It is free. I am currently using Lubuntu and Mint which are the light versions of Ubuntu, and require fewer hardware resources. All programs I use work on a minimal computer system. Did I say all the programs I use are free? They include Visual Studio Code editor, GIMP (like Photoshop), Filezilla, and gThumb (like Paint). There are also LibreOffice programs that emulate Word, and Excel. Both of these programs are excellent.
The minimum hardware requirements for installation are those of the operating system you are using (either Lubuntu LTS, or Mint, or Windows10). My Lubuntu laptop has 4 GB Ram and an 800 MHz processor. I suggest you go with the minimum hardware requirements below, which are also the minimum requirements for Windows10. However you will need a minimum of 8G of RAM to run Windows.
Suggested minimum hardware requirements for Lubuntu LTS, Linux Mint, and Windows10 are as follows. (If you currently have Linux on your computer type lscpu at the command line to see the processor info. To see the amount of RAM type free at the command line. To see the amount of disk space you have type df at the command line.)
Installing Lubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) on your laptop. You can get a used laptop on Ebay for about $200 - $240. I bought an HP laptop from Target for $240. You do not need an operating system on the laptop. I don’t recommend Chromebooks, as they have more complex installation procedures for Linux. I suggest downloading Ubuntu or Lubuntu with Long Term Support since it is their most stable distribution of Ubuntu. The following instructions assume you have a Microsoft windows computer to download the Ubuntu iso to. If the laptop you buy has a CD/DVD drive you can download the Lubuntu iso from the Lubuntu website and burn it onto a CD/DVD. The laptop you buy should have two USB ports. I prefer downloading the Ubuntu iso to a Windows computer and copy it to a USB stick.
It is important to check that the download is precise. Any download mistake will create problems later on. We check precise download using the a hash with the SHA-256 algorithm. We will use the method described below for downloading the iso to your Windows computer..
We will use the following procedure when downloading an iso image onto a Windows computer. The iso will be used in the Lubuntu or Mint installation. Google Lubuntu downloads. Navigate to the download page. Select the version of Lubuntu you wish to download. I suggest LTS for Long Term Support. Click on the download link. You will see the iso file download progress in the lower left corner. After it is complete select Open file. The iso file will be opened in Windows Explorer. Shift + Right Click on the iso file name, and select Copy as path.
We will use Windows Powershell to get the sha256 hash for the Lubuntu iso file. At the bottom left of the desktop use Search to locate powershell.exe. Click on the application name and the command line will open. Type get-filehash -path . Add one space. Right click in the space and the path to filename.iso will appear. Press Enter. In a minute the hash produced by the sha256 algorithm will appear.
Return to the internet downloads page for the Lubuntu iso and click on the SHA-256 link to get the hash. Compare this hash to the one on the Windows computer. If it is correct, we are ready to go. If not correct, we must repeat the download, and repeat the Windows hash.
A legacy BIOS is the older version of BIOS. UEFI is the newer system. You should be able to tell which you have by opening the BIOS upon boot of your computer. As soon as you turn the laptop on press one of the following keys repeatedly. Common keys to enter the BIOS are F1, F2, F10, Delete, and Esc. Also try key combinations like Ctrl + Alt + Esc or Ctrl + Alt + Delete, although those are more common on older machines. Do not give up if it does not work the first time. Check the internet for BIOS boot keys for your computer. For my laptop I had to format the USB stick twice. First I tried it for legacy BIOS using Universal-USB-Installer. The second time I tried it using Rufus for UEFI type systems.
While you are in the BIOS you will make one or two changes in the boot section. First if present, disable Secure Boot (Which is known as Windows S Mode.) Second, change the boot sequence so that the USB stick is at the top of the boot list. Save your changes and exit.
These instructions apply to older computers. These directions require a Microsoft windows computer with internet access and a 8Gb USB Version 2.0 stick formatted with FAT32 or NTFS (most USB sticks come formatted like this). If not, do a Windows format. Download Universal-USB-Installer from www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/ There are other USB installers out there also.
You may decide to dual boot your computer if Windows is already present. If so you must defrag and optimize the installation computer harddrive before installation. You have nothing to lose. Harddrives are plenty large, and it will not slow your computer down. If worst comes to worst you can do a full Mint or Ubuntu install!
Plug your Lubuntu LTS boot stick into the USB port of the laptop. Turn on your laptop. The computer should boot from the Lubuntu LTS boot stick. If not, proceed to next section on UEFI systems. You can explore Lubuntu without making any changes to your harddrive. If you decide to install, click on the Install Lubuntu icon. If you decide not to install, power off the computer using the Lubuntu screen. Remove the USB stick, and Press Enter. You may decide to dual boot your computer if Windows is already present.Just follow the instructions.
Modern computers use the UEFI system for a BIOS. This requires a UEFI boot stick created with Rufus, which is similar to the Universal Installer above.
These instructions apply to older computers. These directions require a Microsoft windows computer with internet access and a 8Gb USB Version 2.0 stick formatted with FAT32 or NTFS (most USB sticks come formatted like this). If not, do a Windows format. Download Rufus Installer from the internet.
Plug your Lubuntu LTS boot stick into the USB port of the laptop. Turn on your laptop. The computer should boot from the Lubuntu LTS boot stick. You can explore Lubuntu without making any changes to your harddrive. If you decide to install, click on the Install Lubuntu icon. If you decide not to install, power off the computer using the Lubuntu screen. Remove the USB stick, and Press Enter.
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