Minimal X Installation 16
querist
asks:
"What is the minimum needed to get X up and
running? I have an old Thinkpad 360Cs (486, 12 MB RAM,
328 MB HD) and I'm currently running ZipSlack on it
because I have no CD drive for it and no network card. I
do have a floppy and a Zip drive, and potential access to
a cable modem. If it matters, I'm not entirely sure of the
LDC display's resolution... it's either 640x480x256max or
800x600x256max. I know it does VGA and I'm pretty sure it
can do SVGA to some extent. Could someone please kindly
list the minimum files i'd need to get my machine to be
able to run X? I would need an X term, of course. From
there I should be able to manage."
hm.. (Score:1)
if it helps.. (Score:1)
Re:Server and libraries (Score:1)
No graphics libs needed. Just c++ and X. Have fun
Re:mulinux (Score:1)
I also think this is your best bet...I unzipped the muLinux X disk, tweaked a bit, and ended up with a working X install of about 4.5 MB (combined with the LRP console install, the whole OS was only 8.5 MB). A warning, though: the mulinux X I got was libc5-based, so if your system is g/libc6, you may need to grab an X server from elsewhere.
I also recommend the 9wm window manager...at about 25k, it's hard to beat for size. It's also very simple...no libraries needed, no configuration files to keep track of, etc...perfect for a minimal X install. Not much to look at, but functional...
small Debian X11 (Score:1)
Grab a Debian 2.1 CD and put it in the desktop machine.
Make the resc1440tecra.bin diskette to boot your machine. Make the drv1440.bin diskette for the kernel modules.
Do a Debian 2.1 custom install of just the standard server and the XFree86.
Get Afterstep or icewm or fvwm2.
Get mc. Get lynx. Get a ton of stuff. You have lots of room.
Plus you will learn how to plip network to your desktop.
Don't forget to install netmaze! Cheers, Bill Bennet.
Small kernel in an old laptop (Score:1)
with a floppy drive. Because the memory is lower than 4 meg I couldn't install Smalllinux [netpedia.net], tinyX [netpedia.net], or mulinux.
I installed Linux-lite by Paul Gortmaker which could run in a really small size of RAM. Running nicely @ 2 Bogomips. the kernel is 1.0.9 and in
Linux lite comes with vi, grep, less, more, setterm along with basic
the HD still have plenty of space left and I want to install mc, fortune, etc. Anyone knows how to install gcc by floppy?
Thank you very much before
Another vote for muLinux (Score:1)
Wonderful 3 floppy-based linux complete with gcc and X11 (with 3 window managers too!). It will also install directly onto a FAT based hard drive under c:\linux too. Just customize and type 'clone'.
I use it a lot. nice.
X11 istelf might not work straight away (or you may want to escape from VGA 16 colours ugh), so follow the information on the site to install a new X server.
Good luck.
You have plenty of space (Score:1)
I do have access to ethernet for it and used it to do an NFS or FTP, I can't remember now, install from the main box.
Just do a custom install, pick your packages and fonts carefully, select one X server and window manager, toss all the docs(although you probably have enough room), kernel source and perhaps all the dev tools and you're off and running. I gave up on the dev tools after I tried a kernel compile and found that it was taking *hours*, as in overnight and still not completed!
You probably could do a ppp link if you don't have *any* hope of running an ethernet link or getting a CDROM to attach to it. It might be slow, but it will work.
Running a GUI on a system that wouldnt run win 3.x (Score:1)
Re:Running a GUI on a system that wouldnt run win (Score:1)
For what it's worth, there's a (truly lousy) monochrome port of X11r5 on my machine. It's a testament to some people's neat MiNT kernel coding that it actually runs at a recognisable speed