Would an SSD speed up a slow Laptop

[Radio Fixer]

Well the SSD came and was quickly installed. I tried loading Mint from the Linux Shop DVD as its known on this Forum that the USB Mem stick method, as outlined by Jeffery, works. It did the first part from Option 1 on the Menu correctly but failed on the Mint install. Got about 70% thru and then went round and around in a loop with the DVD drive flogging itself to bits. So dont recommend the DVD to folks.

Onward and try from the USB Mem Stick: no problems and its now on the Laptop which seems quick with the new SSD and double the memory. I just have to find my way around Linux now.

thanks Gary

[ppppenguin]

Well done. It's usually easier to instal from USB stick than DVD. Optical drives can wear out - most are pretty old now - or get muck inside. DVDs can get damaged - if you try to write on the label side with a ball point pen you can cause massive data loss.

I use Mint Cinnamon so the look and feel will be somewhat different to Mint Mate. Most things should just work. Web browsing, documents and spreadsheets, photos and videos are all handled with pre-installed applications. But you don't have to use them if you don't like them. If you don't like (for example) the PDF reader you can browse for others using the Software Manager which should be easily accessible from the "start" button. Libreoffice will save documents as .ODT (open document text) files by default. It can open and save .DOC and .DOCX files but I recommend that you only use these when you have to work with other people who only have Microsoft Office. Repeated conversion between DOCX and ODT can occasionally give problems. Compatibility isn't perfect but it's good enough for most purposes.

You don't really need anti-virus programs with Linux. One thing I recommend is installing Ghostery as an add-on to Firefox. Look in Tools>Addons. It makes the web much pleasanter to use. Mike Watterson will probably recommend Noscript but that needs some work for best results.

[Radio Fixer]

Thanks Jeffery

The DVD way should have worked as the Laptop has been kept stored in a clean cupboard so no dirt inside. Its as new really as my wife only used it a few times. It plays other DVDs OK.

Gary

[ppppenguin]

Now you know how to download a Linux distro and make a bootable USB stick you're good to go. The learning curve was a bit steep but you've climbed it.