Linux Distribution

Run from HDD

How to Run Any Linux Distribution Directly from Hard Disk

Run from RAM

Dsitro	DE/WM	Pro
Lubuntu	LxQt/Openbox	nothing special
Slax	NA/fluxbox	very thin ito software very clean itf interface no installation option
antiX live default pw: demo FAQ, Forum	iceWM/IceWM	include many goodies: SMTube, mpv, Youtube video player (ytfzf, old, crashed) ISO snapshot.
Tiny Core Linux	NA/FLTK & FLWM	25MB

• Fully Booting a Live USB to RAM, Enabling Disk Removal
• List of Linux distributions that run from RAM
• Ubuntu
  • Memory usage is 5.4GB according to System Monitor
  • When I try to 'Power off' my USB drive through the 'Disks' utility. But I got an error that Device or resource is busy.
  • If I forcefully pull out the USB drive, the whole live session is gone. So the conclusion is boot to ram is not fully supported.
  • My experience with Ubuntu 20.04/22.04: press "e" and add toram just before or after "quiet splash" on line 4 (starting with linux) and then press F10. See screenshots.

setparams 'Ubuntu'

        set gfxpayload=keep
        linux   /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/pressed/ubuntu.seed maybe-ubiquity toram quiet splash ---
        initrd  /casper/initrd

• List of Linux distributions that run from RAM. Some based on Debian include antiX (#15), Knoppix (#73), Slax and Tails (#31) (ranking is by DistroWatch as Oct 2021). RAM usage is about 350MB except antiX uses only 125MB.
• For antiX/MX Linux, we need to add toram parameter to the option line on the boot screen (tested on antiX-19.4_x64-full.iso).
  • First boot screen -> Use Legacy Kernel -> Normal Boot (but add "toram" to the Boot Options line at the bottom). So the boot options become "quiet splasht disable=1xF toram". Enter. It will show "Copy 1.33 GiB to RAM" on the screen (about 1 minute).
  • I delete all partitions on HDD and add 2.0TB as "/". Then the installation can continue.
  • After we see the desktop df -h should not reveal /dev/sda1 and it should only have tmpfs and /dev/loop0.
  • I can remove the USB drive.
  • To configure wifi, open antiX Control Centre -> Network -> WiFi Connect(Connman).
  • Somehow, it can remember my identity so I don't need to go to wifi to reconnect. Interesting.
• What are the best Linux distros that run entirely in RAM?
• A screenshot of antiX-21 (taken from running in Proxmox, so the res is 1024 x 768/4:3)

Linux Distro for Your Cloud Server

• How to Choose the Right Linux Distro for Your Cloud Server Fedora is the upstream source of Red Hat. CentOS is the downstream source of RHEL.
• These Are My Top 6 Linux Distros for Running a Server 2025

Ubuntu derived distributions

Elementary OS

• It looks like Mac and easy to use. It has a dock at the bottom and a taskbar at the top.
• The desktop environment Pantheon is heavy; 1GB is used.
• See some screenshots Pantheon Explained: A Look at the Minimalist Elementary OS Desktop
• Install Pantheon Desktop on Ubuntu 24.04|22.04

Rhino Linux

• https://rhinolinux.org/.
  • Rhino Linux is an Ubuntu-based, rolling release distribution, with Pacstall & XFCE at its core.
  • It is pretty new. See Distrowatch for its history.
  • It went straight to live mode. Search application list to look for an "Install Rhino Linux" icon.
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/rhinolinux/
• https://wiki.rhinolinux.org/
• Rhino Linux Is One of the Most Innovative Linux Distros
• Pacstall
  • Pacstall is a relatively new package manager for Ubuntu and other Debian-based systems that aims to bring AUR-like functionality.
  • Purpose: It allows users to install packages not available in official Ubuntu repositories. Similar to AUR, it enables community-driven package distribution.
  • Package format: Uses .pacscript files, which are shell scripts containing installation instructions.

