Minimalist Linux Version Needed-Please Suggest!

[waccomartist]

Hello!

Total Linux newb here, wanting to find a very minimalist, easy-to-use, Linux version that will run smoothly on an old computer system.

The computer I want to revitalize is a HP designed for Windows 98. Here is it's fairly embarrassing stats:

*450 MHz processor
*64 MB SDRAM
*6.4 GB Hard drive

Basically, I want to make it so that it will run a simple Linux version that meets the following criteria:

Simple typing/word processing
Check email/light web browsing
Easy to use for other people used to Windows systems
Able to connect and print with a printer on the LAN network (Brother MFC-290C)
Quick bootup times (right now, puppy bootups pretty fast)

I tried to get into Linux several years ago, and came across the "Puppy" version. It was not the easiest to install, but I got it up and running on the computer in question. However, it is not the easiest to use for people not familiar with it (especially for saving files). Also, my biggest complaint is that it does not seem to be able use printers on a network.

I have considered trying out a few different ones, but I'm not sure if they will run with my older machine. I've looked into:
1. gOS. This looks really, really nice, and shouldn't scare away the people who will use this computer. It looks simple enough to accomplish the tasks I need and low on resource needs so it should run well, right?
2. Damn small Linux...I don't know much about this, except that it is damn small, apparently.
3. Stick with Puppy, just find a way to get it a little easier to use, and to print with a network printer on LAN (how can I do this?)
4. Slax...another one I have seen online but do not know much about...
5. Suggest one not listed here..

So, my question is, what Linux version would you all suggest that would meet the above criteria?

[Dapper Dan]

I'd stay with Puppy, or at least an updated version of it. You could use Puppy with the IceWM window manager which has a similar look and feel of Windows 95. Damn Small is a good choice as well.

[i92guboj]

Puppy, DSL and VectorLinux seems to be the most famous in this cases.

[computerophil]

Even an updated version of Puppy will need more RAM but you could try with an older version e.g. 1.0.8 or 2.12 or Simlplepup for all those you can find the download-links at my homepage.

[oz]

Total Linux newb here, wanting to find a very minimalist, easy-to-use, Linux version that will run smoothly on an old computer system.

Welcome to the forums!

You can find some mini Linux distributions here:

Mini Linux - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Let us know what works best for you should you decide to try any of them.