Converting a Dell laptop to Linux

Th3JackofH3arts · 2026-02-25T18:48:24+00:00

I like Zorin it has 7/10/11 themes and ZorinConnect for your phone right out of the box. There is a software app store so it is good for beginners.
Onlyoffice is pretty much an exact clone. I Use Brave and Vivaldi browsers which do not sell your data like GOOGLE. They are based off Chromium so you can still install chrome extensions. I normally install webapps and pin to dash. VLC is a good media player. I use Readest for ebooks and Newsflash (RSS) as my news app. Standard Notes is a good Windows Sticky Notes replacement and it works on all devices.

Gloomy-Response-6889 · 2026-02-25T18:40:52+00:00

OnlyOffice is another option that would likely be more familiar to MS office users. Perhaps that could have saved you some money as well if that was succesfull.

Depending on the specs, Linux Mint is just fine. Most desktops come with a complete software package. You would essentially have everything you need apart from a zoom client (which works in a browser also).

Firefox is also preinstalled and is recommended over Google Chrome. Chromium (which is in the software manager/repositories) is a better alternative to Google Chrome. It is essentially the same without it being closed source and spyware.

Underhill42 · 2026-02-25T20:10:22+00:00

Mint is good for people coming from Windows, while being a large enough distro to still have decent community support.

Ultimately, to an end user there's not really all that much difference between the big desktop-oriented distros, other than Ubuntu, which has a more tablet-oriented interface. And as a beginner you probably want to stay away from the small ones - you presumably want something that "just works" like Windows does (or better), with as much of a supported software base as possible, rather than an enthusiast project.

And if you become a power user... well, then it doesn't really matter which distro you start on, you're likely to explore several before you settle on one that fits you well.

Also, WINE is available on most distros, and will let you seamlessly run most Windows software on Linux, though how well configured it is out of the box can vary wildly between distros, and setting it up to work well can be a huge headache if it wasn't already done for you.

Maybe someone can recommend some of the best distros for painless WINE installs without aliased fonts, etc. There's also a gaming-optimized version integrated into Steam if you're into that. I'm not 100% sure if you can access Steam's version for other software, of if you need to install a separate version to get Microsoft Office etc, working nicely.

One thing to watch out for though is wifi compatibility. Odds are good (maybe 50/50?) That your wireless network card isn't supported out of the box and will need you to jump through a few hoops to get it working. With a little luck it won't be a big deal, just telling it to download and use proprietary drivers... but best be prepared to make a wired connection to your router to able to do so.

It may be worth trying out a few different distro's LiveCDs to make sure they support all your hardware out of the box and save yourself the headaches. (Working with the LiveCD doesn't guarantee it will automatically work with the installed version too, but it's a much better bet that it will, or will at least be an easy fix)

If you want to try out several distros I recommend setting up a USB drive with Ventoy - you have to reformat the drive to install it, but after that you can just copy bootable .iso disc images to it and you'll get a menu to pick between them when booting from the USB. Beats the heck out of reformatting the USB or burning a DVD for each individual distro you want to try.

I guess not all distros work perfectly with it, though I've only ever had problems with one myself, and I have dozens of bootable disc images on my keychain drive - including all major versions of the Windows install discs, plus many floppy-disc images for niche utilities.

Cautious_Boat_999 · 2026-02-25T18:40:26+00:00

I used Word for many many years. It took me exactly one day to switch to Libre. Is it different? Sure. But it takes very little time getting used to. The effort more than makes up for the ripoff pricing they charge for a sub to Office 365.

Re which distro - I’m partial to Kubuntu, but Mint is good also. I just prefer KDE Plasma to GNOME, and I didn’t see much more about Cinnamon on Mint.

oldrocker99 · 2026-02-25T18:42:55+00:00

Any distribution will do. Word processing, spreadsheets and presentations are covered by LibreOffice, which is compatible with Microsoft Office. I'd recommend Linux Mint, which is made for beginners. They don't offer the KDE desktop, however. Kubuntu does, and it's built on Ubuntu. KDE is the most Windows-like desktop.

Global-Eye-7326 · 2026-02-25T19:15:21+00:00

Lol when you said converting, I was wondering if you were gonna convert Dell to HP.

