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Thread: Old hardware brought back to life

  1. #1
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    Old hardware brought back to life

    Contents: A long, but hopefully easy to read collection of advice for beginners and intermediate users. Don't get scared by the volume: The fact that the text is long is not an indication that installing is difficult, it's just a result of trying to deal with many different problems, also some which are fairly unlikely to encounter. Though the guide was born in 2012 it is receiving steady updates, latest 2024-01-24.


    Various Linux distros are known as a good option for bringing old hardware back to life and the forum is receiving many questions on the topic. The thread is created in order to keep the experience and advice regarding old hardware in one place. Many of the considerations, recommendations and warnings from one problem can and should be reused by other people.

    The main release, Ubuntu, used to be lightweight and suitable for old hardware, but recent releases are targeting new systems with more graphics horsepower.

    Lighter derivatives like Lubuntu and Xubuntu are a better option for semi-old hardware. Both of them use the shared Ubuntu software repository so applications known to run on Ubuntu can also be used on Lubuntu/Xubuntu.

    However, there is a lot of hardware around which would benefit from something even lighter. For example, Snap (discussed later) adds a big workload. This might not be relevant for recent hardware but one clearly feels the difference using older gear. Also, the Buntu family does not support 32 bit CPU's so this is another use case where other distros must be considered.

    1) Which distro to install?
    Ubuntu is built on Debian and broadly speaking Debian of today can be compared to Buntu ten years ago. According to some, Buntu has drifted away from the roots but this space is now taken over by Debian. Some of the advantages regarding old hardware are:


    • Debian supports 32 bit hardware
    • Debian offers a small Netinstall image suitable for older equipment. Most of the packages are being downloaded during the installation so they don't have to be packaged in the installation file itself. The installation file fits to a CD.
    • Debian manages packages using the DEB format which is as lightweight as can be. Various middle tiers like Snap and Flatpak are not needed here.
    • There is no push towards buying a 'pro' subscription and the commands retain their original and intended function. For example, the apt command in Debian is only used for package management, not for additional marketing of the 'pro' option.



    When viewed using the command df -hT, a typical Debian installation running the XFCE desktop environment with Libreoffice and Firefox installed looks like this:

    Code:
    Filesystem     Type      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
    udev           devtmpfs  1.7G     0  1.7G   0% /dev
    tmpfs          tmpfs     352M  1.2M  351M   1% /run
    /dev/sda1      ext4      284G  4.1G  265G   2% /
    tmpfs          tmpfs     1.8G     0  1.8G   0% /dev/shm
    tmpfs          tmpfs     5.0M  8.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
    tmpfs          tmpfs     352M   60K  352M   1% /run/user/1000
    A size around 4 GB is about as small as one can get.

    Later zram can be added (explained below).


    In the following guide we first test the hardware capabilities before deciding what and how to install but if you can't wait or if it's not possible to run a live boot you can just take the chance and go straight to the install described in 3).


    2) Hardware
    The main rule is that software in the Debian world works more or less everywhere. Some exceptions apply, though.

    Hardware Age (approx.) Occurrence Remarks
    32 bit without SSE2 - 2002 Rare See post 3 in the thread
    32 bit without PAE 2003-4 Rare Debian is recommended. It comes with Firefox in stead of Chrome/Chromium which has abandoned 32 bit hardware.
    32 bit with SSE2 and PAE A) General availability 2000 - 2008
    B) Intel Atom notebooks from the years 2009-11 famous for having very low power consumption.
    Common Debian is recommended. It comes with Firefox in stead of Chrome/Chromium which has abandoned 32 bit hardware.
    64 bit 2003 - Common Though Ubuntu installs fine the performance under Debian is likely better.


    These restrictions are good to remember when reading the thread.

    Let's begin with a simple test to see if the hardware in question is fairly old but straightforward to deal with or very old and needs some tricks.

    Using any Linux distro, installed or from a live boot, please copy the following command one at a time into the terminal and run.
    Code:
    sudo apt update
    sudo apt dist-upgrade
    sudo apt install lshw dmidecode
    It installs the programs lshw (an abbreviation for list hardware) and dmidecode if they are not already present. We are going to use them a lot to look inside the computer.

    After this, run
    Code:
    sudo lshw -C cpu | grep -i sse2
    It takes some seconds to complete.

    If you get a line full of abbreviations everything is good. Chances are that the install is simply next, next, next, finish.

    If the command doesn't yield an output please see post #3 'really old hardware' in the thread. It's questionable if the computer will be of any practial use.

    (Details: The command above checks if the processor has the SSE2 instructions set. In the Intel family the oldest member with SSE2 is a Pentium 4 and for AMD the oldest is a K8. Though SSE2 is not necessary for a Debian install it still serves as a baseline for reasonable performance.)

    The command
    Code:
    sudo lshw -C cpu | grep -i width
    tells if you have a 32 or 64 bit processor. If it's 64 bit and you have more than 2 GiB of memory then a 64 bit ISO is recommended.

    For people wanting to investigate CPU properties in depth this link gives inspiration.

