Your distro ideas for my laptop

[Stevie78]

Hi all,

Im looking for some ideas for new distros for an old laptop:

Its an Advent 7094 bought in early 2005.

-Intel Celeron M 370 1.5 GHz
-256MB DDR Ram
-Integrated SiS661GX Graphics with up to 64MB shared memory
-40GB HD

Ive started off with installing Xubuntu 9.04 (nice) and will also try out Crunchbang soon (everything as stand-alone OS)

So, what else could/should I try? Please bear in mind the low performance specs...

Is Arch any good?

Here my list which I will update as suggestions come in:

- Xubuntu 9.04 (done)
- Crunchbang 9.04
- Arch
- Ubuntu minimal with lxde
- Debian Lenny with xfce
- Slackware
- Puppy
- DSL
- SliTaz
- Sidux
- AntiX

[Grifulkin]

Hi all,

Im looking for some ideas for new distros for an old laptop:

Its an Advent 7094 bought in early 2005.

-Intel Celeron M 370 1.5 GHz
-256MB DDR Ram
-Integrated SiS661GX Graphics with up to 64MB shared memory
-40GB HD

Ive started off with installing Xubuntu 9.04 (nice) and will also try out Crunchbang soon (everything as stand-alone OS)

So, what else could/should I try? Please bear in mind the low performance specs...

Is Arch any good?

Here my list which I will update as suggestions come in:

- Xubuntu 9.04 (done)
- Crunchbang 9.04

Arch is amazing from what I hear but I can't test it out because Virtual Box aborts before it even loads.

Also I hear that Debian Lenny with Xfce is pretty lightweight. Then of course there is puppy or DSL. Also, ubuntu minimal install with lxde, chrome and wicd is a good combination.

[Greg]

Arch is a great distro, but wireless can be a total pain in the... behind to set up. For those specs, I'd be inclined to start from the ground and build up... maybe Slackware, or Ubuntu minimal.

[snowpine]

Hi Stevie, Arch is definitely worth trying. It will teach you a lot about Linux (and about the joys of following instructions). You won't find a more comprehensive wireless tutorial for any distro than this: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wireless_Setup

I would also recommend checking out (in no particular order) SliTaz, Sidux, and Debian. All are friendly towards older hardware (though frankly your computer is not that bad).

[Wiebelhaus]

Make your own!

Install Ubuntu via Minimal CD (http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/jaunty/main/installer-i386/current/images/netboot/mini.iso) , you'll end up with the command line only.

Then:


sudo apt-get install lxde

It'll install a full minimal lxde desktop with log in manager and so on , then if you want something like firefox just sudo apt-get firefox , ya know.


Cheers!

[.Maleficus.]

Is Arch any good?
I no longer distro hop because of it. Best Linux distro I've ever used. The Beginner's Guide makes the install extremely easy, you get to build it from the ground up afterwards and pacman is an awesome package manager. Download the FTP/HTTP installer, get the latest packages right away and enjoy.

[Stevie78]

Thanks guys. Ive added all your suggestions to my list. Its interesting what you say regarding Arch and Ubuntu minimal.

Im mainly doing this for educational reasons so will install or reinstall and try lots of different things (and hopefully learn more about Linux)

Ill never abandon standard Ubuntu (on my desktop) of course as Im very happy with it. Im only using that laptop as a guinea pig :)

What Im also interested in is if are there any unique things in particular distros that make them particularly useful and/or fun to check out? Should I even try a distro thats not that lightweight but has some exclusive features that are well worth checking out?

[gn2]

Antix (http://antix.mepis.org/index.php/Main_Page) would be worth a look.

[Stevie78]

Antix (http://antix.mepis.org/index.php/Main_Page) would be worth a look.

On my list now. :KS