run ubuntu little faster on old laptop

[sansa dude]

im on an old laptop and i am currently running xubuntu but i really like the gnome desktop of Ubuntu but it runs a little bit slow when opening applications and processing compared to xubuntu so how can i make it work a little faster? should i start by running the ext4 filesystem?

[spcwingo]

What's your system specs? If they're really low I would suggest an Ubuntu cli buildup. It's really not as hard as it sounds. One that I have done was on a P3 @ 800Mhz with 256MB ram. I ran LXDE as the GUI and it is impressively fast for the hardware that is running it. The key is a light DE with light apps (and as few gnome libs as you can get by with). I have since maxed out the processor and ram (P3 @ 1Ghz & 512MB ram). This thing is now a little scorcher. :D If you would like to do a cli buildup, let me know and I can give you a hand.

[sansa dude]

i have a

dell inspiron 3800 with:

pentium 3 700mhz
40gb hard drive
256mb RAM
8mb ATI rage 128 mobility ( but i dont want about having high graphics on)

[spcwingo]

If I had that machine I would definitely do a cli install. If you like Xubuntu and are used to the interface, I would suggest a cli install with pure XFCE as the DE as that will be much snappier on your specs. Xubuntu is polluted with too many gnome apps and libs, hence it's slowness.

[sansa dude]

If I had that machine I would definitely do a cli install. If you like Xubuntu and are used to the interface, I would suggest a cli install with pure XFCE as the DE as that will be much snappier on your specs. Xubuntu is polluted with too many gnome apps and libs.

I like the gnome one better i just this its easier to access settings and other things and im used to it more because my desktop is running ubuntu 9.04. and what is a cli install? im going to try installing ubuntu 9.04 on a spare 10gb hard drive i have and upgrade it to ext4 and see how it runs also i will mostly use the full open office suite, rhythmbox, movie player, GIMP, and inkscape. i dont use much more than that on my laptop

[spcwingo]

What is a cli install?

Command Line Interface

Basically, a server install, but instead of a server kernel, you would use the generic or x86_64 kernel.

[mikewhatever]

There are indeed several things you can do to lighten up Gnome. Needless to say, it would still be much slower then a light weight GUI.

1. Uncheck the startup applications you don't need under System->Preferences->Sessions.

2. Disable unneeded services under System->Admin->Services.

If you do not know what each of the entries does, do not hesitate to ask.

[inobe]

I like the gnome one better


as spcwingo said, xubuntu is much faster, you may not like the looks however it's well worth getting use to.