    Memory: The command
    Code:
    sudo dmidecode -t memory | grep -i 'ddr\|size'
    shows the size of the present memory, for example 2*1 GB. It also shows empty slots ready for additional memory.

    Code:
    sudo dmidecode -t memory | grep -i max
    shows the maximum size of memory that the motherboard supports.

    If you (like me) end up with hardware not worth salvaging these commands are helpful when deciding how and where to recycle the memory. I often see a big improvement when an old computer receives one or two memory sticks from a donor.


    The graphics processor has its own memory modules. Here is a guide for finding out how much memory the graphics processor has.

    Drives
    Code:
    sudo lshw -short -C disk
    shows the drives of the system, including CD/DVD drives. You can see the size of the hard disk and decide if it's big enough for the intended use. Later in the thread we shall investigate the health of the hard disk.

    If Gparted or the df command show some strange partitions or don't show any at all it could be due of Fake-RAID. If that's the case and if you don't want to keep Windows which may be installed here I suggest that Fake-RAID be disabled so the disks are functioning independently. The text in the hyperlink explains why.

    Network
    Code:
    sudo lshw | grep -i '00bt'
    shows the speed of the wired (ethernet) connector, often 100 or 1000 Mbit/s. If Wifi is slow then this is an alternative.


    Display server
    You might have heard that some Linux distros are slowly switching from X11 to Wayland as a display server. Debian/XFCE stays for the time being with the dated but highly stable X11. One can see which server is in use by running the command
    Code:
    echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE
    If the output is x11 then there's no need to worry about people posting this-and-that about Wayland.

    Hardware modifications
    The older and hence slower the hard disk the more important is zram and/or swappiness, as explained in a later post. 2,5" disks used in portables are generally worse than 3,5" disks in stationary computers.

    Adding memory is the single most efficient step one can take.


    If the hardware does not meet these requirements one should consider if it's worth the effort to carry on. There is so much used (say, 4-12 years of age) gear around that one can get for free or cheap. The ever-increasing system requirements of Windows are pushing more and more computers into the ‘old’ category even though they are in good working order.

    Though, if the graphics horsepower in an old computer is too weak for daily use it can still be of value as a file server for back-ups. Just check that the hard disk is in good condition (see next post in the thread) but consider the power consumption if it's intended to be always running.

    On a home network with only trusted clients Vsftpd is a fine FTP server package for backup purposes. The otherwise popular client Filezilla has been terminated for 32 bit systems so here one has to use alternatives like Gftp.

    An interesting blog about old hardware and realistic expectations.


    3) Installing the operating system
    First of all: The solution to getting old hardware into usable condition is not old software. When software has reached end of life and is abandoned by the developers no security fixes are provided, and for obvious reasons people should not run such a system. Don't use it, no matter how fast it runs or how much you like the user interface. Here we focus on the latest Debian.

    Installation files are normally packaged in a file with the .ISO extension, in daily speak just referred to as 'an ISO'.

    If the computer is one you have salvaged from a dumpster or which has been given to you I suggest that you begin with completely erasing the hard disk. My preferred command is

    Code:
    sudo shred -f -z -v -n 2 /dev/sdX
    where sdX refers to your hard disk, often sda. It must be run from a live boot.

    Nwipe is another good candidate for sanitising a hard disk.

    More about hard disk management.



    Installation should be done from a USB stick, if the computer is young enough to support it, or else from a CD or DVD. If the install hangs at the very end with no explanation given just push Return.


    If booting from USB does not work and if the CD/DVD drive is on the brink of failing it's worth trying the minimal Debian ISO as opposed to the full-size one. Often a semi-working CD drive will accept a small ISO file like this one.

    Regardless of which ISO you choose one should (if possible) use wired internet access while installing, during the first boot and when applying the first batch of bug fixes.


    A number of background processes called daemons are created automatically. They often serve a useful purpose, for example taking care of the network connection, but not all are needed by all users.

    If one doesn't have a printer then cups could and should be removed. It can be temporarily disabled by the command
    Code:
    sudo systemctl stop cups
    After that
    Code:
    sudo apt --purge remove cups cups-common cups-filters cups-pk-helper
    followed by
    Code:
    sudo apt autoremove
    removes cups-related packages.

    One or both of the commands
    Code:
    sudo systemctl --type=service
    service --status-all
    will shows all daemons running (press q for quitting after seeing the output). If one wants to harden the system and remove other unneeded daemons, for example Bluetooth, then this can be used as inspiration.


    3 B) Security matters
    Hardware-related security is first and foremost centered around the CPU (more text to come here).


    3 C) Distros other than Debian
    GNU/Linux is about choice, and other light distros than Debian are also worth a try.

    Puppy (which comes in many versions), Knoppix and Bodhi Linux are good options. More distros are listed here and here if people want to experiment, but before choosing one of the minor distros remember to check how well it is maintained. Never use an unsupported distro or a distro where bug fixes are released so slowly that it's almost unsupported. This excludes for example Damn Small Linux, which is sadly still mentioned in Ubuntuforums. Please let it rest in peace.


    3D) BIOS
    If the install still does not work you could try resetting BIOS to default values and / or upgrade the BIOS to a later version. Before upgrading remember to search the web and see if people have bad experiences with this for your particular hardware. Don't be afraid of general warnings which may not apply to your machinery.

