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Linux On Laptops / Netbooks / MinibooksLinux on laptop machines, netbooks, minibooks, and anything else tiny! A great place to discuss linux on smaller devices.
I have a Winbook SI from my aunt (turning it into a Linbook ) that has a pentum III 650 mhz processor with 128 mb of ram and a 10gig hard drive...Recently I tried Linspire on it, and I hated all the bulky features and stuff. It really slowed the thing down. I'm looking for a good linux os with a nice desktop and easy install, that will also run nice and fast on this computer.
So far, I've been leaning towards trying Ubantu. Would this be a good idea? It sounds nice. If not please tell me what would be good for me to install on there cause right now, Linsppire takes like 30 minutes to boot and 10 minutes to open a firefox browser...it sucks royally.
Ubuntu is an easy install, but there will be a few things you have to configure, as it's totally free (that means nothing proprietary in there at all--including multimedia codecs). Also, Ubuntu requires the command-line for a lot of the configuring. This is really a good thing, as it makes the Ubuntu Guide easy to use, as you just cut and paste commands into the terminal (including getting your multimedia codecs set up).
As for your computer's modest specifications--for the most part, that's not the distribution's fault--it's the desktop's. Even for Ubuntu, I'd install it and use Gnome for configuring basic stuff (screen resolution, adding printers, etc.), but for actual use, I'd add the XFCE desktop--it has almost all of Gnome's basic functionality, it has a lot of eye candy, and it runs a hell of a lot faster on as 128 MB RAM computer.
I'd also recommend you sign up for the Ubuntu Forums. People there are super helpful:
I don't mind using the command line one bit as long as I can get the support I need for it. But yeah im prety sure you're right about it being the desktop's fault, especially since im using KDE...
So you think Ubantu is good? What are some other nice desktop things that WOULD run faster on this thing. Any one I choose, I NEED to get away form Linspire, I absolutely refuse to pay for CNR...plus, even before it gets to the desktop stuff itself, it takes forever just to boot.
Ubuntu in nice, but for your computer, I'd suggest Vector Standard, since it's made with older machines in mind, this makes it very fast. Also, it comes with four or so light desktops, among them Xfce, so you won't have to install it.
Try a few different distros and decide for yourself what you like. You'll find that most of them are available online for free. Slackware, Debian, Arch, Zenwalk, and Damn Small Linux are all good for use as lightweight distros.
i tend to reccoment SuSE for beginners, purely for YaST.
Surely not with a KDE desktop, though, if the OP is using 128 MB of RAM...
I may be a newb, but those were exactly my thoughts when I saw the SuSE website...KDE on lispire is already running so slow that it takes about 10 or more minutes to open a single firefox window when im not running anything else...
I may be a newb, but those were exactly my thoughts when I saw the SuSE website...KDE on lispire is already running so slow that it takes about 10 or more minutes to open a single firefox window when im not running anything else...
Ultimately, when it comes to RAM, for 128 MB, you'll probably be fine as long as you don't use KDE. Gnome will still be a bit slow, but it should be fine. XFCE, IceWM, Fluxbox should all fly with 128. For more window manager options, go here:
Also, keep in mind that most distros can easily download window managers. There will almost always be a default desktop (KDE or Gnome), but you won't be stuck with those.
These should be the deciding factors when choosing a distro (in this order):
1. Hardware detection
2. Support community
3. Package manager
For window manager/speed, distro doesn't matter. Even Damn Small Linux can be bloated if you download a KDE desktop and a whole bunch of heavy applications.
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Linux On Laptops / Netbooks / Minibooks Linux on laptop machines, netbooks, minibooks, and anything else tiny! A great place to discuss linux on smaller devices.
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) that has a pentum III 650 mhz processor with 128 mb of ram and a 10gig hard drive...Recently I tried Linspire on it, and I hated all the bulky features and stuff. It really slowed the thing down. I'm looking for a good linux os with a nice desktop and easy install, that will also run nice and fast on this computer.
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