Best Zorin Lite version for Pentium 3 and 512 RAM

Installing Zorin OS
1

Hello,
I would like to install Zorin OS on my 20 years old PC.
Old PC config is:

  • Pentium III 733 MHz
  • RAM 512 MB
  • SSD 120 GB (via IDE SATA adapter)
  • HDD 20 GB (btw Windows XP SP3 works perfect even on HDD)

And what is the best suitable version for this hardware config?
I would say, I've tried:

  • Zorin-OS-15.3-Lite-32-bit - installer doesn't start well
  • Zorin-OS-12.4-Lite-32 - installer failed with an error
  • zorin-os-10-lite-32 - loaded successfully in "Try"-mode, memory consumption was not high, maybe just firefox is slow.

But what is maximum available version in theory?
It could be installer is slow, but later system run well.

2

I would opt for Antix or Puppy Linux, actually. Zorin Lite is Light... but not that light...

3 Likes
3

Even in the minimum usage of light version, it at least use a gb of memory. People often get confused while selecting the version because it is mentioned without specs in the official website. You should install windows version that worked on that PC before or go with very light Linux distro if you are famliar with Linux commands like tiny core.

1 Like
4

With your PC's specs, even if you could install the OS, would applications work?

2 Likes
5

Thank you for your answers!
Please understand me correctly, I do not plan to use this PC on a daily basis, I'm not that crazy. People don't restore retro cars in order to drive them to work.
I just want to clarify in which version Zorin OS was suitable for the given PC config.
To be honest, I've tried multiple distros of course. Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Bodhi, etc, something work, but I like Zorin...
If you have a historical view on Zorin OS, the question is still relevant.
Thanks for your support!

1 Like
6

Zorin lite version used and still uses xfce + some gnome application, even the first version may not be able to run on 512 mb ram. You can upgrade the ram to at least 2 GB and then we can talk about running lite version.

7

Oh... I do.

I have successfully run both Zorin OS 15 Lite and Zorin OS 12.4 Lite on a similar machine.
Zorin OS 12.4 Lite ran reasonably well. Zorin OS 15 Lite ran, but was very sluggish.
I noticed you had tried 12.4 already but the installation ran into an error.
We may need to try addressing that error. I would opine that 12.4 is the latest release you could reasonably run.
Even so, as you asked - In Theory.
You would want to trim things down.
And please remember that 12.4 is past End of Life.
It will not receive security updates.

2 Likes
8

"You do" :slight_smile:
Ok, got it, I will try 12.4 lite once again, maybe :thinking: it just wasn't enough luck.

9

check out the specs on LXLE 32-bit based on Ubuntu 18.04. It’s the best distro I have found for my 19 year old Celeron based laptop. A real slim install of Sparky Linux has worked fairly well too. Both of these were installed with with LXDE or LXQT desktops. And no, I don’t drive mine to work either.

1 Like
10

You two are going to get me started on a horrific tangent here...

I uhh... I got words...

If you can relay the error, maybe we can figure out what went wrong.

2 Likes
11

Interestingly, current version makes it in this list, right at the end!

2 Likes
12

Finally I managed to install Zorin-OS-12.4-Lite-32 after 3 attempts.
My observations are:

  • It's doesn't work in "Try" mode for the given config above. But it works after installation

  • Chromium doesn't start, but you can easily download Firefox via Zorin internet tools, and it extremely slow.

  • Other tools work quite perfect, LibreOffice, etc.

  • Memory consumption is very good, CPU usage is also fine.

    Screenshot_2022-10-10_20-23-59
    Screenshot_2022-10-10_20-23-59802×500 62.3 KB

  • It works, but Windows XP SP3 is faster :slight_smile: even on HDD. Btw, high speed of SSD is getting limited by IDE SATA converter, so it's still slow as IDE :wink:

Previously I partitioned the disk in Gparted (main ext4, swap, home, windows XP SP3), using "zorin-os-10-lite-32" "Try"-mode, because it's bootable.

And a few screen of amazing Zorin OS, 20 years old PC got second live.

Screenshot_2022-10-10_20-20-29
Screenshot_2022-10-10_20-20-291920×1080 160 KB

DSC_4122
DSC_41221920×3413 212 KB

DSC_4127
DSC_41271920×3413 553 KB

13

You might try Pale Moon 32 bit browser if Firefox is too slow...

2 Likes
14

On my 19 year old rig, the 32-bit version of SeaMonkey browser has been the best I can do. I would follow Aravisian’s suggestion first. But if that doesn’t get you there, then I would suggest trying SeaMonkey.

2 Likes
15

Your suggestion may be better than Pale Moon. Heck, try both.
Test and remove the weakest link.

1 Like
16

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.