So a mate out here has a [LIFTED] Eeepc. The XP install is reasonably [LIFTED] (although not beyond repair) and it's glacially slow.

It's a 3yr old machine, so I have her permission to fiddle with it, as it's barely usable at the moment. Found these for the exact model I'm playing with (although this one seems to have one 16gig SSD instead of the two mentioned in the articles):

http://www.andybarratt.co.uk/ubuntu-11-04-installation-on-low-storage-netbooks-eee-pc-901

http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2011/10/15/installing-ubuntu-11-10-on-the-eee-pc-901/

But I'm a little put off but the negative feedback on 11.10. I now have both ISOs and the USB installer thingy. Any advice? I was gonna trash the XP install and just run Linux. It needs to browse and play music, and maybe Skype if poss, but that's not essential. Nothing further required, so shall I just go ahead?

I have NO idea what I'm doing and I'm a little nervous

1. Try live booting from a Flash drive - that way you can make sure everything works without trashing anything
   
   
   • Universal USB Installer - A Windows application that will create a bootable flash drive
   
   
2. For a computer that basic, Ubuntu may be a bit resource-heavy. You may wish to try Xubuntu or Lubuntu.
   
   In Linux, the desktop environment is separate from the underlying OS. That means the user can choose whether they want a full-blooded bells-and-whistles desktop or a much more lightweight desktop.
   
   
   • Ubuntu uses the Gnome Desktop which has bloated in recent years.
   • Xubuntu uses Xfce and Lubuntu uses LXDE, both of which are fully-supported, official versions of Ubuntu that use far less space.

FYI, I am posting this from Xubuntu. It's fast, pretty and it rocks!

Thanks Jim. I'll try that. 11.10 good, or should I go older?

11.10 is good.

And, without external input, 11.04 would try to update to 11.10 anyway.

Went with 11.10. Once again, I'm grouchy and fed up as a result of Linux. I think this is my 4th time fiddling over the past several years.

1) Despite both a live USB install AND a "regular" dual boot install from USB reporting a network cable connected (and/or wifi connection) to a network I KNOW has a working net connection (coz I'm using it to type this) the installer reports no internet connection and won't allow me to install updates as part of the installation (which I understand is important and also concerns me that it might not work when installed).

2) After getting frustrated by the above, I thought I'd try a direct HDD install and of course I can't move any existing partitions (which I thought Linux was supposed to do for you) AND then it started asking me about ext2/4 and [LIFTED] and I don't have a clue. I'm used to Windows FFS!

Just think how many people would switch to Linux if it was as easy as turning on an iPhone

Anyway, going to bed. Tired and have a long day tomorrow. Any advice appreciated. I'll try to have some more patience tomorrow.

All installed successfully yet. Still fiddling. But I think I'm actually using Linux for the first time ever. Now need to find Skype and look at browser options for keeping Facebook separate. Then I'll get used to it enough to figure out where everything is, and give it back to it's owner...

Good man yourself - keep going and you might just find yourself enjoying it.

I'm just sorry you had a troubled time with it.

It's taken me around 5 years and 3 or 4 attempts spaced out over that time. And it still wouldn't be my first choice of OS. But there is now some hope of that eventually changing

Thanks for the encouragement.

If you've been convinced that you have a real choice then I'm more than happy.