Replacing Windows with Linux

[improvcornartist]

I have an old Windows 2000 laptop, 6 Gb hard drive. The OS takes up nearly 5 Gb. It runs slow and sometimes has virtual memory problems. If I were to wipe the hard drive and install a small version of Linux, what difference in performance could I expect?

[arunmib]

my suggestions would be,

Damn Small Linux - runs even on a 486 based (would like to meet somebody using it) with 16MB of RAM. So your system must be abundantly resourceful...

I don't exactly know how to rate the difference in performance you would see.....

Others that could be considered are,
Puppy Linux
Zenwalk Linux

[improvcornartist]

Thanks for the info. I'll look into those. I'm hoping to get the computer to run a bit faster and smoother, if possible.

[harshadd]

Any linux OS will be always better and stable than any MSWindows based O.system..GA.. wipe off 2000 and install any linux eaven with GUI based applications it will be always better than MSOS

[numberwhun]

I have an old Windows 2000 laptop, 6 Gb hard drive. The OS takes up nearly 5 Gb. It runs slow and sometimes has virtual memory problems. If I were to wipe the hard drive and install a small version of Linux, what difference in performance could I expect?

As well as Damn Small Linux, which was already suggested, I also suggest either Ubuntu or Kubuntu. They provide a minimalistic install and allow you to install what you need to do your work. Plus, they are user friendly and well documented too, with a growing community.

Regards,

Jeff