Best Lightweight Linux Distros for Older Computers
Don’t throw away that old Pentium III tower and CRT monitor just yet! While that old laptop in the closet may not be able to run Windows 11 or macOS, it doesn’t mean it’s destined for the dump.
Many Linux distributions are made specifically for utilizing the ancient, underpowered hardware found in older machines. By installing these lightweight distros, you can breathe new life into an old PC thought to be long past its prime. Here are the best lightweight Linux distros that we’ve picked out from the pile.
One of the lesser-known but nevertheless brilliant lightweight Linux distros is Alpine. Weighing in at under 130MB, Alpine was designed originally to be used for virtual servers, so you won’t find any cruft or unnecessary software baggage here. It has a sensible and accessible update cycle and its package format: APK (no, nothing to do with Android!) is convenient for flagging issues and making iterations.