One Successful Install – One Not Quite So

[Member X180A]

I’m new to the forum. It’s great to find this ethereal repository of knowledge and experience.

I have two old XP machines and I decided to breath new life into them. AntiX is a great distro – easy to install, excellent at finding and configuring hardware, and runs on low resources.

Not Quite Successful:

• Dell Inspiron laptop built from the best parts of a model 1100 and a model 1150
• Intel Celeron 2.6 GHz, 128K Cache, 400 MHz FSB
• 1024 MB RAM – maximum for these models
• 100 GB 2.5″ SATA

I tried LUBUNTU and then MX with horrid results – Slooooooooooow. Installing 32-bit antiX was very easy. AntiX found and installed the built in WiFi card. Then, just for the sake of it, I inserted a Linksys PCMCIA WiFi card. I manually installed it using the network tools that came with the distro and it was easy to set up.

Performance on the old gal was far from snappy but okay enough to be usable. That is, until the browser opens. The CPU meter gets pegged at 100% and stays there for just about any internet browsing. Google drive was so slow it couldn’t be used. I think that might be because of some heavy java overhead. I wasn’t running out of RAM, the CPU was the bottleneck. It just couldn’t keep up.

Maybe doing a base install instead of a full install would help. But I think this hardware is just too old and slow. Perhaps I’ll turn it into a Win95 laptop and fill it with old DOS and Windows 16-bit games for the kids.

Successful:

• MSI Wind Box DE200 – a mini desktop
• Intel Atom 230 @ 1.6 GHz
• Single core
• 2048 MB RAM soldered and no more can be added
• 4 GB SSD drive built into motherboard
• 320 GB SATA

I tried MINT, then LUBUNTU, then MX but they were all too clunky to do anything with. I finally installed 32-bit antiX (full) and the machine runs fantastic. I disabled the SSD from the boot sequence in the BIOS. The install was painless, including the automatic detection of and installation of the built in Wi-Fi adapter, something MINT and LUBUNTU didn’t do. The browser is fantastic at killing ads and runs smooth even on this old box. I can watch YouTube videos and embedded videos on websites.

I decided to format the entire 4 GB SSD as a second swap partition. So, now I have two swap partitions mounting at boot-up, one on each of the drives. Nearly 6 GB of swap showing on the desktop meter. I know, I know, but I’m having fun! I installed GIMP and created a 1,280 MB, 300 dpi billboard size image just to see what would happen. RAM usage went up to ~1.6 GB and ~485 MB of hybrid swap was used. Then I tried the browser on a new site loaded with ads and videos and it loaded and displayed just as it had without GIMP running. I was surprised to see the 485 MB swap remained “in use” even after I closed GIMP. I don’t know if that’s normal or not but it doesn’t matter. I really had to do something silly to get it put the swap into use in the first place.

I thought about installing the 64-bit version of antiX but without a dual core CPU and only 2 GB of RAM would it have made a difference?

I’m looking forward to putting antiX on a modern, high powered platform. I bet it would fly!

[Anonymous]

Helpful

Up

0

::

the 485 MB swap remained “in use” even after I closed GIMP. I don’t know if that’s normal
That behavior is governed by the parameter vm.vfs_cache_pressure value stated in /etc/sysctl.conf
and you can tweak it to better suit your usage. (websearch “linux swap sysctl.conf” will find various, often conflicting, tutorials advising what values are “best”.)

enough to be usable. That is, until the browser opens.
Aye. Several forum topics here contain tips and suggestions regarding alternative web browsers.

===========
PSA:
“javascript” (aka ECMAScript) is not Java.
Firefox web browser can only accommodate “Java” via a plugin (e.g. the “IcedTea” plugin).
FWIW, when setting up a new linux system, I immediately disable + uninstall “IcedTea” if it has been pre-installed.
Also FWIW ~~ none of the sites I’ve visited throughout the past decade have been “broken” due to the absence of Java plugin.

[Forum Admin rokytnji]

Helpful

Up

0

::

Palemoon 32 bit non pae from Stevo on MX forums is favorite browser now on my P3 and Intel atom n270 netbooks.

I uninstall adobe flashplayer in synaptic also.

There are threads like skidoo mentioned on this. Use the search tips in my signature to find latest info on installing Palemoon into AntiX. Use Strevos palemoon browser build. Not the on e from Debian. In synaptic. Maybe some other member will do me a favor and post a link. I had 2 back teeth pulled and am hurting big time right now.

Sometimes I drive a crooked road to get my mind straight.
Not all who Wander are Lost.
I'm not outa place. I'm from outer space.

Linux Registered User # 475019
How to Search for AntiX solutions to your problems

[Member azrielle]

Helpful

Up

0

::

If I had a 4GB SSD and a 320GB mechanical HDD, I would setup the SSD as root and install AntiX onto it (which only requires 2.7GB to install), and setup the HDD as /home, /data, etc. Even OLD SSDs speed up boot times remarkably. That said, it is important to realize that ALL browsers cache web page data onto the HDD in preference to RAM…the proof is in the pudding–installing a cheap 120GB SSD onto an n270 powered netbook triples the number of tabs that can be opened in any given browser before the system slows down to a crawl. With respect to your first mentioned PC with only 1GB RAM, it really would be worth it to swap out the HDD for a SSD.

