CentOS - Jan 2007 - Using CentOS 4.4 on very old Dell Inspiron 3500 laptop; would like suggestions regarding using KDE/GNOME in low RAM and low disk situation

Hi;

  I'm new to the CentOS list and I only have experience with CentOS 4.3/4.4
on desktops.  I just installed CentOS 4.4 on a very old Dell Inspiron 3500
laptop.  I choose the desktop option and then deleted the kde and gnome
packages because I have only 192mb RAM and 4gb disk (total).  I'd like
suggestions on how to maximize the effective usage of the laptop with CentOS
4.4...as a minimum I want to do secure wireless web browsing.  If KDE or
GNOME needs more disk/RAM than I have available is XCFE the only alternative
to the bleak Motif experience?  I don't have any money to get a better
laptop or to upgrade the RAM and/or disk at this time.

Thanks,
Ken Wolcott
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On Mon, 2007-01-08 at 11:27 -0600, Kenneth Wolcott
wrote:
> Hi;
> 
>   I'm new to the CentOS list and I only have experience with CentOS
> 4.3/4.4 on desktops.  I just installed CentOS 4.4 on a very old Dell
> Inspiron 3500 laptop.  I choose the desktop option and then deleted
> the kde and gnome packages because I have only 192mb RAM and 4gb disk
> (total).  I'd like suggestions on how to maximize the effective usage
> of the laptop with CentOS 4.4...as a minimum I want to do secure
> wireless web browsing.  If KDE or GNOME needs more disk/RAM than I
> have available is XCFE the only alternative to the bleak Motif
> experience?  I don't have any money to get a better laptop or to
> upgrade the RAM and/or disk at this time. 
> 
> Thanks,
> Ken Wolcott
You can install other light window managers like fluxbox , icewm, ......
availables in the rpmforge repo (http://wiki.centos.org/Repositories)

-- 
Fabian Arrotin <fabian.arrotin at arrfab.net>
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Kenneth Wolcott wrote:
> Hi;
> 
>  I'm new to the CentOS list and I only have experience with CentOS
4.3/4.4
> on desktops.  I just installed CentOS 4.4 on a very old Dell Inspiron 3500
> laptop.  I choose the desktop option and then deleted the kde and gnome
> packages because I have only 192mb RAM and 4gb disk (total).  I'd like
> suggestions on how to maximize the effective usage of the laptop with 
> CentOS
> 4.4...as a minimum I want to do secure wireless web browsing.  If KDE or
> GNOME needs more disk/RAM than I have available is XCFE the only 
> alternative
> to the bleak Motif experience?  I don't have any money to get a better
> laptop or to upgrade the RAM and/or disk at this time.
There are reasons RH doesn't support less than 256 Mbtes of RAM with RHEL 4.

Earlier releases of CentOS (earlier==better) should perform much better, 
and you could also browse www.distrowatch.com for lighter distros.

One that comes to mind is Damn Small Linux.

OpenSUSE with fvwm _might_ do it; I used to run RHL 6.2 quite happily in 
64 Mbytes (5.x in less), and the main differences these days is 
KDE+Gnome+their libraries, along with Mozilla (and its kin) and 
OpenOffice.org.

Prior to RHL 7.x, the main desktop environment was FVWM, that's why I 
think OpenSUSE might work for you.





-- 

Cheers
John

-- spambait
1aaaaaaa at coco.merseine.nu  Z1aaaaaaa at coco.merseine.nu

Please do not reply off-list

On 1/8/07, Kenneth Wolcott <kennethwolcott at gmail.com>
wrote:
> Hi;
>
>   I'm new to the CentOS list and I only have experience with CentOS
4.3/4.4
> on desktops.  I just installed CentOS 4.4 on a very old Dell Inspiron 3500
> laptop.  I choose the desktop option and then deleted the kde and gnome
> packages because I have only 192mb RAM and 4gb disk (total).  I'd like
> suggestions on how to maximize the effective usage of the laptop with
CentOS
> 4.4...as a minimum I want to do secure wireless web browsing.  If KDE or
> GNOME needs more disk/RAM than I have available is XCFE the only
alternative
> to the bleak Motif experience?  I don't have any money to get a better
> laptop or to upgrade the RAM and/or disk at this time.
I am sorry if I am broking any netiquete of the list here,

But I recommend you.
Xubuntu (http://www.xubuntu.org)
DSL (http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/)
puppy Linux (http://www.puppylinux.org/user/viewpage.php?page_id=1)

As they are designed for small *old* PCs.

regards,

-- 
Guillermo Garron
"Linux IS user friendly... It's just selective about who its friends
are."
(Using FC6, CentOS4.4 and Ubuntu 6.06)
http://www.go2linux.org