# Need Ubuntu on weak PCs



## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

Hi guys,
I have to install ubuntu on my college PCs. The configuration is as follows, 
CPU - pentium 4 D
RAM - 512MB
MOBO- intel orignal with no integrated GPU.

SO i have some things I need your help with :
1) which ubuntu version shall i install on these weak PCs, shall i install 11,12 or 13 or shall i go for 9?
2) while doing fresh install of ubuntu , how shall i change the swap area, and how much shall it be(I am thinking 2gb)?
3) which filesystem shall i use, i think ext3 is default, but still recommend me the file system.
4) can file system and swap area be changed in already installed ubuntu?
These are the main questions i have.
The applications i am thinking to run on these PCs are :
1)codeblock
2)gpp(included in codeblock)
3)eclipse
4)netbeans

Thank you


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## Mussels (Aug 16, 2013)

try the latest on one machine, go with default settings. it should work rather well.


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

I forgot to mention , i did install ubuntu 11.10 on two PCs and ubuntu 12 on one PCs, the PC did slow up after a while of use.
For example when i was installing the package of codeblock, there was huge amount of lag in clicking the check mark and the check box actually being ticked


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## Mussels (Aug 16, 2013)

well, is installing packages going to be a common thing? wont they bet set up and then just left alone?


doesnt really matter the OS, if you're using modern programs on old hardware, its gunna slow down sooner or later.


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

The programs I said in my above post are necessary , they need to be installed.Yup i agree new programs on old machines never work well.
Packages would be installed rarely after the initial setup


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## Mussels (Aug 16, 2013)

if it doesnt lag after the install is done, then i'd say stick with the latest. it gives them a longer lifespan and better support.


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

So you are recommending 13 ubuntu?
I think i will stick with ubuntu 11 for a while , just to test.
Can you tell how to change swap area on an already installed ubuntu version or is this not possible


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## Mussels (Aug 16, 2013)

mafia97 said:


> So you are recommending 13 ubuntu?
> I think i will stick with ubuntu 11 for a while , just to test.
> Can you tell how to change swap area on an already installed ubuntu version or is this not possible



not an expert on ubuntu - i'd say try the latest one one machine and see how it goes. try and keep them all on the same version at least.


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

The machine which has 12 runs the worst out of all three, i cant imagine what 13 will do.
Hope a expert will reply soon.
Can you tell which file system to use ext3 or something else?
ANd thanks for all the help till now


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## Mussels (Aug 16, 2013)

mafia97 said:


> The machine which has 12 runs the worst out of all three, i cant imagine what 13 will do.
> Hope a expert will reply soon.
> Can you tell which file system to use ext3 or something else?
> ANd thanks for all the help till now



EXT3 is a decent file system. go with it.


you can read it in windows without much trouble if need be as well.


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## caleb (Aug 16, 2013)

512 ram is gonna lag. Tried SUSE on a Tualatin Celeron 1,2 and GF440MX not so long ago and it worked really badly.


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

I need fast access times , does EXT3 provide that ? or shall i shift to something else ?


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## caleb (Aug 16, 2013)

mafia97 The file system type does not affect access time.


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

Okay then i shall stick with ext3 
but how to change the swap area ?


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## Mussels (Aug 16, 2013)

mafia97 said:


> Okay then i shall stick with ext3
> but how to change the swap area ?



it should ask you when you install the OS. its a partition and not a file, so i dont think its easy to change post install. leave it at default, imo.


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

Oh okay , but wont increasing swap area size make the PC a little more fluid ?


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## caleb (Aug 16, 2013)

No. Tweaking swap files is generally a bad idea. Let the OS decide. 

Again. In my opinion its a waste of time what you are trying to do. With 512MB memory, a modern linux running JAVA based IDE is gonna be a killer for that PC. Its gonna freeze itself on starting KDE/Gnome.
Go with winXP and some more memory.


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

Not my PCs , my college LAB PCs, so icant increase memory or anything.And i have to make lab opensource , so i need ubuntu


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## micropage7 (Aug 16, 2013)

what about lubuntu
www.lubuntu.net


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

Okay , this is good idea, now i need to know will it run the apps i want ?


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## Frick (Aug 16, 2013)

mafia97 said:


> Okay , this is good idea, now i need to know will it run the apps i want ?



