# Solved: Will Elementary OS run on these specs?



## ll-dAb-ll (Oct 17, 2013)

My sister owns a Samsung NC10 with the following specs:

160 GB 2.5″ SATA HDD
1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270
1 GB DDR2 RAM
3 USB 2.0 ports

Right now, it is running Windows 7 Ultimate, but runs EXTREMELY slowly. It takes about a while to register any kind of input (like clicking on the 'show desktop')

*Do you think that Elementary OS or Windows XP would run smoothly on this computer?*

I want to stay away from Linux distributions as much as possible (like Puppy Linux, MacPup, Lubuntu, etc...) as they don't offer support for running programs needed for University.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

dont put XP onto the PC as that OS is now end of life and no support 
see here
http://forums.techguy.org/windows-xp/1119493-end-support-windows-xp.html

i would suggest to run windows you will need to upgrade the memory RAM
quite a few web pages explaining how to do that 
2GB appears to be the maximum memory you can use in this PC

Did the PC originally come with Windows 7 ultimate ?
The user manual says windows XP 
whats written on the CoA label on the PC ?
Do you have a genuine legal version of windows 7 ultimate ?

goto www.crucial.com and run the scanner tool - that will tell you the memory you can use and how much the pc will support
http://www.crucial.com/store/drammemory.aspx

user manual here
http://www.samsung.com/ae/consumer/computers-peripherals/notebook/netbook/NP-NC10-KA01AE-support


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## ll-dAb-ll (Oct 17, 2013)

It came with genuine Windows 7 Starter. But was upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate with a used product key that we purchased for the desktop. The problem is that DDR2 Laptop RAM is pretty difficult to find in Australia.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

> But was upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate with a used product key that we purchased for the desktop


 if its on the desktop , you cannot use on another PC.


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## ll-dAb-ll (Oct 17, 2013)

You can, it just says that Windows is not genuine in the bottom right hand corner, and won't remember changes in the desktop background. Found it kind of boring to see a black desktop every time it booted up, so we activated over the phone.

But do you think it can run Elementary OS?


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

as i said in previous posts


> i would suggest to run windows you will need to upgrade the memory RAM
> quite a few web pages explaining how to do that
> 2GB appears to be the maximum memory you can use in this PC


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## ll-dAb-ll (Oct 17, 2013)

My apologies, but that doesn't quite answer my question as to whether Elementary OS will run smoothly on those specifications. You've only told me to upgrade my RAM and install Windows XP.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

it will run, much better then the machine with 1GB

I usually would recommend people get 4GB minimum, however, you do not have that option

there are quite a lot of factors , which determine speed , CPU , Memory , Harddrive access

Also its perception,as to what you would call smoothly and what others would find acceptable

try this

Run task manager 
Control + ALT + Delete
and look at the performance tab and now see if you get 100% CPU , each time you do things
see here
http://brandonlive.com/2010/02/21/measuring-memory-usage-in-windows-7/
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/2005/05/tip-of-the-day-use-task-manager-to-track-memory-usage/


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

> my question as to whether Elementary OS will run smoothly on those specifications.


But you also said, "I want to stay away from Linux distributions"?

Have you read the Technical Specifications in the User Guide? The best way to determine how a given Linux distribution will run in a given computer is to try it.


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## prunejuice (Apr 3, 2002)

I run Linux Mint with the MATE desktop on a netbook with similar specs.

Elementary OS should run fine, usable at least. Your best bet would be an LXDE-based distro.


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## ll-dAb-ll (Oct 17, 2013)

Thank you to everyone for your help. It is much appreciated. 

I've decided to dual boot Windows XP and Elementary OS on the laptop. Hopefully I can find 2GB of DDR2 RAM so I can upgrade it, but it seems unlikely.

I wanted Elemtentary OS basically because it looked pretty. Not for me, but for my sister, since the only reason she installed Ultimate was to be able to have aero enabled. I was hoping a fast and attractive looking OS would change her mind about changing Operating Systems.

Yes, I read the technical specifications for Elemtentary OS, and the laptop exceeds them. However, I installed Lubuntu on my old desktop computer that exceeded the recommended specs to run it, but it still ran relatively slowly.

I'm not sure what's wrong with the Lubuntu on my desktop, as it won't run Docky on startup, despite having put it in the startup folder (or whatever it was called), nor will it allow me to change the screen resolution.


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