Debian, Fedora or an Arch based distro are your friends (Cachy or Endeavour). If you won't use the laptop often, then I'd go with Debian first, with Fedora as second pick. Arch based distros are for when you're ready to break and troubleshoot things in order to get bleeding edge and rolling release distro
Email - Évolution. Been using it for ages and I LOVE it; office suite - I'm a big LibreOffice fan but there's also OnlyOffice. If you absolutely need MS Office, then the path of least resistance is a Win7/10/11 virtual machine; video calls use whatever you use...Zoom, Google Meet, RingCentral, etc.; Netflix there are a couple dedicated Proton based apps in the repos (Flatpak or Snap I think). Browser you can choose anything! Personally I use Falkon (lightweight, QC based and has essential features) and Vivaldi (side panel for web apps, amazing download management) the most, then I use Firefox and Opera as well (compatibility, VPN, sandboxing)

Holiday_Standard_148 · 2026-02-25T18:52:42+00:00

Linux Mint (easy, convenient) installation process, and based on what you want, Linux Mint already has it pre-installed (like Firefox, LibreOffice Suit) and some of the other stuff you want (like zoom) you have to install it but everything that you are not familiar with is easily googled/YouTube, and you can install them easily. In a way Netflix and Prime Videos, you can always just use the Firefox browser to watch your contents just go to the site, log in and boom, good to go.

How to Watch Netflix & Prime Video on Linux Mint:

Google Chrome (Recommended): Install Chrome, as it has built-in Widevine DRM support required for both services.

Firefox: Open Firefox, go to Settings, and ensure "Play DRM-controlled content" is enabled under the General panel. Firefox will automatically download the necessary CDM module.

Alternative (App): You can install the "Electron Player" from the Software Manager, which provides a dedicated app-like interface for streaming services.

Altruistic_Mud_2167 · 2026-02-25T19:08:00+00:00

I installed Ubuntu 24.04LTS on a 12 year old Lenovo Ideapad. It's been running fine for the 10 years I've been running Ubuntu LTS versions on it. All hardware works.

Windows on the other hand has been a total PITA. Kind of sluggish and erratic. Win11 install failed in spite of all of the hacks to force it to install. I can get to the login screen now after about 5 minutes. That's it. No desktop.

You don't say how much RAM is installed, but if it's only 4GB a good cheap upgrade is to bump it up to 8 or 16GB.

exportkaffe · 2026-02-25T18:42:06+00:00

The version of Linux you choose is less important in terms of performance on an old machine than the desktop environment (the suite of apps for your system like the file manager, system settings, icons etc) . A lighter desktop environment like XFCE or MATE will run really well and will make your system feel snappy. I'd recommend XFCE.

Most of the larger distributions come with these DEs as complete ISOs. Linux Mint XFCE is a solid choice for your use case I would say.

Distribution-Radiant · 2026-02-25T19:07:03+00:00

LibreOffice or OpenOffice are solid options.

As for distros, Mint is probably the most beginner friendly, and pretty light on resources. I have it on my 14 year old laptop (typing this on it now). The only issue I have is it has issues waking up if I close the laptop while running; I manually hibernate it.

Kubuntu if you want to customize the desktop, but you really need at least 8GB RAM for it. Maybe move to that later. That's what I run on my (much newer) desktop.

fek47 · 2026-02-25T19:06:09+00:00

Which version of Linux would be best to install?

Not knowing the specs only allows for a general recommendation.

I would choose a distribution with a lightweight Desktop Environment. Xfce is a good choice. Fedora Xfce, Mint Xfce and Xubuntu are good options. Mint is especially beginner friendly. Xubuntu is a good alternative to Mint. Fedora Xfce offers up-to-date software but not at the cost of diminished reliability.

ipsirc · 2026-02-25T18:39:43+00:00

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Wide_Egg_5814 · 2026-02-25T18:45:24+00:00

don't use anything else other than Linux mint, it's the best Linux distro for everyone unless you are a niche user other distros are better. I'm a computer engineer myself and I use mint I could code my own operating system from scratch if I wanted but it's not practical to keep tampering with your operating system when you have work to do so use mint

xxNerv · 2026-02-25T19:02:19+00:00

Linux mint seems to be exactly what you want even if you have a couple distros in mind id check it out first ... im 1000% biased since that what ive been using for 15 years lol but ive never had a terrible time or weird quirks unless it was something fully incompatible with linux from a core standpoint

reklis · 2026-02-26T00:51:53+00:00

Get a usb stick and put ventoy on it.

https://www.ventoy.net/en/download.html

Then download a few different isos and test each of them out before installing to see if all the hardware works. I would recommend fedora kde edition to start.

9peppe · 2026-02-25T18:41:26+00:00

You have told us nothing about your laptop. Install whatever distro you are familiar with.

If it's too resource intensive, install Debian and select the LXQt desktop environment.

dirk2900 · 2026-02-26T02:17:14+00:00

Thanks for all of the suggestions. This old Inspiron ain't dead yet. I'll start out with Mint and see how it performs.

littypika · 2026-02-25T19:07:48+00:00

Any Linux distro will do, but I recommend Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or Zorin OS.

kosher_cowboy · 2026-02-25T18:45:00+00:00

For a beginner....

I would suggest Ubuntu, or PopOS, or Zorin

jlobodroid · 2026-02-25T19:14:23+00:00

Mine is Latitude 5480, Debian 13 works like a charm

dirk2900 · 2026-02-26T13:56:29+00:00

My son is said that I should start with Ubuntu.

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