Distribution for low end processor

[xwb]

I have a 400MHz PIII laptop with 256Mb memory. I've been running Redhat 9 on it for quite some time. I tried upgrading it to one of the Fedoras, I can't remember which, but it wouldn't even install because it said the machine was below minimum spec so I went back to RH9.

I've tried SUSE but couldn't get that going because of some driver problem.

I can't run the Linux-on-a-CD version as the CD is only attached when needed. Most of the time I don't bring the CD.

Could anyone recommend other distributions that will install on low end processors and pick up USB ports correctly.

 

[geirendre]

Puppy-Linux,
DSL
Xubuntu
Arch-Linux
VectorLinux

Not neccecceraly in that order ;-)

 

[xwb]

Thanks - I'll give them a try

 

[rzs0502]

I run Zenwalk on a machine of the similar specs (600Mhz processor), although Slackware 11 ran fine on it as well.

DSL as geirendre listed would also be a good option as it runs the 2.4 kernel (the last time I checked). The 2.4 kernel may be better for old hardware.


"If you always do what you've always done, you will always be where you've always been."

 

[aebacon]

i just installed Puppy Linux on a Fujitsu Laptop PII 400 with a 4gb hard drive. Had to go thru most of all the drivers that came with it for the lan card before a found one that worked. So for that's the only problem I have had.
I had put Xubuntu on it but I only had less that a gig of hard drive space after install and getting a full screen display was a pain but I was able to easier with Puppy Linux.

 

[MonkeyX]

Arch works really well on my P3 400 with 128Mb ram. Just be careful with which desktop environments you chose. I would suggest XFCE4 (personal favorite) or Fluxbox as both are easy to setup, use very little memory and have detailed HowTo sections in the ArchWiki.

 

[geirendre]

Have Xubuntu 7.04 on an HP omnibook P3 450MHz 192Mb RAM
and it's quite fast. Boots up in less than 3 minutes,
and feels quick and resposive.
Available RAM is the most important part in getting a
system that runs OK.