Which Linux distribution should I choose for a beginner with an older laptop?

I’d avoid starting with Arch unless the installation and inevitable troubleshooting sound like part of the fun. A stable distribution lets you learn the shell, permissions, filesystems, services, and scripting without making the operating system itself your main problem. You could install Mint or Fedora first, then experiment with Arch in a virtual machine, a separate partition, or a container before committing to it.

Create a bootable USB and run the distribution’s live session before installing anything. Test Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, speakers, microphone, display brightness, touchpad gestures, sleep and wake, external monitors, and any special function keys. If those work in the live environment, the installed system will usually be fine too. Keep a full backup of your files and, if possible, a Windows recovery drive before replacing the existing system.

Before wiping Windows, check the exact laptop model and search for reports about Linux support. More importantly, make a list of the software and workflows you rely on. Some applications have native Linux versions, while others may require alternatives, Wine, or a virtual machine. Also learn the basics of the package format used by your distribution, since Linux software may come as deb or rpm packages, Flatpaks, AppImages, or other formats.

Linux Mint is probably the easiest starting point, especially the Xfce edition if you want a lighter desktop. Ubuntu and Fedora are also solid choices, but Mint tends to feel familiar to Windows users while still giving you plenty of room to learn. You don’t need Arch in order to learn Linux; you can switch to it later once you’re comfortable troubleshooting and managing packages.