Linux in ram distro

Linux in RAM: debirf way 2018

Do you want to have absolute disk speed nowadays, don’t you? Let’s revise how it could be done with versioning and automation in 2018.

От модератора: нам в Песочницу пришла статья на английском языке. Мы её прочитали и и в качестве пятничного эксперимента решили опубликовать. Не судите строго, всем peace and happy Friday! Let’s come together! Короче, фром зе боттом оф ауа хартс.

Changelog:

You must know before running this tutorial:

you can replace:

Steps to preparing

They are (optional) enable non-free components for basic installation. In addition, I think, you will need the non-free repository.

• open line number 107 of file /usr/bin/debirf like nano +107 $(which debirf)
• find function create_debootstrap
• find line like local OPTS=»
• add —components main,contrib,non-free in brackets

Up to start:

Let’s imagine, our flash drive:

• must to be fast, so it is recommended to use 8+ class, or booting will take enough time
• /dev/sdb
• formated
• mounted at /media/root/8B46-1189 .
• our working directory /root/Projects/debirf/

Install debirf

• mtools needed for create iso via debirf (not working, but needed)
• genisoimage needed for create real working iso (optional)

Prepare debirf working directory

And configure /root/Projects/debirf/rescue/debirf.conf

Create LiR

Test it

The command to start the virtual machine:

Test sample

Install grub to flash drive and copy LiR on it

I recommend you use bios legacy boot and package grub-pc. Not tested with UEFI, but must work. Next lines will be do:

• create mount point (on GUI-powered systems enabled auto-mount it isn’t needed)
• mount usb key to mount point (on GUI-powered systems enabled auto-mount it isn’t needed)
• install grub
• copy grub file
• copy initramfs (system)
• copy vmlinuz (kernel)
• unmount usb key
• remove mount point

Create bootable iso (optional)

• download isolinux.bin
• create isolinux config file
• create iso

Check result

minute you will see many lines. after it ends — press enter to see welcome message

login: root, no password

Customize it: Create custom debirf module

Module — executable sh script for running during LiR creating

• create module file
• the order of file’s names is important. In file network the resolving file will be changed to the system-resolved, and you can’t work with the network;
• lines from 1 to 3 must be present, line 3 must present file name
• if you want install package — use construction #DEBIRF_PACKAGE>+
• if you want work with rootfs — use $DEBIRF_ROOT
• if you want to run command in fakeroot — use debirf_exec

Источник

50+ Best Lightweight Linux Distros for 2021

With the feedback and requests we got from our Best Linux Distros for Gaming list, we had to do another list of the best lightweight Linux distros. Actually, some of them fit both our categories. Sure, there are other similar lists our there, but this one has up-to-date info and we’ve personally tried and tested (almost) every distro on our old laptops. It took us 7 months to compile this list and a few weeks to update it with new data! We’ve seen new lists that included distros with their latest update being in 2005. Come on, how is that distro still relevant and good in 2021? And don’t get us started on how each list is just a rehashed version of the same 5 distros. We purposefully included many distros in our list so you have more options to choose from. All distros are free and can run on

512MB RAM or less. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, just pick any distro.

You don’t have to throw away your old PCs and laptops. Install a lightweight Linux distro on them and they’re as good as new. Lightweight distros don’t even have to be used on old hardware. You can install them on some bleeding-edge hardware and get the ultimate performance. Most distros are portable and can run on a Live CD/USB, without a hard drive. Why should you use other OSes full of bloatware and unnecessary stuff when you can use a perfectly fine Linux alternative?

If you’re having trouble viewing this article from a lightweight computer, visit the AMP version

Anyway, before we go on with the list, a few quick tips on how to choose the best one for you:

How to choose the best lightweight Linux distro for you

These guidelines should help, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed, just pick any distro from the list below and you’ll be fine.

