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I need to install Ubuntu / Linux on my laptop that has a Sony Vaio i3 processor with 2 GB RAM and 500 GB hard disk. Which version of Ubuntu / Linux is best supported & easy to install codecs on?

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    So what is stopping you from installing one? Ubuntu is free of charge. "best supported" is a matter of opinion. " easy to install codecs" Ubuntu and all flavours have 1 method of installing them so there is no "easy method" just 1 method.
    – Rinzwind
    May 20, 2015 at 11:59

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If you're looking for an OS that has low spec requirements, then you're looking at one of three of the Ubuntu derivatives. Take a look at this Ubuntu wiki page for more info

All three of these would be a good choice for your laptop's specifications.

I would personally choose one of those three over stock Ubuntu (Unity), Ubuntu GNOME (GNOME3) or Kubuntu (KDE) because they have higher minimum system requirements. However, I run stock Ubuntu (Unity) on a laptop with a Dual Core Core 2 Duo @ 1.6 GHz with 2.5 GB of RAM - so it's up to you.

Once you decide which derivative you're going to go with, you've got to decide which Ubuntu release to go with.

Currently, the supported versions are:

  • 12.04 LTS (And all subsequent .x releases)
  • 14.04 LTS (And all subsequent .x releases)
  • 14.10
  • 15.04

I would personally suggest using either 14.04 LTS (because it's stable and will be supported for 5 years) or 15.04 because it's the newest version. Basically, just ignore 14.10.

As for which architecture to choose, your processor is basically assured to be 64 bit - so I would just suggest downloading the 64 bit version. The 32 bit version will work, but if you have a 64 bit CPU you might as well make use of those extra 32 bits.

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For this hardware I would recommend 32-bit version of Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS.

LTS are always preferred, especially for new users. And they are supported for 5 years.

32-bit, because there is only 2GB of RAM and 32-bit version uses less RAM. 64-bit should be almost as good.

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You can install the latest version of Ubuntu (15.04), but i would recommend you to install the 14.04 LTS version.See this http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/install-ubuntu-desktop

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  • is it 32 bit or 64 bit?
    – Adityan
    May 20, 2015 at 12:20
  • In your case i would prefer the 32 bits May 21, 2015 at 8:01

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