Hello! So I have used linux mint for dual booting and its great! My main problem is that I have around 30 GB to spare for linux and I just run out of space pretty quickly. I wanted to ask, is there a distro that is more lightweight than linux mint that will work best with low amount of storage? I do prefer debian based distros but I am willing to try arch ones as well. Any recommendations will be very appreciated!

  • LvxferreEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    That’s surprising - my Ubuntu takes 22GB of my SSD, for system stuff, and I’m not even trying to trim it down. And I’m reasonably sure that nothing in my HDD is necessary to run the system.

    So before changing distros I’d consider cleaning up your current one. A few tips:

    • use some disk usage analyser to know what’s eating so much space
    • run apt clean as root to get rid of unused apt cache. It might be stealing a few gigs out of your machine.
    • get rid of older, unused kernel versions, as they take quite a bit of space. It’s fine to have a single one, or two when updating. You can do this through the software centre.
    • check the size of your /home - including hidden directories. In special /home/[your username]/.cache is often filled with junk.

    Another program that might help you is BleachBit, but be careful with it. Before enabling each option make sure that you understand what it does.

    If changing distros however, in your situation I’d consider Debian (low learning curve for a Mint user) with a lightweight DE (like Xfce or MATE). Just be a bit conscious when installing new software.