Tiny Core Linux
General TC => General TC Talk => Topic started by: Zendrael on January 14, 2013, 02:19:57 PM
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Hi!
I see a lot of people asking about what kind of hardware can run Core and if it is designed for old computers, if it can run on modern hardware... So, I think that most of us (users of the Core) could share some experiences about the hardware that we actually are running Core on (newer or older). Let me start:
My Core runs on...
Processor: Vortex86MX+ (SoC)
Memory: 1GB
HD: 8GB SD card
Core version: 4.7.2
Core mode: persistent home and opt
This has also: wireless USB dongle, external 500GB harddrive
With purpose: share files on the network, basic internet surfing
More about it: The unit with this SoC is called Surfboard or KeybordPC from XCore86 company
How well Core performs on this: Very well for stuff that does not require much graphical processing
And you, reader, what kind of hardware do you have running Core? ;)
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Dell PowerEdge SC440 (2008 vintage) (first of several posts)
Hardware
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2180 @ 2.00GHz
RAM: 4 GB
HD : 80 GB SATA, 500 GB SATA
NIC: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5754 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02)
WIFI: Atheros Communications Inc. AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
VID: (On board) ATI Technologies Inc ES1000 (rev 02)
(PCIE card) ATI Technologies Inc RV370 [Radeon X300SE]
Sound: Ensoniq ES1371 [AudioPCI-97] (rev 08)
Software
grub4dos
Core 4.7.3 w/fltk-1.1.10, Xlibs, Xprogs, Xorg-7.5, wbar, jwm
openssh, minefield7, flash11, rdesktop, filezilla, gtm5, sylpheed, emelfm2, vlc, asunder, lame, (etc)
CorePure64 coexists nicely on the same boot media and works fine, though I usually use the 32 bit Core.
Config
frugal install - nothing persistent except the tce directory and mydata.gz
Some big static data gets dumped to persistent directories on an HD or USB stick.
I don't want my mp3 collection in mydata.gz - nor in my home directory either.)
The boot loader and OS are installed on both the HD and a USB stick. I boot from the USB stick by preference.
Usage
Primary desktop: web surfing, email, music playing, CD ripping, document scanning. telnet, ssh, rdesktop, ftp.
Comments
The ES1000 graphics can't do 1920x1080 display.
flash11 with the X300SE graphics hardware is ok for flash based games, but certainly not fast by modern standards.
The X300SE hardware had to be surgically inserted - minor mobo mod.
The Broadcom NetXtreme BCM5754 was not recognized by the earliest TinyCore (early 1.x) but has been fine since then.
I haven't used the Wifi much - just enough to satisfy myself that it works. It does.
Edit: Added system year and comment about CorePure64. lem 2013-01-15 01:46
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Dell PowerEdge SC440 (2008 vintage) (as samba server)
Hardware
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2180 @ 2.00GHz
RAM: 4 GB
HD : 80 GB SATA, 1TB SATA
NIC: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5754 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02)
WIFI: none
VID: (On board) ATI Technologies Inc ES1000 (rev 02)
Sound: Creative Labs SB Live! EMU10k1 (rev 07)
Software
grub4dos
Core 4.5.2 w/fltk-1.1.10, Xlibs, Xprogs, Xvesa, wbar, jwm
openssh, samba3, minefield7, flash11, rdesktop, filezilla, gtm5, sylpheed, emelfm2, vlc, asunder, lame, (etc)
Config
frugal install - nothing about the OS is persistent except the tce directory and mydata.gz
Much big static data gets dumped to persistent directories on an HD.
The boot loader and OS are installed on both the HD and a USB stick. I boot from the HD by preference.
Usage
Provides backup storage for home network. Secondary desktop system for web surfing, email, telnet, ssh, rdesktop.
Comments
The ES1000 graphics can't do 1920x1080 display.
flash11 with the ES1000 graphics hardware is pitiful for flash based games. Or is it Xvesa that slows things down?
The Broadcom NetXtreme BCM5754 was not recognized by the earliest TinyCore (early 1.x) but has been fine since then.
