Oddbean new post about login | logout I am an ancient one, but I also got into computers early. I remember installing sound blaster sound card and going into ultima 8 with sound for the first time and adjusting my extended memory to get it to run. It was mind bending. I felt like a master of the universe.
Another thought about this: Some of the challenges for installing linux is that older hardware uses BIOS where new hardware uses UEFI firmware. Some setup utilites allow 'legacy' BIOS fallback, but newer hardware is UEFI only. Make sure you image install media for BIOS or UEFI specifically.