can linux save this old pc?

[pmarion427]

hi,

 

as stated above, I have an old (I mean REALLY old) familly pc. right now, it has win 7 installed and it taked about 4-5 min to boot. can I install a light linux distro on it, if yes, which one do you recommend?

 

pc spec are:

intel Pentium 4 - 1 core / 2 threads cpu @ 3.0 GHz

2GB DDR (not a typo, actual DDR ram) @ 200MHz timings 3-3-3-8

Nvidia FX5700LE  256 MB DDR (same thing as above) @ 250 MHz core clock

old WD HDD. probably 5400rpm

[Ryan Leech]

Easy. Those are actually pretty good specs. I have seen linux run flawlessly on far less.

[J-man]

For things like this I usually recommend Puppy Linux but that is just personal bias.  The great thing is you can check out the distro watch website and download several that look like they suite your needs.  Load them onto a thumb drive and test them out.

[flibberdipper]

Definitely. Try Xubuntu and see how it goes. Start with 12.04 LTS and go up until one of the drivers don't work anymore.

[Flyguygamer]

I would start with Xbuntu then try elementry os and see if that still performs okay if you want a cleaner user interface.

[sirtoby]

Try Xubuntu. Oh, and don't worry about the specs. Linux would even run on a potato if it had a usb port  .

[pmarion427]

Try Xubuntu. Oh, and don't worry about the specs. Linux would even run on a potato if it had a usb port  .

so GLaDOS runs linux? 

[PhantomChevron]

so GLaDOS runs linux? 

Most likely

[GoldTurtle51]

Try puppy linux

[pmarion427]

so Xubuntu or puppy linux, im gonna look into those today.

 

edit: been looking online and i can't find if my pentium 4 530 supports 64 bit, do any of you know if it does?

 

edit 2: nevermind, I looked a little harder, it doesn't.

[Maximation]

I really like CrunchBang Linux as a lightweight distro.

[Jack.EXE]

Fedora 20 LXDE runs flawlessly on a Pentium D, wouldnt expect much different from a Pentium 4.

[p5ych00n5]

Not only will Linux save that old wheezer, but Linux will save the world

[J-man]

So how are things going?  Have you tried any distros yet?  

[pmarion427]

it turns out the hard drive that was inside died now it'll just collect dust 

[J-man]

it turns out the hard drive that was inside died now it'll just collect dust 

 

Puppy Linux can run in your memory so you don't actually need a HD.  You can save settings etc. on a flash drive or re-writable cd.  You can even get one of these.  

 

Plus you can play with other distros without installing as well.

[pmarion427]

i wont buy anything for that old pc, including a flash drive. thanks everybody but its life ends here.