• Any Linux distro is better than Windows/OS X when it comes to old hardware. Linux distros and the software that runs on them are far more optimized and compatible with old(er) hardware. If you’re using Windows or OS X and it “feels slow”, switch to a Linux distro. You’re guaranteed to see an improvement in performance. Some older versions of Windows and OS X are fast for older hardware, but they don’t get any support or updates, unlike all distros listed here.
• Choosing the right lightweight distro will depend on what you’re going to use it for. Some distros are optimized for certain activities, ie. servers and gaming. Are you going to use it for everyday browsing? If so, have in mind that websites have evolved and although the browser and OS itself will perform better, the websites can still be bloated and slow down your Linux. If you’re going to use it for random office tasks like word processing, spreadsheets, or presentations – the lightweight Linux distros will work just fine. Maybe you’d like to use your old laptop as a media device and watch movies on it. You’re good to go, as long as the movie itself is not a full Blu-Ray rip.
• Another guideline is how much you’re willing to sacrifice. How much OS features do you really need? You don’t really need all that fancy UI animations and 3D stuff. Some Linux distros do have great modern UIs, but they do require better hardware.
• Previous experience is another big factor you need to consider before you choose a lightweight Linux distro. Are you a beginner? Then don’t use Arch Linux. Have you used Ubuntu before? Then get a lightweight distro based on Ubuntu. Got used to the Windows XP interface and want something similar? Sure, we have the perfect distro for you.
• Pro-tip: do a bit of research for your hardware and see if the distro supports it. It most likely will, but just to be sure, you can do a quick google with your hardware model and the distro and you should get some results. Most distros can run on a cheap USB flash drive – you don’t even need an HDD/SSD. This is often referred to as a “Live CD/USB”. We’ll include a ‘minimum hardware requirements’ for each distro, so you can check if the hardware stats you have will support the distro. Most of these distros can run perfectly fine on a Raspberry Pi.

Shop for Laptops, USB Flash Drives, and More at Newegg. Go to Newegg

Quick overview of the distros included in our list

Now (finally), onto the main part, the best lightweight Linux distros for old computers/laptops. Click on the distro’s name to find more info, screenshots, and download links.

Distro	Minimum RAM (MB)	Minimum CPU	Minimum Disk Space (MB)	GUI	Release cycle	Notes
Lubuntu	512	Pentium 4, Pentium M, AMD K8 or newer CPU. At least 266 MHz	3000	LXLE	Standard	Beginner-friendly
LXLE	512	Pentium 3	8000	LXDE	LTS only	Based on Lubuntu
Arch Linux	512	Any 64-compatible machine	1000	Any	Rolling	For advanced users
ArchBang	256	i686 or x86_64 compatible machine	700	Openbox	Rolling	Arch Linux made easier
ArchLabs	512	x86-64 Processor (+1.4GHz recommended)	5000	Openbox, XFCE4, i3, Bspwm, Awesome	Rolling	Arch Linux meets BunsenLabs
Puppy Linux	128	233 MHz	512	JWM	Standard	Portable (Live only)
Linux Lite	512	700 MHz	2000	XFCE	LTS only	Great for Windows users
KNOPPIX	120	i486	2000	LXDE	Standard	Portable (Live only)
Peppermint	512	Any processor based on Intel x86 architecture	3600	LXDE	Hybrid	The Cloud Desktop based on Lubuntu
PCLinuxOS	512	Any Intel, AMD or VIA x86/64 processor	12000	KDE, Mate, LXDE, XFCE	Rolling	Not the most lightweight, but it is fast
Trisquel Mini	128	AMD K6 or Intel Pentium II	3000	LXDE	LTS only	Only free software
Porteus	256	Any Intel, AMD or VIA x86/64 processor	512	KDE, LXQt, Mate, Cinnamon.	Standard	THE portable Linux distro
Manjaro Linux — Xfce Edition	512	1 GHz	30000	Xfce	Rolling	Very powerful and flexible
Peach OSI	512	700 MHz processor (Intel Celeron or better)	8600	XFCE, Cinnamon, Mate.	LTS only	8 different versions to choose from
Raspbian	512	1 GHz	5000	Custom environment	Standard	Turn a Raspberry Pi into a fully-featured desktop PC
Modern X	256	366 MHz	3000	GNOME	Standard	Great for Windows/Mac users
Debian	256	1 GHz	10000	KDE	Hybrid	Stable, old, modern, popular
Sparky Linux	256	i686 / amd64 CPU	10000	LXDE, Budgie, Enlightenment, JWM, Openbox, KDE, LXQt, MATE, Xfce.	Rolling	Has the most editions/versions
SliTaz	192	i486 or x86 Intel compatible processors	80	Openbox	Rolling	The lightweight desktop and server OS
Elive	128	300 MHz	700	Enlightenment	Standard	Custom lightweight desktop environment
BunsenLabs Linux	256	1 GHz	10000	Openbox	Hybrid	New and improved CrunchBang
antiX	192	Any Intel, AMD or VIA x86/64 processor	2800	IceWM, Fluxbox, JWM, Xfce, herbstluftwm	Cyclical Rolling	Great Live USB Options
Slax	48	Any Intel, AMD or VIA x86/64 processor	220	KDE	Standard	Portable and modular
Linux Mint	512	Any Intel, AMD or VIA x86/64 processor	10000	XFCE, Cinnamon, Mate.	Standard	Beautiful and easy to use
wattOS	192	Any Intel, AMD or VIA x86/64 processor	700	LXDE, i3	Standard	Lightweight and fully-featured
Zorin OS Lite	512	700 MHz	8000	Custom	LTS only	Great alternative to the Windows and Mac OS
Bodhi Linux	128	500 MHz	4000	Moksha (custom)	LTS only	Custom lightweight desktop environment
Tiny Core Linux	48	At least an i486DX CPU	11	FLWM	Standard	Extremely lightweight, but not recommended for beginners
CRUX	192	x86-64 or newer CPUs	1000	Openbox	Standard	Unlike any other
Bonus Distros	Starting from 3 MB RAM!	Starting from 1.44!	Mixed.	Everything	Mixed	Our bonus list. You can find anything there.

