This lightweight Linux distro is the best way to revive your old computer. Here’s how

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Linux Lite 7.0 is available to download and install for free from the official site.
• This lightweight Linux distribution comes with everything you need and performs like an absolute champ.
• The default desktop is a bit bland, but it’s fairly easy to customize.

My friend recently wanted to bring an old laptop back to life. Her aging Intel MacBook was no longer supported by Apple, and instead of letting the machine wind up in a landfill somewhere, she decided to install Linux, an OS she’d never used before.

She started her quest with Linux Mint, which is always a good place to start. Unfortunately, the installation failed for her (mostly because of the doggedly slow nature of the machine), so she reached out.

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Given her hardware, there was only one logical suggestion to make — Linux Lite. This installation went well for her, except the keyboard layout was automatically selected incorrectly. Fortunately, that was an easy fix.

After this experience, I realized I hadn’t reviewed Linux Lite in a while, and it was time to rectify that. So, I downloaded the ISO, spun up a virtual machine, and in less than five minutes logged into the desktop.

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Any time I review a lightweight Linux distribution, I know what I’m getting into. They tend to be fairly generic, with a lack of eye candy and panache. They get the job done and not much more.  

That’s why Linux Lite struck me as unique among the “genre.” No, it doesn’t offer a plethora of effects or beautifications. It’s a very straightforward (albeit customized) version of the Xfce desktop, which means you can always further customize it to meet your needs. It took me all of two minutes to configure the desktop to how I prefer the interface (with a dock-like panel, no desktop icons, and a lighter theme).

I could even configure the Whisker Menu (desktop menu) to better suit my preferences.

As per usual with a lightweight Linux distribution, Linux Lite performed about as well as any desktop OS I’ve ever tried. It was fast. I gave the virtual machine I used 3GB of RAM and two CPU cores, and this distribution performed as if it had four times that power. Anyone with a machine that doesn’t have the resources to power the latest version of Windows would do very well with this distribution, especially if speed is your thing.

Out of the box, Linux Lite ships with Chrome, LibreOffice (including Base, to create databases), GIMP, Photo Manager, Deja Dup Backups, VLC media player, a USB image writer, an onscreen keyboard, Timeshift (for restore points), and more. In other words, Linux Lite isn’t light on applications. You could install this distribution and go about your work without the need to install much more. Should you need to install anything else, there’s the Synaptic Package Manager.

The one thing I did find missing from Linux Lite was a universal package manager, such as Snap or Flatpak. No problem. From within Synaptic, I was able to quickly search for, and install, both.

Of course, the centerpiece of a lightweight Linux distribution is the performance, and Linux Lite exceeded my expectations. Applications opened immediately; in fact, I’ve never seen Chrome open so fast.

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If my friend, who’d never touched Linux in her life, was able to easily get Linux Lite installed and working, you probably can too. Like I tell everyone… if you can install a Windows app, you can install modern Linux. It really is that simple, and Linux Lite proves that hypothesis.

This lightweight Linux distribution is ideal for anyone new to the open-source operating system or who needs to bring an old machine back to life.