Best linux os for Asus EEE pc

Nekoshet · 09-06-2015, 03:48 PM

Hey guys,
I recently found an old Asus EEE PC lying in the house and I wanted to make a kind of "Home Theater PC" out of it. Is there a linux distro known to work well with EEE Pc and its wireless network card?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: It should be as lightweight as possible.

Head_on_a_Stick · 09-06-2015, 04:15 PM

Debian works well on those but it does depend on which specific version; you may have to do the Debian shuffle to get any non-free firmware installed.

Guide here:
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEeePC

273 · 09-06-2015, 04:21 PM

Yeah I had an EEE (now sadly dead) that ran Debian Sid fine. I used XFCE but LXDE might be better as it's lighter. It's always easier to install Linux with the wired network plugged in if at all possible because it allows installation of necessary firmware for wireless and the like.

Head_on_a_Stick · 09-06-2015, 04:27 PM

Thinking about this, I did have an EEE PC very briefly (the wireless card died & I returned it) and SliTaz was extremely quick on it and booted up with under 60MiB used (less than Debian).

http://www.slitaz.org/en/

sgosnell · 09-06-2015, 04:28 PM

My eee-pc still runs great with Debian Xfce. Install Jessie if you prefer stable, Sid if you prefer new, shiny, and unstable. I recently did a new install on one, and it was easy and flawless. For almost any hardware, Debian just works.

ondoho · 09-06-2015, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nekoshet

I recently found an old Asus EEE PC lying in the house and I wanted to make a kind of "Home Theater PC"

i don't think that it will work as a multimedia machine, like hooking it up to the tv and playing movies?
it's far too low-specced for that. faar.

but install linux onto it by all means.
better than a tablet.

273 · 09-06-2015, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ondoho

i don't think that it will work as a multimedia machine, like hooking it up to the tv and playing movies?
it's far too low-specced for that. faar.

but install linux onto it by all means.
better than a tablet.

I would tend to agree, however, I attached my EEEPC 1000 to my 1900*1200 monitor and managed to watch movies just fine (it was my only computer for a couple of weeks). It was through VGA connector which narrows down which televisions would be supported and I doubt the old 7" version would be up to the task.

sgosnell · 09-06-2015, 09:32 PM

VGA to HDMI adapters are readily available, and cheap. It's not hard to connect on to a TV.

ondoho · 09-09-2015, 03:07 AM

273, thanks for pointing out that there are many different versions of eeepc.

Nekoshet would have to provide more information about the machine.

zrdc28 · 09-18-2015, 08:49 PM

Arch linux works very well on the eee. it can be as lightweight as you want.and is easy to install.
There is a step by step way to install it on the wiki.

rokytnji · 09-18-2015, 09:42 PM

Here is all I have to say about a 701SD having owned one myself.

http://www.mepiscommunity.org/forum/...e890fe#p290300

http://antix.freeforums.org/hulu-tv-...box-t3475.html

My 701SD ran fine as a media player hooked to the big screen TV before I sold it. Even with the celeron processor on AntiX.
That is about as low spec you can go on eeepc.

Old Screeny