Install Pacstall

sudo bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://pacstall.dev/q/install || wget -q https://pacstall.dev/q/install -O -)"

Once installed, you can use Pacstall to install packages via community-contributed Pacscripts. Common commands include:

• Install a package: pacstall -I <package_name> For example, RStudio package.
• Remove a package: pacstall -R <package_name>
• Search for a package: pacstall -S <package_name>
• Update all packages: pacstall -Up

Debian derived distributions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions#Debian-based

SparkyLinux

• 7 Best Rolling Release Linux Distributions for People Who Want the Latest and Greatest of Kernel and Software 2021: openSUSE Tumbleweed, Arch Linux, Manjaro Linux, Solus Linux, Debian Testing, Void Linux, Gentoo Linux.
• SparkyLinux is a lightweight, fast and simple Linux distribution designed for both old and new computers featuring customised Enlightenment and LXDE desktops. It has been built on the "testing" branch of Debian GNU/Linux.
• It has two flavors of images: Stable and (Semi)Rolling (another good choice is MX Linux).
• For example, r-base and ddclient programs are the latest when I checked them on my rolling release SparkyLinux.
• Minimum system requirements
• Past releases
• The AppCenter (APTUS APPCENTER) has different subcategories under categories. This make it easy to discover new software. For example, in Sparky 8, the "System" category has 9 subcategories: Backup, Disk, Encrypt, File Systems, Kernels, Others, Packages, Shells and Virtual.
• SparkyLinux – Review and Step-by-Step Installation Guide (in Proxmox).

antiX Linux

• https://antixlinux.com/
• In the wireless setup, passphrase = password. See this post.
• Find antiX version cat /etc/*version
• I try sysVinit version of antixCore (antiX-23.2_x64-core.iso is 538MB) released Oct 2024.
  • The installation is command-line based and the OS is terminal only.
  • It includes GRUB (good if we need to install different OS on different disks)
  • "htop" command shows only 55MB RAM was used and about 14 processes were running. It feels like DietPi.
  • "uname -a" shows the kernel is 5.10.224
  • "cat /etc/os-release" shows Debian 12.

MX Linux

• https://mxlinux.org/
• MX Linux 21 XFCE: Theming Guide

Kali

• Kali is a rolling release. Kali is based on the Debian testing branch.
• Kali Linux adds VM-like snapshot feature to bare-metal installs
• 4 Reasons Why Hackers Use Kali Linux
• 15 Best Kali Linux Web Penetration Testing Tools
• (Video) Kali 系統最新安裝教學 ！及實戰示範撬開Wifi 密碼，支援 PC、Mac、虛擬機器使用！

PeppermintOS

https://peppermintos.com/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppermint_OS

• LibreWolf browser is included, mainly for viewing PeppermintOS documentations.
• A light-weight LXDE distribution for cloud applications
• In place of traditionally native applications for common tasks (word processing, image editing), it ships with the custom Ice application called Kumo (SSB Manager), which allows users to create site-specific browsers (SSB's).
  • From my testing, favicon is not downloaded when I create an SSB for twitter.
  • The difference between Ice and Chromium’s built in “Create Application Shortcuts…” tool is that Chromium’s built in tool does not integrate with the system menu.
  • Not impressed by the SSB idea.
• This is the smallest, fastest Linux distro that actually works for everyday use

Gnoppix

Gnoppix Linux 22.12 is out with GNOME 43, Kernel 6.0, + More

Whonix OS

• https://www.whonix.org/
• Whonix KVM - A Secure OS for the Dark Web

Red Hat derived distributions

4 Ways Red Hat's Source Code Restrictions Affect Other Distros

Fedora

LXQt version looks better than GNOME (the top menu does not show all opened apps!) and KDE (too heavy).

• Switching desktop environments
• How to Install Python 3.11 on Fedora 35

  sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y
  sudo dnf install dnf-plugins-core -y
  sudo dnf install python3.11
  sudo dnf install python3-pip
  

• Fedora 33 launches with updated GNOME and BTRFS
• Why Fedora Is My Favorite Linux Distro for Productivity Tasks
  • It opts for a hybrid model that freezes the core system packages every six months while allowing third-party programs to closely follow their upstream source.
  • Fedora is also the upstream for RHEL and CentOS. This means that any feature that’s currently present in Fedora could eventually trickle down to RHEL and CentOS.