Lenovo T430 i5/3220M 8GB 14.1" MX17.1/AntiX 17.1 Fluxbox/Win7SP1 180GB SSD+128GB mSATA
Lenovo X230 i7/3520M 12GB 12.5" MX17.1/Win7SP1 500GB SSD
Lenovo X131e i3/3227u 8GB 11.6" MX17.1/AntiX 17.1 Fluxbox/Win7SP1 500GB SSD

[Anonymous]

Helpful

Up

0

::

it is important to realize that ALL browsers cache web page data onto the HDD in preference to RAM
Workarounds do exist, for instance:

December 9, 2017 at 1:31 pm
In reply to: Make old system more lightweight

If using firefox:
[…]
visit “about:config” and specify browser.cache.disk.enable=false

After that change, the browser’s most-frequently-observed disk writes will be due to updated info being written to the Session Mananger datastore.
browser.sessionstore.interval= the default value is 15000 (milliseconds); I would raise the value to 120000 (2minutes) or more

[Member X180A]

Helpful

Up

0

::

Thanks, folks. I tried the low rent version of Palemoon and it makes a difference. I will try some of the other tweeks in a bit. For now, I’m going to do what I can for a better install on the MSI desktop.

I like azrielle’s suggestion about using the SSD card for root. The reason I disabled booting to SSD in BIOS when I installed was because no matter what I did the antiX installer would only let me install and boot on that drive. If I tried to install on the SATA it failed to boot. Trying to install on the SATA and putting the boot record on the SSD wouldn’t work. That’s why I disabled the SSD for install, installed on the SATA, then re-enabled the SSD and made it a swap. To make that work I had format the SSD with swap file system, and edit fstab by entering the SSD’s UID and listing it as a swap location.

Yesterday, I tried azrielle’s idea. During install, I used the partition tool and made the SSD drive the root partition and created /home and swap on the SATA. Then, when I proceeded with install it would not let me install to both disks. The installer only lets me install to one disk or the other. I tried all sorts of configurations but I can’t get around the installer’s inability to install to multiple disks.

So, I have an idea but I don/t know if it will work. I’m thinking of doing an install on the SSD. Then, disabling booting to the SSD and doing a second install to the SATA. That will leave me with two separate and complete installs, one on each disk and each with its own on-disk boot record. Then, I’m thinking, I can use the partitioning tool to delete the swap file on the SSD and expand the root partition to use all 4GB of that drive. Next, I would delete the root partition on the SATA and create /home and swap partitions on that drive. Finally, I could edit fstab to direct everything in the right place. At least in theory.

However, I am left with something to sort out. Doing the above will create two fstabs, one on each disk. Since I want to boot and have root on the SSD I will have to edit that fstab. To do so, I will have to boot to that drive and do the edit from there. But if I do that I cannot delete the swap partition nor can I resize the root partition on that drive. I’ll have to figure out some way to modify the fstab on the SSD while I am booted on and using antiX on the SATA.

Any ideas?

[Forum Admin anticapitalista]

Helpful

Up

0

::

antiX-full will not fit on a partition of 4GB and less.

Philosophers have interpreted the world in many ways; the point is to change it.

antiX with runit - leaner and meaner.

[Member X180A]

Helpful

Up

0

::

That must be why it wouldn’t work. I couldn’t even get the base version of antiX to install on the MSI desktop’s 4GB SSD.

I still wanted to make use of that 4GB SSD so I took a different approach. I used 2GB of the SSD for swap and the remainder for what I named “app-swap”. I often edit large photos with Gimp and the program let’s you designate the location you want Gimp to put the scratch file. I set it up to use “app-swap” on the SSD with hopes it would speed operations up a bit and also leave more resources for other apps.

I was able to verify my install was doing as planned. I created a billboard size image with and without Gimp using the “app-swap” partition. The biggest difference was in how much of my precious little RAM was being used. With Gimp using a scratch file on the home disk, the SATA, used 1.49 Gigs of my total 1.97 Gigs RAM. But when I had Gimp put the scratch file on the special partition I was only using 500 Megs of RAM!

I am very happy with the way it’s working out. Thanks for the suggestion about speeding things up with the SSD.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by X180A.

Attachments:

1. 

   20180317_211303.jpg
   

2. 

   20180318_173505.jpg
   

[Member X180A]

Helpful

Up

0

::

As to the Dell 1150 laptop, it has now become a useful tool. Remember, it ran “okay” until I opened the browser. Well, I wiped off the full install of antiX and then did a clean install of the base. Then, I reinstalled Palemoon browser. Those two things were enough to breath new life into the 16 year old machine. Even with only 1 GB of ram it is running just as good, if not better, than it did under it’s original install of Windows XP. My 8th grade son has been using it for his homework, including running the server based apps Google Docs and Google Slides.

I was going bonkers for a while because I was getting cpufreq failure messages on boot-up and, according to Conky it would boot with a processor speed of either 2.598 MHz, 1 GHz, or 467 MHz with no apparent reason or pattern. I eventually learned that Dell disabled software clocking in the Bios of many of their laptops back when this was made. The issue cause misreporting of cpufreq and Conky was only passing on the messed up info. I ran some cpu benchmarks and I was able to confirm that the cpu was running at full speed and executing instructions equally fast regardless of what Conky showed. The cpu is hardware controlled, plain and simple. I edited the Concy configuration file so it doesn’t list the cpu freq and now it doesn’t bother me.

The only thing I can think of still left to do here would be to change the title of the thread.
From: “One Successful Install – One Not Quite So”
To: “One Two Successful Installs One Not Quite So“

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by X180A.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by X180A.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by X180A.

[Forum Admin anticapitalista]

Helpful

Up

0

::

A very nice solution you found!

The gui installer sets a minimum of 4GB required disk space. Since base uses the same installer, it does the same.
I should fix this when I have time.
The cli-installer does not have any such limitations.

Philosophers have interpreted the world in many ways; the point is to change it.

antiX with runit - leaner and meaner.

[Author]

Posts