Lubuntu

Lubuntu is one of the most popular and most widely used lightweight Linux distros out there. Some use it as their main Linux distro on their powerful hardware just because of its performance and beautiful UI.

Lubuntu minimum hardware requirements

It can run on just about anything.

• Pentium 4, Pentium M, AMD K8 or newer CPU. At least 266 MHz
• 512 MB RAM
• 3 GB Disk Space (or more)

Anything more is just a plus. The requirements listed here are for the 16.04 LTS release, other releases may have slightly different requirements.

Lubuntu facts and features

The lightweight Ubuntu.

• Based on Ubuntu, without any bloat
• Has all the essential lightweight software pre-installed (office, browser, media players etc.)
• Uses LXDE. Future releases will use LXQt
• Great and active community support. There are also a couple of active social Lubuntu groups. You can find them here
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

LXLE

As an alternative to Lubuntu, we have LXLE. Based on Lubuntu, it has the performance optimizations of a lightweight distro with a beautiful UI.

LXLE minimum hardware requirements

Similar to Lubuntu.

• Pentium 3 processor
• At least 512 MB RAM
• 8 GB Disk Space

LXLE facts and features

• Easy to set up – just install it and you are ready to go. No complex configurations needed
• Great for Windows XP/Vista/7 users
• A wide variety of default apps pre-installed
• Based on LXDE
• Only has LTS releases
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Arch Linux

Flexible, lightweight and powerful Linux distro. Not recommended for beginners. The screenshot above is from an Arch Linux with the GNOME desktop environment (Elegant Theme).

Arch Linux minimum hardware requirements

Depends on what you’re going to use.

• Any 64-compatible machine. Has to be 64-bit
• Minimum 512 MB RAM
• At least 1 GB Disk Space

Arch Linux facts and features

Make it your own.

• Fully customizable – you choose which packages, desktop environments etc. you are going to use. You need to install them yourself
• The official wiki has in-depth tutorials on just about anything
• As lightweight as you make it be. You install only the packages and features you need. Nothing more.
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

ArchBang

If you want the power and flexibility of Arch Linux, but don’t want to do the complex set up and installation, you can use ArchBang. It’s based on Arch Linux and it’s inspired by CrunchBang.

ArchBang minimum hardware requirements

Lightweight and easy on the system.

• i686 or x86_64 compatible machine
• 256MB RAM
• 700MB Disk Space

ArchBang facts and features

Arch Linux made easy easier.

