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    VERY old Dell laptop need Linux distro that fits certain needs

    Discussion in 'Linux Compatibility and Software' started by notebooknoob, May 21, 2013.

  1. notebooknoob

    notebooknoob Notebook Geek

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    Trying to find a Linux distro to run on a VERY old Dell Laptop C600 Latitude P3 800mhz 512MB Ram 20GB HD. I usually use Backtrack or Xubuntu but i doubt either would run worth a damn on this relic. What would be the most supported lightest weight Linux distro this machine could run somewhat reasonably?.....If any...Right now it has XP on it and it...CRAWLS to say the least.
     
    notebooknoob, May 21, 2013
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  2. JOSEA

    JOSEA NONE

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    On my similarly speced D610 I recently loaded Ubuntu 12.04.1 (I have 1 GIG ram but no video card) and it runs fine. The install only takes up ~ 5 GIG. I am using Unity 2D. The only real complaint is when I run youtube videos with Adobe flash plugin (Fire Fox) temps soar to 70C ++ ... normally it stays ~50 C . If I had run into any major issues from what I read Puppy Linux would have been my second choice.
    Dell Latitude D600 [Linux Laptop Wiki]
     
    JOSEA, May 21, 2013
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  3. Primes

    Primes Notebook Deity

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    AntiX would run good on that. might also try peppermint or crunchbang.
     
    Primes, May 22, 2013
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  4. csclifford

    csclifford Notebook Evangelist

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    I'd give Crunchbang a try
     
    csclifford, May 25, 2013
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  5. tommytomatoe

    tommytomatoe Notebook Evangelist

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    I suggest Arch Linux. For your desktop environment, install xfce, lxde, or razor-qt for a nice lightweight experience.

    For an even lighter weight install I'd recommend just using a windows manager instead of a desktop environment. Something like OpenBox, Compiz, or awesome.

    If Arch is a little intimidating, here are a few other great lightweight distributions: Puppy Linux, Damn Small Linux, and Peppermint.

    Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
     
    tommytomatoe, May 25, 2013
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  6. Jarhead

    Jarhead 恋の♡アカサタナ

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    As general advice, you should definitely avoid any of the fancy 3D GUIs found in some of the newer distros, or at least disable them if you go with such a distro. Though my two cents, I'd rather go with something lightweight like XFCE or LXDE (never heard of razor-qt, but if it's really good then that's a good option as well).

    If you're comfortable with a more detailed install and longer install time, I'd recommend Arch like tommytomatoe said; it allows you to pick out just about each and every driver/software that you want, and leave the rest behind, helping to keep the install as small and lightweight as possible. Though if you're not too comfortable with that, definitely give DSL, Puppy, or Peppermint a spin.
     
    Jarhead, May 27, 2013
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