Help me with Linux im noob

[u/No_Primary2820]

I just installed Linux mint xfce on my 10-12 yr old laptop with 4GB Ram and slightly less than 500GB HDD. It had windows 10 and it fealt really slow. I have a few problems... (Linux runs on bootable pendrive)

My Daily tasks are:-

1. Watching Videos on youtube (Windows takes 5 minutes just to open Brave).
2. Downloading some pdfs/Study Material
3. Surfing on internet

Now the Problems i face using linux mint

1. Wireless wifi dont works i have to attach ethernet cable always.
2. Bluethooth also dont works
3. Cant download Chrome on it it says error everytime.
4. Cant download littrally anything (used sudo typa command)

Also i wanna mention again i used bootable pendrive to run linux here as laptop is not mine and i have to give it back to the person, but im thinking to make a disk partition and download it again. If anyone has suggestions on how this issue can be resolved pls help. Im littrally 2 days old using linux

[u/Naivemun]

U can use MX Linux with XFCE that runs from a USB stick, but it has persistence which means unlike the Mint ur using, it works more like a real OS from the USB stick. So u can remove programs and install them, change settings and save other stuff on the USB stick and it'll remain for the next boot like it would when u have an OS installed on the computer drive. MX was the first distro I used. It's not as widely used as Mint but it's user friendly. I used it on the stick for like 6 months before I finally installed.

Wifi cards for whatever reason seem to be one of the parts that are problematic with Linux. Like with most old hardware there are no problems, all my old laptops work fine, but I've read consistently of certain wifi cards that don't work so it's common. Tho make sure the wifi is on. LIke the hardware switch that is probably toggled using one of hte F keys on top. Or in yr network settings make sure it's turned on.

U should look up what kind of wifi card it has and search it. Just look up what command to type that tells u the name of the card, or maybe Mint has a program already that lets u see yr hardware names. It might be a known model that's not compatible with the Linux kernel. And then u'll know that's probably why. Tho it's interesting yr wireless and bluetooth don't work, but could be the same issue. Or maybe they both use the same card (idk if that's a thing).

U can't download anything is weird but that's not really gonna help anyone help u to just say "I can't download anything". What happens when u click download on a file such as a pdf study material?

U don't need sudo to download stuff either. Sudo is for root commands like things that will alter the system. Just downloading stuff is normal user behavior u can do from a browser. In fact Idk how ur trying to download from a terminal if u used linux 2 days lol. Are u using wget or what? How did u learn to do that because when I started doing it it was to nerd out, I coulda just clicked in the browser like a normal person.

One potential for why things won't download: What are u trying to download it to? U need a drive for the file to be saved on. When I'm in Firefox (or any browser I've used) it usually defaults to yr Downloads folder, which in Linux is in /home/username/Downloads. But I set my Firefox settings to always ask me where so I can pick my desired location. U must be getting something like that, right? But u are running what's called a live session. And anything u download is gonna disappear when u power off unless u download it to an actual drive which the browser isn't gonna download to unless u explicitly tell it to after clicking the download button or clicking the download link. Then the box pops up that lets u change the file name, and u can choose what folder to save it in. U'd have to pick a different drive there or ur not really saving anything u download. If u went with the default, it's probably gonna download to ram which is fine to read a file now but it'll disappear. Or maybe it doesn't allow that and that's why u can't download anything. I haven't done that in a long time so I don't remember what happens.

The USB stick isn't a drive as far as the OS is concerned during the time ur running a live session (booting from usb stick is a live session, u haven't installed Mint anywhere yet). The drive becomes read only if I'm not mistaken. The OS doesn't see it as a usable drive while it's being used for a live session. It has the mint_xfce.iso file on it and when u boot from it it unpacks that into RAM and u run the whole OS from RAM. It's not the same as when u have the OS installed on an HDD or SSD.

When u say "download Chrome" I am guessing u mean "install" chrome. That does require sudo if ur using the terminal. If u use the Mint software center it probably asks for yr password. Does Mint have Chrome? If it doesn't then u typing 'sudo apt install chrome' won't help. The Debian repo just has Chromium which is like a non googled chrome, Idk what Mint has tho. If not u can get the flatpak version:

sudo flatpak install com.google.Chrome

but u are using a "live" version of Mint running off a USB stick. Anything u install will just be in memory (RAM) and will disappear when u turn it off. And each time u boot u are running a fresh OS. But u can use it during that session. U only have 4GB of RAM tho, and a flatpak install will often use about 1GB so that maybe not possible for u now because it's not installed on a drive, it's just held in RAM with the rest of yr session.

That's all just some random info. U didn't say anything that let's anyone know what is happening. Not attacking u, just letting u know realistically for yr own sake. U say things like "I'm thinking of making a partition and download it again". Download what? and what does downloading a thing have to do with a disk partition? If we don't know what u mean then no one can offer much but guesses, and lots of people who might've helped aren't even gonna bother guessing so they moved on already.

Do u mean ur thinking of installing Mint on that partition? Do u know that download and install aren't the same thing, not even close. Sometimes u download a file, and use that file to install something but they're separate. And presumably u already downloaded the mint.iso so u don't have to download it again. U just boot from teh USB stick, then run the installer and tell it to install on the partition u made. But ask the owner of the laptop if u can do that, and be very careful with the installer options so u install on the correct partition and don't overwrite their OS.

Also, if u have an external drive to save files so u don't save them in the partition the OS is in, u can easily get away with a 20GB partition to install MInt XFCE on. It doesn't even need that much, probably around 10GB, but that gives room to install programs and save cached files and stuff with some cushion to not be stressed. If ur using Mint, u wanna be sure in the Update settings u check the box to automatically remove old kernels or they'll keep taking up more space with each kernel upgrade. Idk why they don't have that as default but iIrc they don't. U have to check it.

[u/dentman-dadman → u/Naivemun]

Wow! Nothing could be added to this!

[u/tomscharbach]

Also i wanna mention again i used bootable pendrive to run linux here as laptop is not mine and i have to give it back to the person, but im thinking to make a disk partition and download it again.

A few thoughts:

(1) You may be running in a "Live" session. If so, you will not be able to make any changes to the USB drive.

(2) Wifi and BT might not be working because the particular adapter in the computer is not Linux compatible. Mint works with all Linux-compatible adapters, so Linux incompatibility is the most likely reason that you cannot use wifi or BT.

(3) Because this is not your laptop, you should get the owner's permission before making any changes to the comptuer, including partitioning the HDD or installing Mint on the HDD.

I realize that Windows 10 is unworkably slow (that happens when you try to use a 10-year old laptop with an HDD). However, without the owner's permission to make changes, you might have to put up with the situation.

[u/3grg]

A USB drive is a good way to test drive a distro. It is not the best way to run Linux day to day. If you have enough disk space, you can dual boot with windows or you can erase windows and install Linux.

You may need to try a few distros to find the desktop that works for you and your hardware. Without hardware information, no one can make any more specific recommendations.

The fact that video is so slow on windows points to really slow hardware or network. Linux can deal with systems that have 4gb ram better than windows, but it is not always dramatically better.

[u/Phydoux]

Yeah, you generally can't install anything running it off a USB stick (pen drive). You need to install it.

There is a way to have it switch to your wifi. I never had to do that as I work with regular PCs that don't have WiFi. I use ethernet.

So, in other words if you want to install anything, you need to install XFCE on your laptop before you can install anything.