LowMemorySystems

Revision 14 as of 2006-03-16 14:41:36

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How to install an Ubuntu-Desktop on low memory systems (Pentium II and III Processor, 32-256 MB RAM)

Install the Server version (no graphics)

To install a base system, once you have booted from the install cd, type:

server

and hit enter. If that does not work, you may need to reboot and investigate boot-line options. Press F1 at the boot line for help.

At this point you will probably need to edit your [sources.list] file using [vim]:

sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list

Uncoment all official repositories by removing # at the beginning of the line. Return to the command line and type:

sudo apt-get update

Now you should be ready to install a window manager and some programs.

Install a Lightweight System

A good way to install a lightweight (graphical) system is to do a server install (see the above section) and then install some minimal lightweight components.

Some examples are:

sudo apt-get install gdm x-window-system-core xterm icewm menu mozilla-firefox abiword synaptic

This installs a lightweight graphical system using the ["IceWM"] window manager.

or

sudo apt-get install wdm x-window-system-core xfce4 mozilla-firefox synaptic

This installs a system running XFCE. If you consider this, bear in mind that the ["Xubuntu"] project might also be a viable option for you.

or even

sudo apt-get install fluxbox x-window-system-core xdm dillo synaptic

This is the lightest installation possible, which uses ["Fluxbox"] as its window manager.

Other Ideas

  • A default installation will cache about 300 megs of packages onto the disk. To avoid running out of space on a small 2 gig hard drive add the "archive-copier/copy=false" option to the prompt when installing.

So, when you boot the installer, instead of just pressing enter to continue, enter

linux archive-copier/copy=false

and press enter.

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