Edit: Added system year. lem 2013--01-15 01:49
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Dell Inspiron 570 (2010 vintage)
Hardware
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 630 (quad core) @ 2.8 GHz
RAM: 6 GB
HD : 750 GB SATA
NIC: Broadcomm "Netlink" gigabit ethernet
WIFI: none
VID: ATI Technologies Radeon HD 4200
Sound: ATI and/or Realtek "High Def"
Software
grub4dos
Core 4.7.3 w/fltk-1.1.10, Xlibs, Xprogs, Xorg-7.5, wbar, jwm
clamav, openssh, minefield7, flash11, rdesktop, filezilla, gtm5, sylpheed, emelfm2, vlc, asunder, lame, (etc)
Config
frugal install - nothing persistent except the tce directory and mydata.gz
Some big static data gets dumped to persistent directories on an HD or USB stick.
The boot loader and OS are installed on a USB stick.
Usage
My Wife's desktop. This box normally runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. I boot Core to clean out the malware.
Comments
This box is running Win 7 right now, so I can't see how the hardware will be detected by Core.
It does zoom right along under Core.
Edit: added system vintage. lem 2013-01-15 01:50
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I mostly use it on a couple different machines at work.
On the lower end of hardware...
HP T5135 (thin Client from late 2008)
Hardware
CPU: VIA Eden 400mhz
RAM: 128MB
HD : 64MB
NIC: VIA Rhine-II (100mbit)
Sound: Not loaded right now, but works with ALSA (I think it's VIA AC97)
Software
Xvesa,wbar,Firefox, Citrix Receiver (thanks to gutmensch), and all their deps
Usage
Thin client: Runs Firefox on boot, which points our users to a login page for our Citrix XenApp system.
Comments
For some reason the stock software on these kept breaking every month, so I tried to boot Core one day and to see how far it could go (turns out it went very far)!
Have some messages on the Ctrl-Alt-F1 terminal(?) that I think are OOM errors from Firefox, but it's been running very well!
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Thank you Lee! Great machines on there!
Thank you too zerophnx! You also run Core on high end machines?
Core is truly awesome, anybody out there is running on high end machines too? Or low end?
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I'm running Core on an acer travelmate 5740G
Processor: Intel Core i5
Memory: 4GB
HD: 500GB disk used for data, 16GB USB thumb drive used for TC
Version: 4.7
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470
Loaded extensions:
Xorg, ALSA, dmenu, dwm, chromium-browser, flash, openssh, screen, vim, transmission-gtk, mplayer
The laptop is my general purpose work station, primarily used for web browsing, SSH, torrents, and a bit of python development. It also dual-boots Windows, for my Steam games and (ugh) iTunes. Almost everything Just Works, with a few exceptions:
* An occasional popping noise from the speakers when using ALSA (A really small niggle, I know. One day i'll test OSS)
* Fans don't seem to work properly - Laptop gets REALLY hot if not sitting on it's cooling mat
* HDMI. Research seems to suggest that for my graphics chipset, HDMI audo will work with a kernel version 3.3 or newer. I expect the laptop will have been replaced by the time TC's kernel is new enough... Need to do more research before my next laptop purchase!
* I can only run 32 bit. 64 bit requires a special boot code, which limits me to 1 CPU and prevents battery monitoring, which is unfortunate and unworkable. When Core gets a newer kernel version, or I get a new machine, I'll try again maybe.
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Core runs on everything :p
Well the list of machines I'm aware of that Core is running on us endless and honestly I wouldn't know we're to begin..
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Oh, I'm just getting started. Those first few were some of the higher-end boxes on which I run Core.
Now for those with salvage boxes....
