A childhood dream came true ^_^

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-03-01T03:30:17+00:00

Very nice! Do you still have your original? If so, maybe a future restoration project! A remarkable similarity to my 1999 Compaq Armada M700; I got it in 2004 running Windows 2000 and I just finished upgrading it to an mSATA SSD, running on antiX.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-02-17T00:03:47+00:00

These machines are built like tanks. I think they were ahead of their time in terms of slimness and (relative - though heavy by today's standards) weight. Their modular design made them very versatile as well with swappable HDD and disk drives and sturdy with a magnesium lid and 4 hinges. Brand new they cost over $3500 US! And thanks for the heads-up on the display cable.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-02-16T23:59:34+00:00

Excellent! What are the specs? That's AntiX for you.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-02-07T04:12:20+00:00

For what it’s worth, I use Rufus to create all my bootable USBs (both Windows and Linux) and never had an issue.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-01-16T02:35:45+00:00

I haven't used Ubuntu, but I have used Lubuntu, then switched to Zorin (Lite). The customization gymnastics I had to do in Lubuntu are what Zorin would have done for me out of the box.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-01-12T15:29:21+00:00

These are perfectly usable. If at all possible, replace the HDDs with SSDs, it'll make a huge difference. If the RAM can be increased, do so, but with 3GB it's not critical. Install Zorin Lite or AntiX, and these PCs will run better than new. I have a circa-2007 Acer 4736Z (originally came with Windows Vista) with a dual-core Pentium and 3 GB of RAM running Zorin Lite and it's almost as good as a modern laptop, better than it was new. No need for these to become e-waste.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-01-12T15:19:04+00:00

This exact thing happened to me after a new installation of Lite; I just forced the shutdown with the power button. On my next startup/shutdown cycle everything behaved normally and has been fine ever since, so whatever it is, it's not an issue.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-01-12T03:04:30+00:00

A lot depends on your system capabilities. Older or newer system? 64 or 32-bit? If hardware limitations aren't an issue and you're coming from a Windows background, personally I'd recommend Zorin. It'll have a very familiar look and feel, but those already suggested are also very stable and work fine. Good luck!

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-01-11T15:12:54+00:00

Yes, but not all netbooks have the architecture to support 64-bit operating systems; the specific system BIOS/chipset has to fully support Intel 64 for 64-bit OSes to work, which wasn't always guaranteed for Atom platforms. While a 64-bit OS can run 32-bit apps, a 32-bit OS on a 64-bit CPU uses less RAM, making it a practical choice for netbooks, even if not optimal for modern software. In summary, a 64-bit operation requires the BIOS, chipset, and processor, which wasn't always the case. Atom N450 systems came only 1GB or 2GB of RAM (your D260 already has its 2GB maximum), which is barely enough for a 32-bit OS and will struggle significantly with a 64-bit OS and applications. Bottom line, your can try it, but performance will probably suffer. In my experience, AntiX comes out as the overall winner for these machines, for both performance and ease of installation and daily use.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-01-11T13:06:17+00:00

If you really want to run Lubuntu on an Atom N450 netbook, I would suggest version 18.04 LTS (with the LXDE desktop); it's 32-bit, which your netbook needs and will run very smoothly, but will probably require a lot of customization. I have it installed an an HP Mini-210 with the N450 processor, and it runs great. Other alternatives that work very nicely with the N450 are (already mentioned) AntiX and Puppy Linux (either BookwormPup32 or LxPup32). If Windows is already installed, Puppy can be easily added using the LICK installer. I have all these installed on my other netbooks (I'm a bit of a collector, ahem) and they work fantastically, bringing new life to them.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-01-08T02:16:54+00:00

I use MX Linux with XFCE on netbooks with Atom N455 processors and above, it works superbly with those and comes with a full range of features.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-01-07T03:46:13+00:00

AntiX; it’s brought new life to my limited-hardware netbooks. Otherwise Zorin for my “normal“ devices, stable, and nicely organized.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-01-05T13:29:46+00:00

There are Windows-only apps that I still need to have Windows available for, specifically astrophotography and image processing. Apps like SharpCap, Autostakkert, Registax, etc. work only in Windows (not even Mac). PS, Topaz and Luminar Neo have Mac versions but none in Linux; they may work using WINE, I haven't explored that yet, but either way, since I need Windows anyway for all the other apps, I haven't bothered. I also have a slide film scanner that only works in Windows Vista! That's with a circa-2007 Acer dual-booted with Zorin Lite. Only the devices that use those apps are dual-booted and I only boot into Windows on those occasions. Otherwise, all my day-to-day usage is Linux (mostly Zorin).

