Would Debian run well enough on a Pentium 166?

Royle · 07-26-2005, 09:35 AM

I have a Pentium 166 I would like to install linux on. It has 64 MB of ram and a 10GB hard drive. Would debian run it it bearably? Thanks in advance for your help.

Nathanael · 07-26-2005, 10:10 AM

any linux distro could run un that hw, depends what you want to do...
if you do not need X then you got yousrself a neat little server that does the job.

bp12345 · 07-26-2005, 12:43 PM

Try Danm Small Linux. It is not Debian, but it sort of can be expanded using the debian packages. It has very low system requirements, and only requires 50 MB of hard disk space.
However, 16MB or RAM would not be enough to run KDE or GNOME adequately.

ToastedToad · 07-26-2005, 01:06 PM

Debian leaves a pretty small footprint. I am now in the midst of testing amd64 sarge. I have Gnome, KDE, XFCE and Icewm, along with all the basic multimedia apps and it's only 2.4 Gigs. With just one WM it's gotta be tiny. So, debian ought to do just fine as a minimal application. You can probably run one of the boxes if you absolutely need a GUI.

Royle · 07-26-2005, 04:30 PM

yah I do absolutely need a GUI, I was thinking about fluxbox. Is there an better option?

IsaacKuo · 07-26-2005, 04:44 PM

Hard drive space is definitely no problem. My basic Debian install is a "desktop" install which by default includes both KDE and GNOME and a boatload of default desktop applications. The hard drive space consumed is still only about 2 gigs.

However, 64megs of RAM is a serious limiting factor. Neither KDE nor GNOME will reasonably run in 64megs of RAM. You'll definitely want to use a lightweight WM like fluxbox. Make sure to deactivate font anti-aliasing; this has a big effect on performance with such a limited processor speed and RAM.

macondo · 07-26-2005, 07:46 PM

Do a minimal install and install fluxbox or icewm, or ion3, choose your apps with care (x-window-system-core, aterm, xfe, etc)

Debian installation
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...icle&artid=330

the rc2 installation is identical to the official sarge net-installer.

juanjavier_xxx · 07-27-2005, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Royle
yah I do absolutely need a GUI, I was thinking about fluxbox. Is there an better option?

I run debian testing with blackbox window manager in 1024x768 without a hitch.....on a Pentium 200 MMX. I surf the web, work my mail, learn more linux, see quarter-screen mpeg video with stereo sound, handle Abiword, print.....

Surely debian is a really good option to work on small computers....despite the fact that I have already Sarge running on a newer Athlon xp 1600+

As for the window manager: honestly I suggest you to give Blackbox a try.

Code:

apt get update

Code:

apt-get install blackbox

Code:

update menus

...providing you have already xfree installed.

I would like you to post here which choose did you make.

Have fun!!!

bp12345 · 08-08-2005, 05:15 AM

What about Xfce?

lpd · 08-08-2005, 10:59 AM

In the past I ran Debian on a Sparc5 (110 Mhz) and I used Blackbox, fluxbox and window maker depending on my mood. I didn't try Xfce on the sparc but I've got a feeling that it is slightly bigger then fluxbox/blackbox etc. The Xfce should be small enough to be enjoyable on a P166. Xfce is a really nice low-weight alternative to KDE/GNOME.

64 Mb of RAM will be enough, you will see some swapping when you switch between applications or have several mozilla windows open, but it wont be a big problem.
10 GB of disk will do nicely, your debian system will probably be around 1 or 2 GB in the beginning.