Linux for vintage laptop

[gerard4143]

I have Mandriva 2009.0 running on a PII with 256M of ram...Note the window manager is WMII..

[Jonathan183]

I just joined this forum to see if other people have the same trouble as I to make newer destributions run on older HW. Are Linux becomming overloaded with graphics and gadgets making it just as heavy as MS products?

As elija said it depends on the distro. For limited hardware you have two options:-
1. go for a lightweight distro - DSL, Puppy etc.
2. go for a distro that lets you choose what you install - Arch, Gentoo, Debian etc.

If you need a GUI then pick a lightweight Window Manager like Fluxbox, IceWM etc rather than a Desktop Environment such as Gnome or KDE. You may also need to use lightweight applications.

[darkrose0510]

You can also try DeLi Linux which will run smoothly on a 486 or better, I've used it a few times where I've needed a really light install, but still with a gui.

[coopstah13]

The limiting factor is almost always memory. You can always add swap, though it will run slowly, it should still run. A machine with 128m should run smoothly with one of the lightweight linux distros, or a customized arch/debian/gentoo box with a GUI.