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Thread: Lightweight Linux

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  1. #1
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    Lightweight Linux

    What would be a good linux distro for a laptop with a 700MHz CPU and 128MB RAM?
    sandwich.

  2. #2
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Hi,

    The obvious candidates would be Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux.

    Your problem will be the 128Mb RAM as most distros want a lot more if you are going to use their GUI installers.

    What make/model of lappy is it?

  3. #3
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    The laptop is a Compaq EVO N150. Ram is expandable 320MB if that helps.
    Last edited by CyberB0b; August 4th, 2010 at 04:22 PM.
    sandwich.

  4. #4
    Gonzo District BOFH westin's Avatar
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    I second DSL. You can run it as a live cd, and I am pretty sure that 128MB will be plenty.

    Minimum Requirements for DSL with X-window


    • 486dx or 100% compatible processor
    • 16mb ram (24mb recommended)
    • dual-speed CDROM (quad-speed or better recommended)
    • 1.44mb floppy drive (for boot floppy, if needed)
    • VGA monitor and video card
    • a mouse (serial, ps/2, usb)


    Recommended Specs


    • Pentium 200MHz
    • 64MB ram
    • 8x CDROM
    • 1.44mb floppy drive (for boot floppy, if needed)
    • VGA monitor and video card capable of handling at least 16 bit color
    • a mouse with a scroll wheel
    \"Those of us that had been up all night were in no mood for coffee and donuts, we wanted strong drink.\"

    -HST

  5. #5
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Puppy Linux will work, and your processor is plenty fast enough.

    Therefore, you should use the higher kernel number with newer PCs (but the reverse rule, using lower kernel number, does not apply to older PCs - you can use any Puppy version with older PCs, just make sure you have at least 128 MB memory/RAM to get the speed which Puppy wants to give you).
    I would suggest more RAM, particularly if you are going to use an office suite. Particularly as you are probably sharing memory with the video chipset

    I would suggest that you take a look at both and pick the one you like. They will both run on a live CD.

  6. #6
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    I'm trying them both now. Looks like DSL isn't auto-detecting the NIC. I'll try Puppy before getting to heavy into config.
    sandwich.

  7. #7
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Hmmm,

    I would hold fire on the RAM until you have tried them. Your video card is only taking 8Mb.

    From what I can see your lappy has 64Mb of fixed RAM and a single expansion slot, that will support 256Mb. From what I have seen over here you might want to go for a 128 strip? (128 =GBP18, 256 = GBP75) Obviously that will mean having to remove the existing 64Mb strip. That would give you 192Mb, and I am sure that gore runs a box like that with a much slower processor?

    I would be reluctant to try any of the heavyweight distros on less than 256Mb, and would prefer 384Mb.........or better.......and with their own video card.

  8. #8
    Senior Member gore's Avatar
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    I have that 433MHz Celeron with 192 MBs RAM and an 8 MB video card still running FreeBSD 8.0-RELEASE. No lag issues or downtime. I ran Slackware on it too. Works good

  9. #9
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    @ gore,

    Thanks mate, I remembered you had something along those lines from previous conversations.

    What would you actually suggest here?

    I guess that we have to consider 128Mb (-8) and maybe 192Mb?

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by gore View Post
    I have that 433MHz Celeron with 192 MBs RAM and an 8 MB video card still running FreeBSD 8.0-RELEASE. No lag issues or downtime. I ran Slackware on it too. Works good
    I'm assuming you mean run level 3 when talking about slackware? (I'm not sure about FreeBSD, probably should learn up more on BSD)

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