Depends on what apps you want, it has the same repositories as Ubuntu if that's what you mean. Personally I've had issues with Lubuntu in the past on all sorts of machines (mainly it being slow). I'm a bigger fan of Xubuntu. Try them out thought, can't hurt.


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

Frick said:


> Depends on what apps you want, it has the same repositories as Ubuntu if that's what you mean. Personally I've had issues with Lubuntu in the past on all sorts of machines (mainly it being slow). I'm a bigger fan of Xubuntu. Try them out thought, can't hurt.



I just want to run the apps i have mentioned in my first post on a system mentioned in the first post.tell me the best linux OS to run these.


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## Frick (Aug 16, 2013)

mafia97 said:


> I just want to run the apps i have mentioned in my first post on a system mentioned in the first post.tell me the best linux OS to run these.



They are all there in the packet manager.

EDIT: Installing atm to see if they work. At least codeblocks, that I know how to use. 

EDIT again: Tested Codeblocks and Netbeans, both working. For Codeblocks I had to update the package index before one package got installed (probably a localization error somewhere, it tried to download it from a swedish server that didn't exist), and install g++ separetly but that too is in the packet manager so it was no problem.


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## Aquinus (Aug 16, 2013)

I would use Xubuntu 12.04 LTS for a machine with only 512Mb of ram. I recommend using the alternate installer as well since 512Mb might not be enough to install and boot from a live cd.


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## Mindweaver (Aug 16, 2013)

Aquinus said:


> I would use Xubuntu 12.04 LTS for a machine with only 512Mb of ram. I recommend using the alternate installer as well since 512Mb might not be enough to install and boot from a live cd.



I agree he should us Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS 32bit version. It's a long-term support release (_April 2017_). Also, it only needs 384mb Ram to install. The 64bit version needs 512mb to install and that won't leave him any room to move around.. hehehe 

*EDIT: Wait I didn't see Xubuntu.. lol but yea I'd get the Xubuntu over just plan Ubuntu for that system. The new interface my slow down that system. Xubuntu is just a trimmed down Ubuntu with Xfce. Xfce looks more like windows and is an easier desktop. *


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## insane 360 (Aug 16, 2013)

i run the latest ubuntu 13.04 with kernel 10rc5 on an old cr-48 chromebook.  now it does have 2gb of ram but its a single core atom and ubuntu kicks ass on it, runs much better than 11 or 12 did on the same laptop.  

i would say give 13.04 a try and maybe try an updated kernel as that has helped out a lot

though you will run into trouble with compiling on that small amount of ram.  got any friends or family with an older pc that you could scavenge ram from?


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

Will xbuntu run the above mentioned apps easily and will i need to change swap area and file system ?


insane 360 said:


> i run the latest ubuntu 13.04 with kernel 10rc5 on an old cr-48 chromebook. now it does have 2gb of ram but its a single core atom and ubuntu kicks ass on it, runs much better than 11 or 12 did on the same laptop.
> 
> i would say give 13.04 a try and maybe try an updated kernel as that has helped out a lot
> 
> though you will run into trouble with compiling on that small amount of ram. got any friends or family with an older pc that you could scavenge ram from?



ok , how to update kernel and is there a major difference btw lts and normal version?


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## kn00tcn (Aug 16, 2013)

i know they're lab computers, but why was adding more ram not an option? cost? availability of ddr1? how many computers are there?


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## insane 360 (Aug 16, 2013)

http://linuxg.net/kernel-3-11-rc4-h...nel-3-11-rc4-on-ubuntu-debian-and-linux-mint/

these are the instuctions i used, nice and easy.

any of the ubuntu and derivatives pretty much hold your hand the whole way through, pretty much use defaults and you will be fine.

also, the difference between LTS and latest build is just the length of support and bug fixes..

to be honest, i've not found any bugs in the latest and instead of worrying about how long your support is, just upgrade when there is a new version, 13.10 is shaping up to be very nice and they will keep supporting the latest out there


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## mafia97 (Aug 16, 2013)

kn00tcn said:


> i know they're lab computers, but why was adding more ram not an option? cost? availability of ddr1? how many computers are there?



Adding more ram will need to be passed through authority , and there are more then 50 PCs


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## mafia97 (Aug 18, 2013)

So i will be trying xubuntu for pc's ,  just wanna know will they run required apps?
Ok i will be taking 13.04 and xbuntu 12.04 to the lab in iso format, hoping ubuntu 11.10 has usb-system-creator.


