Best GNU/Linux OS option for an old machine

[DirectorC]

it will make a few last friends (baseball bat, M-80's, sledgehammer, etc.)

LOL, nice.

 

[933k]

if ubuntu is too heavy on that computer

try puppy ... puppylinux.org ... small download only 90mb

i manage to install that on a friends 400hmz celeron computer last week, the install was a little hairy but it ran sweet once install, only had 128mb of ram too

 

[Odin Eidolon]

Well, I just put Ubuntu 9.10 on there. I ran the Live CD and it was pretty smooth, so I went ahead and did a full install. I'll post up the end results in a bit when it's all done.

A question: It seems that a better 10.XX version is going to come out shortly. When it does, and if I want to upgrade, will it treat the new one as like a service pack and update or will I have to do a full re-install?


Also... 1500 posts!

10.04 will come out on April 2010, 10.10 will come out on october 2010, and so on. Ubuntu is fixed release, so you always know when you will get a new release.

if ubuntu is too heavy on that computer

try puppy ... puppylinux.org ... small download only 90mb

i manage to install that on a friends 400hmz celeron computer last week, the install was a little hairy but it ran sweet once install, only had 128mb of ram too

Puppy is nice, it is targeted to even lower-end pc tho... Its designed to run with 64mb of RAM. On his computer it would be a waste of computing power IMO.


Try Chrome, its very lightweight. Go to "synaptics package manager" and search for chrome, then install it. You will of course find it under the Applications->Internet menu.


Also, read here

 

[[crs]]

Just curious, what other Linux distro would you guys recommend apart from ununtu?? Debian seems preyy decent.

 

[DirectorC]

SuSE, Gentoo and Fedora.

I'm still also a big fan of Slackware, but that depends on your needs and preferences. People who like compiling their own packages run Slackware, is the way I see it.

 

[Odin Eidolon]

Just curious, what other Linux distro would you guys recommend apart from ununtu?? Debian seems preyy decent.

Beginner: Mint, openSuse, Pardus,
Intermidiate: Sabayon, CrunchBang, Elive, Puppy, Fedora
Power user: Arch, the one and only
Ultra power user: LnuxFromScratch

These are the best IMO, depending on your needs of course. I may have forgotten some.

 

[NinkobEi]

ok, on topic: trying to get Linux running on a 2.4ghz celeron w/ 256 ram. it took about 30 mins to load the live cd ;P should I try puppy (im a linewb) or just grab a gig of ram for $10 ?

 

[DirectorC]

Took 30 mins? not really though right? I would lean toward a new optical drive if that was the case

I'd throw that RAM on that system though. Big diff either way.

 

[Odin Eidolon]

ok, on topic: trying to get Linux running on a 2.4ghz celeron w/ 256 ram. it took about 30 mins to load the live cd ;P should I try puppy (im a linewb) or just grab a gig of ram for $10 ?

go with the second option, with 10$ your PC will last at least another 6 years, with Linux.
Also, Puppy is not very good looking IMO, and his repository is poor. The repository (AKA repo) is a list where all the possible quick-installable software (via internet) is avaiable. Of course you can install software manually too, but it takes longer.
If my memory is good, i recall that puppy has around 1500-2000 programs in his repos, while Ubuntu, Arch, Mint etc. have more than 20000.