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linux low system requirments help???

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  • 03-06-2009 11:37pm
    #1
    kevweed
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17 ✭


    hey im ooking for a linux system that can work on low system requirments and is good for a newbie

    my pc has

    256 meg ram

    40 gig hd


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    #2
    Orion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,807 ✭✭✭✭Orion


    With that spec you're restricted in your options.

    Best choices are probably Puppy or DSL

    Puppy Screenshot
    DSL Screenshot

    Although most current distros will probably run on that PC but be slow.


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    #3
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,858 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    or go for an older version or one with a lighter desktop like XFCE

    perhaps xubuntu ?


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    #4
    niallb
    Registered Users Posts: 2,720 ✭✭✭niallb


    In my opinion, the best of the ubuntu variants for a lightweight machine is Crunchbang!.
    It's the first thing I'd turn to when I see "256MB RAM"
    Looks good, very up to date. Even the livecd will run well in that much memory,
    and it'll feel faster when you install it. (Though you don't mention processor speed!)
    Current install CD is based on Ubuntu 8.10.2 (October 2008), but it has an update
    script to bring it up to Jaunty if absolutely necessary.


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    #5
    Thomas_S_Hunterson
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,151 ✭✭✭Thomas_S_Hunterson


    Arch with XFCE


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    #6
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,120 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    Another plus one for xfce.

    Light, but terribly functional.


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    #7
    BopNiblets
    Registered Users Posts: 3,579 ✭✭✭BopNiblets


    Mint 7 Gloria with XFCE or Fluxbox... oh wait they're not out yet, tough luck! :p

    Last versions here though: http://www.linuxmint.com/download_ce.php


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    #8
    Orion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,807 ✭✭✭✭Orion


    Lads - this guy is a newbie as he stated so some clarification is in order.

    kevweed: There are two distinct recommendations in the thread - distributions and desktop managers. Distros include (but not limited too) Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse, etc etc. Desktops include XFCE, Gnome, KDE, etc. There's advantages and disadvantages to all (except KDE - it's hateful .... *ducks and runs*).
    Then to confuse you even more there are respins of distributions: Crunchbang and Mint (both mentioned above) are based on Ubuntu - Crunch uses XFCE and Mint uses Gnome (could be wrong about Mint). This has big advantages as they are customised respins but have the weight of a big distro behind them including all software repositories.

    XFCE is being recommended as a desktop because it is very lightweight.
    Some distros are full fat (e.g. Ubuntu) but very user friendly especially for new users. Xubuntu is Ubuntu with the XFCE desktop which makes is more friendly. Despite my earlier recommendation for Puppy or DSL I'd agree with Capt'n. Ubuntu is aimed at ordinary people who've never used Linux before and Xubuntu is Ubuntu with the XFCE desktop. It won't be the snappiest on you PC but should do the trick.


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    #9
    Khannie
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Just as a benchmark: I have the latest xubuntu installed here. After boot there is 72MB in use. With the desktop and its various applets, firefox (4 tabs, including this one, which uses flash) and a console there are 181MB in use (excluding cache, so that's actual memory usage). This machine is a laptop and as such would use slightly more ram than a desktop would (battery monitor, pcmcia stuff, bluetooth stuff, yada yada).

    Still, as a distro for a newbie, I'd say it's definitely worth a splash. Also, you could probably pick up 256MB of ram free (or very close to free) to bump it to 512. TBH I probably have some upstairs. If you install and are still running xubuntu in a weeks time, I'll go and have a look for you.

    edit: you can download the xubuntu install cd from here.


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