Compaq DeskPro EN (maybe 1998 or 1999 vintage)
Hardware
CPU: Pentium II (Deschutes) @ 350 MHz
RAM: 256 MB
HD : 6 GB IDE
NIC: Some generic old 10/100 NIC
Some other generic old 10/100 NIC as eth1
WIFI: none
VID: on board
Sound: on board
Software
grub4dos
Core 4.7.3 w/fltk-1.1.10, Xlibs, Xprogs, Xorg-7.5, wbar, jwm
openssh, minefield7, rdesktop, filezilla, gtm5, sylpheed, emelfm2, (etc)
Config
frugal install - nothing persistent except the tce directory and mydata.gz
Some big static data gets dumped to persistent directories on the HD
This box can't boot from its USB 1.x ports
Usage
Serves as my main point of exposure to the internet - I can ssh into it from a remote location and then access whatever else I need on my network.
Comments
This box was originally a Windows 98 box in a corporate setting. I got it for free ( I got three of it for free! Could have had more but was afraid my wife would kill me. ;D )
Its no speed demon, but its been plugging along for a -very- long time.
This is still plenty of hardware to run Tiny Core - yeah, even with X. One has to note the limitations of the CPU and video system.
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Toshiba Magnia SG20 ( Early 2000's vintage)
Hardware
CPU: Intel Celeron @ 566 MHz
RAM: 128 MB
HD : 40 GB PATA, times two
NIC: Builti in 8 port switch as eth0
WAN port as ETH1
WIFI: PCMCIA wifi card
VID: none
Sound: none
Software
grub4dos
Core 4.7.3
openssh, gtm5
Config
frugal install - nothing persistent except the tce directory and mydata.gz
Some big static data gets dumped to persistent directories on an HD or USB stick.
The boot loader and OS are installed on the HD
Usage
Used as a toy. Its down for reinstall right now. I'll have an ftp server and web server on it before I'm done.
Comments
Initial config is done by putting the boot drive in a USB adapter and attaching it to a regular PC. Once it boots and brings up sshd I can put the drive back innto the Magnia.
If this PCMCIA 4-port USB thingy works, I'll add external storage and a more modern wifi dongle.
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Core runs on everything :p
Surely not. I'm still waiting on my linux-powered toaster!
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Core runs on everything :p
Surely not. I'm still waiting on my linux-powered toaster!
Am sure it's coming to a store near you very soon :p
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Another work machine...
Dell Latitude E6410
Hardware
CPU: Intel i5 M520 (Quad core @ 2.4GHz)
RAM: 4GB
HD : 160GB
Wifi: Centrino Advanced-N 6200 AGN (I think)(iwlwifi-firmware)
VID: Intel HD Graphics (i915/intel driver)
NIC: Intel 82577LM Gigabit
Software
Xorg,xf86-intel,Firefox,dropbear,wifi,wpa_supplicant,iwlwifi-firmware,Flash11
Usage
An extra laptop (for the moment) that I mostly use for web surfing or SSHing into my router or Pi. I might eventually use this (or another one) as a Q
Comments
Needed the firmware for the wireless to work (no surprise there). Wifi(.sh) really simplified the process!
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Currently using TCL on an AMD Sempron box (shoulda gone higher), 2G memory, no hard disk (boot from and save to USB, run in RAM only).
First ran TCL on a Compaq Deskpro III rescued from a dumpster, 500M memory, flaky hard disk with Windows 2000 that I never used and which finally died, booted off CD with extensions/backup on USB, ran in RAM. Worked fine there except with USB 1.0 took a long time to boot!
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First ran TCL on a Compaq Deskpro III rescued from a dumpster, 500M memory, flaky hard disk with Windows 2000 that I never used and which finally died, booted off CD with extensions/backup on USB, ran in RAM. Worked fine there except with USB 1.0 took a long time to boot!
With the OS on CD and the tce directory on USB 1.0, about how long -did- that take to boot? My DeskPros all have functioning hard drives but, apparently unlike the systems themselves, the drives won't last forever. :)
For all I use them, I really don't know why I care...
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I didn't time it precisely. However I used to call it my "beer boot" because I could start up the box, walk to the kitchen and get a beer, walk back and the desktop would appear just as I returned. I timed the walk now (including the beer) and it's about 35 seconds. Then and now I'm running a fairly small set of extensions -- web browser with Flash, mp3 player, pdf viewer, not much else all loading to RAM. My current USB 2 box boots in less than 20 seconds.
