Linux - DesktopThis forum is for the discussion of all Linux Software used in a desktop context.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I have an Compaq Armada M700 notebook that I want to use as my "mobile" unit. It has 384Mb of RAM and a Pentium 3 600Mhz microprocessor. It also has 40Mb hard drive. It currently sports Windows 98se and is part of a WIFI network. I want to continue using the USB WIFI dongle and networking.
I know this is hardly a supercomputer, but I understand that there are Linux distros that run fine on this kind of machine, and I would appreciate some help in selecting the best one.
I currently run Ubuntu 12.10 on my desktop and some compatibility would be handy.
I am hardly an expert, so an easy to install system would be preferred.
Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks for that TobiSGD. So how compatible is this distro with Ubuntu? Will it run the same software and emulators e.g. dosbox, wine?
If not, are there any other distros that are?
Salix is compatible to Slackware, antiX is compatible to Debian. Running DosBox or Wine should not be a problem at all, but antiX will of course have a larger repository with pre-compiled packages than Salix.
If it must be something that is compatible with Ubuntu try WattOS, Bodhi or Lubuntu.
Thanks for that, TobiSGD. I have compiled on Ubuntu (with rather a lot of help) a DosBox version that runs all my legacy software and has full printing capabilities. There are a number of other Apps that I use, and need, all of which I presume may not run on other distros than Ubuntu; but again I am no expert in this.
Anyhow, I have looked at WattOS, Bodhi and Lubuntu, all of which will probably run OK on my machine. I have also found Xubuntu, but both the Lubuntu and Xubuntu Website tend to use Lawyers speak when describing the minimum hardware requirements; like you should have at least 512Mb of RAM but it will run in 256Mb. Well, does it work OK in 384Mb or not? That is the question. If you compare say Xubuntu and Lubuntu, Xubuntu can actually run on a lower spec machine than Lubuntu; but can it? It's not terribly clear from the Website. I guess the only people that can make some definitive statements are the users, and that is the feedback I am hoping to get.
Lubuntu is in general more lightweight than Xubuntu. What they mean with "It runs in 256MB but you should have 512MB" is that you can start the distribution in 256MB, but to have a somewhat convenient experience when actually using some programs you should have 512MB.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.