Many of us have laptops or netbooks that have been around for a long time. They worked without problems with Windows XP or Vista, but the new versions of the OS from Microsoft are too tough for them. If your laptop starts to creak uncomfortably when you try to start Windows 10, and the trendy tablet flat windows turn into a slideshow, do not rush to throw it away. Linux will help to revive it.
Installing the system is easy, just follow. Just download the distribution kit from the official site, burn it to a USB flash drive or disk and boot your computer from this disk. By installing Linux, you will forget about the slowness of the old computer and problems with viruses and get an upgradable and maintainable system on the old hardware.
A few words about desktop environments, or shells. Roughly speaking, this is an interface that allows us to interact with Linux. The most popular shells are KDE, GNOME and Cinnamon, but for battered laptops and desktops, it's better to choose something lighter. These can be either Xfce or LXDE environments, or frame window managers such as Awesome and i3. They are more difficult to set up than full-fledged shells, but can work on hardware where even LXDE fails.
1. Ubuntu
distroscreens.comXubuntu is the official flavor of the popular Ubuntu. With the difference that instead of not too agile Unity, Xfce is used here. It is a fast yet functional and highly customizable desktop environment. Xubuntu is compatible with all Ubuntu applications and repositories.
processor with a frequency of 500 MHz, 512 MB of RAM, 7.5 GB of free hard disk space.
2.Lubuntu
distroscreens.com Another flavor of Ubuntu, this time with Lxde. Designed for use on even older computers. Lxde is not as functional as Xfce, but it is unpretentious and can run on almost any configuration.
Minimum system requirements: processor - from 266 MHz, 128 MB of RAM, 3 GB of free hard disk space.
3. Bodhi Linux
distroscreens.com A simple and fast distribution based on Ubuntu. Uses the lightweight Moksha windowing environment containing Enlightenment 17.
Minimum system requirements: processor - from 500 MHz, 128 MB of RAM, 4 GB of free hard disk space.
4.Debian
arstechnica.com Debian is known for being stable and conservative. What else does an old computer need? It is one of the oldest and most popular distributions - Ubuntu is based on it. Debian, unlike the next distribution on the list, has a handy .NET installer. With a lightweight desktop environment, Debian will take root on any hardware.
Minimum system requirements: processor - 1 GHz, 256 MB of RAM, 10 GB of free hard disk space.
5. Arch
in8sworld.net Arch is not the best choice for those who have not dealt with Linux before and just want to install the system. "Naked" Arch is installed over the Web, through the command line - this will infuriate anyone.
Nevertheless, Arch is good and damn fast. Paired with Xfce, Lxde, or even better, tiled window managers like Awesome or i3, Arch will invigorate anyone or a laptop. And its extensive AUR repository will give you access to a wealth of Linux applications with just one click.
Minimum system requirements: any i686 or x86_64 processor, 128 MB RAM, 800 MB free hard disk space.
6. Manjaro
distroscreens.com If you don't want to mess with installing Arch, try Manjaro. It's a fork of Arch with a handy installer and a lot of its own features. Comes with Xfce for older computers and KDE for modern ones. In addition, Manjaro flavors with other environments are supported by the community.
If you feel like Manjaro has a lot of extra stuff installed, you can use Manjaro-Architect and build the system to fit your needs. Arch goodies like Rolling release and AUR are included.
Minimum system requirements: 1 GHz processor, 384 MB of RAM, 10 GB of free hard disk space.
7Puppy Linux
puppylinux.com 10 GB on disk, 5 GB, 3 GB... If you think that's too much for Linux, try Puppy. This distribution will take only 200 MB. At the same time, Puppy Linux is a complete system with its own programs and repositories.
Minimum system requirements: processor - 333 MHz, 64 MB of RAM, 200 MB of free hard disk space.
8. Slitaz
slitaz.org An even more compact distribution aimed at running entirely from RAM. When expanded, it takes about 100 MB, the Live CD image is less than 40 MB.
Minimum system requirements: any i686 or x86_64 processor, 128 MB RAM, 100 MB free hard disk space.
