@nostupidquestions is it true that linux cannot run on a laptop without any SSD ?
I had gone inquiring at a couple of local stores regarding restoring my 2gb Ram laptop with 500gb HDD. At both of the places l was told that l need to put in at least 4gb of fresh ram + insert a bare minimum SSD, otherwise windows wouldn’t run on it.
When l said that l’d be working on linux, this technician guy told me that even linux has become heavy these days. Not sure what he meant by this, but extra ram burns a lot of holes, not mention about the price of SSD.
So, l just want to make sure. Is it true that modern machines won’t work without any SSD or machines with 2gb rams are simply fit for the museum ?
Even windows 10 will run on 2 gig of ram and hdd.
Considering that Linux existed long before SSDs did…
I first installed Linux in 1993…
you can actually run it on ram and not disk (see tinycore linux) and have the system faster than even an ssd
Explaining Computers did a video about running various Linuxes on various low performance machines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJGf8zVt3MI
As someone who is running a ancient compaq laptop, with 4gb of ram, Debian 13, I can say that it works just fine. Cant do gaming etc with it, but all I do with this is use the browser, IRC and watch a racing stream every weekend. Works perfectly fine with those.
@HuudaHarkiten thanks for this link. Today afternoon, l discovered that the display is not working. Any ideas on how l work with this laptop ?
If it has a video-out port, like a HDMI, plug that in and use a external monitor or TV. Other than that, open it up and check that the monitor connection is plugged in and not broken.
For future inquiries about problems with your machinery, please include the make and model in your question. It is impossible to give tech support if people have to guess which machine you are using.
2GB is cutting it short. Not for Linux, that runs fine. But the modern internet doesn’t, regardless of what browser you use.
2x2GB RAM shouldn’t cost much, that’s useless for AI.You can run some distros from a 2gb USB stick. Not sure what these guys are talking about th.
I verify this, some years ago when my laptop’s hard drive died, I installed Ubuntu Linux from a USB drive (with a live image on it) to a USB drive. It took a while for it to boot but it worked and I used it as my main machine for a couple of months.
But beyond that, there are Linux distros made specifically for running off of external media, Puppy Linux is an example.
You can run Linux just fine from 2GB and a HDD, but expect it to be slower. Modern web browsers alone require that much RAM.
@jenesaisquoi l’d be working on lynx basically.
Firefox should be ok, if you don’t open many tabs nor very complex webapps
If you don’t plan to do heavy internet browsing, an HDD is good enough for a light distro. But an SSD will definitely improve the experience.
Regarding RAM, this is a tough one. If you use the right DE + terminal app combo, 2 GB should be good.
No, this is wrong, Linux can run on an HDD.
Linux runs on a potato, you may need to be picky about the distro the more resource constrained you are, but that’s it.
Or may want a bigger potato for convenience.
You don’t even need a HDD or SSD. You can just run from the boot media.
@Dultas this is something completely new.
I “inherited” my sons netbook, which had 32GB flash, because Windows plus Office wasted 27GB and then wanted to download an 8GB update. I installed Kubuntu with LibreOffice and a number of other packages I needed for the project, and was way below 5GB used.
The 2GB of RAM are going to hit you harder than the HDD, if you intend to run a modern browser on it…
This, the computer will work great for basic tasks but anything JavaScript heavy will slow things down.
No, it is not true
Linux can run off an HDD.
Hell, there are versions of Linux that are designed to be run off a USB stick.
Hell, there’s even Linux distributions that run off a floppy disk.
https://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/boot_floppies.html
https://krzysztofjankowski.com/floppinux/floppinux-2025.html
Running live from usb at the moment.
Linux can run on a fucking potato.
It can also run on a celibate potato - it’s very flexible
@kmartburrito @NegativeLookAhead what’s a celibate potato ?
A wordplay.
If there is a “fucking potato” there should also be a “celibate potato”
It has no qualms with the life choices of the potato.
