Distro Choice for laptop

[fwc]

Hello,
I have an Acer TravelMate 2300 and I was wondering someone could advise me a distribution and configuration that would run smoothly on the system. I have been trying to install the latest version of Mint (no. but it seems to be too much and tends to lag out.
Here are some quick specs for the machine:

CPU 1.5-GHz Intel Celeron M 340
Operating System Windows XP Home Edition
RAM/Expandable to 256MB/2GB
Hard Drive 4,200-rpm 40GB
Optical Drive 8X DVD-ROM/24X CD-R/10X CD-RW/24X CD-ROM
Display/Resolution 15.4-inch/WXGA
Graphics/Video Intel integrated 855GM/64MB (shared)
Wireless Networking 802.11b/g
Ports Three USB 2.0, VGA, headphone, mic, line in, modem, Fast Ethernet
PC Card Slots One Type II
Memory Card Slots None
Weight 6.4 pounds
Dimensions 14.3 x 11 x 1.5 inches
Service and Support 1 year parts and labor/1 year 24/7 toll-free tech support

[reed9]

256MB RAM is a little light for any distro running GNOME or KDE. If you can go up to at least 512MB you'll probably have a better experience.

Otherwise, choose a distro using LXDE, openbox, or fluxbox for a lighter weight option. Some distros, like Mandriva, include a fully configured lightweight option. In other cases, there are community spins with lightweight options.

A few alternatives:

LXDE Spin - FedoraProject
Main Page - antiX
CrunchBang Linux - A nimble Openbox Linux distro
Puppy Linux Community - Home

It's not possible to say based on your information if there are any other hardware issues. The most likely troublespot will be the wireless card. It will almost certainly be able to work, but may not work out of the box. If you have access to a wired connection, it will make it easier to get going, if it does not work right off.

[fwc]

Thanks for the help. I would like more RAM but its not currently possible, so I think I'll go with antiX. It looks good and I don't think I will have any hardware issues, but I will be back if there are.