I think I found my laptop distribution. :)

[NickWelder]

Not 100% sure yet, but I think I found the distribution that will be the OS I install on my new laptop. I have already tried Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Mandriva, Damn Small Linux, and PCLinuxOS.

Here is my review of them all along with what I ended up using.

Ubuntu was unstable. It would stall and programs would stop in their tracks and the OS had to pop up an error box for me to force-quit the program. (these programs were configuring programs and such, not 3rd party). Wired internet connection could not be setup. Interface was ugly. Overall the OS is overrated.

Kubuntu was the exact same as Ubuntu except no desktop icons were visible and wireless internet AND wired internet did NOT work.

Mandriva had many problems. Wireless internet did not work. Wired internet "connected" but no websites would load in the web browser no matter what I did to the settings. Overall I just didn't feel satisfied when using this OS.

Damn Small Linux was nice but way too bare bones. I have a copy of this on a USB flash drive that I will use as a backup for emergency situations. It is a nice slick, and fast distribution, but useless for me since I need a big and very complete distribution.

I settled on the last one, PCLinuxOS. It is clean, everything works, it's fast and responsive, and best of all is that it fits me perfectly.

[Lordshooter]

Thank you, Nick, for your valuable comments.

[fingal]

Yes that's useful. I don't have a lappy, and I've often wondered which distro would run well on one.

[techieMoe]

Could you list the brand and model of your laptop, and perhaps some hardware specs on it? It would be more useful that way.

[oz]

Not 100% sure yet, but I think I found the distribution that will be the OS I install on my new laptop. I have already tried Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Mandriva, Damn Small Linux, and PCLinuxOS.

Here is my review of them all along with what I ended up using.

Ubuntu was unstable. It would stall and programs would stop in their tracks and the OS had to pop up an error box for me to force-quit the program. (these programs were configuring programs and such, not 3rd party). Wired internet connection could not be setup. Interface was ugly. Overall the OS is overrated.

Kubuntu was the exact same as Ubuntu except no desktop icons were visible and wireless internet AND wired internet did NOT work.

Mandriva had many problems. Wireless internet did not work. Wired internet "connected" but no websites would load in the web browser no matter what I did to the settings. Overall I just didn't feel satisfied when using this OS.

Damn Small Linux was nice but way too bare bones. I have a copy of this on a USB flash drive that I will use as a backup for emergency situations. It is a nice slick, and fast distribution, but useless for me since I need a big and very complete distribution.

I settled on the last one, PCLinuxOS. It is clean, everything works, it's fast and responsive, and best of all is that it fits me perfectly.

I sure wish all new Linux users would experiment like you are doing. Instead, too many come here expecting someone to tell them what the "perfect" distro for them will be. As you've clearly found out, it simply doesn't work that way.

[erabyss]

Everything works? Awsome ill try it.
I have tryed my distros on mine. finally settled with suse 10.3 without sound, webcam, and a few other lil clitches. But it was the only 1 that worked.

I have to agree with the boys ahead of me. What you got runnin?

[NickWelder]

Hey, thanks for the replies guys.

I am running it on an Acer Aspire 1640. 1.73ghz, 512mb ram, 80gig HD, DVD-RW, Intel wireless card. Don't ask what gfx/sound cards it has, I have no clue.

[fingal]

Sounds good. I was thinking: I've yet to see Linux run on a lappy. Mainly because I don't have one, but also because I don't know too many *nix people in the flesh. I like to peek over peoples' shoulders on the way to work and see what they're running (they take their laptops on the train) but I've yet to see any penguins.

[Zirconium]

cool, yeah I'm still searching, I'm gonna try Xubuntu, then Freespire, then PCLinuxOS
oh, and what disc type did you use, and what version and what mirror?

[NickWelder]

Zirconium, I used the latest version from the download link provided on the PCLinuxOS websie. I used several different file systems for different partitions. Also, don't bother wih ubuntu variants, as it has many "issues". It has potential, but it isn't worth it yet. However, a lot of people like it...go figure. I don't know about Freespire pesonally but I do know that PCLinuxOS is top dog for me. It is the ****!