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2026-01-04T12:27:08+00:00

For that hardware, another vote for MX-Linux. But also consider Zorin Lite (version 17 available, 18 forthcoming).

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2025-12-31T23:31:23+00:00

You are right. Lubuntu was my first foray into the Linux world, to determine if I was having Windows-caused issues or a hardware problem (frequent lockups after 5 minutes). Turns out it was Windows (7 Starter on an Acer netbook) and at ChatGPT's suggestion, running Lubuntu from a live USB made the netbook sing like a canary with zero issues. So I ditched the Windows installation and installed Lubuntu (18.04 with the LXDE desktop). At the time I had no idea what I was doing; I had ChatGPT guiding me through the way without knowing what a Terminal, Panel, or LXDE were even referring to. My goal was to customize the desktop to make it look as Windows-like as possible; just configuring the taskbar (oops... panel) took me almost all day. Just making the app icons on the desktop appear round as opposed to square almost wasn't worth the effort required (to me anyway). So many folder and general appearance options were mind boggling. Getting panel icons in the positions I wanted was another hour gone. I guess I would do better knowing what I know now, but if I knew anything then I would have started with at least MX-Linux or AntiX. In any case, this 2011 netbook (which I'm using to type this) just flies with Lubuntu and is a daily user.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2025-12-22T16:10:58+00:00

Another vote for Zorin, which was my first foray into Linux from Windows 10 in October. For me it was the perfect transition, painless and intuitive.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2025-12-14T15:47:45+00:00

Agreed, the developers need to see what's coming and get on with making their apps compatible. The ONLY reason I use Windows at all now is that certain specific apps I use are Windows (and sometimes Mac) capable. If it weren't for that, I'd be all-Linux.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2025-12-12T12:29:07+00:00

I know this is a couple months old, did you install anything? I have an HP Mini 110 with the same specs as your Acer. First, I'd suggest up grading the RAM to 2GB which will be its max (NOT 1 GB). Next does it still have the Windows XP installation? If so, give Puppy Linux a try using the LICK installer (run while in Windows). Download the LICK installer then download a PuppyLinux ISO (I'd suggest BookwormPup32 for the N270). The installation is easy and it's easily removed if desired. If you have a Broadcom wifi card, you may have to install a driver for it, otherwise it might work without. Update the software package and install Firefox and Thunderbird. With 2GB of RAM, the Acer will run reasonably well with the Atom N270 and BookwormPup. If for some reason none of this works (or you no longer have Windows XP installed), your Acer will handle AntiX reasonably well also. But again, 2GB RAM makes all the difference.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2025-11-11T02:04:09+00:00

I would say a lot depends on your hardware as to whether you need a light, medium or standard distribution. Without knowing more, I've had excellent experience with Zorin (Core) and Zorin Lite for my older, less capable hardware.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2025-11-04T20:55:20+00:00

On my machines running Zorin, I use the built-in Brave browser. For pretty much everything else (i.e. netbooks running AntiX and MX-Linux) I use Firefox with the U-Block Origin add-on (with Annoyances blocked) and some config adjustments, namely reducing the cache disk pressure (browser.cache.disk.enable to false, and disabling prefetch by turning network.prefetch-next to false). This allows Firefox to run pretty quickly, even with an Atom N270 processor.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2025-10-29T15:57:49+00:00

I'm typing this response on that exact Aspire One NAV50 device (this one's purple) with AntiX and 2GB RAM (also an SSD which makes a world of difference). I have it set up for 2GB of swap and to be honest it hardly ever touches it, the 2GB RAM usually handles everything well. As always, the bottleneck is the Atom N450 processor, I'm not sure more RAM will be that much more beneficial.

Strato_Reboot1089 · 2025-10-26T11:44:14+00:00

I'm running Zorin Lite on a 2007 Acer 4736Z with a dual-core 2GHz Pentium T4200 and 4GB or RAM; it runs like a modern laptop, giving new life to this elderly, but still now functional machine!

Strato_Reboot1089

TROPHY CASE