9. Damn Small Linux
damnsmalllinux.org Damn little Linux, as its name suggests. Despite the fact that the distribution fits in 50 MB, the developers managed to cram XMMS player, Dillo browser, Ted text editor, Xpaint graphics editor, Xpdf viewer, emelFM file manager and much more.
Minimum system requirements: 486DX processor, 16 MB RAM, 50 MB free hard disk space.
Finally
By installing any lightweight Linux distribution, you will get an up-to-date and up-to-date system on your old device. You can comfortably listen to music, view video files and edit documents.
However, this will not solve memory problems, for example when working with heavy web pages in the browser. So here are a couple more suggestions.
On very old computers, you can use lightweight browsers like Midori or Dillo. Or disable flash animations and scripts in Firefox or Chrome.
Use lightweight apps instead of web services in the browser. To save memory, YouTube videos can be watched in VLC or Mpv. You can connect to Spotify through Clementine. Connect social media accounts to Pidgin, and instead of the Gmail web interface, you should try the Geary email client.
What do you do with old computers? Do you have a computer that once had a very powerful hardware configuration but is now considered obsolete?
Why not revive your old computer with Linux? I'm going to list seven friendly lightweight Linux distributions that you can use on your old computer.
Best Lightweight Linux Distributions
I will talk about Linux distributions in order, but this is not a rating, but which one is the best, decide for yourself.
1.
CrunchBang++ is also known as CBPP or #!++ or CrunchBang Plus Plus. CrunchBang++ is a clone of a dead Linux distribution, CrunchBang Linux, which was known for its simplicity and light weight. CrunchBang++ supports old computers and works without any problems. CrunchBang++ is based on Debian 8 (Jessie) with a minimal interface design and is built around the minimal and lightweight Openbox window manager.
This project continues with the same goal to provide an easy to use and light weight Linux with good functionality. That's why CrunchBang++ includes a minimal design, simple and sleek interface.
Some of the default applications in CrunchBang++ can be listed as follows: Geany IDE, Terminator terminal emulator, Thunar file manager, Gimp for image editing, Viewnior image viewer, VLC Media Player for music, Xfburn CD/DVD for burning discs, Iceweasel for web browsing, Transmission torrent client, Gnumeric spreadsheet editor, Evince for PDF viewer, gFTP file transfer client, Xchat IRC client, AbiWord for office.
Any beginner can install and start using the preloaded distribution instantly. You can download CrunchBang++ Linux torrent from their download page.
Another lightweight distribution is Bodhi Linux, which gives life to old PCs and laptops. Bodhi Linux is quite famous for its lightness. There is not a lot of software that is pre-installed on this system, so it is not as big as its counterparts, and when installed on older computers it runs freely without using a lot of memory.
The latest version of Bodhi Linux is 4.1.0 which has several improvements over the previous version. Some of the new features:
- EFL 1.18.4
- New Moksha theme which is based on Arc Dark
- Linux Kernel 4.8
In addition, the Enlightenment window manager makes the distribution much faster. Enlightenment is faster than other window managers used by other Linux distributions. If you have any problems using Enlightenment or any other feature of Bodhi, then there are helpful guides written by the team.
By default, Bodhi Linux does not include many applications, but there are some basic applications such as Ephoto for graphics, Midori for web browsing, Epad text editor, but unfortunately, it does not include applications for multimedia. But don't worry!, you can install other apps through the App Center.
-  Processor 1.0GHz
- 256 MB RAM
- 4 GB disk space
4.
As the name suggests, this distribution is a member of the Ubuntu family but uses the LXDE desktop environment. also supports old computers that can be buried (But you can also use Lubuntu on modern hardware). Lubuntu is based on Ubuntu but has fewer packages and is therefore very lightweight. Lubuntu is the most lightweight derivative of Ubuntu, and focuses on speed as well as support for older hardware.
If you have used Ubuntu before, then you will be very familiar with this system. The software and repositories are the same, so you'll get all the software you used on Ubuntu. But you need to take care of your system when installing any application. Choose an application that consumes less of your old computer's resources. Do not use heavy applications.
Lubuntu has enough applications to start using this system comfortably.
