Distro to run under 128 MB RAM?

[armageddon08]

Any suggestions? Better if the distro is Red Hat/Fedora based?

[HermanAB]

Linux is Linux is Linux...

Deep down they are all the same.

Most RAM is used by X and graphical applications, so while any distribution with any desktop system will work on 128MB RAM, you will have best results with a light weight desktop such as LXDE or XFCE. So try Xubuntu or install LXDE yourself.

Cheers,

Herman

[Twitch6000]

Tiny Core Linux is all you need :).

Or possibly Damn Small Linux.

[hansdown]

Hi armageddon08.

Puppy linux should work well.

http://www.puppylinux.org/

Simply mepis is a good distro that works right away without any work.

http://www.mepis.org/

[binbash]

+1 puppy

[sports fan Matt]

Yeah..dsl or puppy id say

[MasterNetra]

+1 Puppy Linux or DSL

[armageddon08]

Thanks guys for your quick fire replies. But is there one with Red Hat/Fedora roots?

[s.fox]

another vote for puppy!

[hansdown]

Thanks guys for your quick fire replies. But is there one with Red Hat/Fedora roots?

You could try fedora.

http://fedoraproject.org/

[mkvnmtr]

I have done some minumal installs of Ubuntu. I can get xorg and xfce4 to work on 128Mb but not very well. DSL and Puppy work well. If you want to go with something from fedora why not install the kernel and build just what you need. I would assume they have a command line install. Then adding the lightest of what they offer in there repositories should give you something that would work.

[cardinals_fan]

Most light distros are either independent or Slackware-based. I haven't found a good Red Hat derivative for light use.

I'm going to recommend either SliTaz (http://slitaz.org/en/) or Vector Light (http://vectorlinux.com/). Here's a quick overview of each:

SliTaz: a newcomer to the distro scene, this little system has already gathered a small following. At first glance, this distro is just a nice, light system with LXDE and some light defaults. A peek under the hood, however, reveals an innovative package manager and a light init system. To admit some personal bias, SliTaz is my favorite Linux distro (I still prefer NetBSD) and has dazzled me. Unlike most live CDs, SliTaz works well as an installed system and has a really solid development and packaging push between releases. My personal SliTaz and evilwm system uses just 28 MB of RAM, but an average LXDE desktop will probably need about 50 MB. By the way, be sure to either download the latest Cooking image or wait for version 2.0 in a month or so - 1.0 is dated and limited.

Vector Light: Vector Linux is a well-established Slackware derivative with a small but loyal following. Last year, the Vector team came out with a special Light version, designed for machines too old to handle the normal Xfce desktop or those who want a more minimal system. Vector Light comes with LXDE and Fluxbox for window managers and taps into the Vector repos for other software. Vector is also fully compatible with any Slackware packages you might find. Using about 60 MB of RAM in my tests, the standard LXDE desktop balances quick setup and light resource usage elegantly.

I recommend against both Puppy and DSL. Don't get me wrong; these two distros have many uses. But they were both designed as live CDs, and in my tests both feel cumbersome for installed use. The lack of maintenance between releases, irregular repos, and slightly cumbersome system designs are no issue with live usage. However, I haven't found anyone yet who would use Puppy on newer hardware, and only one who would use DSL. Compared to SliTaz, both of these just seem a bit less complete.

I firmly believe that TinyCore will be a great project and will give SliTaz a run for its money. However, this distro is just too new for me to recommend right now. You will be severely limited if you take this route at this time.

[armageddon08]

Most light distros are either independent or Slackware-based. I haven't found a good Red Hat derivative for light use.

I'm going to recommend either SliTaz (http://slitaz.org/en/) or Vector Light (http://vectorlinux.com/). Here's a quick overview of each:

SliTaz: a newcomer to the distro scene, this little system has already gathered a small following. At first glance, this distro is just a nice, light system with LXDE and some light defaults. A peek under the hood, however, reveals an innovative package manager and a light init system. To admit some personal bias, SliTaz is my favorite Linux distro (I still prefer NetBSD) and has dazzled me. Unlike most live CDs, SliTaz works well as an installed system and has a really solid development and packaging push between releases. My personal SliTaz and evilwm system uses just 28 MB of RAM, but an average LXDE desktop will probably need about 50 MB. By the way, be sure to either download the latest Cooking image or wait for version 2.0 in a month or so - 1.0 is dated and limited.

Vector Light: Vector Linux is a well-established Slackware derivative with a small but loyal following. Last year, the Vector team came out with a special Light version, designed for machines too old to handle the normal Xfce desktop or those who want a more minimal system. Vector Light comes with LXDE and Fluxbox for window managers and taps into the Vector repos for other software. Vector is also fully compatible with any Slackware packages you might find. Using about 60 MB of RAM in my tests, the standard LXDE desktop balances quick setup and light resource usage elegantly.

I recommend against both Puppy and DSL. Don't get me wrong; these two distros have many uses. But they were both designed as live CDs, and in my tests both feel cumbersome for installed use. The lack of maintenance between releases, irregular repos, and slightly cumbersome system designs are no issue with live usage. However, I haven't found anyone yet who would use Puppy on newer hardware, and only one who would use DSL. Compared to SliTaz, both of these just seem a bit less complete.

I firmly believe that TinyCore will be a great project and will give SliTaz a run for its money. However, this distro is just too new for me to recommend right now. You will be severely limited if you take this route at this time.

Thanks. I think its time I tried Slackware. May be I should begin with Vector Light.

[cardinals_fan]

Thanks. I think its time I tried Slackware. May be I should begin with Vector Light.
Vector (Light) is a good intro to Slackware. It has lots of autoconfiguration and slapt-get for out-of-the-box package mangement, but is still Slackware under the hood. I would recommend starting with this.

You should also know about SLAX. SLAX is a pure Slackware system as a live CD. It can also provide a quick (albeit dirty) way of installing Slackware. This is a bit more hackish, but it does offer an up-to-date Slack system with little effort. If you feel adventurous, let me know and I can post more detailed instructions. Otherwise, just enjoy SLAX as a live CD and Slackware demo.

I personally love Slackware for its simplicity and stability. It takes a bit more work up front, but the stability and control will pay off over time.

[gn2]

Zenwalk might be worth a try?

[cardinals_fan]

Zenwalk might be worth a try?
I'm sad to say that I can no longer recommend Zenwalk for old machines. It's just getting too big... :(

[adamlau]

Any distro with the right DE/WM combo and the judicious use of lightweight apps and some minor tweaking will run fine with 128 MB. That includes Ubuntu and Fedora. Any distro.

[kerry_s]

archlinux+jwm+opera, i have it on 700mhz 128mb ram minus some for vid, it's perfectly usable. uses around 64mb with opera tweaked for low resource, adblock list, etc...
i went a day without even dipping into swap.