Fedora CoreOS

• https://fedoraproject.org/coreos/ The container optimized OS.
• 5 Linux distros that are perfect for running in a VM

Fedora Silverblue

• Why I've Gone All In on Fedora Silverblue
• Bazzite is based on Fedora Silverblue. See Major Differences Between Bazzite & Upstream Fedora Atomic Desktop

Upgrade from 42 to 43

Upgrade to Fedora 43 from Fedora 42 Workstation (GUI and CLI)

Arch Linux

Arch Linux

Rolling release

• Rolling release Linux distributions
• All You Need to Know About the Linux Rolling Release Model

Distros for Brand-New Hardware

5 Linux Distros That Play Nice With Brand-New Hardware. Garuda, Mint Edge, Manjaro, Fedora Linux, CachyOS.

Handheld

CachyOS

• https://github.com/CachyOS/CachyOS-Handheld

Small/lightweight Linux distributions

• Install Linux to Save Space! These Tiny Linux Distros Are Super Small 10/10/2017
• 13 Lightweight Linux Distributions to Give Your Old PC a New Lease of Life 5/5/2017. Some distributions that can be run in RAM: Macpup, Porteus.
• 10 Best Lightweight Linux Distros For Old Computers | 2019
• 50+ Best Lightweight Linux Distros for 2020 (it includes a table for comparison), Best lightweight Linux distro of 2020
• 16 Best Lightweight Linux Distributions For Older Computers 2021
• Best Lightweight Linux Distributions for Older Computers (With System Requirements)
• Top 5 Lightweight Linux Distros Without GUI
  1. Tiny Core Linux
  2. Alpine Linux
  3. Puppy Linux
  4. SliTaz
  5. antiX
• 5 More Lightweight Linux Distros That Go Easy on Your Old Windows PC
• This 50 MB operating system can resurrect your old PC Damn Small Linux/DSL. However, it does not support UEFI so I cannot even boot it with Ventoy.
  • Use Rufus to create a bootable USB with compatibility for both UEFI and Legacy modes.

My experience

• antiX Core Icewm DE -> 140 MB (best)
• Lubuntu LXQt DE -> 462MB. Xubuntu Xfce 4.18 DE -> 440MB (disk 5.6G).
• MATE too heavy
• Linux Lite (very slow, not lite, a joke)

Puppy Linux

• https://puppylinux-woof-ce.github.io/
  • Wiki
• I am testing BookwormPup64 10.0 64-bit on Acer Aspire One intel atom n570 netbook.
• How to Install Puppy Linux on a USB Drive or PC
  • When we use Gparted to create two partitions (linux-swap and ext4), remember to use Gparted to create a "boot" flag on ext4. Otherwise, we will see an error "Boot flag not found on sda." when we restart the computer.
• Even Puppy linux is installed to hard disk, it still copy puppy-*.xfs to RAM. So the root directory size is very limited.
  • Frugal installations
• When we shut down Puppy linux the first time, be sure to let it save the settings. Otherwise, it will lose the wifi setting, etc.

Make a Linux distro

Making a micro Linux distro

Live USB

See Live USB.

Tablet

• Putting Linux on a Tablet? 7 Distros to Try

Best Linux Distributions

7 Deadly Sins of Distrohopping

Secure

• 10 Best And Most Secure Linux Distributions
• 7 Reasons Why Qubes Is Better Than Your Linux Distro

Immutable

• distrobox. Provide a mutable environment on an immutable OS, like ChromeOS, Endless OS, Fedora Silverblue, OpenSUSE Aeon/Kalpa, Vanilla OS, or SteamOS3. 9.9k stars.
• 11 Immutable Linux Distributions for Those Looking to Embrace the Future
• The 5 Best Immutable, Rock-Solid Linux Distros
  • Fedora Silverblue ships with the entire system provided as one giant component that you replace whenever you download a system update (one that is also read-only). This is an approach similar to that of Android, Chromebooks, and macOS. It stops a single corrupted system file from preventing your entire PC from booting.
• This All-in-One Linux Distro Isn’t for Everyone, but It Cured My Distro-Hopping Habit
  • https://blendos.co/

Gaming

• Best Distributions for Gaming on Linux 2025/3
• 5 Best Linux Distros for Playing AAA Windows Games 2025/9

Desktop

The Best Desktop Environments For Linux

Kids

How to Configure Linux for Children