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## Frick (Aug 18, 2013)

You can install most (if not all) distors from USB.

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/

Is what I use. And it will run the required apps. As I said before, I had some issues with one of the packets, but when I updated the package index it worked fine.


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## n0tiert (Aug 18, 2013)

i would take Lubuntu as Distro for older PC´s , Lubuntu is a lightweight Ubuntu and performs pretty good on older Hardware due minimal Desktop LXDE
and to setup few PC´s with same config , take a look @ preseeding.

my intention would be:
Download Lubuntu Minimal
prepare a USB stick with UNetbootin point to lubuntu minimal ISO 
create a preseed file for the System & Package Config on stick root

Sample Preseed file

add kernel argument "preseed/file=/hd-media/yourpreseed.cfg"


boot from stick , get some coffee


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## mafia97 (Aug 18, 2013)

n0tiert said:


> i would take Lubuntu as Distro for older PC´s , Lubuntu is a lightweight Ubuntu and performs pretty good on older Hardware due minimal Desktop LXDE
> and to setup few PC´s with same config , take a look @ preseeding.
> 
> my intention would be:
> ...


 
Will try lubuntu later , if tomorrow's venture doesnt work.
Will report tomorrow, thanks guys.


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## n0tiert (Aug 18, 2013)

mafia97 said:


> Will try lubuntu later , if tomorrow's venture doesnt work.
> Will report tomorrow, thanks guys.



read some here about lubuntu vs. ubuntu vs. xubuntu vs. kubuntu 

http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.de/2012/04/ubuntu-1204-vs-xubuntu-1204-vs-kubuntu.html


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## Nabarun (Aug 18, 2013)

Your system specs are fine for just about any linux distro. The slowdown you're facing is probably because of the new desktop/window manager. You can switch back to good old gnome classic and tweak some settings for better performance. Excessive swap space doesn't make any system faster. Swap is not meant for speed at all. When you run out of RAM, your HDD space is utilized as a way to get going. It is very slow, since HDD is the slowest component in the PC. With 512MB RAM, the swap should be around 750MB - 1GB. And I would recommend ext 4 as the filesystem, and not ext 3. System slowdown can also be caused if you run out of space on your hdd. So do a quick reading about the installation process and requirements etc. Ubuntu's documentation is massive as well as very easy. Lastly, I would recommend eclipse.  If you need REAL TIME help with your installation or anything else, you should seek help via IRC (on freenode, #ubuntu). Opera has built-in irc client, firefox can use extentions like chatzilla. On Ubuntu desktop you may want to use x-chat. Ubuntu forums is also a much better place to discuss ubuntu-specific matters, imho... 

P.S.
Do keep an eye on the system processes and the resource usage. You should disable every service that you don't need. Many services can be real resource hog.


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## mafia97 (Aug 18, 2013)

n0tiert said:


> read some here about lubuntu vs. ubuntu vs. xubuntu vs. kubuntu
> 
> http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.de/2012/04/ubuntu-1204-vs-xubuntu-1204-vs-kubuntu.html



There is not much difference between xubuntu and lubuntu.
I want to give xubuntu a try first , then i will go for lubuntu if need be.I have only been provided with three PCs to test with, if i am successful then i will be aksed to do whole lab.


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## Nabarun (Aug 18, 2013)

mafia97 said:


> There is not much difference between xubuntu and lubuntu.
> I want to give xubuntu a try first , then i will go for lubuntu if need be.I have only been provided with three PCs to test with, if i am successful then i will be aksed to do whole lab.



You may also use Oracle Virtualbox (absolutely free) to try out any distro to get a feel for it and to avoid any nasty surprises. BTW, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu etc etc are basically all the same, having all been derived from Ubuntu. They are just aimed at people with different sys power mostly, with the graphical part being the major difference. In order to truly assess the difference, you should compare detailed resource usages - preferably with printed charts.


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## n0tiert (Aug 18, 2013)

mafia97 said:


> There is not much difference between xubuntu and lubuntu.
> I want to give xubuntu a try first , then i will go for lubuntu if need be.I have only been provided with three PCs to test with, if i am successful then i will be aksed to do whole lab.



if you need to do the whole lab get into preseeding ! for future install you should think about pxe´ng the lab , 50 clients in ~30 mins (Gbe) in one shot
and may use local mirror for updates/install to save bandwidth


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## mafia97 (Aug 24, 2013)

xubuntu is working fine, thanks guys


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