    Some advice for updating BIOS and other kinds of firmware.

    A working BIOS can sometimes be tuned to yield a better performance, for example by disabling options which are not needed.


    4) Snap
    The traditional package format for Debian is a deb package. Lately at least three alternative package formats have been introduced: Snap, Flatpack and AppImage.

    For a number of reasons I recommend to stay with deb packages only, especially for old hardware. First and foremost the other package formats add a significant workload to the system.

    The people behind Linux Mint have posted this statement about Snap explaining why they try to avoid it. Since the purpose of this thread is to get old hardware functioning we will do the same.

    To check if you have snap installed run the command
    Code:
    snap list
    It has three possible outcomes:

    1. An error appears
    2. The user is encouraged you run the command snap install hello-world
    3. The user gets a list of installed snap packages, for example

    Code:
    Name               Version          Rev    Tracking         Publisher   Notes
    bare               1.0              5      latest/stable    canonical✓  base
    core22             20230801         864    latest/stable    canonical✓  base
    firefox            118.0.1-1        3216   latest/stable/…  mozilla✓    -
    gnome-42-2204      0+git.ff35a85    141    latest/stable/…  canonical✓  -
    gtk-common-themes  0.1-81-g442e511  1535   latest/stable/…  canonical✓  -
    snapd              2.60.3           20092  latest/stable    canonical✓  snapd
    If 1: Everything is good.
    If 2: The snap daemon is present but inactive. To avoid using it by accident just remove it with the command sudo apt remove snapd. It can take a while to finish.
    If 3: Some applications are present in snap format. Consider if you need all of them or if they can be replaced by applications in deb packages.

    To remove a snap package run
    Code:
    sudo snap remove <package>
    for each package, for example
    Code:
    sudo snap remove firefox
    It might take some attempts because packages have to be removed in the right order.

    Now
    Code:
    snap list
    should display the empty list.
    Finally

    Code:
    sudo apt remove snapd
    removes the mothership. All clear.

    Now comes the tricky part. One would expect that the command
    Code:
    sudo apt install chromium-browser --dry-run
    would warn the user about all packages about to be installed but that's not the case. Should one be mislead to executing

    Code:
    sudo apt install chromium-browser
    then a subsequent

    Code:
    snap list
    will show that the command silently has triggered a full Snap reinstall including packages unrelated to Chromium. We are back to start, only with cups added to the list. Oh, snap.

    Code:
    Name               Version          Rev    Tracking       Publisher      Notes
    bare               1.0              5      latest/stable  canonical✓     base
    chromium           118.0.5993.117   2673   latest/stable  canonical✓     -
    core22             20230801         864    latest/stable  canonical✓     base
    cups               2.4.6-4          980    latest/stable  openprinting✓  -
    gnome-42-2204      0+git.ff35a85    141    latest/stable  canonical✓     -
    gtk-common-themes  0.1-81-g442e511  1535   latest/stable  canonical✓     -
    snapd              2.60.4           20290  latest/stable  canonical✓     snapd

    The Buntu roadmap indicates that more and more packages are to be transferred to Snap. If that's not your liking then it's worth the while trying Debian or Linux Mint.

    For more information about Snap see the thread here.


    5) Applications
    ‘Light applications’ is a neverending topic. Only brief advice is given here, otherwise I leave it to the user to experiment.

    Trying a lighter browser like Pale Moon, Xombrero / Xxxterm or Epiphany may or may not speed things up. The packages are small so it’s an easy test to do. The even lighter browser links2 gives a crude text display with embedded images but nothing more - no pop-ups, no animated GIF's and no video ads (scrolling is done with right mouse button or with Page Up/Down). After years of exposure to pages bloated with irrelevant ads and animations it's a joy to see only plain text. The command for installing is
    Code:
    sudo apt install links2

    6) Maintenance
    An often overlooked part of getting an old computer into a useable condition is cleaning the interior dust build-ups, especially around the fan and heatsink. Take care not to damage the fans by forceful vacuuming and remember to only vacuum in the reverse direction of the normal air flow. Best is to block the fan with a tooth pick or piece of wire while cleaning to prevent it from spinning too fast. If we are dealing with a desktop remember that it likely has several fans (for CPU, GPU, power supply and more).

    Short bursts of compressed air also helps. Again, only in the reverse direction of the normal air flow.

    Remember to check that the fan is turning freely after cleaning.

    Many good guides are available describing how to take hardware apart. Here's for example a list for Toshiba.


    On the software side the only maintenance needed is

    Code:
    sudo apt update
    sudo apt dist-upgrade
    <maybe reboot here>
    sudo apt clean
    sudo apt autoremove
    once in a while. The last command comes in handy because it removes old kernels and saves hard disk space.

    If the computer does not automatically ask for updates shortly after the install it's especially important to run the commands.

    A file system needs some free space to perform well. The command
    Code:
    df -Th
    shows in percent how much space is used for various mounts. A good rule of thumb is never letting any of the measures exceed 75%.

