For a old laptop with Intel atom processor and I think 2gb ram.
I’d go for Alpine Linux in such case.
As other have already alluded to, any distro with a lightweight desktop environment should work on that laptop. However, we don’t know if it would work out for you; simply for the fact that you haven’t given any other information.
You can do a really slim install of Debian that should work. For DE I recommend LXQT.
If you’re feeling adventurous, Alpine might be slightly lighter. It’s a good distro.
Those specs are not going to get you a terribly fast experience, but my laptop runs Debian ok and it’s in the same ballpark.
A request was made to sticky it
I checked this yesterday, but could not decide. So had to ask.
With the Atom processor, I had “best” result with Puppy linux whether from USB or actually installed to hard drive. I could run Lubuntu, MX, etc., Tiny core, for me, was a little too little and certainly not “fit and forget”. When I bought a new (to me) laptop with more RAM and later chipset, I still stayed with Puppy. There’s very little that can’t be done with it.
AntiX or MX, both should work
If it’s 32-bit, your options dwindle somewhat.
Armbian is lightweight, and has an x86 version.
DietPi is always a good option. It’s designed for raspberry pi, but you can absolutely run it on a laptop and install your desktop environment (XFCE etc)
What would you use this laptop for?
I’ve dealt with similar hardware, using Qtile over a Manjaro base, but had to mostly use CLI/TUI apps. Anything related to web browsing is a pain.
Not sure. But I have other primary laptop. And this laptop is just sitting so I wanted try something with it.
If you just want to play around with it, I highly recommend some arch based distro (because you can find plenty of obscure TUI apps in the AUR) with a window manager (be it tiling like Qtile or stacking like Openbox).
If you want something preconfigured, I’ve recently found instantOS, which seems to work fine for that usecase.
I use this small laptop mostly for ebooks (using the excellent epy) and music, using one ot the TUI YouTube frontends.
Yes I can use it for reading. thank you for the suggestion. I will try instant os.
I’ve heard Debian and Alpine are good lightweight distros
I think most distros will run fine on most hardware though (please correct me if I’m wrong) it’s the software you run on it (as in, going with a GNOME desktop environment is going to be much more demanding than xfce for example)
You know those Acer mini laptops from around 2010 back when tablets weren’t really a thing?
Linux Mint runs on those bad boys.
If you enjoy using older, less powerful computers, it’s important to find a Linux distribution that can accommodate the limited resources. While extremely stripped-down distributions like Tinycore might seem appealing, they often lack the functionality and ease of use that come with more comprehensive distributions.
Instead, I would recommend learning how to use a window manager and forgoing a desktop manager. This approach allows you to maintain a lightweight system without sacrificing too much functionality.
When it comes to choosing a distribution, some are more bloated than others, so it’s crucial to find one that offers a degree of flexibility during the installation process. In this regard, Debian is a great choice.
You can install Debian as a server, which will provide a minimal base system. From there, you can install a window manager and only the essential packages you need. This way, you can keep your system lean and efficient, perfect for older, low-powered computers.
I’ve heard good things about Peppermint, and I personally think Bodhi is neat.
It’s not worth it. Ram is dirt cheap, you can get 8gb for like $30. For $150-$200, you can find an used Thinkpad that will perform 1000x better.
I would only use such a machine for playing with old software like Windows 2000 or XP, old Linux distros.
arch with i3
