HP Pavilion dv6500 Notebook PC
Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 @ 1.5GHz
2GB RAM
Hitachi 500GB HDD
Windows Vista
What distro would you recommend?
Can this be done with a USB or will a DVD be necessary?
I want to save it from ewaste because it has a ridiculous number of ports on the sides.


I have a device with 2gb of ram with mx linux, and it works fine. Here’s a few tips for any distro when using such configuration:
1 - if possible, enable multilib and run 32-bit versions from your heavier software, like the browser (the entire system as 32 bit helps a lot, but most distros seem do be dropping it)
2 - use zram
3 - in the browser, look for some form of tab suspender addon
4 - try alternative lightweight software for your stuff (for example, abiword instead of libreoffice)
5 - block ads in your network, to prevent the device to even process them
6 - don’t use the browser to wathc videos. Look for native players. In fact, avoid doing anything in the browser and look for native software when possible
I find it quite fun to use a constrained device like that, and it helped me change a few habits I considered to be bad for me, as well as it helped me focus more on my important stuff