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I'm trying to give linux a chance but ....

S

shikhan

Senior member
Okay guys,
I've had a bad experience with linux so I've refrained from putting it on my systems till now. I just recently got myself a laptop sony pcg=748. THe specs are:


<B>Processor</B>
  • 266 MHz Intel® Pentium® Processor with MMX<IMG height=7 alt=(tm) src="/img/trademark.gif" width=10 align=bottom> Technology
<B>Cache Memory</B>
  • 512 KB Pipeline Burst SRAM
<B>Bus Architecture</B>
  • PCI
<B>LCD</B>
  • 13" XGA HPA LCD (1024 x 768)
<B>Graphics</B>
  • NeoMagic MagicGraph 128XD with 2MB Video RAM and 128 bit Accelerator
  • Direct 3D and MPEG Acceleration
<B>Digital Audio</B>
  • 16 bit playback and record
  • Sound Blaster Compatible
  • FM MIDI Sythesizer
<B>MPEG</B>
  • MPEG1 Digital Video
  • Supports Full Screen Playback
<B>Standard RAM</B>
  • 32 MB SDRAM, expandable to 192 MB
<B>Hard Drive</B>
  • 4.0 GB Removable

Now, i tried putting Mandrake Linux 8.1 on it and after some trouble, i've got it up and running but my god its SLOW!!!

I'm tempted to put 98 back on there which was not choppy at all [ a slight lag yes, but no freezes for a few minutes!].

So now before I give up on linux again, i'd like to ask someone out there to give me some suggestoins to a [better] distro and/or optimization tips.
 
With your spec like this, no wonder Mandrake is slow. You can either stick with the console mode, which I doubt you will or try a lightweith window manager other than KDE. I personaly recommend XFCE.
 
Well, I have linux running in a toshiba 490xcdt with similar specs without any problems...

I think your main problem might be the amount of ram. Only 32MB! That to small to
run any good os....well if you stick to text mode you'll be ok!!

I don't know what's the level of your computer knowledge, but you could try a more
customizable distro, like slackware or even debian.

Or you could try a already made one like peanut linux or icepack linux!

If not try redmond linux they have what seems to be a pretty easy distro. Haven't checked
yet!
 
sorry guys, forgot to mention a few things. Yes, I know that this is a very lightweight computer. Its only going to be for word, coding and possibly some light websurfing. I dont mind using just a text based although I would prefer gui. I figured that since 98 ran on it okay, a gui version of linux should have no problems, at least, from the praises i've heard from others. Anyways, I'll take a look at some of the distro's you mentioned. As for my abilities, i'm fairly decent, although my *nix experience needs some work 🙂
 


<< I figured that since 98 ran on it okay, a gui version of linux should have no problems >>



Well linux has many guis!! But KDE and GNOME that are called desktops and try to mimic windows in
some way are just as bloated as windows.

I small/lighter window manager will do wonders with that small amount of memory.
fow99's suggestion is good. I use XFCE in a Cel366/96MB laptop and it runs great!
I would also suggest iceWM, it has a win9x feeling but its very light also...

 
If it isn't too expensive, slap in a 128 MB SODIMM (or whatever the memory module is for that older notebook).

Secondly, install Red Hat 6.2, which should be a less bloated distro than anything that recently came out.
The advice to run a window manager instead of a full desktop environment like KDE or GNOME is also good. I'd suggest WindowMaker.

You can successfully run X-Windows, even w/ only 32 MB RAM, but whether you stick with Linux or go back to Win98, you really need more RAM. Your machine isn't so bad that you have to use the console only.

For a long time, I used Linux on a P133/96 and it was much faster than NT 4.0 on the same box.
 
ok, i doubt linux was what was slow (maybe compiles, if you were referring to that), but i think your talkin bout xwindows, which isnt exactly part of linux .. eh but anyway ya thats semantics .. ya thats very lightweight system, and if u were trying to run ximian gnome, or kde , ya its gonna be slow on that system .. ah but for optimizations and speed, look into a window manager called Blackbox, its a no frills, fast, stable system, shouldnt lag you too much .. good luck ..
-neural

-oh ya, every problem with linux .. isnt linux's fault ..
 


<< ok, i doubt linux was what was slow (maybe compiles, if you were referring to that), but i think your talkin bout xwindows, which isnt exactly part of linux .. eh but anyway ya thats semantics .. ya thats very lightweight system, and if u were trying to run ximian gnome, or kde , ya its gonna be slow on that system .. ah but for optimizations and speed, look into a window manager called Blackbox, its a no frills, fast, stable system, shouldnt lag you too much .. good luck ..
-neural

-oh ya, every problem with linux .. isnt linux's fault .. >>


count me in on the bb recommendation😛

it is very nice. gets the job done, without all that extra crap that you dont need🙂
 
Slack or Debian with blackbox or another small window manager (fvwm, icewm, etc) should give you better performance than mandrake + kde/gnome. It wont be as "easy" and may not be as "pretty" but it will get the job done.
 
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