Debian for weak computers. Comparison of Ubuntu and distributions for weak computers Xubuntu and Lubuntu

27.01.2016

Time moves forward, technologies are rapidly developing and improving, while becoming more accessible. However, many still have, in addition to the main computer or laptop, some kind of outdated device, which is a pity to throw away and has not been able to be fully used for its intended purpose for a long time.

As you yourself understand, there are plenty of reasons why you might have a weak computer. Another question is which operating system install it there so that interaction with this machine does not seem like torture. Obviously, the choice is in this case will fall on Linux, Now all that remains is to decide which specific distribution of this OS is best suited for your PC or laptop. This is what will be discussed below.

The name of the distribution speaks for itself - this is a lightweight version of a full-fledged OS. If you are familiar Windows interface XP, then you won’t have any problems mastering “light” Linux - everything looks familiar and very friendly.

Included Linux Lite includes several pre-installed utilities and programs, including graphic editor, office suite from Libre, VLC player and Steam (just a minute!). GIMP is enabled here by default, but Flash and Java do not work natively, as does playing MP3 files. To solve this problem you will need to install additional packages. They, like other necessary programs, are installed in Linux - from the console or synaptic.

Download Linux Lite you can with official website the creators of this distribution. There you can also familiarize yourself with the minimum requirements for this OS version.

Bodhi Linux

Another lightweight (500 MB) and undemanding system resources Linux distribution, the installation of which will take you just a few minutes.

Pre-installed applications in Bodhi Linux very little, which in our case is more of a plus than a minus. Required software You can always install it yourself. Once you have configured the OS, you will immediately feel the true thrill of how your weak PC or laptop “flies”. The only trouble that a user of this distribution may encounter is the Russification of the system. Sometimes, even after installing the full language pack, the OS will “speak” to you in Russian only partially.

Download latest versionBodhi Linux you can on official website.

Minimum system requirements: processor with frequency 1 GHz, 256 MB RAM, 4 GB free space on disk.

Runtu Lite

Excellent OS distribution Linux For weak computers . The big advantage of this version of the system is its regular update, numerous repositories with a huge software base, detailed description solutions to the most common problems that can be found on the Internet, as well as a huge community that will answer (or has already answered) all the questions of inexperienced users.

Runtu Lite, like the distributions described above, is undemanding to system resources and has a simple but very attractive interface. Master this version Linux is not difficult, as is customizing it for yourself. There is a pre-installed audio player; it is better to use VLC to play videos. There is a simple and convenient file manager, torrent client, browser (Firefox). Everything else can always be installed manually.

DownloadRuntu Lite you can on official website the creators of this distribution. You can also familiarize yourself in detail with the minimum system requirements and a detailed list of pre-installed software.

A lightweight Linux distribution built on Unbutu. Actively supported by developers. Installation file weighs some 700 MB, including, in addition to the OS itself, minimum required programs.

Uses work environment LXDE, which is very gentle on system resources. Separately, it is worth noting the extremely attractive interface of this distribution.

You can download it at official Russian-language website by selecting the desired system bit depth. There you can also find the minimum system requirements. It is also worth noting the presence of a large Russian-speaking community, whose members are ready to answer all the questions of inexperienced PC users.

That's all, you've probably already decided for yourself, which Linux to choose for weak computers. We wish your “machine” a new life, productivity and high speeds.

Now I want to talk to you about the topic: .

For what purposes may you need to read this article? First of all, of course, the information presented below will be useful for beginners who have an old computer at their disposal, but do not know what to do with it. This is what I will tell you now. Professionals are unlikely to learn anything interesting for themselves, but what if?

Are old and weak computers the same thing?

So you got an old one computer. Maybe they just bought it, or maybe they just gave it to you as a gift or gave it away for a symbolic amount - it doesn’t matter. Now let’s define what we mean by the word “old”.

It may not necessarily be a very ancient IBM-486 with four megabytes of RAM and a gigabyte hard drive on board. By old we can mean hardware from, say, the generation before last, say, which is based on a Pentium 4 processor and DDR1 RAM.

In our review we will go descending - from more or less modern computers to ancient models. And along the way, I’ll tell you what you can do with them, what you can install on it, or even where to put your old computer.

Computers and operating systems – what to choose and install?

