Which Distro
 

I would like to try a Slackware distro. I want something fairly lean but with a good GUI. Some of the other distros I have tried end up with over 2 GB installed. I would like something around 1 GB with a full featured desktop environment.

I have considered Slax and Vector Linux Std, but I am open to suggestions for other options.

Thanks for any help, jimbo

Well the full slackware install of all+KDE+Gnome = about 2-3gigs. You can however just install with disk 1 leaving out KDE and Gnome and slim down in some places you don't need things. Taking out apache, perl, php, etc, etc.

A full install of Slackware will take around 2GB. You can always exclude things that you won't use, example, if you won't use Gnome but KDE, just don't install Gnome, etc.
Two Slackware based minimal distribution with GUI are:
http://www.amigolinux.org/ This is based on Slackware 9.1, very stable and minimal.
and
http://www.minislack.org/ ( Two tutorials here: http://desktoplinux.com/articles/AT9660431774.html && http://www.minislack.org/staticpages...50321023829882 )

perl is pretty useful, but yeah, install just the packages you need. for a desktop, you probably won't need apache, php, and mysql.

As for a desktop, it depends on what you mean by "full-featured desktop environment". I'm using XFCE, and love it. It does everything I need it to do. It's not "full-featured" enough for some, however, and if you're expecting the functionality you find in Gnome or KDE, you're out of luck.


Interestingly enough, I find it funny that KDE's slogan is "Conquer your desktop!". I prefer to work with my computer, not beat it into submission. :)

Thanks for the replies. Well, my problem with not installing stuff that I don't need is that I am such a newbie I don't know what I need and what I don't need. So, I thought I might start with a rather small installation where the decisions had been made by someone with vastly more experience than me.

Thanks, jimbo

Well that is a pickle. There isn't really any option when you go through the slackware install for "slim and trim". You could just go through and pick and choose each and every package. When you do this it will give you a desciption of each package so you can see if you need it or not. It will also tell you what packages are required. But thats it. I suppose you could look for some sort of listing of maybe someone elses custom tagfiles and see what apps they have available. I'm afraid slack is gonna make you work a bit :)

What I've seen recommended (I can't remember by whom) is to do a full install (obviously excepting KDE and GNOME if you know you won't use them), then use the pkgtool "remove" option to get rid of five or so packages a week, keeping note of what you've removed in case you find you've removed something you need. I would suggest printing out a copy of PACKAGES.TXT, which can be found on disk 1 under "slackware," and using that to help decide what you want to use or throw out.

Try Vector, then. My old copy of Vector 4 is 1 CD, and can install in < 400mb. The current version is probably not that bad, either.

There is a live cd based on Slackware called Slax. I reccomend it to try Slack out.

I would second gbonvehi nomination of Minislack. It installs in 1.1 mb and the developers have selected most of the packages for you. The only downside is the user forum and documentation is not
as extensive as Slackware but everything works. It has a package manager that will install and update from the net. It will not do alot of hardware configuration but the Minislack homepage has good installation instructions

Vector linux is also worth looking at. There are 2 versions: 1) Vector Linux and 2) Vector SOHO.
The first version is small and runs the 2.6 kernel and most of the decisions are made for you. The second is a larger install, runs the 2.4 kernel with larger programs. I do not believe that it has as good a package manager but the installer will configureX-windows and sound.

Slax, MiniSlack and Amigo Linux are very good options, but it is quite possible to install Slackware on low-spec hardware. Eg, I have an old laptop with 40 MB RAM, 2GB harddisc and a Pentium Classic running at 120 MHz. Slackware 10.1 is running on that oldie with X Window just fine, and there are several hundreds of MB free on the disc. I didn't install Gnome and KDE, of course. But Fluxbox is quite complete.

So it depends on the reason why you want a minimised install. If it is for low-spec hardware, then you might just install Slackware without the big desktop environments. But if your hardware is modern (large harddisc, enough RAM), just try KDE and/or Gnome and/or XFCE and/or Fluxbox. You can install them all and your environment on every login, if you like.

You don't need to be afraid that you might be unable to get rid of something you install. In Linux it is usually possible to remove software without leaving artifacts on your harddisc. So it's a low-risc experiment.

Have fun!

gargamel