# Best Linux for old Pentium II



## XP_tech

I'm not sure which Linux operating system is best for an old Pentium II 266mhz computer I have which I want to restore. It has over 200mb or ram and currently it has Ubuntu 10 installed but I want it to run faster. Can someone please guide me to which linux distribution is best that I can use for this laptop that will allow it to run faster? Is puppy linux good? Something similar to ubuntu 10 would be great.
(Is there anything I can maybe do in Ubuntu 10.04 to make it run faster while I have it installed now?) Thanks.


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## 1002richards

Hi,
Useful review & comparisons here:

http://www.tuxradar.com/content/whats-best-lightweight-linux-distro

I like Crunchbang based on Ubuntu 9.04 - very light & fast.

http://crunchbanglinux.org/

You could also look at Peppermint - webcentric and uses Prism:

http://peppermintos.com/

http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2010-05-10-025-35-OS-RL

Hope these of interest?


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## XP_tech

okay thanks. Are there maybe any performance tweaks I can do to Ubuntu 10 so that it can run faster. It runs okay now and see a big improvement in speed especially when switching from XP, but I was wondering if there are a few things that could be done to boost performance. In terms of youtube video quality/speed, will any other linux distribution help with the speed of video playback or will they all be abit sluggish just as now because of the 266mh processor?


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## XP_tech

I installed xfce and now ubuntu 10 is much faster. The only issue I still have is with the audio...I have no sound but it sais in sound preferences "Dummy output". Anyway I can get audio to work too?


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## TerryNet

Debugging Sound Problems should help.


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## webmanoffesto

I'm using Puppy Linux http://puppylinux.org/main/index.php on an ancient laptop and I love it. The WiFi was so easy to set up. I settled on this after Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, and EduBuntu all failed or performed poorly.

512 MB RAM 512, battery so old it holds a charge for 15 minutes, monitor has lines on it. But I got a free MP3 player I can use to surf the net too.


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## DaveBurnett

I second Puppy. There is a "version" specifically designed for older machines as well.


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## webmanoffesto

I like how the OS loads from CD to RAM, which means I can still use the CD reader to play movies. And it will save a file to the HD to preserve changes I've made to settings.


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## DaveBurnett

It will save the changes to: CD/DVD if it wasn't closed, USB stick or disk, Hard disk, just about ANY writeable material( I haven't tried a printer yet  )
The save to CD option is particularly useful because even if you use it in a different machine, it will re-detect hardware but remember all settings it possibly can (Language, installed programs etc).


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## webmanoffesto

I tried Slax Live disk. Couldn't connect to wireless. Went back to Puppy Linux.


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