What linux OS would run fast on a 133 Mhz machine?

[JonnyBalls]

I'm looking for an OS that will run fast on a 133 mhz machine with 1.2 gig HDD...
i'm going to set it up on my home network as an internet terminal when i'm in my garage...
Mandrake 8.2 runs way too slow, (the computer used to have win95 on it)
Perhaps an old version of redhat or mandrake?

any suggestions?
:Q

 

[TheWart]

Gentoo Linux without all the cruddy bloatware, you decide what you want installed.

 

[manly]

Does Gentoo have a binary distribution precompiled for i586? If not, good luck compiling everything you need on a P133 with a slow-ass hard drive.

Personally, I don't follow the fascination with source-based distros. I'll refer you to Nothinman if you want to hear the argument for why not.

As for Linux for older machines, (I haven't used it in a while) but Debian is a good choice. If you really need a commercial flavor, you should be able to fit Red Hat 6.2 onto your machine without too much trouble. A *lot* of 3rd party commercial software still targets RH 6.2 to this date.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

no matter what distrobution, the same things are going to run at generally the same speeds. i run debian on my p233/1.2GB and it works great (doesnt it always )

 

[jcmkk]

Gentoo would work great, although the initial install will take a while. The best thing you can do to make it feel faster is to use a minimal window manager. Don't use KDE or Gnome, go with Fluxbox or WindowMaker. They will really make your PC feel fast.

 

[RalphTheCow]

Redhat 7.2 runs fine on my dog when I use the Blackbox window manager. Forget KDE or GNOME.

 

[fivepesos]

ersonally, I don't follow the fascination with source-based distros. I'll refer you to Nothinman if you want to hear the argument for why not.

optimization? plus its ubber-cool.

gentoo allows u to run light (ie no bloatware *cough*kde*cough*) with minimal goodies. as far as compiling everything on a p133, oh well. emerge the latest xfree and wait about 40 hours (that sounds about right?). go out and do stuff, forget about the compile. go to work (twice) and maybe go out (and leave your computer?!?).

 

[DaHitman]

Run one of the cooler small unbloated Linuxen like:

[*]Peanut Linux THE PERFECT distro for you.. With Peanut Linux you only have to download 220 Mb. Now how's that sound! Just 220 Mb of data contain this already pre-software configured OS with a spectacular GUI for the most versatile operating system available today!. (It's especially made for those new to Linux). We believe this is the most POWERFUL, FASTEST and FUN distribution yet!.

and

[*]Vector Linux single credo: keep it simple, keep it small and let the end user decide what their operating system is going to be.
[*]Rock Linux an UBER cool minimal distro with everything you need but very small.
[*]Libranet which is based on Debian and can produce a nice minimal installation.
[*]Icepack
[*]KRUD a much slimmed down and improved version of redhat.



I would also recommend you seriously consider running either XFCE desktop environment, or the IceWM Window Manager which provides a nice Windows 9x like gui with a simple start-menu like interface without any bloat, or maybe WindowMaker.. I love blackbox and run it at work, but its not for newbies.

 

[TheWart]

bump cuz i subscribed to this thread now...

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: DaHitman
I love blackbox and run it at work, but its not for newbies.

nonsense! blackbox is minimal not only in the visual sense, but in the configuration sense. it has one configuration file, which is pretty self explanatory. i was a big newbie when i started using blackbox but it wasn't hard for me to figure out.

 

[jcmkk]

Yeah, blackbox isn't hard to configure after you do it a couple of times. Use Fluxbox though. It is based off blackbox, but has tabs and configurable shortcut key strokes built in.

 

[neuralfx]

hm .. oddly enough .. no one has mentioned Slackware ..
-neural

 

[Sunner]

I vote for Debian.
It's easy to find precompiled packages for most software, so you wont have to compile lots of stuff on that ole dog, and the distro is rather minimalistic(if you want it to be of course).

And I agree about the pointlessness(???) of compiling everything from source.
I used to do that when I ran Slack, but really, I didn't notice much difference compared to the Debian box Im running now, cept that it took a $hitload of time to compile stuff, and keep up with dependencies etc.

Not worth the hastle is the vast majority of cases IMO, unless it makes you feel really 133t of course .