Ubuntu/Debian-Sarge Mini-RAM HOWTO

How to install an Ubuntu-Desktop on low memory systems
(Pentium II and III Processor, 32-256 MB RAM)

by Ingo LANTSCHNER (ingo@binonabiso.com)

Thomas HINTERBERGER contributed a chapter, which details how to install iceWM on Debian-Sarge; scroll to the end of this document, if you want to see it.

Last updated: 26 Feb 2005

IMPORTANT: This document has been written for Ubuntu Warty - so it is somehow outdated. Well, we have done some additions for Hoary but probably you'll find better guides in these days. Here are some (we have not tested them!):

Update June 2007: Most intersting is the Xubuntu-Distribution. Check it out at http://www.xubuntu.org. It runs fine with 64 MB of RAM.

What this Howto is about

Ubuntu installs by default with the Gnome Desktop and other memory-intensive applications. So if you do not have a fast and powerful machine (Pentium 4 and 512 MB of RAM) your system will be quite slow. The following document explains the steps, how to install Ubuntu and a GUI on a low memory system, so that you can use it as a Workstation for your daily work. It is aimed to the average SOHO-user (Small Office/Home Office).

Screenshot (Click to enlarge)

Conventions:

# command	Type command as root (you can do a sudo su- before, in order to get the root-prompt. Or you put sudo before the command.
$ command	Type command as user.
Red text	Parts which should be improved. Please let me know, if you have usefull suggestions.

1 The Basesystem

Get Ubuntu CD-ROM see http://www.ubuntulinux.org/

After inserting the CD-ROM into the drive, boot and when asked to press Enter, type custom before. (Not linux custom!)
Hint for Hoary; In the Hoary installer there is no 'custom' install option. It appears they've replaced it with 'server' which is a minimum install.

The result will be a minimal-system with less than 300 MB on the HD and only a textprompt (no GUI).

2 Postinstall the GUI

I did it in the following order, but probably the order is not important:

$ sudo su - This puts you into a root-shell (#), so no more sudo is necesary.

# vi /etc/apt/sources.list

(If you are not familiar with vi you can use nano or any other texteditor instead.)
Enable the universe-repository by removing the Hashmarks (=# (2 times))

# apt-get update

# apt-get install icewm

# apt-get install xserver-xfree86

# apt-get install x-window-system-core

# apt-get install xdm

# apt-get install numlockx

# apt-get install xterm

The result is a system with X and iceWM as windowmanager. You log in as user and on the prompt:

$ startx

starts the GUI. (After the first reboot, xdm autostarts and puts you directly into the GUI-mode)

So far this system needs 468 MB on your harddrive.

From Frank Martelli [frank at foodsavvy dot com]: Just a note when dealing with the ppc version of Ubuntu -- for some
reason, icewm (silently) requires /usr/lib/libtiff.so.3. A very frustrating bug, as X starts lets you login and then (without any errors)
returns to the login screen.
Solution:

ln -s /usr/lib/libtiff.so.4 /usr/lib/libtiff.so.3

3 Basic Applications

We consider a Mailreader, Webbrowser, PDF-Reader and Officesuite as basic:

PDF-Reader

# apt-get install acroread

This adds 26 MB to the harddrive (compared to 3,2 MB of gPDF, but gPDF laks crucial features like search and copy of text.)

Mozilla

We include Flashplayer and Acrobat-Plugin for optimal compatibility with todays WWW. (The plugins only need 2,5 MB)

# apt-get install mozilla flashplayer-mozilla acroread-plugin

Fills up the harddrive to 555MB

Officesuite

At the date of writing this Howto you have two options. Choose one of them (either-or, not both!). This will probably change constantly, as OpenOffice envolves - but the principle will stay the same (just the versions will change).

Either: Install OpenOffice 1.1.2 from apt-repository

# apt-get install openoffice.org

This installs Openoffice 1.1.2

Or: Install OpenOffice 1.1.3 from OpenOffice.org:

I installed OpenOffice 1.1.3 from the tar, provided by www.openoffice.org. After untaring the tree I cd into the tree and type:

# ./install

3.3 Final thoughts

Finally we have now 770 MB for the bare system on the harddrive, so if we consider to have 128 MB minimum for the swap, we need harddrives between 1 and 1,5 GB for such Ubuntu-Desktops.