    The similar command
    Code:
    df -i
    shows the number of available inodes. There are many explanations for inodes on the web, for now it will be enough to know that the percentages shown should be as low as possible. If you see high numbers just run the autoremove command mentioned above.

    The command
    Code:
    sudo find /home -name '*' -size +50M
    tells which files in the /home directory are more than 50 MB of size. It's useful for cleaning if space is getting tight. Remember to empty the trash can afterwards.

    Some advice on file system maintenance.


    7) Environmental impact
    It is a widely held belief that old hardware shouldn’t be used because of power consumption. This is not necessarily true: Old hardware is sometimes less greedy than new, if one compares within the same category (desktop versus desktop, for example). The power consumption of newer machines per unit of calculation is lower, but not the total power consumption of the machine.

    However, the biggest benefits from using an old computer as long as possible is less production of new hardware and less e-waste to be handled, both of which are causing serious environmental problems. Add to this the joy of using hardware without a software vendor trying to force people to pay for a pre-installed operating system.

    If you have managed to bring an old computer back to usable life you should not be ashamed for being out of sync but proud of taking care of the environment.


    8) Further improvement
    Third post in the thread gives some suggestions for what to trim and adjust after install.


    9) Still in doubt?
    If this does not answer all your questions you are of course welcome to post but please read #4 first.

    = = =
    Thanks to MG&TL for proof-reading.
    Last edited by mörgæs; 3 Days Ago at 01:21 PM. Reason: About Filezilla

  2. #2
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    Hard disk health

    One question when dealing with old hardware is whether or not it's fast enough for the intended purpose. Post 1 and 4 discuss this topic and provide ideas for getting a higher performance. Another question is whether or not it's safe to store data on an old hard disk.

    In mechanical equipment errors often appear in the shape of the bathtub curve. Since we are dealing with old gear the left hand part of the bathtub is not a concern; the only question is how long we can use the hard disk before the right hand increase appears - if it ever does.

    I am often surprised how long a hard disk can live on in an error-free state, some of mine now celebrating 20 years birthday after being exposed to a lot of distrohopping and reinstalling.

    However, if a sign of malfunction appears then one has to heed the warning and take action right away. This applies to hard disks in general and not only recycled gear. One might not get a second chance.



    A hard disk can fail in various ways; here we focus on bad sectors which can develop over time. Fortunately they tend to appear in clusters and not randomly distributed over the disk.

    Error-handling routines in the hard disk firmware are expected to take care of the individual sectors when an error occurs. They are often quite efficient and many well-behaving hard disks have a few bad sectors unbeknownst to the user.

    However, when resurrecting old hardware one should at least do a little testing before installing.

    If the hard disk is dubious then one can simply choose not to use it, expecting that more errors are coming up. Another option is to direct the installation to the undamaged parts of the disk, which is what we are going to discuss here. It could be called trading hard disk space for security.

    As always: Regardless of the hard disk condition always back up to a physically and digitally separated location. If your important data are not backed up they are obviously not important to you.


    Let's take an example. The commands can be run in a live boot or in an already installed Buntu / Debian.

    First we execute
    Code:
    sudo fdisk -l
    The top line of the output could look like

    Code:
    Disk /dev/sda: 74.6 GiB, 80060424192 bytes, 156368016 sectors
    It tells us the number of sectors and that the hard disk is mounted as /dev/sda.

    We would like to investigate /dev/sda further. Next command is
    Code:
    sudo apt install badblocks
    sudo badblocks -v /dev/sda > badblocks.txt
    which can take long time to run. It searches the entire /dev/sda hard disk for bad sectors and writes their location to a file if any are found. An empty file indicates a hard disk free from bad sectors.

    When the command has finished (for a large disk it might need to run the whole night) open the file badblocks.txt. Say it looks like

    Code:
    3040076
    3040077
    3040078
    3040079
    3040548
    3040549
    3040551
    12558888
    12558889
    12559356
    12559357
    12559358
    12559359
    (and 58 more 125xxxxx-numbers)
    In other words we have one cluster with sector numbers 304xxxx and another with numbers 125xxxxx.

    The larger of the numbers is 125xxxxx. Let's define an area up to and including this sector (and a little more for security) from which we are keeping the installation away.

    Since the total disk size is 156368016 sectors we are losing 12600000 / 156368016 = 8 % of the disk capacity if we do so. There will still be 92 % of 74.6 GiB = 68.6 GiB left as useable space. Since a basic Debian install takes around 5 GiB we have plenty left.


    We decide to erase the hard disk completely before installing. From a live boot run the command
    Code:
    sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=1M
    again assuming that the hard disk is sda. Also this command can take a long time and only the hard disk indicator light shows that something is proceeding.

    When finished the message no space left on device will appear. Though it might sound like an error it only indicates that the process is complete.

    Some consider the command overkill but at least one should erase the master boot record and the partitioning scheme. This is done by the (quick) command
    Code:
    sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1
    After this
    Code:
    sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda
    shows an empty (unpartitioned) disk as expected.

    During the installation one is offered an automatic partitioning. Here we are going to take control and create our own.

    First a partition of 10 GiB (rounded up from the 8 calculated earlier) should be created and marked do not use.

