It’s been about 8 years since I gave Linux a real chance. I have an Sony VAIO PCG-3D3l Laptop which was abandoned by it’s previous owner.
I have no real plans for it, except to install Linux, and if I get comfortable with it, it’s probably what I will end up doing my banking on, because as much as I love Windows, I can’t say I ever feel secure using Windows.
What are your recommendations? I consider myself an advanced user with most forms of technology (Have an A+ certification that’s older than this laptop), but not on the level most of the people reading this are probably on.
Well tried for Mint Xfce, but it wouldn’t take. Two installs and the same repeating error over 10,000 times and counting when I last shut it off. So decided to give Debian a try and I’m pretty sure I went with Xfce as well. And no issues as it booted successfully. Good times!
Maybe I’ll do the newbie thing and keep trying out different distros, I’m not sure at this point, but I will say it is nice to have a computer that doesn’t matter to me to mess with.
Spiral Linux. It’s Debian with customizations on top. You probably have a HDD. Flatpak/snap won’t play well with that.
You could try Opensuse tumbleweed for newer stuff, not sure how well your machine would hold up.
Puppy Linux might be an even safer choice than spiral Linux if you really want to stay lightweight.