linuxgeek: [LINUX_Newbies] Re: Installation

--- In LINUX_Newbies@yahoogroups.com, dvdpst <dvdposton@...> wrote:
>
> Not all Linux can go on older machines. If you are looking for an Linux to
> put on an pre 90s machine. Try looking at Puppy Linux. It can run on an
> machine with 128 mb or less. There are others too. I have Puppy running on
> an 186 with 128 mb ram.

Did I miss something along the way? I always thought replying to threads on mailinglists is incompatible with top-posting. I do not mean to be pussy about that issue, but I agree that it is easier to read/understand. Too much text in the original message to quote it all? Cut it out in the response and put [snip] instead as a placeholder.

[snip]

> > One advantage that I have read about Linux is that it is much
> > easier on resources than Windows; it can be used to bring new life to
> > older machines. Therefore, I am curious as to why 4 GB of RAM is
> > insufficient to run Linux properly, and that several dedicated
> > partitions for swap areas are required. Can't Linux just use a file on
> > disk for swapping of necessary?

You are correct, nowadays Linux may also use a 'simple' SWAP-file instead of a dedicated SWAP-partition without performance penalty (at least that is the case since kernel version 2.6.32-5 if I remember correctly). So of course you can do without a SWAP-partition and have Linux create a specific file for that purpose.
I asked more knowledgeable than I am in my local LUG yesterday and they all confirmed my argument that setting up 3 SWAP-partitions instead of just one, or a SWAP-file doesn't make any sense.

Regarding the necessity of a SWAP-file/partition it really depends on the Linux distribution/desktop environment you use, I would argue. The newest versions of GNOME/KDE (which are actually desktop environments) hog an impressive amount of RAM. According to my experience with some daemons running, as well as other desktop related widgets, applets, etc. 1GB of RAM used is to be expected. Finally RAM is not the only factor determining whether your computer runs smoothly or not. Most of the time I do not run out of RAM, but rather the CPU just can't handle it.

Pascal