So, a computer with a Pentium 4 processor and 512 megabytes-gigabytes of RAM. You can install quite a few operating systems on it– from Windows XP to Linux and the exotic BSD product line. Although especially heavy applications You can’t load it onto such a computer, but as a functional typewriter and a testing ground for office games, such a machine is quite suitable. It would be even better suited as a small home server - although you will have to install hard drives more volume. Just right for the server Linux products and BSD. I won’t say which specific product from the lines to choose and install, there’s too much here different nuances and other things.

If you have an even older computer, and it can’t handle Windows XP, then we can give some advice here too. Install Windows 98 on it for small office work and lay out the Klondike - such a computer will be quite suitable for playing Minesweeper. For home server may also be suitable, but again, cash injections are needed.

If the computer is very old, then install Windows 3.1 or Windows 3.11 on it. If you have any prejudice against this shell operating system, install DOS or Linux running under command line and file manager, and be happy.

The only question is: is such a computer needed at all? In my opinion - only for primitive games and for teaching basic and non-basic command line functions.

Operating systems for older computers

The most common operating system in the world is not just one OS, but a whole line of them - Windows from Microsoft Corporation and Bill Gates personally. This is a fact, and you can’t argue against it. Although rich Bill is often scolded and his mother is remembered, the vast majority of desktop (that is, desktop) computers still have one or another version of Windows installed.

Linux and BSD systems, although they have some advantages that soft ones do not have(in particular, this is the freeness of the product and its distribution along with source codes), but occupy overwhelmingly, the server niche. This is also a fact.

P.S. What operating system to install on old computer– of course, it’s up to you, dear reader, but still be prudent and check the system and hardware requirements. For example, there is no need to install, say, Windows 7 on the Pentium 2. You will suffer yourself, and there will be no sense in all this.

We probably all have old devices, laptops or computers that simply cannot work properly with a modern operating system, be it Windows or Linux. But such devices can still be used usefully. There are Linux distributions, specially designed for minimal consumption of RAM and processor resources.

In this article we will look at best distributions Linux for your old laptop or computer that you can use on your devices. This is not a ranking, just a list, and all items are worthy of your attention. Today there will be no long introductions, let's move straight to the review.

Lubuntu is one of the best distributions for older laptops. It is based on Ubuntu, but is quite lightweight and stable. LXDE is used as a desktop environment, it can work even with the lowest hardware specifications.

All necessary programs are supplied with the system, but there are much fewer of them than in regular version Ubuntu, this makes the distribution even lighter and smaller. For normal operation Lubuntu requires a Pentium II or Celeron processor with PAE technology support. The minimum amount of RAM: 128 MB, and hard disk space - 2 GB.

2. Puppy Linux

This is one of the lightest distributions. It is small, but quite powerful and can be used both on new computers and on fairly old hardware. Fresh images take up about 300 megabytes, and contain only the OS kernel and a small set of the most necessary programs, such as a browser, player, etc.

Interestingly, Puppy boots and runs from RAM, so programs start very quickly. After installation on USB you can put additional programs, and all of them will also work from RAM. Puppy Linux uses JVM or OpenBox as the default window manager and this makes it even faster. Minimum Requirements: 500 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM and 512 MB disk space.

3. Tiny Core

You've probably already heard about Tiny Core. This is the smallest Linux distribution. Even modern text editors have larger size than this full-fledged GUI distribution. The image size is only 16 MB. You can install it even on the most ancient machine.

The system comes with only the most necessary programs, but this does not mean that you cannot install other programs you need. Tiny Core currently comes in three versions - Core, TinyCore and CorePlus. The first has a size of 11 MB and contains only the console interface, the second occupies 16 MB and has GUI FLTK/FLWM, and the third is 116 MB, and this installation image with utilities for configuring the system.

4. Bodhi Linux

Bodhi Linux is another Linux distribution for an old laptop, based on Ubuntu. It is fast enough and not overloaded with applications. It comes with only the most essential programs such as a file manager, internet browser, text editor, terminal. But you can install everything you need via apt.

Enlightenment is used as the desktop environment. It consumes little memory and has a very beautiful and simple interface. Minimum requirements: 500 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM and 4 GB disk space.

5. Peppermint OS

Peppermint is based on Lubuntu, which can already be considered a Linux distribution for low-end laptops. This also uses the LXDE desktop environment. But a more interesting set of programs has been implemented. The distribution does not contain the usual cloud applications, but there are links to Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs etc. Applications open in the pre-installed Chromium browser.

However, you can install all the programs you need through a package manager. The minimum amount of RAM for running the distribution is 192 MB, which is 62 MB more than other options.

