Regarding Installation of best linux destro for dell n5110 laptop

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jasdeepsingh

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Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on installing a Linux OS on my old Dell laptop (N5110) with 4GB RAM and an i5 2nd gen processor. I use it mainly for coding, browsing, and study-related tasks like working with Excel and PowerPoint. Currently, I'm on Windows 7, but it lags a lot and lacks security updates.

I’m considering switching to Linux for better performance and security. However, I’m worried about potential driver issues since Dell doesn’t provide Linux drivers for my model. Can anyone recommend the best Linux distro for my needs and guide me through the installation process? If there are any good video tutorials, that would be awesome.

I'll be backing up my data on an external HDD before starting.

Thanks a lot!
 


jasdeepsingh said:
I’m worried about potential driver issues since Dell doesn’t provide Linux drivers for my model.
Click to expand...
With dell the sticking point was mainly Wi-Fi drivers, historically Dell used BCM Wi-Fi, BCM drivers are available in most popular builds, in recent years they have been using Intewf for the Wi-Fi, drivers for this are in the kernel drivers.

Your machine is around 2012 it will probably be BCM,
take your pick of distributions, [this dell lappy regularly runs Mint LMDE, , Parrot home edition . MX-linux and, mint 21[Ubuntu based]
The first 3 are medium weight, Mint [ubuntu] is a little heavier.
 
Last edited:
Brickwizard said:
With dell the sticking point was mainly Wi-Fi drivers, historically Dell used BCM Wi-Fi, BCM drivers are available in most popular builds, in recent years they have been using Intewf for the Wi-Fi, drivers for this are in the kernel drivers.

Your machine is around 2012 it will probably be BCM,
take your pick of distributions, [this dell lappy regularly runs Mint LMDE, , Parrot home edition . MX-linux and, mint 21[Ubuntu based]
The first 3 are medium weight, Mint [ubuntu] is a little heavier.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info! I appreciate the insight about the Wi-Fi drivers. My laptop does indeed date back to around 2012, so it’s likely to have BCM. Based on your experience, I’ll check out Mint LMDE, Parrot Home Edition, MX-Linux, and Mint 21 (Ubuntu-based).

Do you have any specific tips or recommendations for the installation process, particularly regarding handling the drivers? Also, are there any particular features or performance benefits you’ve noticed with these distros on similar hardware?
 
the Distro's I have listed are ones I run regularly on this machine, there are plenty of others that do. \\\\\\
you can read some of my thoughts in the following articles.
linux-tips.us

How Do I Install Linux (A General Guide) • Linux Tips

Today, I will try to answer one of the most common questions asked by the newcomer to Linux; “How do I install Linux”
linux-tips.us linux-tips.us

As for the BCM drivers, you will need either a wired or data mobile connection to download and install them.
 
jasdeepsingh said:
Also, are there any particular features or performance benefits you’ve noticed with these distros on similar hardware?
Click to expand...
Mint [Ubuntu] is a tad slower than the others, Parrot home 6 is a new release and still has a few bugs the team are trying to sort out, MX is quick fairly secure but leans towards office use. Mint LMDE is ideal for beginners,
 
I bought a 32GB USB drive, and after doing some research about MX Linux, I found that I can test my system drivers by booting into Live mode from the USB drive.
What are the important drivers that I must check before installing MX Linux? I have backed up the majority of my important files, but not everything, as some important things are left. Also, I found that after installing some operating systems, the fan doesn't work properly.
 
jasdeepsingh said:
I found that after installing some operating systems, the fan doesn't work properly.
Click to expand...
this can happen,

OK so when you boot to "Live /Demo mode, make sure the keyboard & mouse works ok, check the camera [if you have one] using cheese to see if its working ok, check the sound and wi-f, best way to do this is connect to your internet, go to your favourite music video site, and play your favourite bit of music. If it look good and sounds good, you will know all 3 are working, If you have a fingerprint reader this will be hit-and-miss as to if it works.
if you have printers/scanners [or all in ones we can point you in the direction for the drivers, just tell us the make and full model number.
 
Brickwizard said:
this can happen,

OK so when you boot to "Live /Demo mode, make sure the keyboard & mouse works ok, check the camera [if you have one] using cheese to see if its working ok, check the sound and wi-f, best way to do this is connect to your internet, go to your favourite music video site, and play your favourite bit of music. If it look good and sounds good, you will know all 3 are working, If you have a fingerprint reader this will be hit-and-miss as to if it works.
if you have printers/scanners [or all in ones we can point you in the direction for the drivers, just tell us the make and full model number.
Click to expand...
I am having trouble booting my usb drive from windows 7 as rufus is not supported and balenaetcher is not installing and used unetbootin then blue screen error appeared but got fixed automatically when I removed usb drive. Now I am not going to use unetbootin. I also try older version of Rufus but there is something older version problem of grub so I don't want to take risk. I don't know what software should I use to boot usb.
 
jasdeepsingh said:
I am having trouble booting my usb drive from windows 7 as rufus is not supported and balenaetcher is not installing and used unetbootin then blue screen error appeared but got fixed automatically when I removed usb drive. Now I am not going to use unetbootin. I also try older version of Rufus but there is something older version problem of grub so I don't want to take risk. I don't know what software should I use to boot usb.
Click to expand...
Don't use unetbootin.
For Windows 7 you better have drivers ready for your laptop and win7 otherwise you're wasting your time.

As for booting I suggest you burn it to DVD.
 
CaffeineAddict said:
Don't use unetbootin.
For Windows 7 you better have drivers ready for your laptop and win7 otherwise you're wasting your time.

As for booting I suggest you burn it to DVD.
Click to expand...
I am trying to make a bootable usb to test mx linux. Windows 7 is my current os.
I bought usb drive specially to boot mx linux
 
Windows 7should be free of fast boot and secure boot, so
are you using Rufus/Balena/unuboot to produce a Bootable ISO ot are you just trying to copy the download file to the USB??

Read the instructions in my How do I guide [link below] up to the point of installing.
 
Brickwizard said:
Windows 7should be free of fast boot and secure boot, so
are you using Rufus/Balena/unuboot to produce a Bootable ISO ot are you just trying to copy the download file to the USB??

Read the instructions in my How do I guide [link below] up to the point of installing.
Click to expand...
I am using software to create a bootable file. As you mentioned in article to use balenaetcher to create bootable file. I am not able to install version of it on windows 7 or should i try older version balenaetcher.
 
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