• Can be used as a fully featured desktop and as a Live OS
• Best of both worlds – based on Arch Linux and inspired by CrunchBang
• Openbox window manager
• Rolling release
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

ArchLabs Linux

ArchLabs Linux is an Arch Linux-based distro inspired by BunsenLabs. They’ve evolved so much that they’re no longer a BunsenLabs clone now. It’s a rolling distro and it’s quite lightweight. It has an involved and very helpful community, no matter how small it is.

ArchLabs Linux minimum hardware requirements

Lightweight Arch Linux + BunsenLabs

• x86-64 Processor (+1.4GHz recommended)
• 512MB RAM
• 5GB Disk Space

ArchLabs Linux facts and features

Various minimal desktop environments and styles to choose from

• Easily installable using ABIF
• Welcome script to help with installing additional Window and Desktop managers
• Available window/desktop managers: Openbox, XFCE4, i3, Bspwm, and Awesome
• Rolling release

Puppy Linux(es)

Very lightweight Linux distro that should not be installed on a hard disk. It should run on a live CD/USB Flash Drive.

Puppy Linux minimum hardware requirements

• 233MHZ processor
• 128MB RAM
• 512MB free hard drive space to create an optional save file.
• No hard drive required
• CD-ROM/DVD/SD Card or USB Port

Puppy Linux facts and features

Puppy Linux is not a single distro, but a collection of many distros with different purposes and different sets of software.

• No hard drive required. Can run on a live CD/Flash Drive/SD Card
• Many different Linux Puppy distros to choose from. The distro in the screenshot above is the “Puppy Linux – Tahrpup” distro
• Puppy Linux runs in your PC’s memory, as opposed to running on your hard disk, which makes it extremely fast
• It’s portable – you can save data on your live flash drive and run it on any other computer
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Linux Lite

Beautiful UI, easy to use and often used as a gateway from Windows to Linux.

Linux Lite minimum hardware requirements

Full of features, but quite lightweight.

• 700MHz processor
• 512MB RAM
• VGA screen (1024×768 resolution)
• At least 2GB Hard Disk Space

Linux Lite facts and features

Considering the UI – it’s a great alternative to the Windows OS

• Based on the XFCE desktop environment
• Ready to use out of the box. Everything you need is pre-installed
• Every release is LTS (5 years of support and updates)
• One of the best UIs on a lightweight Linux distro
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

KNOPPIX

Another live-only lightweight Linux distro. Bootable distro with a set of GNU/Linux apps and different software. Just plug the live USB/CD, start it, and you are good to go.

KNOPPIX minimum hardware requirements

One of the most lightweight distros.

• Intel/AMD-compatible CPU (i486 and up)
• At least 120MB RAM
• Standard SVGA-compatible graphics chipset
• 2GB Disk Space (varies)

KNOPPIX facts and features

• Easy to use – just boot from CD/Flash Drive and use the distro
• All the software you need is pre-installed (GIMP, Firefox, Open Office, MPlayer…)
• Based on LXDE
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Peppermint

The Desktop Cloud Linux. Integrate any Cloud-based (web) app into your Peppermint OS. Doesn’t have a lot of pre-installed apps so you can make Peppermint your own.

Peppermint minimum hardware requirements

Doesn’t need much, but it’s recommended to use more.

• 512MB RAM (1GB recommended)
• Any processor based on Intel x86 architecture
• At least 3.6GB Disk Space

Peppermint facts and features

The Desktop Cloud.

• Easily integrated with web apps
• Install the software you want – make Peppermint your own
• Great UI – especially if you’re moving from Windows
• Based on Lubuntu. LXDE desktop environment
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

PCLinuxOS

“So cool ice cubes are jealous” – straight from their website. Easily booted from a Live CD/USB and easily installed on your hard drive. Various desktop environments to choose from and a great UI.

PCLinuxOS minimum hardware requirements

Doesn’t need much. But it would be great if you had more.

• Any Intel, AMD or VIA x86/64 processor
• 512MB RAM (2GB recommended)
• 12GB Hard Disk Space

PCLinuxOS facts and features

Beautiful, cool, sleek, intuitive, easy.

