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Linux can easily be run on your 500 MB HDD, it can also be run from an USB stick or even a DVD.
Linux can even run on the original Raspberry Pi, a single board computer with only 512 MB RAM!
You should probably look for a distro that is made for older systems, but if you do that, it should work very well. There are obviously limitations with only 2GB RAM. So I wouldn't use a resource heavy desktop like KDE/Plasma.
You don't even need an ssd or hdd. The ram will hurt more.
I my Raspberry PI got Linux running on an SD card. Thats not SSD either, is it?
Is drive? Is solid state?
sd is ssd
Darn
I mean, kinda
This depends a lot more on what you plan on doing once the OS boots. I accidentally loaded Win11 on an HDD (disk 0 was HDD, not SSD) for a few hours. It was noticeably slow, but it ran my diagnostics utilities well enough.
If you're using it for light web browsing, basic office software, etc, then it might be fine.
But something else caught my attention - you inquired about "restoring" it at shops, meaning you intend to pay money. SSD and RAM are obviously what anyone would upgrade, and you're balking at it. More to the point, you expect to run Linux, but didn't even install it as-is to test it out?
There's some missing context here. Also, 2gb laptops haven't been a thing in a very long time. You might very well get a better deal by just buying a used newer model that already has what you're looking for.
Linux runs on toasters and light bulbs, literally. You can run it on whatever, depending on your use-case.
No*
*: Distro dependent. A modern desktop distro might require slightly less than a modern build. But no matter what hardware you have, there are didtros that can run on it.
it will work, you will just feel more pain from not having enough memory. Try something like AntiX or Puppy Linux. Not sure what you can do with 2GB nowadays though. Having more memory is more important than having a fast disk. How much is DRR2/3 for you?
Just download a minimal build for a distro. Include a window manager instead of a desktop environment. It will have some problems running browsers and other biggish apps but still be usable.
In system requirements, windows vs any normal linux distro isn't even contest. That said, 2 gb is very little. You're gonna have to find a lightweight distro meant for old hardware.
I can run antiX on my old Dell Inspiron, with 4 GB RAM and a 500 GB HDD. It's slow when it comes to browsing but it's functional.
No.
TL;DR : Just ~~install~~ try the live ISO of one of these :
https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/ (click the one that says LXQt or XFCE)
https://lubuntu.me/ (this OS is specifically aimed at beginners)
https://fedoraproject.org/spins/lxqt/
Let me answer your problem.
The techinician you are relying on is presenting you with a typical use case. When you say "linux" there are several variants for different reasons. If you want to run a modern user interface like KDE or Gnome on a specialised version of linux for gaming that comes with a heavy install, like Bazzite, and do things like stream videos on your browser while having various internet tabs open, 2gb Ram might struggle, but it also might not.
There are specifically lightweight linux variants that you can use with user interfaces that are trying to be lighter. I can't find the system requirements for LXqt, but some AI will say it is 512mb of ram. Either way, if you download a live ISO , put it on a flash disk and try it out (not install it) you can see how it performs in your system without losing any data or having any problems... unless you do something funky like install it or mess around with just yanking out the USB you put the ISO onto.
Here are some official sources for versions of linux that use LXQt. I have never tried it, but I have a shitty laptop with similar specs, and I run XFCE which is a similar approach, and it does fine, even when watching videos online.
https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/ (click the one that says LXQt or XFCE)
https://lubuntu.me/ (this OS is specifically aimed at beginners)
https://fedoraproject.org/spins/lxqt/
The ones I have linked you to, Debian and Fedora , are mainstream, regular, basic versions of linux that should not be overbearing. There are many, many many variants that do various things to make themselves even more efficient, and you can feel free to dig further. Ubuntu might have a bit more stuff "bundled in" to make it easier for you to get familiarised with linux. What I 100% recommend is that you try them out on "Live ISO" versions first, so you can get a feel for if you are interested in proceeding or not.
If you want more information, you can check out this video that shows variations on linux on 3 levels of hardware, and action retro shows alternative operating systems on "retro" computers, which might help you choose a version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJGf8zVt3MI
https://www.youtube.com/@ActionRetro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhL1s9kd1Fo
EDIT : My "heavy" linux is Debian with KDE. I am happy with it on 8gb ram. My "shitty" linux is LMDE (linux mint debian edition), which came with gnome, and I ripped that out and installed XFCE to make it run better. I DO NOT RECOMMEND A NEWER PERSON TRY THIS UNTIL THEY ARE READY TO LOSE ALL DATA OR REINSTALL A FRESH OS ON THAT MACHINE.
@Skullgrid thanks for that detailed reply. This is debian. But I'm thinking of MX fluxbox, not xfce. Actually l would love evilwm, but since I'm totally new to Linux, l'd stick to fluxbox. I wish to run proxmox on this system.
And yes, l don't wish to add anything to the machine's native capacity.
Do you suppose these may work out ?
It seems like you did lots of research, I'm sure things will work out.
My main machine still runs Linux off a HDD and it's doing perfectly fine.
Mx Linux or base arch with a lightweight desktop environment will work fine.
@zewm you work on MX Linux ? I'm thinking of fluxbox.
Nah I use CachyOS but mx is meant for crappy hardware iirc. It uses the lighter XFCE environment and uses Debian stable as the foundation. Good for like Windows XP era hardware.
There are live distros that run directly from thumb drives.
Many distros run this way for their installer (e.G. Mint).
So it really depends on what you're trying to do.
with 2gb ram, linux might work, actually. i'd go for 'lightweight distros'. but firefox has become hungry ...