    After this a swap partition. I prefer to have it double the size of RAM but other people might have different opinions.

    The remainder is used as the / (root) partition formatted as ext4. I don't see the purpose of having a separate /home partition but if this is desired now is the time for creating it.

    A simple partitioning scheme could be done using only primary partitions but if you are planning to do many experiments then extended partitions might be necessary.
    Rest of the installation is standard.


    Now
    Code:
    sudo fdisk -l
    should show something (more or less) like

    Code:
    Disk /dev/sda: 74,6 GiB, 80060424192 bytes, 156368016 sectors
    Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
    Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
    I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
    Disklabel type: dos
    Disk identifier: *
    
    Device     Boot    Start       End   Sectors  Size Id Type
    /dev/sda1  *        2048  19531775  19529728  9,3G 83 Linux
    /dev/sda2       19533822 156366847 136833026 65,3G  5 Extended
    /dev/sda5       19533824 156366847 136833024 65,3G 83 Linux
    and
    Code:
    df -h
    shows
    Code:
    Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
    udev            1,9G     0  1,9G   0% /dev
    tmpfs           382M  1,2M  380M   1% /run
    ### notice that /dev/sda1 is not mentioned here ###
    /dev/sda5        64G  5,6G   55G  10% /
    tmpfs           1,9G  7,2M  1,9G   1% /dev/shm
    tmpfs           5,0M  4,0K  5,0M   1% /run/lock
    tmpfs           1,9G     0  1,9G   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
    tmpfs           382M   12K  382M   1% /run/user/1000
    We see that sda1 spans 19529728 sectors (12600000 required) and is unused; only sda5 stores data for the operative system. The usable hard disk size is now 64 GB.

    Once in a while people discuss which file system to use. I would go for ext4 unless there are strong reasons for doing otherwise.
    Last edited by mörgæs; 4 Weeks Ago at 08:14 PM. Reason: Minor changes, language
    Bringing old hardware back to life. About problems due to upgrading.
    Please visit Quick Links -> Unanswered Posts.
    Don't use this space for a list of your hardware. It only creates false hits in the search engines.

  3. #3
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    Really old hardware

    The original post dealt with fairly old hardware. Here are some additions for really old stuff.

    32 bit CPU's with or without PAE
    All of these are supported by Debian in a standard installation. No tweaking needed.
    Firefox Extended Support Version comes by default in a Debian install. Chrome and Chromium won't run.

    32 bit CPU's without SSE2
    A CPU uses a number of instruction sets to execute orders from the outside world. The instruction set SSE has been around for ages, so all recent software packages can expect SSE to be available.

    However, the later standard SSE2 was introduced with Pentium 4 which leads to special considerations for older gear. It is not known whether or not Firefox still supports non-SSE2 equipment, but maybe it's too slow anyway to be of any use.
    Last edited by mörgæs; November 5th, 2023 at 10:22 AM. Reason: Additions for Firefox

  4. #4
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    Performance tuning

    Until now we have focused on getting a light and fast (that is, lightning fast) operating system by selecting the most efficient software to install. After the install is completed it's worth the while to test the system to see if some parameters should be adjusted in order to further speed up things. Don't jump to conclusions and begin tweaking the system before you know A) where the bottleneck is for your particular combination of hard- and software and B) if there's anything to do about it.

    Many good workload monitors are available. One of the options is Gkrellm which can easily be configured to show various factors relevant to performance. Give it a corner of the screen and keep an eye on it during different kinds of tasks.


    Slow boot
    Though Debian is considered a fast operating system the boot itself is sometimes slow.

    The command
    Code:
    more /var/log/dmesg
    shows in detail what goes on during boot. The number in [ ] at the beginning of each line is the time stamp so when there's a big difference in the number something is taking a long time. One can view the entire log screen for screen using the command above or use
    Code:
    awk -F'[][] *' '$2-ts>0.3{printf "%s\n%s\n---\n",l,$0}{ts=$2;l=$0}' /var/log/dmesg
    which shows only the records in the log file where there's a delay longer than 0.3 seconds. Thanks to schragge for the command.



    This section is only relevant if you have too much hard disk activity.

    Swappiness
    The swappiness setting determines when a system begins swapping data to the hard disk. A low value makes more use of memory and less use of the swap partition.

    As memory storage is many times faster than hard disk storage this is what we want.

    The default setting is 60, which makes swapping begin early. Lowering to, say 10 sometimes makes a significant improvement in speed, dependent on the hard disk type and workload.

    To test it (for the present session only, permanent settings are unchanged) one simply does the following:


    1. Copy the command
      Code:
      cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness
      to the terminal and press Enter. You will now see the present value of swappiness.
    2. Spend some minutes browsing Ubuntuforums or another web site. Notice the speed (or lack thereof).
    3. After that run the command
      Code:
      sudo sysctl vm.swappiness=10
    4. Continue browsing. Do you now have a faster system with less hard disk activity?


    If one wants to make the setting permanent the line vm.swappiness = 10 has to be added to /etc/sysctl.conf. It's done with the command
    Code:
    sudo sed -i '$ a\vm.swappiness = 10' /etc/sysctl.conf
    The new setting is activated in next boot. In effect it moves workload from a slow, rotating hard drive to the memory modules, which are faster than a solid state drive, and it could be referred to as the poor man's SSD.