GPicView for image viewer, MtPaint for drawing, Evince for PDF, Audacious for music, Gnome player for video, guvcview for webcam, Chromium for web browsing, Sylpheed for email, Pidgin for instant messaging, and more applications
Minimum hardware requirements:
Pentium II or Celeron system with 128 MB RAM
For PowerPC, the G4 runs at 867MHz with 640MB of RAM.
5. Sparky Linux
SparkyLinux is another lightweight distro, but at the same time, SparkyLinux is also aimed at modern computers. SparkyLinux is based on Debian testing industry and has several desktop environments including LXDE, Openbox/JWM, e17, MATE, Razor-QT, Cli and GameOver edition. Razor-QT is much faster than others except Cli (command line interface).
This system has two editions: Complete Edition and Basic. The full edition is loaded with applications so you don't have to manually install them, but it's not for our older computers. The basic version doesn't load with heavy apps, so it's lighter and doesn't use a lot of system resources. Sparky has its own repositories for installing most applications.
The list of applications installed by default is different for different editions, Full, Base and Gaming Edition.
Minimum hardware requirements:
- i486/amd64
- 256MB RAM - LXDE, e17, Openbox, GameOver
- 384MB RAM - MATE, Razor-QT
- 5GB hard drive or flash drive for installation - 10GB recommended
- 2GB hard drive or flash drive for installation (CLI edition)
Puppy Linux is also a very lightweight distribution, the latest release of Puppy Linux is 6.3.2 which is only 238MB in size. And this is very little. This small distribution can be downloaded using a small flash drive.
Puppy Linux uses JWM and Openbox window managers by default which are pretty easy to use for beginners. If you're using Puppy Linux on an old computer, it'll do just fine there.
Because Puppy Linux is built to be fast, it doesn't have many applications installed. But it has some basic applications. For example, Abiword for word processing, Gnumeric for spreadsheets, and so on.
Minimum hardware requirements:
- CPU: 333MHz
- RAM: 64MB (recommended 256MB)
Get ready, now you will be amazed by this system. I bet if you take a Windows application, it will be heavier than Tiny Core Linux. Yes! It's just fantastic, it's only 15MB in size! Amazed? A small video clip will take longer to load than Tiny Core.
But one thing is the size of the distribution, and another thing is what's inside, and this will also surprise you. It comes with a minimal interface and very few apps installed. If you have an ancient computer, then try it and see the magic. It loads faster than any other OS.
Tiny Core Linux has been forked from the Damn Small project, but is now completely independent. This small distribution comes with FLTK/FKWM and BusyBox desktops by default. You won't find many apps installed by default, but don't worry, you can install them manually.
There are three editions of Tiny Core - Core, Tiny Core and CorePlus. Core is a core system that only uses the CLI (Command Line Interface). It will fit the oldest computer, but since it's a CLI, only advanced users can use it.
That's it, in this list, not all distributions are suitable for older computers, and if you know any interesting distributions, then share them in the comments.
We continue to cover the topic of using the Linux OS for weak, old computers. This post compares the benefits of Ubuntu 16.4 flavors. Previously, our resource was:
Note for systems with non-PAE processors
Many older laptops often have processors with the letter "M" in the name, such as Pentium M, Athlon M, Celeron M. At the time of their creation, this was an excellent solution - good performance and energy saving justified the prefix, which means "Mobile". Such laptops have a problem with PAE, because of this there are difficulties with installing modern operating systems.
Physical Address Extension(PAE) - A variant of x86-CPU RAM management with 64-bit page table entries, for the processor to address 64 GB of physical memory (instead of 4 GB), although a standalone program can still only address a maximum of 4 GB of memory. This solution appeared in the Pentium Pro processor.
This or similar error appears:
This kernel requires the following faetures not present on the CPU: pae Unable to boot - please use a kernel appropriate for your CPU.
It means that the bootloader requires the PAE mode from the processor, asks for another kernel. The error sounds scary and repels novice Linux users. What other "kernel", where to get it, how to use it, why doesn't the installer itself offer anything?! In fact, there is nothing terrible and complicated.
If you use the parameter when installing Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu forcepae, then this warning will be ignored. You can do this at the beginning of the installation, where there is an item - additional kernel parameters. If there is no such item when loading, then it can be called up with the key "F6".
