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12-16-2018, 03:58 PM
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#1
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LQ Newbie
Registered: Jan 2015
Posts: 19
Rep: 
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cli bare bones distro
I have an old computer or two that are XP win veterans. I'd like to re purpose one or two of them with a complete but bare bones cli version of linux for experimental purposes. What is the best distro for this purpose?
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Brian H.
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12-16-2018, 04:15 PM
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#3
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LQ Veteran
Registered: Jan 2008
Location: florida panhandle
Distribution: Slackware Debian, Fedora, others
Posts: 7,843
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Install Slackware only with a ap d l n
Last edited by colorpurple21859; 12-16-2018 at 04:18 PM.
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2 members found this post helpful.
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12-16-2018, 04:41 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Registered: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,444
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LinuxBBQ has some great minimal WM and no-X spins, based on Debian sid. Most recent no-X spin is adipositas.
Last edited by JWJones; 12-16-2018 at 04:43 PM.
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12-16-2018, 04:47 PM
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#5
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LQ Guru
Registered: Sep 2013
Location: Somewhere in my head.
Distribution: Slackware (15 current), Slack15, Ubuntu studio, MX Linux, FreeBSD 13.1, WIn10
Posts: 10,342
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In bear bones, meaning not a lot, VOID Linux even the one that has a desktop comes bare boned.
No xorg . it too is a rolling release.
https://vm1.a-lej-de.m.voidlinux.org...4-20181111.iso
all flavours.
https://vm1.a-lej-de.m.voidlinux.org/live/current/
Linux BBQ is basically dead 2014 last update, half of their web sight doesn't work.
https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=linuxbbq
LinuxConsole
Quote:
LinuxConsole is an independently developed Linux live CD with different editions designed for
desktops, servers, gaming consoles, and old computers. Its primary characteristics are easy
installation, extensive choice of software in the form of modules, and excellent hardware detection.
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distrowatch to look through them and find one that should aut'a work on your old box/
Last edited by BW-userx; 12-16-2018 at 05:02 PM.
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12-16-2018, 08:53 PM
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#6
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LQ Guru
Registered: Jan 2006
Location: Virginia, USA
Distribution: Slackware, Ubuntu MATE, Mageia, and whatever VMs I happen to be playing with
Posts: 19,902
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In most cases, any distro that offers a "server" version will meet these requirements. Server versions commonly do not have GUIs installed, because most servers sit in racks and are administered remotely via the command line. Note that I said "commonly," as I have not investigated them all. You should investigate any that you are interested in before making the leap.
This article should help: https://www.techradar.com/news/best-linux-server-distro |
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12-16-2018, 08:58 PM
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#7
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LQ Veteran
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Australia
Distribution: Lots ...
Posts: 21,385
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An issue might be 32-bit continued support which the OP likely has. I was going to suggest Arch, but it no longer (officially) has 32-bit support.
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01-22-2019, 10:26 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Registered: Sep 2004
Distribution: slackware
Posts: 4,798
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cli bare bones distro
Slackware still has an official 32 bit branch.
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01-23-2019, 07:24 AM
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#9
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LQ Guru
Registered: Sep 2011
Location: Upper Hale, Surrey/Hants Border, UK
Distribution: One main distro, & some smaller ones casually.
Posts: 5,874
Rep:
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SliTaz - Tiny Core - AntiX - Debian - Slackware - all will likely run on an old Vista machine, some of which can run from ram. 
(That's not an exhaustive list, just a few suggestions.  ) |
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01-23-2019, 07:47 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Registered: Nov 2005
Location: USA
Distribution: Mageia 7 - Debian 10 - Artix Linux
Posts: 1,142
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Debian netinst is my all time favorite for a barebone cli installation. Though there are others that fit the bill, as mention.
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01-23-2019, 08:22 AM
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#11
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LQ Guru
Registered: Sep 2013
Location: Somewhere in my head.
Distribution: Slackware (15 current), Slack15, Ubuntu studio, MX Linux, FreeBSD 13.1, WIn10
Posts: 10,342
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Void Linux has a hand full of i686 installs. Void is very bare bones.
https://a-hel-fi.m.voidlinux.org/live/current/
void-live-i686-20181111.iso no gui
it is a rolling release distro.
Last edited by BW-userx; 01-23-2019 at 08:24 AM.
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1 members found this post helpful.
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01-24-2019, 11:10 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Registered: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,444
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Actually, if you are willing to look beyond Linux, OpenBSD would be perfect for this. Very quick, minimal installation that you can build on, and still supports old hardware.
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1 members found this post helpful.
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01-24-2019, 03:14 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Registered: Feb 2003
Location: Calif, USA
Distribution: PCLINUXOS
Posts: 2,918
Rep: 
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I have an old Dell laptop that originally came with XP that runs Q4OS just fine including the GUI. It's Debian based. |
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01-24-2019, 04:43 PM
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#14
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LQ Guru
Registered: Sep 2013
Location: Somewhere in my head.
Distribution: Slackware (15 current), Slack15, Ubuntu studio, MX Linux, FreeBSD 13.1, WIn10
Posts: 10,342
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2damncommon
I have an old Dell laptop that originally came with XP that runs Q4OS just fine including the GUI. It's Debian based. |
its like kde / windows xxx
Interesting....
Last edited by BW-userx; 01-24-2019 at 04:45 PM.
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01-24-2019, 09:38 PM
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#15
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Moderator
Registered: Mar 2008
Posts: 22,361
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I'd ask what type of experiments do you wish to do?
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