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I've got a very low spec laptop that I want to turn into a DVR. It has 239 Mb of RAM and a 1.50 Ghz processor. I've got a Hauppaughe ...
  1. 02-28-2009 #1
    HunterAmacker
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    I need a super light distro for an old laptop

    I've got a very low spec laptop that I want to turn into a DVR. It has 239 Mb of RAM and a 1.50 Ghz processor. I've got a Hauppaughe WinTV PVR USB2 that encodes all video to MPEG2 on board, so it shouldn't be too hardware intensive. But I would still like to have the absolute lightest distro possible, seeing how this laptop is having trouble running Firefox at full speed. What do you guys suggest?
  2. 02-28-2009 #2
    oz
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    Welcome to the forums!

    You can check here for some lightweight distros. I think BasicLinux is probably one of the lightest available.

    Good luck with your project.
    oz

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  3. 02-28-2009 #3
    elija
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    Those specs aren't too bad. Try any of these

    Vector Linux ((Welcome to VectorLinux — VectorLinux.com)
    Zenwalk (www.zenwalk.org - Ever tried zen computing?)
    Crunch Bang (CrunchBang Linux - A Lightweight OpenBox Linux Distro)
    Puppy (Home Page | Puppy Linux)
    DSL (DSL information)

    Also, there is nothing to stop you from starting with a basic Debian (Debian -- The Universal Operating System) or Slackware (The Slackware Linux Project) install and adding only what you need, which can make it very light if that's what you want.
    If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate! (Zapp Brannigan)


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  4. 03-01-2009 #4
    HunterAmacker
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    Quote Originally Posted by elija View Post
    Those specs aren't too bad. Try any of these

    Vector Linux ((Welcome to VectorLinux — VectorLinux.com)
    Zenwalk (www.zenwalk.org - Ever tried zen computing?)
    Crunch Bang (CrunchBang Linux - A Lightweight OpenBox Linux Distro)
    Puppy (Home Page | Puppy Linux)
    DSL (DSL information)

    Also, there is nothing to stop you from starting with a basic Debian (Debian -- The Universal Operating System) or Slackware (The Slackware Linux Project) install and adding only what you need, which can make it very light if that's what you want.
    What do you thing would give me the best performance? Using Debian and installing what I need or just using DSL or Puppy?
  5. 03-01-2009 #5
    sarlacii
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    Quote Originally Posted by HunterAmacker View Post
    What do you thing would give me the best performance? Using Debian and installing what I need or just using DSL or Puppy?
    I suppose that it depends on how fast you want to get up and running?

    The great thing about distros like Puppy (for example) is that they have specifically been designed to run light... so they have all the most common tools in some form or other, but carefully chosen to ensure that the distro doesn't get bloated (Abiword instead of OOwriter, XFCE instead of KDE etc.).

    My recommendation would be that you stick with one of the many excellent small distros (I have used Puppy and MiniMe PClinuxOS with success)... unless you are specifically looking for the challenge of building your own flavour. LOL
    Respectfully... Sarlac II
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  6. 03-01-2009 #6
    L4Linux
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    Puppy Linux is a good option. It is very light and you may try to run Firefox 3 on it and see how it performs.
    The default browser in Puppy is Mozilla Seamonkey, which is lighter than Firefox.
  7. 03-01-2009 #7
    elija
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    I have Vector running fine on a 200mhz AMD K6 II with 192mb RAM and a mere 4.2gb hard disk. Obviously it is no speed demon but it runs significantly quicker than Windows 98 did It should fly on your laptop!
    If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate! (Zapp Brannigan)


    My new blog. It's probably not as good as I think it is.
  8. 03-01-2009 #8
    reed9
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    If you're looking for pure speed, puppy and DSL are probably the lightest from that list. Puppy I think gives a better general purpose distro experience. You could also check out Slitaz, which is about half the size of DSL at around 25 MB. (And something like 15 MB of that is a slimmed down firefox!) SliTaz GNU/Linux - Home page
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