6. Macpup

If Puppy Linux looks too simple and ugly for you, you can try Macpup Linux. It's based on Puppy Linux, so it has all the advantages of Puppy Linux, including running from RAM.

But the system looks more beautiful, Enlightenment is used as the desktop environment, there are transparency effects, an animated dock panel at the bottom of the screen, and much more. The system comes with everything you need, including text processing programs. The distribution requires 164 MB of RAM to operate.

7. BunsenLabs Linux

This is another lightweight distribution that can run on older hardware. It is based on Debian and you can run the system if you have at least 256 MB of RAM. Openbox is used as a window manager, which has been specially modified to reduce resource consumption.

8. MX Linux

The latest version of MX Linux is based on Debian 8.2. This is a very fast distribution that can be used on both new and older devices. LXDE is used as a desktop environment, and the distribution also includes programs such as the Whisker menu and the Qupzilla browser.

9. Porteus

This is a Slackware-based distribution, primarily intended for installation on removable media, but can also be used on a hard drive. All Porteus data is compressed and file system created on the fly. All additional programs are supplied in the form of modules.

The desktop environment can be XFCE or LXQt. To run the graphical environment, 144 MB of RAM is enough.

10. Slitaz

Slitaz can start and work normally on a system with 256 MB of RAM. It uses the Openbox window manager, as well as several proprietary tools such as TazPanel. With TazPanel you can install programs, change system settings, bootloader and much more.

The distribution has several editions, the simplest of which can run on 20 MB of RAM, but only in the console interface. All necessary programs are supplied with the system.

Conclusions

In this article, we looked at the best Linux distributions for weak laptops. From this list you can definitely choose what is right for you. What lightweight distributions would you recommend? Write in the comments!

We continue to cover the topic of using Linux OS for weak, old computers. In this publication - comparative analysis benefits of Ubuntu 16.4 flavors. Previously on our resource there was:

Note for systems with processors without PAE support

Many old 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 savings justified the prefix, which means “Mobile.” Such laptops have a problem with PAE, which makes it difficult to install modern operating systems.

Physical Address Extension(PAE) - x86-CPU RAM management option with 64-bit page table elements, for the processor can address 64 GB physical memory(instead of 4 GB), although separate program can still only address a maximum of 4 GB of memory. This solution appeared in Pentium processor Pro.

The following 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 PAE mode from the processor, asking for another kernel. The error sounds scary and repels novice Linux OS users. What other “kernel” is it, where can I get it, how to use it, why doesn’t the installer itself offer anything?! In fact, there is nothing scary or difficult.

If at installing Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu in use parameter forcepae, this warning will be ignored. You can do this at the beginning of the installation, where there is a point - additional options kernels. If there is no such item when loading, then you can call it with the “F6” key.

Xubuntu and Lubuntu

These options are great for weak PCs. These editions are based simply on Ubuntu, with all its advantages and disadvantages. The only difference is graphic design 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 Gnumeric table editor.

System Lubuntu The most undemanding of the line when it comes to hardware. It contains a shell LXDE, which, along with the rest of the system, needs about 180MB of RAM to boot. It should work fine on 512.

The installation process should not cause problems - everything is simple. If anything, everything is very similar.

If we 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 inconvenient 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 and trinkets - but everything works, and on old buckets, which, it seemed, had long belonged in the trash heap.

If RAM >512MB, you can think about Xubuntu, this variant contains the interface Xfce and was created before 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 took up 214 MB of storage space after loading, with 512 MB you can work quite comfortably.

Xubuntu compared to Lubuntu, in my opinion, is more visually pleasing, or something, especially in some detailed details.

TO basic set Skype and Dropbox software added.

What are the disadvantages of Xubuntu and Lubuntu? Both distributions are not very suitable for multimedia, but, I must admit, problems with viewing some video formats are successfully resolved. Installation is almost the only solution for most of them. .

The original Ubuntu, unlike its “daughters”, is more complete, more polished and tested. And the system. and a set of software. There is everything necessary for 95 percent of software users already in the database. A fee is charged 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:

• The same managers are used to install the software. All programs are unified, have descriptions and screenshots. It's comfortable and reliable. Instructions and solutions to emerging problems/inconveniences are almost always the same for all three branches.
• Unified update system, repositories.
• Connecting devices like a mouse, USB flash drives works almost instantly and perfectly.
• Unified user management system, unification of services, excellent support.

I hope you found this article helpful. Have a good day.