What is the best linux distribution for me?

neilcpp · 01-10-2009, 07:45 AM

I want to install on a older laptop with only 128MB ram, 20GB HD and 1 ghz celeron. I have tried mandriva - which did not work properly cause of low memory and I have got Debian on it. Debian seems to crawl and sometimes i get system freeze again possibly from low memory.

I want to use the system for simply learning C++ so i need development tools and to be able to run a good IDE like codeblocks, Jgrasp or anjuta. I also need to be able to browse the net etc.

what distro should i try?

repo · 01-10-2009, 07:45 AM

DSL, puppy ....

brianL · 01-11-2009, 04:26 AM

Zenwalk comes with a lot of programming stuff by default, and uses the XFCE desktop environment - so it should suit you and your equipment.

wificraig · 01-11-2009, 04:37 AM

You need AntiX Mepis......
http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=05049
Then use the Debian stable repositories to download what you want.

eerok · 01-11-2009, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brianL

Zenwalk comes with a lot of programming stuff by default, and uses the XFCE desktop environment - so it should suit you and your equipment.

Actually there's a Zenwalk derivative called SaxenOS that's designed for older machines. (On the website they don't seem to mention they're based on Zenwalk, though I did read this a few other places.)

IndyGunFreak · 01-11-2009, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wificraig

You need AntiX Mepis......
http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=05049
Then use the Debian stable repositories to download what you want.

This would be my suggestion.

IGF

neilcpp · 01-11-2009, 12:59 PM

Im going to try AntiX Mepis and Zenwalk.
I tried DSL and puppy but these distros dont have the support - esp devel libraries i need. so i will have to try something else - but they work good

c!oud · 01-14-2009, 02:43 PM

I'd try out Slitaz, it packs a nice punch for such a small lightweight distro

FredGSanford · 01-15-2009, 02:47 AM

A Netinst of Debian would have been nice. It will give you just enough of a basic working system and to be able to install only what you need, provided you have internet access.

I have it on an old IBM Thinkpad 380XD, 233mhz, 96mb & 10gb hard drive. I use Fluxbox window manager...not too bad. I hardly use it anymore, but I'm thinking of doing a reinstall of debian see if I can trim it down some more. It also dual boot Win98se, and debian runs faster than Win does.