Light weight, Reliable OS for older PC

I want it all. I know I cant have it all.

I need a light weight reliable OS, that is quick to re-install when hosed up. An OS system that will run on a system that was running XP. My GFs elderly parents PC is toast again. I prefer not to put them on a new pc, and have to undertake a full reload every couple months.

Today I tried SLAX on some old systems I had around here, on an old IBM T23 laptop, the screen would not display correctly, on another PC it would not load to the GUI, on the third slightly newer PC, it loaded amazingly fast, allowed me to browse the internet, but locked up after a couple page loads. May have been because I was booting and loading completely off a CD, which would be ideal, if it did not lock up. I will be going back to see what happens if loaded to a HDD.

They dont do a lot, search craigslist for yard sales, email, and play solitaire games. The last will be an issue with a new os as they have a windows solitaire cd with a bunch of solitaire variations that I have had to load each time there PC had to be rebuilt.

I know there is more out there but dont want to spend a week trying them all, can any one set me on the path to one that is ready for prime time ?

Thanks, Steve

You can get new old stock dell xp systems for around $100. Might be the easiest button.

Found these when looking for an easy way to run the desktop cnc engraver I'm looking at that only likes XP

Amazon for $200 with prime shipping

Fleabay $115 free shipping

I've had Puppy Linux running successfully on a circa 1997 ThinkPad.

You could try the XFCE version of Linux Mint. It runs pretty nice on my HTPC which is getting a little long in the tooth. You can get some more speed and reliability out of it with a SSD as well.

A couple of years ago, my elderly MIL needed a new laptop. I knew this would be a huge learning hurdle getting her to learn a new MS operating system.

Since it was going to be a new learning either way I put her into an iPad. To make it look more like a laptop I started her with a bt keyboard folio attached.

I've been very happy with the switch. It meets her simple needs which are about the same as your simple task needs.

The biggest advantage for me is it got me out of the business of virus protection on their behalf.

Personally, I am not an apple person but it is right for her.

Second benefit, her daughters who largely have Apple phones, can also teach her and trouble shoot some simple things for her. I was no longer the sole IT support!

She too is a solitaire player. There are tons of good options for solitaire in the Apple app store. They will find one they like. Solitaire is good at teaching them the concepts of a touch screen.

She has completely dropped the Bluetooth keyboard now and finds that her unsteady hands like a stylus versus finger touching the screen.

XFCE based Linux should work, but Linux still isn't that user friendly. iPad sounds like a better idea, at least as long as you don't have to set up wifi to get it to work.

I bought an amazon fire tablet for like $35. A lot cheaper than in ipad (we have a couple of those around the house too). No way in the world would I expect any linux type OS to be what you are looking for unless you want to be their on call IT Helpdesk.

A popular tech guy on the radio, known as... the tech guy, HIGHLY recommends iPads / tablets for the older folk. Setting one up with a keyboard is likely a good idea, they are a pain to type on using the screen.

Another suggestion is to put the wifi router on some kind of switched outlet so they can just flick the damn thing on and off when it freaks out, and you know it will.

+1 for Mint XFCE

I can't recommend XP since it's out of support, and Vista is out of support next month.

If you can get Windows 7, it's not a bad choice, and has a decent chance of supporting the Solitaire disc. I'd suggest setting them up as non-administrative users to reduce potential damage.

Same advice applies with Windows 10, which offers a very different interface than XP, but can be made to be at least a little similar.

Now that Windows is out of the way, my strongest suggestion is actually a Chromebook. The interface will be different. The solitaire disc won't work. They can find lots of new games, and they security of the platform is really solid. Unlike an iPad, they don't have to unlearn their WIMP interaction model. They can hover over links, for example. If something goes wrong, you can reload the machine fairly quickly, but nothing will go wrong. When you build an operating system around running one app, you can lock if down quite well. There are cheap ones to be had. They are starting to get Android app compatibility, and I'd suggest turning that off.

There are ChromeOS downloads that allow installation on standard laptops from an ISO, just like any other distribution. I have no idea how well that works. Certain features, like the boot security, rely on hardware.

On Linux, I'd suggest not making them root or making them sudoers.

Macs are nice, and I like my MacBook, but I didn't get the impression you have the budget.

Oh, and the Raspberry Pi foundation's PIXEL desktop for x86 moves really well on old hardware.

Mint Cinnamon

Simple.

Turns old PCs into simple chromebooks. I love it for my kids. neverware

RemixOS is almost stock Android for desktops as another option.

What I like about the neverware chromeOS option, is everything is saved to the cloud. you can wipe the OS remotely at any time and everything restored upon a fresh login. It includes Google Docs, sheets, PDF viewers and multiple app support. Soon it will support everything from the Google Play store.

Being Linux based, very small chance for virus's