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I recently tried to install Ubuntu on an old disused laptop I inherited. I bought a new hard disk just for the purpose. Unfortunately it crashes when trying to install Ubuntu/Xubuntu/Mint. Long story short, not enough RAM and an old processor are the cause. I was wondering if there are any very lightweight OS out there for old computers. I realize it depends on what I want to use the laptop for. But I dont know what I want to use it for until it is usable. SO I'm just looking for anything. I found this linux distro : http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/ Can anyone recommend any others?

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Hard to recommend anything without knowing the specs of the machine. How much RAM? What speed processor? Etc. – Cody Gray Apr 15 '11 at 7:06
It has a 750Mhz Pentium 3, with 256 MB of RAM. Fujitsu model. – JJG Apr 15 '11 at 7:16
You might want to start with the worst-looking installer you can find. The installers these days are pigs. Try slackware. Maybe OpenBSD. (Not Linux, but their installer is pretty basic.) – sarnold Apr 15 '11 at 7:19
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If it were me, I'd run an older version of Windows. The impulse to declare a machine obsolete and install Linux on it seems a bit misguided; consider that the original operating system it shipped with may be far from obsolete. Windows 2000 or XP would run fine on such a machine. But then, I'm a Windows developer, so I might be a little biased in what I'd find most useful. ;-) – Cody Gray Apr 15 '11 at 8:18
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Could you add the specs to the question? – Nanne Apr 15 '11 at 13:33
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8 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

Try Arch, or Debian. Start with minimal system, then install packages incrementally without overloading the old laptop. Avoid GNOME or KDE and go for lightweight window managers. These standard distros have a good wealth of packages making it very easy to find what you need. Thus, avoiding having to build the packages by hand.

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up vote 1 down vote

Try Xubuntu its a special version of Ubuntu meant for computers with lower specs. (i.e if you want to go with something similiar to ubuntu)

Other suggestions possible are (for a low end system):

Damn Small Linux

Minimum Specs:

It has been tested on a 486SX33 with 16Mb ram

Puppy Linux

Minimum Specs:

CPU : Pentium 166MMX

RAM : 128 MB physical RAM for releases since version 1.0.2 or failing that a Linux swap file and/or swap partition is required for all included applications to run; 64 MB for releases previous to 1.0.2

Hard Drive : Optional

CDROM : 20x and up

Vector Linux

Minimum Specs:

Light Edition: Pentium 166 or better, 64MB RAM minimum, 1.8GB hard drive space for full system - more for your data.

Standard Edition: Pentium 200 or better, 96MB RAM, 2.1GB hard drive space for system only, more for your data.

SOHO Edition: Pentium 750 or better, 512MB RAM minimum, 5GB hard drive space for system only, more for your data, video and monitor capable of 1024x768 resolution at 24 bits color.

Live Editions: Pentium 750 or better, 256MB RAM minimum, video and monitor capable of 1024x768 resolution at 24 bits colour. For the Beryl version you will need a modern video card.

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up vote 0 down vote

I have successfully installed and got an old 486 with less than a GB of RAM running with MuLinux. It's not actively maintained now but should be enough to breathe life into your system.

This was a desktop though. I don't know if the distro will work with laptops.

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A 486 with less than a GB of RAM? I don't imagine that such a machine is hard to find. Most 486-based computers came with somewhere between 4 to 16 MB of RAM. 128 MB would be a whopping sum. Still nowhere near a GB. – Cody Gray Apr 15 '11 at 8:14
I knew for sure that it was a less than a GB (given the kinds of numbers we're used to right now). I don't remember the exact amount. I think you're right. It was around 16. – Noufal Ibrahim Apr 15 '11 at 8:23
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up vote 0 down vote

You could try customizing yourself a pretty lightweight machine from here:

http://susestudio.com

If you have internet access, you could just start from scratch with XFCE or something, then just install things as you need them. The less you can start with, the more unnecessary crap you'll be able to cut.

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up vote 0 down vote

If you are familiar with ubuntu, you could try the ubuntu netbook version? It should be aimed at lower-spec situations.

You can run it from the CD for a basic test-of-speed. You might want to kill some things off after install, like the locate-cronjob...

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Ubuntu Netbook is the same as Ubuntu Desktop but with the Unity interface instead of Gnome Desktop. That's the only real difference. Infact, for 11.04 the Netbook / Desktop differences have been merged into one distribution and the suffix Desktop or Netbook has been dropped. – Majenko Apr 15 '11 at 9:13
But the minimal specs advertised for netbook is 512MB RAM, while Desktop says 1GB. That's one of the reasons I would try for this – Nanne Apr 15 '11 at 12:00
Unity is lighter than Gnome Desktop. 11.04 (I think) uses Unity for everything. – Majenko Apr 15 '11 at 12:29
I see there are more specs in the comments, maybe one of the other sollutions is better.... – Nanne Apr 15 '11 at 13:32
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up vote 0 down vote

I'm guessing you tried using the graphical installer?

Try using the "alternate" install cd. It has a text mode install. You can get the xubuntu version from this link:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/10.10/release/

The text mode install will be a hell of a lot nicer on your pc. Even though you can't use the desktop install cd, that doesn't mean the installed system won't run well.

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up vote 0 down vote

you will need only 64mb ram if you install the Xubuntu from alternate install cd according to http://www.xubuntu.org/getubuntu#maverick and you need minimum 192 mb ram for running xubuntu.

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up vote -1 down vote

Try Windows XP.

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