• You can install the KDE-based PCOS, LXDE-based PCOS or the Mate-based PCOS. There’s also an XFCE community release
• Easily installed on a live CD/USB
• Beginner-friendly with lots of desktop environment options

Porteus

Porteus can run on a USB flash drive/CD/DVD or an SD card. It’s THE portable, lightweight Linux distro.

Porteus minimum hardware requirements

• Any Intel, AMD or VIA x86/64 processor
• 256 MB RAM (can be different depending on which desktop environment you use)
• No hard disk required. A flash drive with 512MB will work perfectly fine

Porteus facts and features

THE portable Linux.

• Use it on portable storage devices – USB/CD/DVD/SD card
• Different desktop environments to choose from: KDE, LXQt, Mate, Cinnamon and more
• ‘Persistent mode’ is available – save data directly on your rewritable removable storage device
• 15 seconds boot time
• ‘Porteus Kiosk‘ is a specialized edition that can be used on web terminals

Trisquel Mini

Trisquel GNU/Linux is, in a nutshell, Ubuntu with only free software. The default version of Trisquel runs with GNOME, but it has a “Mini” edition which runs on LXDE, which is very lightweight.

Trisquel Mini minimum hardware requirements

The default version is lightweight, but the Mini version is more lightweight.

• AMD K6 or Intel Pentium II
• 128MB RAM
• 3GB Disk Space

Trisquel Mini facts and features

Only free software.

• Great for any kind of use – home, work, education etc.
• Based on Ubuntu
• Mini version runs with LXDE
• Has different versions to choose from – including Trisquel Sugar TOAST which is designed to be used by children in learning environments
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Manjaro Linux Xfce Edition

Another popular distro for advanced users is Manjaro – you can use the Xfce edition with a pre-installed desktop environment, which makes it easier to get started.

Manjaro Linux minimum hardware requirements

Not the most lightweight system, but very powerful and flexible.

• 1GHz processor
• 512MB RAM
• 30GB Hard Disk Space

Manjaro Linux facts and features

Flexible, fast and powerful.

• Rolling release
• Great for beginners and advanced users
• Based on Arch Linux
• Uses the Xfce edition (obviously)
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Peach OSI

Lightweight Linux distro that resembles the Mac (OS X) interface. Free, beautiful, easy to use and fully-featured.

Peach OSI minimum hardware requirements

The minimum requirements can be different depending on which version you choose

• 700 MHz processor (Intel Celeron or better)
• 512MB RAM (1GB or more recommended)
• 8.6GB Disk Space
• VGA capable of 1024×768 screen resolution

Peach OSI facts and features

Different versions (editions) to choose from.

• Depending on your needs – you can choose from these versions: Peach TV, The Works, Barebones Multilingual, Netbook, Peach Kids, Peach Pi, Peach Pi TV
• Multi-purpose lightweight OS. Use it as a desktop OS, for your home theater system, for your kids etc.
• Based on Ubuntu, but highly customized
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Raspbian

The OS built by Raspberry Pi that can easily run on a Pi.

Raspbian minimum hardware requirements

Lightweight, yet powerful.

• 1GHz Pentium processor. It can run on ARM-based processors too.
• 512 MB RAM
• 5GB Disk Space

Raspbian facts and features

Turn your Raspberry Pi into a fully-featured desktop PC.

• Raspberry Pi’s own OS
• Based on Debian (Raspbian)
• Lots of pre-installed software (including proprietary software)
• Can run as a ‘persistent live OS’ – saving data on your removable drive

Modern X

Based on openSUSE and the GNOME desktop environment. Lightweight and perfect for Windows/Mac users. Not to be confused with “Modern X OS”

Modern X minimum hardware requirements

• 366 MHz CPU
• 256MB RAM
• 3GB Disk Space

Modern X facts and features

Beginner-friendly gateway Linux distro for Windows and Mac users.

• Uses the GNOME desktop environment, optimized for speed and Windows/Mac users
• Different versions available
• Can run on a live CD/USB/SD card

Debian

We included lots of distros based on Debian, but we should definitely include Debian too. The Debian distro itself is very lightweight, stable and popular.

Debian minimum hardware requirements

Revive your old PC with an old, yet modern distro.

