There are some superb desktop Linux distributions that are designed to work with very old hardware. For example, Puppy Linux is a great choice to quickly turn an old PC into a secure, easy to use word ...
I traded Ubuntu's flashy interface for Debian’s "No Nonsense" philosophy, and I'm not going back.
PCWorld’s guide helps users navigate the overwhelming choice of approximately 250 Linux distributions by focusing on five main strains: Debian, Red Hat/Fedora, Arch, Slackware, and Gentoo.