Xubuntu and Lubuntu
These options are great for weak PCs. At the heart of these editions is just Ubuntu, with all its advantages and disadvantages. They differ only in the graphic design of the desktop and a set of pre-installed software. As an example, LibreOffice in Xubuntu and Lubuntu has been replaced by the less demanding Abiword and the Gnumeric spreadsheet editor.
System Lubuntu the most undemanding of the line to iron. It contains a shell LXDE, which, along with the rest of the system, needs about 180MB of RAM to boot. At 512 it should work fine.
The installation process should not cause problems - everything is simple there. If anything - everything is very similar.
If you evaluate Lubuntu in general, then when using the OS there is a constant feeling of simplicity and quick response to any action. There are some awkward moments, but the main goal of the community, users and developers is maximum performance on any hardware. Not everything is beautiful, there are no whistles with trinkets - but everything works, and on old buckets, which, it seemed, had long been a place in the garbage heap.
If RAM >512MB, you might consider Xubuntu, this flavor contains the interface xfce and was created earlier than Lubuntu with LXDE. Accordingly, the project is more stable, logically. Xfce has some similarities with MacOS.
Visually, there is not much difference between Xubuntu and Lubuntu. The shell of both is very light and simple. Xubuntu occupied 214 MB of RAM after downloading, with 512 MB you can work quite comfortably.
Compared to Lubuntu, Xubuntu, as for me, is outwardly more pleasant, or something, especially in some detailed details.
Skype and Dropbox have been added to the basic set of software.
What are the disadvantages of Xubuntu and Lubuntu? Both distributions are not very suitable for multimedia, they happen, but, we must admit, troubles with viewing some video formats are successfully solved. Installation is almost the only solution to most of them. .
The original Ubuntu, unlike its “daughters”, is more complete, or something, more licked, tested. And the system. and software suite. There is everything necessary for 95 percent of software users already in the database. There is a fee for this - 460-500 MB of RAM is occupied by Ubuntu 16.4 with Unity immediately after launch.
General in ubuntu and its varieties for weak computers Xubuntu and Lubuntu:
- To install the software, the same managers are used. All programs are unified, have descriptions, screenshots. It's comfortable and secure. Instructions and solutions to emerging problems / inconveniences are almost always the same for all three branches.
- Unified system of updates, repositories.
- Connecting devices like mice, USB flash drives works almost instantly and perfectly.
- Unified user management system, unified services, excellent support.
I hope you found this article helpful. Have a good day.
2016-07-05T19:00:56+00:00 admin Where to start? Ubuntu Distributions Other Reviews Ratings Articles Abiword,Gnumeric,LibreOffice,lubuntu,LXDE,Ubuntu,XFCE,xubuntu,ComparisonsWe continue to cover the topic of using the Linux OS for weak, old computers. In this publication - a comparative analysis of the benefits of flavors of Ubuntu 16.4. Earlier on our resource was: Linux for weak computers. Openbox Note for systems with non-PAE processors Many older laptops often have processors with "M" in the name, like Pentium...
[email protected] Administrator Tutorial LINUXMany of us have laptops or netbooks that have been around for a long time. They worked without problems with Windows XP or Vista, but the new versions of the OS from Microsoft are too tough for them. If your laptop starts to creak uncomfortably when you try to start Windows 10, and the trendy tablet flat windows turn into a slideshow, do not rush to throw it away. Linux will help to revive it.
Installing the system is easy, just follow. Just download the distribution kit from the official site, burn it to a USB flash drive or disk and boot your computer from this disk. By installing Linux, you will forget about the slowness of the old computer and problems with viruses and get an upgradable and maintainable system on the old hardware.
A few words about desktop environments, or shells. Roughly speaking, this is an interface that allows us to interact with Linux. The most popular shells are KDE, GNOME and Cinnamon, but for battered laptops and desktops, it's better to choose something lighter. These can be either Xfce or LXDE environments, or frame window managers such as Awesome and i3. They are more difficult to set up than full-fledged shells, but can work on hardware where even LXDE fails.
