From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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My favorite trick to reviving old computers is trying to find ways to get them to run off of solid state storage. It really makes a huge difference. You will be surprised by how much more tolerable classic computers are when you no longer have to deal with slow storage mediums.
Mind you this doesn't make them modern levels of fast and you no longer get the satisfaction of hearing the hard drive grinding away when you open a window but thems the tradeoffs...sigh...
This was my entry into Linux, and love it so far. My Windows 7 computer has generally been so snappy. Even without an SSD and only 4G in RAM it starts faster than my Windows 11, 32GB, i7 laptop.
If it runs Windows 7 snappily, it'll probably run Linux systems with XFCE or even Cinnamon perfectly well, too.
I have been playing around a bit with both Antix and Damn Small Linux 2 that is based on it. I have been quite impressed.
First, it is really just Debian curated to be light-weight. You have full access to all the Debian repositories.
The 32 bit versions also work great. I booted to a fully working desktop on a 32 bit system and only 84 MB of RAM was being used. On top of that I ran Firefox, LibreOffice, Scribis, GIMP, and I think other things and was still around 900 MB. It would be amazing on ancient hardware.
Runs on an 10 year old Toshiba mini NB505 Netbook
Seems like you can add MEPIS to it and get MX Linux:
The development of MX Linux is a collaborative effort between the antiX and former MEPIS communities.
MX Linux is great! I didn't think it's recommended for super old PCs computers though...
I used antix on my laptop. Very nice actually.
Tried it on an Asus eeePC after an SSD swap, nice and kind of fun to use distro.