Linux for a Wyse z90D7 thin client 4GB HD, 2GB RAM.
 

I've acquired a Wyse z90d7 thin client computer. I mostly bought it because it is fanless and hence silent, less importantly because it could be immune from malware and it was cheap. As far as I know it is 64bit, has a 4GB solid-state hard-drive and 2GB of RAM. It has several pen-drive sockets. It currently is running Windows 7 embedded 32bit OS.

I hope I will be able to get it to boot from a pen drive and run something like Ubuntu Mate as a 'liveCD', and use another pen-drive as a small HD. My initial try with putting an Ubuntu Mate pen-drive in a socket and then restarting had no effect, but perhaps I can adjust the BIOS to make it boot from a pen drive.

If that does not work then what Linux OS can I install on a 4GB hard-drive?

If possible I would like to have Firefox and LibreOffice Writer and Calc, but these may be too big for the drive.

I've no idea if I could update the existing Win7 embedded OS and install at least Firefox as well.

The other alternative is to use it to stream direct from YouTube etc to my tv.

Thanks.

A minimal Debian install with Mate Desktop Environment will easily fit. When doing the install, do NOT select a Desktop Environment. There's actually a choice for Mate that will include Firefox and LibreOffice out-of-box, but it will be too tight of a fit on just 4GB.

Much better to do a minimal Debian install and then do the following to add a GUI and just the stuff you want:

Do it that way, and it'll be an easy fit.

Read this for starters. http://blog.asiantuntijakaveri.fi/20...s-to-wyse.html


You might be able to update most of the system in windows. May not be easy.


Might be worth it to try booting from a usb media. Try a 32 bit version to start. Be sure you have a fast usb and have some swap on the usb.


Some versions of embedded might be free. https://www.mentor.com/embedded-soft...9-e86dcde5d598

Interesting info - it seems that the BIOS password tends to not stay unset, so knowing it will reset itself to the default password of "Fireport" is critical to know.

It seems there's an internal SATA connector so you can mod the thing with an internal 2.5" drive (spinning or SSD). However, you'll have to hack together a power connector:

http://www.parkytowers.me.uk/thin/wy...d7/using.shtml

Personally, I'd find the existing storage of 4GB to be plenty. No need to hack around with compressed file systems or anything. Just a minimal Debian install with (in my case) xfce4 xorg lightdm added after the install.

If 4GB isn't enough for you, though, consider using nfs root. I have a simple how-to for this:

https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...-jessie-37127/

This would work best if you have a gigabit ethernet lan, with a computer with an SSD (this does not need to be a dedicated file server).

Thanks. Could anyone tell me what the names or specification of the solid-state hard drive is, so that I can avoid buying the wrong thing when I order a larger SS HD online?

The instructions for upgrading the BIOS seem complicated, so I will have to find a calm weekend to study and do that in. Thanks for the instructions about how to squeeze a more than a bare-bones Linux distribution on the HD, but I do not understand them and I think it's easier to buy a bigger SS HD.

If you are willing to hack together your own power adapter, you can use any 2.5" drive (either spinning or SSD).

Oh, it's easier to do a minimal Debian install. Here are more detailed instructions:

1) Get the Debian netinst CD image (AMD64) from here:

https://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/

The specific link for the AMD64 install iso file is:

https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd...64-netinst.iso

If you don't know what to do with this iso file, you can refer to the Debian installation guide:

https://www.debian.org/releases/stab...4/ch04.html.en

2) Do a minimal Debian install.

2a) When it gets to the partitioning step, choose manual partitioning. DELETE all current (Windows) partitions. Create just one partition - ext4. The Debian installer will default to making this the full 4GB size of your SSD. This is what you want.

2b) When it gets to the software suit selection stage, do NOT choose to install a Debian Desktop Environment. Actually, the installer will automatically detect that the drive doesn't have enough space for the default Debian Desktop Environment install so it will start of de-selected.

2c) When it asks about installing GRUB, install GRUB to /dev/sda

3) After booting into the new install, log in as "root" (using the password you entered during the install).

4) Run the following to install the software:

The resulting install will take about 2GB of drive space, leaving about 2GB free.

Then, reboot using:

Kind of surprised the ssd isn't soldered to the board. You may wish to open case to double check the storage. Things change on the assembly line so I never like to trust specs.

Thanks. According to this http://www.parkytowers.me.uk/thin/wy...d7/index.shtml the flash hard-drive is upgradable to one with larger capacity.

But I do not know what I should search for on ebay or Amazon to find the right thing. The webpage above says its a "SATA DOM", whatever that is, but it does not seem specific enough.

Thanks also for the clear advice about installing Debian.

I came across this same website/blog where someone was installing Linux on one of these:

http://www.parkytowers.me.uk/thin/wy...d7/index.shtml

The hardware is described as well. Apparently the memory is expandable to 8 GB and it is possible to install another SSD in addition to the built-in flash memory. You therefore aren't limited to 4 GB HD and 2 GB RAM. For about $125 total you could have 120 GB SSD and 8 GB RAM. If you read all of the pages fully someone successfully installed a new SSD and booted Linux from it with a firmware update.