1. Ubuntu
distroscreens.comXubuntu is the official flavor of the popular Ubuntu. With the difference that instead of not too agile Unity, Xfce is used here. It is a fast yet functional and highly customizable desktop environment. Xubuntu is compatible with all Ubuntu applications and repositories.
processor with a frequency of 500 MHz, 512 MB of RAM, 7.5 GB of free hard disk space.
2.Lubuntu
distroscreens.com Another flavor of Ubuntu, this time with Lxde. Designed for use on even older computers. Lxde is not as functional as Xfce, but it is unpretentious and can run on almost any configuration.
Minimum system requirements: processor - from 266 MHz, 128 MB of RAM, 3 GB of free hard disk space.
3. Bodhi Linux
distroscreens.com A simple and fast distribution based on Ubuntu. Uses the lightweight Moksha windowing environment containing Enlightenment 17.
Minimum system requirements: processor - from 500 MHz, 128 MB of RAM, 4 GB of free hard disk space.
4.Debian
arstechnica.com Debian is known for being stable and conservative. What else does an old computer need? It is one of the oldest and most popular distributions - Ubuntu is based on it. Debian, unlike the next distribution on the list, has a handy .NET installer. With a lightweight desktop environment, Debian will take root on any hardware.
Minimum system requirements: processor - 1 GHz, 256 MB of RAM, 10 GB of free hard disk space.
5. Arch
in8sworld.net Arch is not the best choice for those who have not dealt with Linux before and just want to install the system. "Naked" Arch is installed over the Web, through the command line - this will infuriate anyone.
Nevertheless, Arch is good and damn fast. Paired with Xfce, Lxde, or even better, tiled window managers like Awesome or i3, Arch will invigorate anyone or a laptop. And its extensive AUR repository will give you access to a wealth of Linux applications with just one click.
Minimum system requirements: any i686 or x86_64 processor, 128 MB RAM, 800 MB free hard disk space.
6. Manjaro
distroscreens.com If you don't want to mess with installing Arch, try Manjaro. It's a fork of Arch with a handy installer and a lot of its own features. Comes with Xfce for older computers and KDE for modern ones. In addition, Manjaro flavors with other environments are supported by the community.
If you feel like Manjaro has a lot of extra stuff installed, you can use Manjaro-Architect and build the system to fit your needs. Arch goodies like Rolling release and AUR are included.
Minimum system requirements: 1 GHz processor, 384 MB of RAM, 10 GB of free hard disk space.
7Puppy Linux
puppylinux.com 10 GB on disk, 5 GB, 3 GB... If you think that's too much for Linux, try Puppy. This distribution will take only 200 MB. At the same time, Puppy Linux is a complete system with its own programs and repositories.
Minimum system requirements: processor - 333 MHz, 64 MB of RAM, 200 MB of free hard disk space.
8. Slitaz
slitaz.org An even more compact distribution aimed at running entirely from RAM. When expanded, it takes about 100 MB, the Live CD image is less than 40 MB.
Minimum system requirements: any i686 or x86_64 processor, 128 MB RAM, 100 MB free hard disk space.
9. Damn Small Linux
damnsmalllinux.org Damn little Linux, as its name suggests. Despite the fact that the distribution fits in 50 MB, the developers managed to cram XMMS player, Dillo browser, Ted text editor, Xpaint graphics editor, Xpdf viewer, emelFM file manager and much more.
Minimum system requirements: 486DX processor, 16 MB RAM, 50 MB free hard disk space.
Finally
By installing any lightweight Linux distribution, you will get an up-to-date and up-to-date system on your old device. You can comfortably listen to music, view video files and edit documents.
However, this will not solve memory problems, for example when working with heavy web pages in the browser. So here are a couple more suggestions.
On very old computers, you can use lightweight browsers like Midori or Dillo. Or disable flash animations and scripts in Firefox or Chrome.
Use lightweight apps instead of web services in the browser. To save memory, YouTube videos can be watched in VLC or Mpv. You can connect to Spotify through Clementine. Connect social media accounts to Pidgin, and instead of the Gmail web interface, you should try the Geary email client.
Surely, many of you have an old computer / laptop / netbook gathering dust somewhere, which there is nowhere to upgrade further, it is impossible to sell, but it's a pity to throw it away. Indeed, do not rush into this, because it may well be useful to someone. Perhaps even to you.
