My mom was just given a used computer, and I'm having trouble resetting it

[Tuuvi]

I think I might have to convert it to Linux. I don't have the Windows discs and I'm probably not going to be getting them anytime soon.

I've never used Linux before, how does it differ from Windows and what do I need to know before I install it?

Thanks for the help guys.

[Xiahou]

I still recommend Linux Mint. If you've never used Linux before, there's always going to be a bit of an adjustment period. But Mint is, in my opinion, the most user-friendly for people coming from Windows.

The only choice you have to make is whether you want to use the Cinnamon or MATE desktops. Cinnamon is "newer" and a little flashier, so you might want to start there. You also have to pick between 32 bit and 64 bit versions. If you don't know which to pick, pick 32bit.

[caravel]

My mom's cousin just gave her one of her old desktops, a Dell running Windows Vista Home Basic.

I think I might have to convert it to Linux.

You might want to post the specs of that old desktop before going any further.

[Beskar]

If you got the Windows Serial Code, I believe you can access it via your system, get a copy of Vista home, and just do a reformat of the entire thing.

[Tuuvi]

You might want to post the specs of that old desktop before going any further.

Intel dual core 2160 @ 1.80 GHz, 3 GB RAM, ATI Radeon x1300/X1550 series graphics card.

[caravel]

Vista must have been horribly slow on that, even from a clean install and any newer version of windows won't be much better.

It will be a suitable system for a GNU/Linux system, but before you go down this route you should work out exactly what it is your mum needs to run on it. If it's just for web browsing then that's not a problem, but if there are some specific programs that would be required then you should research this before proceeding.

I would advise against gnome (and cinnamon which is a fork of gnome-shell) and KDE which are both on the heavy side.

The graphics should be ok, but don't waste time on the proprietary video driver as that GPU is unsupported. The FOSS driver (included in the Linux kernel) does support it.

I can't make any specific recommendation as I don't use or know much about the "easy" debian based distros (ubuntu, mint, etc). Just go with what others have said and give mint a try.

My preference would be for XFCE over Mate, but YMMV.

http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

[Xiahou]

Vista must have been horribly slow on that, even from a clean install and any newer version of windows won't be much better.

FWIW, I run Windows7 on some single core Celeron laptops and it's pretty smooth. The only part that stutters is full-screen video from youtube and whatnot. I would expect a dual core from the same generation to form a little better if anything. The biggest improvement was going from 1GB (which was still usable) to 3GB of RAM in my case.

I find Windows7 isn't very happy until it has at least 2GB of RAM....

But for Tuuvi, I'd give Mint a whirl. The only thing it will cost you is the price of a DVD-R, which isn't much in this day and age.