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-   -   Which distro is best for an older machine with limited resources? (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/which-distro-is-best-for-an-older-machine-with-limited-resources-922026/)

upandready 01-04-2012 11:29 AM
Which distro is best for an older machine with limited resources?
 
I am trying to help an older friend with a computer that has the following specs. 633Mhz processor 128Mb RAM 10Gb HD. She wants to do some limited web searching, check e-mail, and a little writing.

segmentation_fault 01-04-2012 11:41 AM
I believe, as some others will sugest, any distro with a lightweight window manager will do the trick. You will need some configuration in wich services to autostart in order to limit the RAM usage. Also, some more RAM would really be appreciated by your system.

If you want some more practical suggestion, I have a pentium 3 @ 550MHz with 512 RAM. Its only work is to run a DC server for our local network. I installed gentoo on it, auto-started only the necessary services and in cli mode (no X running) it uses 30-50 MB of RAM. If one day I want gui I will install some *box WM (probably blackbox, as this is what I am using).

snowday 01-04-2012 11:43 AM
I strongly recommend your friend upgrade her hardware. If she browses Craigslist/Freecycle/Goodwill/friends/family/coworkers I bet she can find something in the $0-100 range that will meet the following minimum specs:

Quote:
1 GHz CPU (x86 processor (Pentium 4 or better))
1 GiB RAM (system memory)
15 GB of hard-drive space (or USB stick, memory card or external drive but see LiveCD for an alternative approach)
800 by 600 screen resolution
Either a CD/DVD drive or a USB port for the installer media
Those are the minimum requirements to run a modern, user-friendly distro such as Ubuntu.

DavidMcCann 01-05-2012 12:06 PM
The nearest thing to a user-friendly distro would be Vector Light. That recommends a minimum of 64MB with a 166MHz Pentium I. With 128MB you can run Opera for the web and Abiword for writing. I seem to remember that there's no mail client on the CD (so many using web mail), but the repository has Claws and Sylpheed that would run well.

ruario 01-05-2012 02:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidMcCann (Post 4567132)
The nearest thing to a user-friendly distro would be Vector Light. That recommends a minimum of 64MB with a 166MHz Pentium I. With 128MB you can run Opera for the web and Abiword for writing. I seem to remember that there's no mail client on the CD (so many using web mail), but the repository has Claws and Sylpheed that would run well.
If Opera is installed, you will have a IMHO great mail client built in
http://www.opera.com/mail/

floppy_stuttgart 01-05-2012 03:25 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by upandready (Post 4565959)
I am trying to help an older friend with a computer that has the following specs. 633Mhz processor 128Mb RAM 10Gb HD. She wants to do some limited web searching, check e-mail, and a little writing.
633MHz? much more than mine (550MHz). This is a dream processor for me.
128MB? good. I usually use 168MB (maxi) with xorg. xvesa would be less RAM. Put a 100MB SWAP on your HDD.
10GB? Huge HDD.. like mine.
So, load CoreLinux (with Xvesa) from www.tinycorelinux.net
and your PC has linux and will react like a space shuttle.
I recommend you log in the forum of TinyCoreLinux and ask for help.
Only 1 thing: please take time and keep patience.. you will achieve.. but you have to stick to this topic.. except you leave in Stuttgart and come to my home for the installation together within 2 hours.


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