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Smallest GUI distro (for a low-RAM Chromebook)? (programming.dev)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/linux@programming.dev
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PeppermintOS? I'm trying to prepare an ancient Chromebook C202S for Linux and have had some ideas from antiX to MXLinux and Loc-OS, but it seems that PeppermintOS may be among the best choices.

The tech level of this Chromebook's end user is unlikely to work well with Arch + BSPWM, which was recommended to me by someone else.

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[–] [S] 8 points 4 months ago* (5 children)

Wow, thanks a bunch! My biggest fear is the dismantling to get at the write-protection screw... Hopefully I don't screw something up... So, after that, enable dev mode and then boot via flash drive? Is that basically the way? I've gotta look up that Mr. Chromebook-or-whoever's guide; the device is in not with me and I won't be seeing it any time soon so I've been forgetting some of my research.

Yes, I love the look and feel of this laptop (netbook, really...)'s body and keyboard! I'm so glad that there is hope after Google's terrible support drop.

Dang, I've never even heard of Devuan before. How'd you find this? Nice find. Reading up on: https://www.linuxcompatible.org/story/using-runit-on-devuan/

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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 child)

    Still a great little laptop that I routinely get 4-6 hours out of between charges. Lots of useful life left in it!

    Its been a little while, but I don't recall any drama with the protection screw. You do have to install Mr Chromebox before you install a linux distro, after doing the protection screw.

    I found Devuan a few years ago at FOSDEM.

    I just remembered, if you find trackpad doesn't work in the install don't worry it will work after you update the kernel. If needed you can use a USB mouse to do the install.

    eta: you can choose runit during the install of devuan and then you're set

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (2 children)

    Good luck with the effort. I have a Chromebook that I was considering to do the same after messing with using it as-is but running Forefox under its Linux wrapper and seeing how painfully slow it was. But then I dived into Google's efforts in locking them down and decided it wasn't worth the effort (yet). I turned to an old Macbook that couldn't be updated anymore and discovered the exact opposite. With a bit more RAM and a swap to a SSD, it runs current Linux Mint with little issues. I may explore the Chromebook again when I have extra time, as it's doable, just a PIA.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 4 months ago (1 child)

    I can't remember where I read it or it might have possibly been in a video: the KDE Falkon browser may be a better fit than Firefox. I guess I'll try both...

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago

    Firefox is a heavier browser, so there are other options to use when RAM is an issue. There are tradeoffs in features though, so pick what works best. The default RAM I had with the Macbook (2GB) was usable but barely, I had to stay away from something like Youtube or it would crash. But I was able to bump up to 8GB which opened up doing a lot more.

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