Distributions for Old Computers

Three Popular Choices

• Damn Small Linux - a very popular low-resource Linux, based on Debian and Knoppix. Runs on a 486 in a graphical mode,

• DeLi Linux - this is a real pearl. DeLi stands for “Desktop Light” Linux. It is capable of running on a 386 computer in a graphical mode! Lately, version 0.7 has been released. Certainly worth trying on some very old PCs.

• Zenwalk - minimal requirements for Zenwalk are: Pentium III, 128 Mb RAM and 2Gb HDD. However, it can be run pretty fine on PII, as well. Zenwalk is a modern Linux distro for low-resource PC-s.

The Universal Choice

As an update to this guide it needs to be said that the Debian distribution is an excellent choice for installing on legacy systems. The Debain Network Install fits onto a standard compact disc. Using the advanced installation option the entire process can be done in text console or remote console, and the bare minimum can be installed to the system. There are a lot of configuration options which may overwhelm the novice user, so be prepared to go though a details install with many prompts. Our Debian Linux Distribution Reference may be useful to you during the installation process.

More Comprehensive List

1. Absolute Linux

Absolute Linux is a light-weight modification of Slackware Linux. It includes several utilities that make configuration and maintenance easier and it has many common desktop and Internet applications installed and configured with tight integration of menus, applications and MIME types. Absolute Linux uses IceWM and ROX for its window and file managers.

2. AUSTRUMI

AUSTRUMI is a business card size (50MB) bootable live CD Linux distribution. It is based on Slackware Linux with initialisation scripts borrowed from the Blin project.

3. Core GNU/Linux

Core is designed and constructed around one simple philosophy: to be the absolute minimum of what is required for a Linux operating system. Core is designed to be the basis for a larger, more complete operating system constructed by the end user. It contains only what is necessary to boot into Linux and download, compile and install other software packages.

4. Damn Small Linux

Damn Small Linux is a business card size (50MB) Live CD Linux distribution. Despite its minuscule size it strives to have a functional and easy to use desktop. Damn Small Linux has a nearly complete desktop, including XMMS (MP3, and MPEG), FTP client, links-hacked web browser, spreadsheet, email, spellcheck (US English), a word-processor, three editors (Nedit, nVi, Zile [emacs clone]), Xpdf, Worker (file manager), Naim (AIM, ICQ, IRC), VNCviwer, SSH/SCP server and client, DHCP client, PPP, PPPoE, a web server, calculator, Fluxbox window manager, system monitoring apps, USB support, and soon it will have PCMCIA support as well. If you like Damn Small Linux you can install it on your hard drive. Because all the applications are small and light it makes a very good choice for older hardware.

5. DeLi Linux

DeLi Linux is a Linux distribution for old computers, from 486 to Pentium MMX 166 or so. It's focused on desktop usage. It includes email clients, a graphical Web browser, an office package with word processor and spreadsheet, etc. A full install, including XFree86 and development tools, needs no more than 300 MB of harddisk space.

6. Feather Linux

Feather Linux is a Linux distribution which runs completely off a CD or a USB pendrive and takes up under 128MB of space. It is a Knoppix remaster (based on Debian), and tries to include software which most people would use every day on their desktop.

7. Fluxbuntu Linux

Fluxbuntu is a light-weight, standards-compliant, Ubuntu-based Linux distribution featuring the Fluxbox window manager. The project's primary goal is to develop an operating system that would run on a wide range of mobile devices and computers, both low-end and high-end.

8. PapugLinux

PapugLinux is a minimal GNU/Linux live CD based on the Gentoo Linux distribution for x86 computers. The goal of PapugLinux is to provide a minimal but functional free operating system which can be run on most computers, from old systems with as little as 64 MB of memory to the latest powerful configurations.

9. Puppy Linux

Yes, Puppy Linux is yet another Linux distribution. What's different here is that Puppy is extraordinarily small, yet quite full featured. Puppy boots into a 64MB ramdisk, and that's it, the whole caboodle runs in RAM. Unlike live CD distributions that have to keep pulling stuff off the CD, Puppy in its entirety loads into RAM. This means that all applications start in the blink of an eye and respond to user input instantly. Puppy Linux has the ability to boot off a flash card or any USB memory device, CDROM, Zip disk or LS/120/240 Superdisk, floppy disks, internal hard drive. It can even use a multisession formatted CD-R/DVD-R to save everything back to the CD/DVD with no hard drive required at all!

10. SaxenOS

SaxenOS is a lightweight Slackware and Zenwalk-based distribution with the Xfce desktop. It is designed for older, low-specification computers.

11. TA-Linux

TA-Linux is a free Linux distribution that targets Linux power users. Its main goal is to have a small base installation that the end-users can expand to include the software they need. The secondary goal is to support as many different architectures as possible, at this time x86 is fully supported with Alpha, Sparc, PPC and PA-RISC around the corner. Extra software not included in the base is handled using a system resembling the *BSD ports system, called Collection, which handles installation, upgrading and dependencies. The primary way of installing new software is to download the source, compile and install it (totaly automatic). The user can also choose to install already built binary packages, also automaticaly using the Collection system.

12. VectorLinux

Vector Linux is a small, fast, Intel based Linux operating system for PC style computers. The creators of Vector Linux had a single credo: keep it simple, keep it small and let the end user decide what their operating system is going to be. What has evolved from this concept is perhaps the best little Linux operating system available anywhere. For the casual computer user you have a lightening fast desktop with graphical programs to handle your daily activities from web surfing, sending and receiving email, chatting on ICQ or IRC to running an ftp server. The power user will be pleased because all the tools are there to compile their own programs, use the system as a server or perhaps the gateway for their home or office computer network. Administrators will be equally as pleased because the small size and memory requirements of the operating system can be deployed on older machines maybe long forgotten.