Question What is the best distro i can use in a Atom netbook?

[oki404]

I have Atom CPU netbook. I want install Linux on it. What is best distro for it? It only supports x86.

 

[Grobe]

Well the x86 is kind of an issue, but shouldn't stop you from installing Linux on it.

Based on my own experiences on re-using very old x86 computers I'd recommend the following distros - that still also have decent x86 based versions of their distros:

• Elive Linux (based on Debian).
• BunsenLabs Linux (also based on Debian)
• MX Linux (also based on Debian)
• Debian Linux
• Emmabuntüs (also based on Debian).
• Antix (also based on Debian). The 32 bit version is extreme lightweight on ram, just after booting to desktop it consume less than 100MB of ram.

There is also openSUSE Tumbleweed and Haiku. The latter is not a Linux distro but an independent open source OS. In my experience, the Debian based Linux distros are more likely to work on an old computer.

Also be aware the different Debian based distros may not all work on old hardware, so if one of those distros won't work, then another may work. That is my experience after testing on computers that was new in 2001-2004.

 

[Alabalcho]

Just be aware that lightweight Linux distro won't make your laptop fly - these netbooks were slow even when they were new, and modern Internet requires relatively powerful hardware to function properly.

 

[grince]

I have Atom CPU netbook. I want install Linux on it. What is best distro for it? It only supports x86.

do you mean i386? x86 is 64bit and it's fine for most distributions

 

[punkncat]

Lubuntu works in an acceptable manner on those. I have done a few of the Netbooks on that OS and it makes them usable instead of e-waste.
They are (as other above have pointed out) still a very limited system.

 

[Alabalcho]

do you mean i386? x86 is 64bit and it's fine for most distributions

"x86" does not mean "64-bit". 80286, 80386, 80486, 80586, Cyrix, many Durons etc - all these are considered "x86" (they support all or subset of Intel x86 instruction codes), but they are not 64-bit CPUs, and you can't install / run 64-bit OS/apps.

 

[ComplexNumbers]

FreeBSD usually performs better on old hardware than Linux. Installation is a bit more difficult than other systems, but once installed it is one of the most user-friendly systems out there.

FreeBSD is an excellent and performant operating system that allowed me to run a development environment on older hardware https://www.trustradius.com/reviews/freebsd-2021-07-28-17-37-18

 

[Grobe]

FreeBSD usually performs better on old hardware than Linux.

Um, I just found that FreeBSD also exist as i386 image. Since I have some old 32 bit hardware laying around, I should test that out. Any things I should know before I put it to the test?

 

[ComplexNumbers]

Um, I just found that FreeBSD also exist as i386 image. Since I have some old 32 bit hardware laying around, I should test that out. Any things I should know before I put it to the test?

As you have noticed, it is one of the few systems that still supports 32 bit. After you have installed the system you will have to configure a few things. Eg the X server and a windows manager or desktop environment, the graphics drivers, maybe a few other things. This may be a little more difficult than with other systems.

But you also have to realize, after you have installed and configured it, it is one of the most maintenance-friendly systems. So it's just the initial setup that can probably take you two or three hours if you're not used to working with Linux or command line.

One last point to note, you are using an Atom CPU. They were already extremely weak when they came out. So I wouldn't install a desktop environment like KDE/Gnome/XFCE. The maximum that will be productive is LXDE/LXQt. If you have the skills I would even recommend using something like PeKWM, Openbox, i3, Xmonad, AwesomeWM, herbstluftwm, dwm,
spectrwm, .. Openbox and PeKWM are easy to configure and all the latter window managers are even more lightweight than eg an LXDE or LXQt. So you're going to notice that on an Atom CPU.