I am new to Linux and I am trying to get started without spending any money.
I have a 10 years old dell inspiron 1545 and want to turn it into a Linux machine. (Obviously the hard drive could die any time, but whatever).
What is the minimum hardware requirement (CPU, RAM, Hard-disk) for running Ubuntu 16.04?
Installation/SystemRequirements This page details the hardware required to run Ubuntu and its derivative versions.
Most people will want to install a desktop system such as Ubuntu, Kubuntu, or Xubuntu. A desktop system is typically used for personal computing tasks and has a graphical user interface (GUI), while a server system typically has a command-line interface (CLI).
Recommended Minimum System Requirements
The Recommended Minimum System Requirements, here, should allow even someone fairly new to installing Ubuntu or Gnu&Linux to easily install a usable system with enough room to be comfortable. A good "rule of thumb" is that machines that could run XP, Vista, Windows 7 or x86 OS X will almost always be a lot faster with Ubuntu even if they are lower-spec than described below. Simply try Ubuntu CD as a LiveCD first to check the hardware works.
Ubuntu Desktop Edition
700 MHz processor (about Intel Celeron or better)
512 MiB RAM (system memory)
5 GB of hard-drive space (or USB stick, memory card or external drive but see LiveCD for an alternative approach)
VGA capable of 1024x768 screen resolution
Either a CD/DVD drive or a USB port for the installer media
Internet access is helpful**
All 64-bit (x86-64) CPUs should be fast enough to run Ubuntu and can run the 32-bit (x86) version as well. For an optimized installation (and especially for those wishing to run more than ~3 GiB of RAM) however, a 64-bit installation CD is available. The 32-bit version tends to be easier to use and runs into less problems.
Ubuntu Desktop 11.04 and up uses Unity as the default GUI while the previous releases used GNOME Panel by default. In order to run Unity the system needs a more capable graphics adapter – see more here or below:
From experience, we all know that it is recommended to have 2048 MiB RAM to properly run a day to day Ubuntu.
A good start should be with minimum 1024 and recommended 2048 MiB RAM.
Machines that are 10 or more years old (originally preloaded with "Windows ME" or "Windows 2000") that don't meet these guideline will probably require some work to revive (the RAM usually needs to be upgraded to the level described above). You could try a lighter-weight distro or a minimal install of Ubuntu.
The following links and links from them may help you, because they include tips about old hardware, how to install and run Ubuntu, or I would rather say Ubuntu family flavours (Lubuntu, Ubuntu MATE and Xubuntu) with light desktop environments, lighter than the desktop environment of standard Ubuntu.
Try Ubuntu (Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, ...) before installing it