    Zram
    is another module which can speed up a system by lowering the swap activity on the hard disk. The command
    Code:
    cat /proc/swaps
    lists the swap areas in use; for a standard Lubuntu installation the results could look more or less like
    Code:
    Filename                Type        Size    Used    Priority
    /swapfile               file        2097148    0    -1
    which indicates that only a hard disk swapfile is active (unlike a hard disk partition which was used in the old Buntus). After executing
    Code:
    sudo apt install zram-config
    and a reboot the command now displays
    Code:
    Filename                Type        Size    Used    Priority
    /swapfile               file        2097148    0    -1
    /dev/zram0              partition   1009324    0    5
    /dev/zram1              partition   1009324    0    5
    indicating that a new swap area with higher priority (that is, will be used first) has been added. The sizes shown will differ according to the hardware on which zram runs.

    It's recommended to experiment with swappiness and zram alone and in combination. On some computers it gives a significant boost, on some there's only a minimal change
    Last edited by mörgæs; January 28th, 2024 at 12:39 PM. Reason: Removed obsolete paragraphs

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Reykjavík, Ísland
    Beans
    13,647
    Distro
    Xubuntu

    Before posting

    A) I have a question
    If the posts above do not solve your problem feel free to post here. Remember to state everything you know about the computer.

    If you have the option please run
    Code:
    sudo lshw -sanitize > lshw.txt
    and post lshw.txt in CODE tags. Can be done in a live boot using any version of Buntu.

    An example of the output is shown at the bottom of the post.


    B) I would like to provide an answer
    Many users in Ubuntuforums have experience in old hardware and are eager to help. Thanks, that’s what keeps the forum running. However, a few guidelines should be observed before posting:

    • Please don’t provide an answer based only upon searching the web. We are happy for contributions but a lot of dubious advice exists and quoting it does not help anyone. Please only post if you have hands-on experience with something close to the hardware and software in question.
    • Don’t take for granted that there is a solution and don't give the person asking a false hope. Not every old computer can be brought into usable condition, so sorry, you have to recycle this dinosaur might be the only sensible answer. If you never post this regardless of the hardware in question you are probably too lenient.
    • Corrections to the posts are welcome.