• 1GHz CPU
• 256MB RAM
• 10GB Disk Space

Debian facts and features

One of THE most popular Linux distros.

• VERY active community and extensive documentation
• Stable, easy to use
• Uses only free software
• You can use the Server version for your server
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Sparky Linux

Lightweight Linux distro with lots of editions to choose from. Based on Debian with a rolling-release cycle.

Sparky Linux minimum hardware requirements

If you use LXDE, LXQt or Openbox:

• i686 / amd64 CPU
• 256MB RAM
• 10GB Disk Space

Sparky Linux facts and features

Has the most options to choose from.

• Different editions available – Home, Special, CLI and Minimal
• Desktop environments available – LXDE, Budgie, Enlightenment, JWM, Openbox, KDE, LXQt, MATE, Xfce…
• Beginner-friendly and beautiful UIs
• Rolling release cycle, based on the Testing branch of Debian
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

SliTaz

SliTaz or Simple Light Incredible Temporary Autonomous Zone is a lightweight Linux distro that can be used both as a desktop OS and as a server.

SliTaz minimum hardware requirements

Depending on which version you use, the RAM requirement can be as low as 16MB. Requirements for the default (core) version are:

• i486 or x86 Intel-compatible processors
• 192MB RAM
• 80MB Disk Space

SliTaz facts and features

Extremely lightweight server and/or desktop OS.

• Can be used as a server and as a desktop OS
• Rolling release
• Use it as a Live OS or as a desktop OS
• Easily runs on a Raspberry Pi
• Can be booted and used from the web (internet)
• Has 4 flavors: base, just-x, gtk-only and the full desktop

Elive

The extremely lightweight Linux distro with its own custom desktop environment. Revive your old PC with a beautiful OS with an intuitive UI.

Elive minimum hardware requirements

Fully-featured desktop OS that can run on just about anything.

• 300MHz CPU
• 128MB RAM
• 700MB Disk Space

Elive facts and features

Uses it’s own custom desktop environment.

• Powered by Enlightenment
• Based on Debian. Apart from all the apt packages, there are some custom software packages too
• Pre-installed with all the apps you need – including games
• Easily customizable and extendable with Enlightenment themes
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

BunsenLabs Linux

BunsenLabs Linux is a distro based on Debian. A successor to CrunchBang, uses the Openbox window manager which makes it a beautiful and lightweight distro.

BunsenLabs Linux minimum hardware requirements

It uses Openbox, so very lightweight.

• 1GHz CPU
• 256MB RAM
• 10GB Disk Space

BunsenLabs Linux facts and features

The new (and improved) CrunchBang.

• Based on Debian
• Uses the Openbox window manager
• Active and helpful community
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

antiX

The lightweight distro perfect for both newcomers and experienced Linux users. Used as a desktop OS and as a Live OS.

antiX minimum hardware requirements

Light and beautiful.

• Just about any CPU
• 192MB RAM is the absolute minimum. 256MB or more is recommended
• 2.8GB Disk Space

antiX facts and features

All-in-one lightweight distro.

• Can be used as a Live OS with many live features
• Can be used persistently on a Live USB
• Fully featured as a Desktop OS
• Based on Debian
• Has different window managers to choose from: IceWM, Fluxbox, JWM and herbstluftwm

Slax Linux

A modular and portable lightweight Linux distro based on Slackware. Since it’s modular, you can install any software. Just download a module and copy it to Slax.

Slax minimum hardware requirements

Extremely lightweight, especially if you use the text-mode edition.

• Any Intel/AMD CPU will work. i486 or newer CPU
• 48MB RAM for text-mode 256MB of RAM for KDE desktop
• 220MB Disk Space

Slax facts and features

Your pocket operating system

• Modular, you can install any software
• Has all the apps you need pre-installed
• Portable via a Live CD/USB
• Different editions to choose from, all with different purposes and features

Linux Mint

Linux Mint is one of the popular Linux distros overall. However, the MATE, Cinnamon and Xfce editions are quite lightweight, so they deserve a spot on our list. Note: the KDE edition is not lightweight.

Linux Mint minimum hardware requirements

Depends on the edition, but all are pretty lightweight.

