much space does Linux use?
Hi Larry
sorry but that is one of those questions like "how long is a piece of string?"
There are many many distros (distributions) of Linux and most of those are available in a number of versions. Some versions are tailored to using minimum resources and are great for older or low-spec systems. Other versions are "all bells and whistles" and need more ram and take up more space.
Distros all have a DE (Desktop Environment) which is the interface you see on the screen to interact with all the code you don't see in the background. Most distros offer a choice of DE, the most full-featured DE is generally thought to be KDE, but it uses more resources. I tend to go for XFCE (I believe it is pronounced "X-Face") as a great compromise with light use of system resources and still full features and very intuitive to use. So I would suggest you have a try with Linux Mint XFCE, or another distro with an XFCE option. (Solus doesn't offer XFCE, but its default DE, Budgie, is similar to use.)
I'm currently using Solus Linux off a 64Gb USB drive, it is taking up 16Gb on that drive. That isn't just the OS, that is all software and my stored files. (I store most of my files on other USB sticks.)
Solus would also be a good first distro to try. It is very easy to use, it automatically detected my two printers and set them up with no input from me. (after it found the wifi network and asked me for the password.) I have two Brother printers, one laser and one inkjet, both connected through wifi, and Brother support for Linux isn't great. HP is the best for Linux drivers, and most popular distros come with the HP Linux driver suite pre installed, so it detects your HP printer and sets it up. Solus Linux detected my Brother printers and set them up as "driverless" printers so I didn't have to go through the hassle of downloading drivers from Brother and installing them - it is a pain with Brother printers on Linux, more so than Windows.
I'm thinking of changing back to Linux Mint as Solus lacks a few pieces of software I liked on Mint, but Solus would be a good place to start.
as I suggested before, I'd start installing a couple of different Linux distros on large-ish USB sticks (one per USB drive) and boot from them, a 32 Gb drive should be big enough. Most distros have an online forum where you can ask questions.
Distrowatch is the starting place where you can see which distros are most popular at present, and can find links to each distro. I have linked it below. Look at the column on the right, that is the ranking of currently most popular distros. MX, Manjaro, Mint are top 3 when I linked. You can click on any Distro name to get more info about it. Then look for "Desktop" to see what desktop environments are available in that distro.
If you like my idea of trying it installed to a USB stick so you don't mess up your Windows installation, make sure that you are installing to the USB stick, you don't want to accidentally erase your windows installation by installing to the hard drive.
distrowatch.com
sorry but that is one of those questions like "how long is a piece of string?"
There are many many distros (distributions) of Linux and most of those are available in a number of versions. Some versions are tailored to using minimum resources and are great for older or low-spec systems. Other versions are "all bells and whistles" and need more ram and take up more space.
Distros all have a DE (Desktop Environment) which is the interface you see on the screen to interact with all the code you don't see in the background. Most distros offer a choice of DE, the most full-featured DE is generally thought to be KDE, but it uses more resources. I tend to go for XFCE (I believe it is pronounced "X-Face") as a great compromise with light use of system resources and still full features and very intuitive to use. So I would suggest you have a try with Linux Mint XFCE, or another distro with an XFCE option. (Solus doesn't offer XFCE, but its default DE, Budgie, is similar to use.)
I'm currently using Solus Linux off a 64Gb USB drive, it is taking up 16Gb on that drive. That isn't just the OS, that is all software and my stored files. (I store most of my files on other USB sticks.)
Solus would also be a good first distro to try. It is very easy to use, it automatically detected my two printers and set them up with no input from me. (after it found the wifi network and asked me for the password.) I have two Brother printers, one laser and one inkjet, both connected through wifi, and Brother support for Linux isn't great. HP is the best for Linux drivers, and most popular distros come with the HP Linux driver suite pre installed, so it detects your HP printer and sets it up. Solus Linux detected my Brother printers and set them up as "driverless" printers so I didn't have to go through the hassle of downloading drivers from Brother and installing them - it is a pain with Brother printers on Linux, more so than Windows.
I'm thinking of changing back to Linux Mint as Solus lacks a few pieces of software I liked on Mint, but Solus would be a good place to start.
as I suggested before, I'd start installing a couple of different Linux distros on large-ish USB sticks (one per USB drive) and boot from them, a 32 Gb drive should be big enough. Most distros have an online forum where you can ask questions.
Distrowatch is the starting place where you can see which distros are most popular at present, and can find links to each distro. I have linked it below. Look at the column on the right, that is the ranking of currently most popular distros. MX, Manjaro, Mint are top 3 when I linked. You can click on any Distro name to get more info about it. Then look for "Desktop" to see what desktop environments are available in that distro.
If you like my idea of trying it installed to a USB stick so you don't mess up your Windows installation, make sure that you are installing to the USB stick, you don't want to accidentally erase your windows installation by installing to the hard drive.
DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.
News and feature lists of Linux and BSD distributions.
I hate Dell! My last hospital and current one both use Dell. They are all the time breaking down. My home desktop is a Gateway. First one was a Gateway that lasted at least 10 years. This one is pushing it now...hope it keeps on trucking. Tony's laptop is an HP. Works fine I just don't care for laptops.
I had heard that a lot that people hate Dell!
It's because customer service has dropped to an all-time low during the early 2000s, and when you said "Gateway,"
I had to see if they were in business and they are.
Last year I made a big stink on the LTT YT comments section about Thermaltake customer service and they decided to do their own survey on how customer service deals with customers. LOL.
I was pissed off with Thermaltake customer service and LTT done a good job what happens when we call.
I hope your pc continues to work Greg for being 10 years.
It's because customer service has dropped to an all-time low during the early 2000s, and when you said "Gateway,"
I had to see if they were in business and they are.
Last year I made a big stink on the LTT YT comments section about Thermaltake customer service and they decided to do their own survey on how customer service deals with customers. LOL.
I was pissed off with Thermaltake customer service and LTT done a good job what happens when we call.
I hope your pc continues to work Greg for being 10 years.
vacerator
Well-known member
I'm not a
gaymer. My Dell works fine. It's not new, at least 7-10 yrs? An XPS series duocore. It's hubby's hand me down, my second. The last one did need a hard drive well after a decade.
gaymer. My Dell works fine. It's not new, at least 7-10 yrs? An XPS series duocore. It's hubby's hand me down, my second. The last one did need a hard drive well after a decade.
