16MB was not enough :(

Forum: User Feedback
Topic: 16MB was not enough :(
started by: tempeleng

Posted by tempeleng on Mar. 19 2005,18:33

Hello all!

First, I would like to thank the creators of DSL for giving me my first ever GNU/Linux experience. Thank you :)

Now, the problem:
After playing with DSL LiveCD on my newer pc (AthlonXP 256MB RAM) I decided to test (and do a HD install) on my ageing PentiumMMX with 16MB RAM. However, after the system booted I couldn't do much except move the mouse and watch the cursor move 5~10 seconds later.

My question:
Is there any way to increase performance? I would really like the graphical GUI to stay tho. On my other PC it looked great! And the apps to. FYI, I've been running Win98SE on the pc before this and although slow, it worked just fine.

There's something else too. After running the LiveCD on my old box, my msdos.sys file got damaged. I really don't think this was due to DSL but if it is, I hope I gave you guys a heads up. That's all, I thank you all in advance for any help you can give me.

Posted by cbagger01 on Mar. 19 2005,20:04

Try booting with:

fb800x600 base noicons

and see if performance is improved.

The little dockapps in the slit and the pager and the desktop icons take up memory and they will slow down a computer with 16MB of RAM.

You can still start programs by using the Right-Click Fluxbox "Start" menu.

Dillo should work fine but Firefox will choke on that computer.

Extra RAM is strongly recommended.

Posted by ico2 on Mar. 19 2005,22:09

or adding a swap partition...

Posted by ico2 on Mar. 19 2005,22:10

and cbagger: your suggestion will not work as he is running from cd. you would need to add it to the lilo.conf, but i dunno where.

Posted by AwPhuch on Mar. 20 2005,02:31

Well then if that is the case I would recommend 32-64Megs of RAM, if you cant add a swap then have a minimum of 32Megs RAM, DSL takes approx 14Megs ram just to have its version of X going.

Add RAM is the only viable option you have, with any MMX processor it will go slow, but with any linux the more RAM you throw at it the faster the response you will get...

Brian
AwPhuch

Posted by tempeleng on Mar. 20 2005,08:28

Thanks all for your replies. I will try out the suggestions this week. From what I can understand, I'm think I'll try adding a swap partition ~160MB. If it runs ok then do a quick HD install and try the stuff cbagger01 said.

I'll be checking back often but please expect results in a week. Wish me luck!

Posted by mats on Mar. 20 2005,12:40

I have been throug this

make a swap partition
boot into textmode and cfdisk
then mkswap /dev/hdayournumber
then swapon /dev/hdayournumber

a hd install will speed things up as well

that should do it,
you can use dillo now (and several other small apps)
firefox takes several minutes to load
and opera is just useable if your a very,very, patient person

my advice; get another 16 or even 8 megs of ram
and you'll be flying compared to 16meg

Posted by Delboy on Mar. 20 2005,18:32

What about setting up a swap file on the DOS partition - click swapfile button in the fluxbox menu: / System/ Setup Dos Swapfile / and follow prompts. This is supposed to perform in the same way as a swap partition for those who don't want to repartition but what improvement this offers over 16MB physical ram I cannot say. I've just tried this out on top of having a swap partition and it appears to speed things up a little bit more.
cbagger's boot time option should work. On first live CD boot if you type in the 'fb800x600 base noicons' at the prompt and then HD install and install Lilo, your 'live' video and X desktop settings will be remembered and duplicated on the subsequent HD boots.