266 MHz, which distro?

anna466 · 10-28-2004, 10:04 PM

I recently dug my 8 yr old Pentium 2, 266 MHz, 32 MB RAM system out of the closet and would like to install some form of Linux on the slave drive.

Any distributions that will run on so few resources? Graphical would be nice, but I think I'm up for text-based if that's not possible.

J.W. · 10-28-2004, 10:11 PM

I'd suggest Damn Small Linux, although if you can expand your RAM to say 256Mg, most distros would be within reach (so long as you choose a lightweight window manager) Welcome to LQ -- J.W.

Doolspin · 10-28-2004, 10:12 PM

Slackware will run on just about anything, then again there's always Damn Small Linux. Or you can go bootable. Slax, Knoppix, DSL... Tons of options

Doolspin · 10-28-2004, 10:14 PM

Hows that for an answer, 2 posts in >8 minutes

--Welcome to L.Q

stuart1946 · 10-28-2004, 10:53 PM

I have a an old ibm p333 with 128 meg of ram. It runs a full version of mandrake. The kde desktop is a bit slow, but it is great for experimenting.

You should upgrade the memory, as you will bog down in swapping with 32.

You will need at least a 2 gig hard drive.

I ran corel (now xandros) with 64 megs for a long time on a 233.

Stuart

slackman · 10-29-2004, 01:44 AM

i have p 200mmx with 32ram and 3 gig OS drive for file server (with 2 x 160GB drives - thinking about software raid) and the graph card is like 4mb or less, running slackware 9.1 CLI mode and configuring it via SSH if needed. but i'm thinking about installing small window manager like xfce or fluxbox (the graph card can prolly handle it) and use VNC. so yea linux will run on anything and your pc is fine. what's the purpose of this machine?

auditek747 · 10-29-2004, 10:18 AM

Vector is real nice. (and light)

http://www.vectorlinux.com/

bruj3w · 10-29-2004, 10:28 AM

i have an old amd-k5 that runs at 100mhz with 32mb ram. its currently running slackware with no problem at all.

gdivens51 · 10-29-2004, 11:34 PM

running RH 7.3 on a 233Mhz overclocked to 266mhz, 256MB memory, 33mhz HDD & motherboard. Fairly fast & i am using KDE too.

RHLinuxGUY · 10-30-2004, 12:16 AM

I'll back up Red hat 7.3. I got it to run on a Cirix 130Mhz, and 30mbs (30!) of simms ram. I ran KDE with some slowness, but for the most part, it worked. Your computer will do just fine, since it has a faster processor, and 2! more megs of ram. And more then likely its not simms ram, its SDRAMM. Believe itll work.

lotusjps46 · 10-30-2004, 08:53 AM

I have used Vector Linux for years on old hardware. The 32megs of ram is going to be a stretch, but it will work. Do not use KDE or Gnome. Vector 4.3 uses IceWM as the default desktop, and has a real nice Fluxbox install by default.

The trick is to use lightweight stuff, like Abiword for wordprocessing instead of OpenOffice. Vector is very compact also, at 350megs for a full install you don't need a big hard drive. Adding ram will help though.

Good luck

www.vectorlinux.com

TKS · 10-30-2004, 09:21 AM

I have a PII MMX 350 with 64 RAM and I was able to get MEPIS Linux running on it smoothly. I went with a Fluxbox Window Manager just to save resources because KDE ran a bit slow.

Progmaker · 10-30-2004, 11:12 AM

I'm not a very good Linux specialist, but if you want to use GUI and you don't have much RAM, you should try some light GUI, like IceVM, because KDE requires AT LEAST 128 MB RAM

anna466 · 10-30-2004, 11:39 AM

wow, everybody's been more than helpful - thanks!

whitshade · 10-30-2004, 05:25 PM

A light window manager is definitely the answer. Check out this site:
http://xwinman.org/

You're sure to find something that'll suit your needs. (IceWM is a great window manager, but it wouldn't hurt to shop around. Personally, I'm hooked on WindowMaker. Good luck!