4 More Applications

Application	Installation	Size on HD
openssh-server (sshd)	apt-get install openssh-server	594 kB
gthumb	apt-get install gthumb	60,2 MB
Acrobat Reader	apt-get install acroread	26 MB
gpdf	apt-get install gpdf (Warning: gpdf has no search-feature and you can not copy&paste parts of text out of PDFs)	3,2 MB
OOo, German Language Pack	apt-get install openoffice.org-l10n-de	18,6 MB
OOo, German Help	apt-get install openoffice.org-help-de	23,5 MB
CUPS Daemon	apt-get install cupsys	23,6 MB
CUPS-Manager	apt-get install gnome-cups-manager	1,6 kB
Printerdrivers	apt-get install cupsomatic-ppd	22 MB (This is too much - any ideas how to reduce this?!)
The Gimp	apt-get install gimp	40,5 MB
cdrecord	apt-get install cdrecord	1,2 MB
mkisofs	apt-get install mkisofs	860 kB
nedit (Editor)	apt-get install nedit	3,3 MB
alicq (ICQ-Client)	apt-get install alicq	7,8 kB
gaim (ICQ-Client)	apt-get install gaim	18,4 MB
guitar (Dateikomprimierer)	apt-get install guitar	3,3 MB
zip und unzip	apt-get install zip apt-get install unzip	550 kB
rdesktop	apt-get install rdesktop	320 kB
tsclient (Graphisches Frontend für rdesktop und VNC)	apt-get install tsclient	940 kB
cdrtoaster Does not work yet!	apt-get install cdrtoaster	106 kB
Simple cdrx Does not work yet !	apt-get install simplecdrx	5,1 MB
gtoaster Does not work yet!	apt-get install gtoaster	6 MB
xine-ui (Multi Media Player)	apt-get install xine-ui	12 MB
w32codecs	apt-get install w32codecs	28,4 MB
MPlayer Does not work yet!	apt-get install mozilla-mplayer	18,3 MB
	apt-get install mplayer-fonts	7,3 MB
	apt-get install gstreamer0.8-plugins	11 MB
mc (Midnightcommander, Filemanager)	apt-get install mc	5 MB
emelfm (Filemanager)	apt-get install emelfm	582 kB

Todos

Backup

Find a working frontend for cdrecord.

Find a working Mplayer-package.

4 Future plans

If we go down to 64 or 32 MB of RAM we won't install OpenOffice. I recommend Abiword and Gnumeric instead. Also the Mozialla web broser could be a problem on such systems. Better to go with Firefox and Thunderbird/Pine.

5 Comparison

If we compare Ubuntu's ability to adapt to low-memory-systems with Fedora we will be surprised:

Installation-Typ	Fedora Core 3 [MB]	Ubuntu 4.10 [MB]
Minimal standard	571	298
Minimal trimmed (see http://www.simpaticus.com/linux)	430	??
w/ X, iceWM	??	450
w/ Mozilla	??	add. 58
w/ OpenOffice 1.1.3	??	add. 184

6 More help

Install and configure Ubuntu: http://ubuntuguide.org/

Installing Low-Memory-Systems: http://www.rule-project.org

7 Feedback

Please send comments and Feedback to ingo@binonabiso.com.

8 Alternative Installation with Debian Sarge

by Thomas HINTERBERGER

After installing, I had the feeling, that the Debian Icewm has some problems with the Ubuntu System (tar was not working, the same with Acroread and OpenOffice - the paths looked different). Not knowing Icewm very well, I just decided to start from a Debian Netinstall CD-Image (even floppy-disks are possible - you download it from www.debian.org ). It is very small - including X with Icewm 298 MB. I think, that Icewm works better with the original Debian - after installation all programs was working immediately (but perhaps it is just the newer Version of Icewm - 2.20 - you also get Firefox 1.0, Mozilla 1.7.5 and gimp 2.2)

you can follow the guide from Ingo - I will note only the steps you have to add.

after installation you have no "sudo su"- so just type su and the root-password to get root.

add the follwing lines to your sources.list

deb ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/ sarge main deb ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian-non-US/ sarge/non-US main deb-src ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/ sarge main deb-src ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian-non-US/ sarge/non-US main

# netselect-apt finds the most quick of all Debian-mirrors.

after # apt-get install xterm you add

# apt-get install sudo

# apt-get install emelfm

when you are now the first time in Icewm, verify with emelfm or with the shell, that there is a file /etc/sudoers - if not, you have to reboot. - rootshell: # shutdown -r now

# echo "[username] ALL = NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown, /sbin/poweroff,
/sbin/halt, /sbin/reboot, /bin/cdrecord" >> /etc/sudoers

# shutdown -r now

after rebooting you should now be able to use all commands, when you press strg+alt+del. If you don't do this, you have to write all the time # shutdown -r now to a rootshell, to shut down the system proper.

instead of this, you can edit /etc/sudoers, but only with the command

# visudo

!!!! don't use another editor !!!!- for visudo: strg o = saving, strg x = exit

you should have the following lines:

root ALL=(ALL) ALL [username] ALL = NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown, /sbin/poweroff, /sbin/halt, /sbin/reboot, /bin/cdrecord

The rest is the same like in Ingos description - the only thing - I would use bluefish instead of nedit - it is 4 MB more, but you have a wonderful HTML - Editor.

The configuration of X is not as good and comfortable, as with Ubuntu - I did a little trick: run the Ubuntu live CD or Knoppix (if you have only 64MB, you have to do a swap partition before - I did not test it with Ubuntu, but Knoppix runs with 64MB) - make the screen and fonts well looking- copy the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 from the live CD to a disk (or mail it), bring it to your /home directory in Icewm- save your existing /etc/X11/XF86Config-4.

# cp XF86Config-4 /etc/X11/XF86Config-4

with my system, it was working perfect (both - Knoppix-config and Ubuntu-config)

one more tip: emelfm is working as a file browser, like Nautilus or Konqueror - it is not visible from the first moment, it is hard to configure, but it does.

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