Windows XP to Linux Version Replacement

Da Mail Man

Da Mail Man

Active Member
Greetings All - It's been a while!

1)...I have a few older Dell desktops (32 bit) that have Windows XP on them.....

2)...Was looking at Linux a few years ago and thought of it last night.....

3)...Would placing a Linux OS on any of these work?....

4)...I worry about drivers and functionality....

As you know, XP is no longer supported and I though I had read some time ago that Linux would be a decent upgrade.......Any responses are appreciated.
 
Google works well. Zorin OS most closely resembles XP.
zorin.com

Zorin OS - Make your computer better.

Discover the alternative to Windows and macOS designed to make your computer faster, more powerful, secure, and privacy-respecting.
zorin.com zorin.com

Linux Mint is another good option.

Home - Linux Mint

Linux Mint is an elegant, easy to use, up to date and comfortable desktop operating system.
linuxmint.com linuxmint.com
 
Thanks for the reply....
Was looking to erase XP and use Linux ("L") as some sites don't like "parts of XP" and makes it more difficult to use the net...

I am concerned about the drivers and if "L" carried any......Most of the computers here are dell desktops......Am I held to what "L" has - meaning that if I wanted to use Firefox, could I?....Could I also use "T-Bird" as an e-mail client?

Lots of questions I know but, hat to dive into this and have it all back-fire on me.
 
Weren't you the guy who was like saying he'd never upgrade?

You can just pick a distro and use a liveusb to check it out if you wanted. Ubuntu generally has the biggest repo and largest user base so when you google issues you have more of a wealth of information.
 
Weren't you the guy who was like saying he'd never upgrade?
MAYBE - MAYBE NOT HOWEVER, I DON'T WANT TO UPGRADE..SOME OF THE LAST BROWSERS THAT WORK WITH XP
(caps - oops!) won't work on some sites, leaving me frustrated....

You can just pick a distro and use a liveusb to check it out if you wanted.
I have Kali Linux laying around from a long time ago I used for other purposes......

Ubuntu generally has the biggest repo and largest user base so when you google issues you have more of a wealth of information.
I may, after the 1st of the year, look around to see what's up with "L"...

Thanks for the reply...
 
kali is generally ill advised as a daily driver

Also it’s odd to say something is laying around when you can just get a new iso in a few seconds. If you want a pen test repo with a general use platform then check out parrot
 
LiveUSB is your friend to test the distro with your computer. I would think you can get linux drivers if needed. Thunderbird and Firefox should work as normal.
 
Adding some notes for anyone that comes across this later.

Drivers in Linux are all handled by the kernel, so if it works in a "live CD" environment it should work when installed. You can load additional drivers (sudo modprobe <thing>) but that is not the standard way of doing things. Hardware from the XP era if it was going to be supported, it should be supported by now. The things you need to worry about would be things like add in cards (either usb or other) that have windows only drivers. As a general rule, Beers has the best idea, pick something and see if it works.

A few notes:
If you are running low on resources, look at something specifically for lower end systems https://puppylinux-woof-ce.github.io/ it looks like they still have a 32 bit image if that is needed based on your cpu. Things like Linux Mint and Lubunut Xubuntu are also potentials worth looking at.

Firefox and Thunderbird work fine. I use them every day on Linux

Kali is a really bad daily driver. It't not a bad distro, just built for something different.

Be sure to run your updates on Linux!

If you want to succeed at migrating to Linux, learn the Linux way of doing things. If you try and force it into the workflow you are used to with Windows it will not go well.

Good Luck!
 
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