Reviving the Past: How Damn Small Linux 2024 Brought New Life to an Aging Eee PC

Damn Small Linux, a lightweight Linux distro designed for older and lower-spec PCs, has been revived with the release of Damn Small Linux 2024 Alpha. Originally developed in 2012, this latest iteration weighs in at a bulkier 700MB, making it an ideal solution for systems like the Asus Eee PC from 2007. We took the helm to explore how Damn Small Linux 2024 can breathe new life into any old computer.

A Brief History of Damn Small Linux

Damn Small Linux is built on top of Debian and antiX, with Fluxbox and JWM window managers as its lightweight alternatives. The distro comes pre-installed with a limited range of software, including web browsers, text editors, code editors, media playback, and email clients. Users can install additional applications using the apt package manager.

Bringing New Life to an Aging Eee PC

We took an Asus Eee PC from 2007 and upgraded it with 1GB of RAM and a new internal 4GB eMMC drive. With Damn Small Linux 2024, we were able to breathe new life into the aging machine.

Step 1: Creating a Bootable USB Stick

To start the process, we created a bootable USB stick using the Damn Small Linux 2024 ISO image and Rufus. Here's how:

  • Download the latest ISO version of Damn Small Linux 2024 to your computer.
  • Insert a USB stick (1GB or larger) and open Rufus.
  • Select your USB stick as the Device, then for Boot Selection select Disk or ISO image and click SELECT.
  • Select the Damn Small Linux 2024 ISO image and click Open.
  • Click START to write the ISO to the USB stick. The ISO image is only 700MB and won't take long to write to the drive.

Step 2: Installing Damn Small Linux 2024

Once the bootable USB stick was created, we inserted it into the Eee PC and booted from it. Here's what happened next:

  • If prompted on boot, select the Damn Small Linux 2024 option from GRUB.
  • At the login prompt, enter your username and press Enter to move to the password box. Enter the password and press Enter to login.
  • Left click on Menu to open the main menu. You can also right-click to bring up the menu at your current mouse position.
  • Quick links to apps are found at the top of the list. The Applications menu contains all of the applications that come pre-installed.

Step 3: Exploring Damn Small Linux 2024

Once logged in, we discovered that Damn Small Linux 2024 doesn't feel too different from more mainstream Linux distros. It may look different when compared to the “high gloss” distros for more modern machines, but under the hood is Debian, making us feel right at home.

  • We updated the repositories using the apt package manager.
  • We searched for an application and installed it using apt.
  • We ran the app from the terminal using its name and press Enter.

Conclusion

Damn Small Linux 2024 is a fun way to resurrect an older machine. It can be useful for kids to hack on or when you need focus, as a low-spec machine will struggle to run multiple applications, forcing you to complete a task. With its lightweight design and apt package manager, Damn Small Linux 2024 has brought new life to our aging Eee PC, proving that even the oldest machines can still be useful with the right tools.

About Les Pounder

Les Pounder is an associate editor at Tom's Hardware. He is a creative technologist and for seven years has created projects to educate and inspire minds both young and old. He has worked with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to write and deliver their teacher training program "Picademy".