Will Debian work on a minimal system?

[ryanvade]

Hello.
I'm working on a friends computer and he asked me to put a different OS on it. My first thought was knoppix, so I tried that. Apparently his computer isn't good enough. My next thought is Debian. Befor I Burn it to DVD I thought I would ask if it would work on his system. Heres his specs:
Pentium III at about 996 Mhz
256 Mb ram
4 mb AGP accelerator card
Edit: Dell Optiplex GX150

[Bill]

I am not sure about Debian, but antiX should work with those specs.

http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

Just out of curiousity, what OS is currently on the computer?

[ryanvade]

Just out of curiousity, what OS is currently on the computer?

I haven't used Antix, I will take a look at it. Originally Windows 98 was installed. Then my friend installed XP. I had to erase it because it had bad partitioning (2 partitions which was weird) I then tried knoppix, ubuntu 10.04, Black Opal, None of these worked. The only one that worked (that I have installation media for) is Puppy Linux 5.3.3 slacko. I don't like it because it has limited packages(puppy packages). I would like to have an OS that has apt-get or any equivalent. The minimal amount of available packages is painful. I tried to simulate Debian on my system, I only gave it 256 mb ram and reduced processesing, and it seemed to work. If I get some DVD's and CD's I will try both.

Any definite negatives about Debian would be nice though. Thanks!

[pane-free]

Just out of curiousity, what OS is currently on the computer?
1) I haven't used Antix, I will take a look at it. . . .
2) Any definite negatives about Debian would be nice though. Thanks!

numbers mine

Yes, please do -- it's a true Debian distro -- also look into smxi.org and H20's award-winning script for Debian

Negatives about Debian?
that's like asking an elephant about a donkey -- here come the RedHat and Fedora fanboys! LOL

Up the RAM to the max for the mobo -- it's worth the price ( see here )

Best wishes!

[ryanvade]

numbers mine

Yes, please do -- it's a true Debian distro -- also look into smxi.org and H20's award-winning script for Debian

Negatives about Debian?
that's like asking an elephant about a donkey -- here come the RedHat and Fedora fanboys! LOL

Up the RAM to the max for the mobo -- it's worth the price

Best wishes!

I will check the other debian distros!!! By negatives about Debian I meant will regular debian work on the computer specs I mentioned. I know the Mobo will go to 512 MB of ram. I told the owner it would cost $20 to upgrade(Amazon.com) He said he dosen't have the money so I'm stuck with whats installed now. Will Fedora work? He would Like Fedora Gamer spin!
P.S. That Ram you sent me to was newer than what this mobo uses!

[pane-free]

In addition to antiX, CrunchBang has a i486 edition, too.

No worry -- no money, no RAM. BTW, how many pins does the RAM have, each stick (the link was just an example of where to get old RAM at cheap prices)?

[ryanvade]

In addition to antiX, has a i486 edition, too.

No worry -- no money, no RAM. BTW, how many pins does the RAM have, each stick (the link was just an example of where to get old RAM at cheap prices)?

Memory
Architecture 133-megahertz (MHz) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) (memory clock operates at 100 MHz for Intel Celeron processors)
Dual in-line memory module (DIMM) sockets two non-error checking and correction (non-ECC)
DIMM capacities 64-, 128-, and 256-megabyte (MB) SDRAM
System random-access memory (RAM) 64 to 512 MB
Basic input/output system (BIOS) address F0000h
The difference between the memory being sold and whats in the system is that the system memory pins are split into 3 sections.
The memory being sold is in 2 sections. But again it dosen't matter.

[marikar]

Hello.
I'm working on a friends computer and he asked me to put a different OS on it. My first thought was knoppix, so I tried that. Apparently his computer isn't good enough. My next thought is Debian. Befor I Burn it to DVD I thought I would ask if it would work on his system. Heres his specs:
Pentium III at about 996 Mhz
256 Mb ram
4 mb AGP accelerator card
Edit: Dell Optiplex GX150

It should be possible to run a custom installation of debian with a lightweight desktop such as XFCE or LXDE with those specs. In fact I am currently running debian lenny with XFCE as my desktop on an old PC with an Intel Celeron and just 128MB RAM with onboard graphics. It runs with no hassle at all.