While I was thinking about what to do with my junk (and I had Samsung NC10 and Asus U5F lying around), I came across this text on the net. To those who understand English, the idea is, I hope, clear. And for the rest, the obvious idea is to replace the operating system on the old PC with a less demanding, but at the same time quite up-to-date. Then such a computer can be given to children for simple toys, grandmother for Skype, mom for web surfing, or even use it yourself.
If you take a squeeze and develop an idea, then you should pay attention to:
1) Lubuntu is a full-fledged OS for a computer, with the ability to install various programs such as the Firefox or Chrome browser, the LibreOffice office suite (similar to Microsoft Office), and the usual saving of files on a local disk. Promises to be nimble on old hardware. It is also good for its relative popularity and support (read, it will last a long time), but it is not entirely clear whether all this usefulness is needed for an ordinary user of a weak netbook? Of the minuses - because. Since it's native Linux, there's little to no compatibility with Windows programs. But for me, depending on the tasks, it is quite possible for an ordinary Windows user to live with this. Fortunately, browsers and messengers are the same, and you can not be afraid of viruses. By the way, this is true for all other systems in the list below. It is quite possible to get an impression of the system by this video, even if it's not about the latest version (it's better to watch with video acceleration 1.5 times).
2) Zorin OS Lite is an excellent and most importantly modern version of Linux, which at the same time looks like Windows and is equipped with support for running some Windows programs right out of the box. Lite version promises to work fine even on very old hardware. In the presence of a bunch of useful programs incl. the same LibreOffice, support for the Russian language and modern software available for popular Linux systems such as the famous Ubuntu. Here you can quickly see what ZorinOS is all about. Looks nice in my opinion.
3) Phoenix OS is an interesting thing - in fact it is modern Android, like in any smartphone, but which can be installed on a regular computer and enjoy all the benefits of this truly most popular system. Phoenix is actively discussed on the forums. They say that even on an old netbook everything works smartly. It's hard to believe, but you can easily check;) Of the minuses - since most of the programs available on GooglePlay are created taking into account the fact that they will be used on a smartphone or tablet, then on a laptop they may look a little strange. In other words, from official demo video it is clearly seen that the developers made sure that everything was as convenient as possible, the browser and instant messengers will work perfectly, but with editing documents there may be troubles specific to Android. On the other hand, there will be up-to-date modern software and an environment familiar to owners of smartphones and tablets, and this distinguishes this option from conventional Linux systems.
4) CloudReady: Home Edition by Neverware is the current free version of the cloud-based Chromium OS, very close to Google's Chrome OS. In practice, it is only a browser and all Web applications run inside it. Nothing extra. Designed specifically for netbooks. Here This Video allows you to get an impression of the system. Of the minuses - without the Internet, this is an almost useless thing, but when connected to the network, the entire palette of cloud services is at your service. No installations, settings, updates, antiviruses and other nonsense for you - everything is online. No normal applications work (unless you can in a tricky way run Android apps). It is installed very simply, no red-eyed dances with a tambourine for you - launched it, connected to the network and everything is ready to go.
Think about it, maybe before you stupidly get rid of the trash with the old Windows XP, you should try to revive it a little at least programmatically, since, alas, it is no longer amenable to a hardware upgrade? It is quite difficult for me to help make the final choice in favor of only one of the options. I do not know all your tasks and requirements, but for some reason it seems to me that the list has developed in order of increasing preference for an ordinary inexperienced user. If you don’t need anything other than a browser, and there are enough web applications, then option 4 is an obvious choice, at the same time, the issue of data backup practically disappears, because. everything is synced to google drive. If a person has a positive experience with an Android smartphone or tablet, then, with the same Google account, the third option also looks pretty good. If you really need something specific to Windows or there is absolutely no willingness to face something new, unknown and unlike Windows, then this is the second option. Well, if a person is open to everything new and requires maximum opportunities, reliability, flexibility and support, then this is the first option. There was a translated article on Habré, which can help you choose the most suitable of these.
And it’s better to send a zombie and a cooled fast food to a landfill.
PS. Please send comments on spelling, punctuation, etc. in a personal. Everything will be fixed promptly.
