Great Distros And Window Managers For Reviving Old Computers · The Kernal
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It happens to all of us, we are cleaning out our attic, garage, or other abandoned place in our house, and you find a super old computer. Whether it is a single core 300 MB Dell laptop, or a ancient IBM desktop, it is a shame to see all of these computers go to waste. In many cases, the only way to get these computers back into working order is by installing a Linux distro with the correct software. So, to get the most out of your old computers, I am going to explain some of the best options for reviving most aging and abandoned computers.
  • Artyn
    4·
    3 years ago

    I would add ratpoison to the list of Window Managers (though I guess any simple c based Window Managers will work). It has no fat library dependencies, no fancy graphics and no window decorations.

    It has a totally different experience then those other WMs, being prefix key based and manual tiling.

    All are great choices even for modern computers.

  • erpicht
    4·
    3 years ago

    I run FreeBSD with dwm on an old Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop from 2001 sporting ~700 mb of memory, so I’m glad to see FreeBSD made it onto your list!

    For those thinking, isn’t reviving one of these for daily use just an exercise in masochism? Yes, yes it is. However, despite the limited memory, the GUI is still snappy most of the time! I can even run qutebrowser to visit the horrid modern web, though graphical links stands out as a better choice for most simple web needs.

  • Milliways
    2·
    3 years ago

    void linux is severely underrated, so thanks for putting it in there! also gentoo is good if you put the time into it.