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Ask HN: What OS should I use to to revive an 8yr old PC (1GB RAM)

6 points by wesleyzhao 15y ago

I want to just be able to connect it to my TV and watch Youtube and Hulu. Already tried (and didn't like): Ubuntu 11.10 (open to other version) Chromium

0x12 15y ago
I use Ubuntu NBR on machines like this and it seems to work ok.
- wesleyzhao 15y ago
  hows ubuntu nbr vs jolicloud does anyone know?
Typhon 15y ago
Some lighter weight Linux, I'd say. See : http://tuxradar.com/content/whats-best-lightweight-linux-distro http://tuxradar.com/content/whats-best-lightweight-linux-dis...
DanBC 15y ago
TinyCore if you want minimal and hard work (http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/welcome.html http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/welcome.html) {Damn Small Linux is dead. TinyCore is sort of the result.} Puppy if you want, well, I dunno, but it has a loyal userbase (http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview%20and%20Getting%20Started.htm http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview%20and%20Getting%20Starte...) or there are a gajillion "minimal" versions of Ubuntu. CrunchBang is one, but there are many more.
- wesleyzhao 15y ago
  thanks!
senko 15y ago
I like running Linux Mint LXDE edition on my Atom/ION machine with a 1G of memory. It's based on Ubuntu (I think the latest version is based on 11.04), but uses LXDE, which is the lightest "full" UI that I could find. I put Chrome on it and it works fairly well - not exactly snappy, but sufficient for Web browsing. The plus side is that all the software that's in Ubuntu is still available (from the repositories), which might not be the case with some other minimalistic distros.
johnny22 15y ago
I have fedora 16 running on a similiar laptop (dell inspiron 8600). On a laptop like that, i think the graphics card is what will make the most noticable difference. Hopefully you have an intel or ati card with supported drivers. Nvidia let their drivers for that era go "legacy" and nouveau (the open nvidia driver) might be lacking even basic hardware acceleration. Sadly, Windows XP might actually be your best bet if have an nvidia card and you want to do things with flash and expect it to be somewhat performant.
chsonnu 15y ago
lubuntu
ra 15y ago
Arch linux with a lightweight WM or framebuffer.
LarryMade 15y ago
An older Ubuntu could be more pleasurable, like 10.10, then you can use the classic gnome UI.
jwmollman 15y ago
I used Debian testing with openbox/tint2 on my Toshiba NB505 for a while. It has a 1.66GHz Atom with 1GB of RAM. It ran pretty snappy.
octopus 15y ago
You could try Ubuntu 10.04LTS, depending on your taste (habits) I think Windows XP will do just fine on your 1GB PC.
Random_Person 15y ago
ZenWalk has always been my choice for older hardware.
pdenya 15y ago
I have windows xp running on a 7 year old PC that was low end at the time. Hulu and Youtube do pretty well on it but netflix chokes. If I were going to set it up again I'd probably go with Ubuntu.
- wesleyzhao 15y ago
  I actually had the exact same scenario! Then I tried installing Ubuntu w/ Wubi and it corrupted my Windows partition. So I wiped it clean and wanted to do something else. Ended up going with Xubuntu. No netflix :(
willpower101 15y ago
To be honest a minimal version of windows 7 will run better than xp on a system that old. I mean, if you just want to setup something with the least amount of hassle. Get a good video card though.

6 points by wesleyzhao 15y ago

I want to just be able to connect it to my TV and watch Youtube and Hulu. Already tried (and didn't like): Ubuntu 11.10 (open to other version) Chromium

0x12 15y ago

I use Ubuntu NBR on machines like this and it seems to work ok.

wesleyzhao 15y ago
hows ubuntu nbr vs jolicloud does anyone know?

Typhon 15y ago

Some lighter weight Linux, I'd say. See : http://tuxradar.com/content/whats-best-lightweight-linux-distro http://tuxradar.com/content/whats-best-lightweight-linux-dis...

DanBC 15y ago

TinyCore if you want minimal and hard work (http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/welcome.html http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/welcome.html) {Damn Small Linux is dead. TinyCore is sort of the result.} Puppy if you want, well, I dunno, but it has a loyal userbase (http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview%20and%20Getting%20Started.htm http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview%20and%20Getting%20Starte...) or there are a gajillion "minimal" versions of Ubuntu. CrunchBang is one, but there are many more.

wesleyzhao 15y ago
thanks!

senko 15y ago

I like running Linux Mint LXDE edition on my Atom/ION machine with a 1G of memory. It's based on Ubuntu (I think the latest version is based on 11.04), but uses LXDE, which is the lightest "full" UI that I could find. I put Chrome on it and it works fairly well - not exactly snappy, but sufficient for Web browsing. The plus side is that all the software that's in Ubuntu is still available (from the repositories), which might not be the case with some other minimalistic distros.

johnny22 15y ago

I have fedora 16 running on a similiar laptop (dell inspiron 8600). On a laptop like that, i think the graphics card is what will make the most noticable difference. Hopefully you have an intel or ati card with supported drivers. Nvidia let their drivers for that era go "legacy" and nouveau (the open nvidia driver) might be lacking even basic hardware acceleration. Sadly, Windows XP might actually be your best bet if have an nvidia card and you want to do things with flash and expect it to be somewhat performant.

chsonnu 15y ago

lubuntu

ra 15y ago

Arch linux with a lightweight WM or framebuffer.

LarryMade 15y ago

An older Ubuntu could be more pleasurable, like 10.10, then you can use the classic gnome UI.

jwmollman 15y ago

I used Debian testing with openbox/tint2 on my Toshiba NB505 for a while. It has a 1.66GHz Atom with 1GB of RAM. It ran pretty snappy.

octopus 15y ago

You could try Ubuntu 10.04LTS, depending on your taste (habits) I think Windows XP will do just fine on your 1GB PC.

Random_Person 15y ago

ZenWalk has always been my choice for older hardware.

pdenya 15y ago

I have windows xp running on a 7 year old PC that was low end at the time. Hulu and Youtube do pretty well on it but netflix chokes. If I were going to set it up again I'd probably go with Ubuntu.

wesleyzhao 15y ago
I actually had the exact same scenario! Then I tried installing Ubuntu w/ Wubi and it corrupted my Windows partition. So I wiped it clean and wanted to do something else. Ended up going with Xubuntu. No netflix :(

willpower101 15y ago

To be honest a minimal version of windows 7 will run better than xp on a system that old. I mean, if you just want to setup something with the least amount of hassle. Get a good video card though.