recommendation

[nathang1392]

hi,

i have been using ubuntu on an old emachine. it has 384 mb of ram and a celeron processor. pretty old.

lately ubuntu has just been too heavy for it. just wondering if someone could suggest a light distro.

what i need:
something that makes it somewhat simple to install software, no compiling.

can do light java development.


thats about it really. appreciate any suggestions you guys can make. thanks.

[wojox]

You could try starting out barebones and working your way up Modest Spec or Barebones Installation of Ubuntu (http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal)

[mamamia88]

mint xcfe?

[psavva]

I would highly suggest you try Xubuntu

It's Ubuntu, but lightweight.

Check it out here : http://www.xubuntu.org/

[Austin25]

Or Lubuntu.

[Dayofswords]

Or Lubuntu.

This.

the torrent of it http://people.ubuntu.com/~gilir/lubuntu-10.04.iso.torrent

[Plumtreed]

I recommend and use Peppermint Ice, a very lightweight ubuntu fork. Google 'Peppermint OS'

[M93]

yes i've tried both xubuntu and mint....both are very light but i liked xubuntu more because its more like ubuntu than mint is

[nathang1392]

can anyone tell me about this peppermint os? it looks really good, does it have any drawbacks i should know about before installing? looks really fresh and something that would be a good alternative to ubuntu. i wanted to just put google chrome os on it, but im having trouble finding a download that i can install to the hard drive.

edit:
-------------------

found a download for chrome os. think i am going to try that for now.

[Spice Weasel]

found a download for chrome os. think i am going to try that for now.

I thought ChromeOS wasn't released fully yet, and that you can only run it in a VM?

[M93]

I thought ChromeOS wasn't released fully yet, and that you can only run it in a VM?

thats still true.

[NightwishFan]

Try Ubuntu Hardy, it is still supported and very stable. Trust me, you can get Ubuntu to be very trim. I have done a lot of research into it. I managed to have free -m report 13mb used in a command line system, and around 30mb using Xorg. Having a minimal system helps, however you can easily use gnome with more than 256mb.

1. Follow some of this guide: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/LowMemorySystems Particularly this section:

After installation you may want to blacklist some restricted modules: (if you want to save some memory)
File /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common

DISABLED_MODULES="ath_hal fc fglrx fwlanusb ltm nv"

Please note, if you need any of those modules (nv for proprietary nvidia cards), do not add them to disabled modules.

I would advise not removing language packs as suggested.


2. Set Virtual Memory Swappiness to 100

sudo su
echo 'vm.swappiness=100' >> /etc/sysctl.conf
exit

This makes a big difference when using applications such as Firefox, and even on systems with a large amount of memory when running virtual machines.

[nathang1392]

http://chromeos.hexxeh.net/

these are builds that are intended to be used as a live usb, but you can do this.


Log on to ChromiumOS, then press Ctrl+Alt+T
Execute /usr/sbin/chromeos-install
Follow prompts

you guys should try it. especially in my situation with an old computer. very very light, and very very functional at the same time.

[cogar66]

Lubuntu is more lightweight than Xubuntu; it would probably suit your needs better.