    Code:
    computer
        description: Desktop Computer
        product: OptiPlex 745 ()
        vendor: Dell Inc.
        serial: [REMOVED]
        width: 64 bits
        capabilities: smbios-2.3 dmi-2.3 vsyscall32
        configuration: administrator_password=enabled boot=normal chassis=desktop power-on_password=enabled uuid=[REMOVED]
      *-core
           description: Motherboard
           product: 0MM599
           vendor: Dell Inc.
           physical id: 0
           serial: [REMOVED]
         *-firmware
              description: BIOS
              vendor: Dell Inc.
              physical id: 0
              version: 2.6.6
              date: 06/26/2011
              size: 64KiB
              capacity: 960KiB
              capabilities: pci pnp apm upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect edd int13floppytoshiba int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer acpi usb ls120boot biosbootspecification netboot
         *-cpu
              description: CPU
              product: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU          6400  @ 2.13GHz
              vendor: Intel Corp.
              physical id: 400
              bus info: cpu@0
              slot: Microprocessor
              size: 2133MHz
              width: 64 bits
              clock: 1066MHz
              capabilities: x86-64 fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts nopl aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm lahf_lm dtherm tpr_shadow
              configuration: cores=2 enabledcores=2 threads=2
            *-cache:0
                 description: L1 cache
                 physical id: 700
                 size: 32KiB
                 capacity: 32KiB
                 capabilities: internal write-back data
            *-cache:1
                 description: L2 cache
                 physical id: 701
                 size: 2MiB
                 capacity: 2MiB
                 capabilities: internal varies unified
         *-memory
              description: System Memory
              physical id: 1000
              slot: System board or motherboard
              size: 2GiB
            *-bank:0
                 description: DIMM DDR Synchronous 667 MHz (1,5 ns)
                 product: M3 78T2953EZ3-CE6
                 vendor: Samsung
                 physical id: 0
                 serial: [REMOVED]
                 slot: DIMM_1
                 size: 1GiB
                 width: 64 bits
                 clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
            *-bank:1
                 description: DIMM DDR Synchronous 667 MHz (1,5 ns) [empty]
                 vendor: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
                 physical id: 1
                 serial: [REMOVED]
                 slot: DIMM_3
                 width: 64 bits
                 clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
            *-bank:2
                 description: DIMM DDR Synchronous 667 MHz (1,5 ns)
                 product: M3 78T2953EZ3-CE6
                 vendor: Samsung
                 physical id: 2
                 serial: [REMOVED]
                 slot: DIMM_2
                 size: 1GiB
                 width: 64 bits
                 clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
            *-bank:3
                 description: DIMM DDR Synchronous 667 MHz (1,5 ns) [empty]
                 vendor: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
                 physical id: 3
                 serial: [REMOVED]
                 slot: DIMM_4
                 width: 64 bits
                 clock: 667MHz (1.5ns)
         *-pci
              description: Host bridge
              product: 82Q963/Q965 Memory Controller Hub
              vendor: Intel Corporation
              physical id: 100
              bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
              version: 02
              width: 32 bits
              clock: 33MHz
            *-pci:0
                 description: PCI bridge
                 product: 82Q963/Q965 PCI Express Root Port
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:01.0
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: pci pm msi pciexpress normal_decode bus_master cap_list
                 configuration: driver=pcieport
                 resources: irq:40 ioport:d000(size=4096) memory:fe900000-feafffff ioport:d0000000(size=268435456)
               *-display:0
                    description: VGA compatible controller
                    product: RV516 [Radeon X1300/X1550 Series]
                    vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI]
                    physical id: 0
                    bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
                    version: 00
                    width: 64 bits
                    clock: 33MHz
                    capabilities: pm pciexpress msi vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
                    configuration: driver=radeon latency=0
                    resources: irq:16 memory:d0000000-dfffffff memory:fe9e0000-fe9effff ioport:dc00(size=256) memory:fea00000-fea1ffff
               *-display:1 UNCLAIMED
                    description: Display controller
                    product: RV516 [Radeon X1300/X1550 Series] (Secondary)
                    vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI]
                    physical id: 0.1
                    bus info: pci@0000:01:00.1
                    version: 00
                    width: 64 bits
                    clock: 33MHz
                    capabilities: pm pciexpress bus_master cap_list
                    configuration: latency=0
                    resources: memory:fe9f0000-fe9fffff
            *-usb:0
                 description: USB controller
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1a
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1a.0
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: uhci bus_master
                 configuration: driver=uhci_hcd latency=0
                 resources: irq:16 ioport:ff20(size=32)
            *-usb:1
                 description: USB controller
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1a.1
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1a.1
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: uhci bus_master
                 configuration: driver=uhci_hcd latency=0
                 resources: irq:17 ioport:ff00(size=32)
            *-usb:2
                 description: USB controller
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1a.7
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1a.7
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: pm debug ehci bus_master cap_list
                 configuration: driver=ehci-pci latency=0
                 resources: irq:22 memory:febfbc00-febfbfff
            *-multimedia
                 description: Audio device
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1b
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1b.0
                 version: 02
                 width: 64 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
                 configuration: driver=snd_hda_intel latency=0
                 resources: irq:43 memory:febfc000-febfffff
            *-pci:1
                 description: PCI bridge
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1c
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.0
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
                 configuration: driver=pcieport
                 resources: irq:41 ioport:1000(size=4096) memory:fe800000-fe8fffff ioport:f0000000(size=2097152)
            *-pci:2
                 description: PCI bridge
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 5
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1c.4
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.4
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
                 configuration: driver=pcieport
                 resources: irq:42 ioport:3000(size=4096) memory:fe700000-fe7fffff ioport:f0200000(size=2097152)
               *-network
                    description: Ethernet interface
                    product: NetXtreme BCM5754 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express
                    vendor: Broadcom Corporation
                    physical id: 0
                    bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
                    logical name: eth0
                    version: 02
                    serial: [REMOVED]
                    size: 1Gbit/s
                    capacity: 1Gbit/s
                    width: 64 bits
                    clock: 33MHz
                    capabilities: pm vpd msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
                    configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=tg3 driverversion=3.132 duplex=full firmware=5754-v3.15 ip=[REMOVED] latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=1Gbit/s
                    resources: irq:44 memory:fe7f0000-fe7fffff
            *-usb:3
                 description: USB controller
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1d
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.0
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: uhci bus_master
                 configuration: driver=uhci_hcd latency=0
                 resources: irq:23 ioport:ff80(size=32)
            *-usb:4
                 description: USB controller
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1d.1
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.1
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: uhci bus_master
                 configuration: driver=uhci_hcd latency=0
                 resources: irq:17 ioport:ff60(size=32)
            *-usb:5
                 description: USB controller
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1d.2
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.2
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: uhci bus_master
                 configuration: driver=uhci_hcd latency=0
                 resources: irq:18 ioport:ff40(size=32)
            *-usb:6
                 description: USB controller
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1d.7
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.7
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: pm debug ehci bus_master cap_list
                 configuration: driver=ehci-pci latency=0
                 resources: irq:23 memory:ff980800-ff980bff
            *-pci:3
                 description: PCI bridge
                 product: 82801 PCI Bridge
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1e
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1e.0
                 version: f2
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: pci subtractive_decode bus_master cap_list
            *-isa
                 description: ISA bridge
                 product: 82801HB/HR (ICH8/R) LPC Interface Controller
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1f
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.0
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 capabilities: isa bus_master cap_list
                 configuration: driver=lpc_ich latency=0
                 resources: irq:0
            *-ide:0
                 description: IDE interface
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) 4 port SATA Controller [IDE mode]
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1f.2
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.2
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 66MHz
                 capabilities: ide pm bus_master cap_list
                 configuration: driver=ata_piix latency=0
                 resources: irq:20 ioport:fe00(size=8) ioport:fe10(size=4) ioport:fe20(size=8) ioport:fe30(size=4) ioport:fec0(size=16) ioport:ecc0(size=16)
            *-serial UNCLAIMED
                 description: SMBus
                 product: 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1f.3
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.3
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 33MHz
                 configuration: latency=0
                 resources: memory:febfbb00-febfbbff ioport:ece0(size=32)
            *-ide:1
                 description: IDE interface
                 product: 82801HR/HO/HH (ICH8R/DO/DH) 2 port SATA Controller [IDE mode]
                 vendor: Intel Corporation
                 physical id: 1f.5
                 bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.5
                 version: 02
                 width: 32 bits
                 clock: 66MHz
                 capabilities: ide pm bus_master cap_list
                 configuration: driver=ata_piix latency=0
                 resources: irq:20 ioport:fe40(size=8) ioport:fe50(size=4) ioport:fe60(size=8) ioport:fe70(size=4) ioport:fed0(size=16) ioport:ecd0(size=16)
         *-scsi:0
              physical id: 1
              logical name: scsi0
              capabilities: emulated
            *-disk
                 description: ATA Disk
                 product: WDC WD800JD-75MS
                 vendor: Western Digital
                 physical id: 0.0.0
                 bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0
                 logical name: /dev/sda
                 version: 10.0
                 serial: [REMOVED]
                 size: 74GiB (80GB)
                 capabilities: partitioned partitioned:dos
                 configuration: ansiversion=5 sectorsize=512 signature=00000b01
               *-volume:0
                    description: EXT4 volume
                    vendor: Linux
                    physical id: 1
                    bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,1
                    logical name: /dev/sda1
                    logical name: /
                    version: 1.0
                    serial: [REMOVED]
                    size: 72GiB
                    capacity: 72GiB
                    capabilities: primary bootable journaled extended_attributes large_files huge_files dir_nlink extents ext4 ext2 initialized
                    configuration: created=2013-10-14 21:23:38 filesystem=ext4 lastmountpoint=/ modified=2014-06-16 17:27:40 mount.fstype=ext4 mount.options=rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro,data=ordered mounted=2014-06-16 17:27:40 state=mounted
               *-volume:1
                    description: Extended partition
                    physical id: 2
                    bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,2
                    logical name: /dev/sda2
                    size: 2044MiB
                    capacity: 2044MiB
                    capabilities: primary extended partitioned partitioned:extended
                  *-logicalvolume
                       description: Linux swap / Solaris partition
                       physical id: 5
                       logical name: /dev/sda5
                       capacity: 2044MiB
                       capabilities: nofs
         *-scsi:1
              physical id: 2
              logical name: scsi1
              capabilities: emulated
            *-cdrom
                 description: DVD reader
                 product: CDRWDVD TS-H493A
                 vendor: TSSTcorp
                 physical id: 0.0.0
                 bus info: scsi@1:0.0.0
                 logical name: /dev/cdrom
                 logical name: /dev/sr0
                 version: D200
                 capabilities: removable audio cd-r cd-rw dvd
                 configuration: ansiversion=5 status=nodisc
    Last edited by mörgæs; June 17th, 2014 at 12:58 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Beans
    5

