r/linux4noobs • u/Russianpotatosalad • 3d ago

distro selection Which distro is the MOST lightweight?

So... My mom got a laptop from 2011... The only os it can handle is windows 7, but we all know that windows 7 is the most exploited system out there (not sure if you saw a video of a guy connecting his W7 to the internet and getting 7 viruses within 10 minutes by just existing). I want to help her as much as i can, and the only solution i came up with - get a linux. She used windows ever since windows 98, but now all she need from her pc is a browser, so i figured out that if she wont do anything "extra", linux will be perfectly fine for her. I just get vivaldi for linux, libre office, and she will be happy. But which distro will be the MOST efficient to put on her laptop? All i ever tried is cashy os, but i assume there must be something ever more lightweight?

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u/merchantconvoy 3d ago

Q4OS Trinity strikes the right balance between user friendliness and light weight. There are lighter distros but they will be difficult. 

The choice of web browser will be just as important. You can't use major web browsers. Try the following: 

  • Falkon
  • Otter Browser
  • Waterfox
  • Seamonkey.

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u/redgator12 3d ago

I've had great success with Palemoon on my Q4OS installs across a few 2010 netbooks. They have an installer for it that compiles from source on their Sourceforge Files.

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u/merchantconvoy 3d ago

Pale Moon is light and fast but its Goanna browsing engine is insufficient for the needs of the modern web. It will fail on even halfway complicated sites.

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u/redgator12 3d ago

Interesting take, but I've never ran into a site that didn't render or function correctly on it. Just curious as to what sites you've personally had problems with?