Ubuntu was too slow on my computer and Arch installation had many problems too. Which distro do you recommend to me that’s lightweight as well as easy to install?
Answers:
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Method 1
You should definitely give a second try to Archlinux…
It’s slogan is: “A simple, lightweight distribution“. You may object but in my opinion the installation of Arch is very simple and basic (just don’t forget about the great and rich documentation available on wiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/). I can install the whole system in less then half an hour and end with a flexible and featurefull working environment having a complete control over my system! With no versions problems (it is a rolling release distro) and with pacman — a fantastic package manager that magically manages all the dependencies and other installation tasks in a simple and transparent way, archlinux is definitely worth a try!
If you want a clean, efficient and simple linux distribution which follows all the modern requirements archlinux is for you!
Post-scriptum: In case of any questions about arch you can directly contact me — rizo[dot]isrof[at]gmai[dot]com 😉
Method 2
The Damn Small Linux project is dead. The lead developer moved on to Tiny Core Linux
Although the sub 30mb distros are probably too light weight for most purposes. Something a little bit bigger might work as well.
Puppy Linux
Crunchbang Linux
Method 3
Consider Lubuntu, which aims to be the LXDE version of Ubuntu (though not get officially recognized by Canonical as an official offspin); much lighter weight than the standard one. (I also recommend Crunchbang, which has been covered already.)
Method 4
If you have an older computer, the important thing is not to use resource-hungry applications or settings. Gnome+compiz on Puppy Linux will be just as slow as on Ubuntu, if you manage to install it. Pick any distribution whose installer will run on your computer, and use a lightweight window manager. See for example the lightest way to have a GUI in Linux?, How to get rid of desktop environment and use a window manager only?.
Method 5
Have you looked at SliTaz? It is a very lightweight (~30MB) distribution with a very easy to use package manager, a new version is due out soon. The entire OS can be loaded into RAM which makes it extremely fast. Installation is very quick and simple, plus there’s a very helpful forum. Here’s the official feature list:
- Root filesystem taking up about 100
MB and ISO image of less than 30 MB. - Ready to use Web server powered by
LightTPD with CGI and PHP support. - Browse the Web with Midori or Retawq
in text mode. - Sound support provided by Alsa mixer,
audio player and CD ripper/encoder. - Chat, mail and FTP clients.
- SSH client and server powered by
Dropbear. - Database engine with SQLite.
- Generate a LiveUSB device.
- Tools to create, edit or burn CD or
DVD images. - Elegant desktop with Openbox running
on the top of Xorg/Xvesa (X server). - Homemade graphical boxes to command
line utilities. - 2300 packages easily installable from
the mirror. - Active and friendly community.
I’ve used it myself and like it a lot.
Method 6
There are many but this is the one that immediately comes to my mind: Damn Small Linux
EDIT: I also found this article about light weight distros: What’s the best lightweight Linux distro?
Also you can try switching to Xfce instead of GNOME as your desktop environment. Xfce is lot lighter than GNOME/KDE.
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