    pls tell me which OS is more suitable for my pc

    hi there,
    I hope you could help me. i've a very old Pc . it comes with pentium(R) 4 cpu 1.8Ghz and 1.79Ghz,1.96 Gb of Ram . it also have 80 Gb of hard disc.

    i've try installing the latest ubuntu 12.1 but it is very slow.. I use it for my clinic daily record patients detail and some video that i play for my client.


    pls advice

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    UK Lake District
    Beans
    3,092
    Distro
    Kubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver

    Re: pls tell me which OS is more suitable for my pc

    Try xubuntu
    It should be much better
    Ubuntu 18.04

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    UK
    Beans
    614

    Re: pls tell me which OS is more suitable for my pc

    yes try xubuntu, should be just right.

    if you want something faster than that though, you could use lubuntu.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Western Australia
    Beans
    11,480
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: pls tell me which OS is more suitable for my pc

    If you're using Ubuntu in a business setting, you should be using an LTS version - Ubuntu 12.04 is the most recent LTS version, and it runs better on old hardware than 12.10.

    Ubuntu 12.10 requires good 3D graphics support, but 12.04 can work with 2D graphics if your system isn't powerful enough for the 3D. If you try to use 12.10 on a computer with bad 3D support or an old graphics card, it will be horribly slow.

    Xubuntu or Lubuntu would also work (even 12.10), but I'm unsure about how long Xubuntu and Lubuntu 12.04 are supported for. It might just be 18 months.
    I try to treat the cause, not the symptom. I avoid the terminal in instructions, unless it's easier or necessary. My instructions will work within the Ubuntu system, instead of breaking or subverting it. Those are the three guarantees to the helpee.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Maine
    Beans
    2,420
    Distro
    Kubuntu

    Re: pls tell me which OS is more suitable for my pc

    Try LXLE it's Lubuntu long term support.
    you can get a copy here.
    Wireless script
    Dave
    Registered Linux User #462608
    Morse Code an early Digital Mode.

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