• 700MHz CPU
• 512MB RAM
• 10GB Disk Space

Linux Mint facts and features

One of the most popular distros.

• Very active community
• Beautiful user interfaces
• Stable, reliable
• All the software you need pre-installed
• Lots of different editions to choose from
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

wattOS

A lightweight, fully featured OS that you can use as a Desktop OS, as a Kiosk and just about anything. Based on Ubuntu and has two editions to choose from.

wattOS minimum hardware requirements

Depends on what version you use, but still very lightweight.

• Any Intel or AMD CPU will work
• 192MB RAM for Microwatt. More if you use the LXDE edition
• 700MB Disk Space

wattOS facts and features

Lightweight and functional.

• The Microwatt Edition of wattOS is extremely lightweight and based on the i3 tiling window manager
• There’s also an LXDE edition which can be used as a fully featured desktop OS. Great for beginners
• New version (R11) is coming soon this year
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Zorin OS Lite

A great alternative to Windows and Mac OS. The “Lite” version is relatively lightweight, but it’s still in beta.

Zorin OS Lite minimum hardware requirements

Light and ready to use out of the box.

• 700MHz Single Core
• 512MB RAM
• 8GB Disk Space
• 640×480 resolution

Zorin OS Lite facts and features

If you’re using Windows or Mac and want to switch to Linux on your old laptop.

• All the software you need pre-installed
• Different desktop layouts (themes) to choose from
• Compatible with Windows apps via Wine (pre-installed)
• Intuitive and beautiful UI
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Bodhi Linux

A minimalistic Linux distro with a custom-built window manager – Moksha, which only needs 100MB RAM to run.

Bodhi Linux minimum hardware requirements

Minimalistic and lightweight.

• 500MHz – any CPU
• 128MB minimum RAM
• 4GB Disk Space

Bodhi Linux facts and features

The Enlightened, Minimalistic, Lightweight Linux Distribution.

• Has a custom “desktop environment” (window manager) – Moksha. The WM is very lightweight – needs only 100MB to run and it has every feature you’d need
• Different versions/flavors to choose from
• An active community ready to help
• All the apps you need pre-installed
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Tiny Core Linux

Tiny Core Linux (TCL) is THE most lightweight distro we have on our list. It’s portable too. Though, it’s not recommended for beginners. There’s extensive documentation, so if you want to learn more about it, you can.

Tiny Core Linux minimum hardware requirements

The most lightweight.

• At least i486DX CPU
• 48MB RAM
• 11MB Disk Space (can be more or less, depending on which Core you use)

Tiny Core Linux facts and features

Fast, flexible and powerful. Not recommended for beginners.

• Different “Cores” to choose from: piCore – for Raspberry Pis, Tiny Core – with a GUI, MicroCore – without a GUI and more
• Extremely lightweight with lots of possibilities – customize it to your needs
• Runs in RAM
• Portable
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

CRUX

Lightweight distro using the Openbox window manager – recommended for advanced users only. It is not based on any other Linux distro.

CRUX minimum hardware requirements

Extremely lightweight if you preform a custom chroot installation.

• x86-64 or newer CPUs. i686 (Pentium-Pro, Celeron, Pentium-III) or lower processor won’t work.
• 192MB RAM. 16MB if you preform a custom chroot installation
• 1000MB Disk Space – can vary depending on what you use

CRUX facts and features

Unlike any other.

• Not based on any other distro
• Uses the lightweight window manager Openbox
• Doesn’t have a GUI installation
• NOT recommended for beginners
• Easily installable (and usable) via a USB flash drive.

Conclusion and bonus distros

The distros above are our “main” lightweight Linux distros. It should be enough, but if you’d like to compare more distros and explore the vast world of lightweight Linux distros, move on to our Bonus list.
This list (including the bonus one) is quite large, so there must be some errors or typos, even though we reviewed it a couple of times. If you notice any errors, have any questions, or if you have a suggestion for a distro, please leave a comment!

We’ve invested a lot of our time and efforts into this post, so if you want to support us, you can do so by purchasing anything from the different affiliate links we have throughout our site. If you’re feeling generous, you can also donate and help us to continue writing more content like this. Contact us for more info. Thanks!

Источник