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Wow!
Very nice machines running Core out there!
Anyone with experiences on notebooks multitouch touchpads? Sleep and Wake? Hibernation?
My Core on the Vortex machine mentioned boots in almost 1 minute... I think it's because even the SD card which it's intalled being class10, the interface is USB 1.0... any clues about speeding it up?
Thanks to all of you that are sharing your experiences!
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My Core on the Vortex machine mentioned boots in almost 1 minute... I think it's because even the SD card which it's intalled being class10, the interface is USB 1.0... any clues about speeding it up?
USB 1.0 is inherently slow, so all you could do is reducing sizes of kernel, initrd, onboot and backup to speed boot up.
Using persistent /home and /opt might speed up boot more but at the cost of reduced speed thereafter and more wear and tear of SD card.
Hint: there is a remaster script including only currently loaded drivers by gutmensch in the scripting subforum which could slim down initrd a lot.
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IIRC on my USB 1.0 box the bulk of the boot time was taken up loading extensions and backup (I was booting Core from CD though). You might want to time the phases of your boot process and see what you can change to make the most difference. I guess with a notebook you have to boot and shutdown pretty often. Since mine was a desktop I dealt with the issue mainly by booting once a day at most. When I finally got the newer box I was surprised at the difference USB 2 made (plus I could boot from USB also). I generally leave it running about a week at a time now anyway.
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Dell Dimension 4600 (2004 vintage)
Hardware
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz ( 1 core )
RAM: 512 MB
HD : 4GB USB flash drive ( all actual HD and optical drives currently disconnected )
NIC: Intel Corporation 82557/8/9/0/1 Ethernet Pro 100 (rev 05)
Intel Corporation 82562EZ 10/100 Ethernet Controller (rev 02)
WIFI: none
VID: Intel Corporation 82865G Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 02) (on-board)
Sound: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 02)
Software
grub4dos
Core 4.7 w/fltk-1.1.10, Xlibs, Xprogs, Xorg-7.5, wbar, jwm
openssh, minefield7, filezilla, gtm5, sylpheed, emelfm2, bftpd, cherokee (etc)
Config
Frugal install on a USB stick - nothing persistent except the tce directory and mydata.gz
Usage
A general utility box - light ftp and http serving, some routing.
Comments
I seem to recall having to fiddle with the graphics a bit to get it to display the right colors or brightness but I've been running it headless for so long I don't remember the details.
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That's interesting... Hadn't thought about USB versions but now that I remember, have had difficulty booting TinyCore on USB 3.0 ports but have not had any issues with USB 2.0 which are still available on most machines I use
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I don't know if ability to boot from USB is connected to the version -- I thought it was more of a BIOS thing. My current TCL box happens to have a BIOS that can do a USB boot and USB 2.0 as well. It sounds like Zendrael's notebook can boot from USB even though he has USB 1.0. I'm surprised 3.0 would have problems -- thought it would just be faster.
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Dell Dimension 4700 (2005 vintage)
Hardware
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz (dual core)
RAM: 512 MB
HD : 80 GB SATA
NIC: Intel Corporation 82562ET/EZ/GT/GZ - PRO/100 VE (LOM) Ethernet Controller (rev 03)
WIFI: none
VID: Intel Corporation 82915G Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 04)
Sound: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 03)
Software
grub4dos
Core 4.7 w/fltk-1.1.10, Xlibs, Xprogs, Xorg-7.5, wbar, jwm
openssh, minefield7, filezilla, gtm5, sylpheed, emelfm2, bftpd, cherokee (etc)
Config
Frugal install on a USB stick - nothing persistent except the tce directory and mydata.gz
Usage
A secondary desktop / general utility box.
Comments
Boot from usb stick - mostly never even mount the (Win. XP) hard disk.
[/quote]
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Hey Lee,
doesn't your wife ever complained about all that computers in the house? Hahaha! (just a joke...)
Anyone running Core on some sort of cluster / grid? Is it possible?
Thane and CorePlayer2, the USB interface is my problem. I stripped all the unnecessary extensions from the boot and it still get a lot of time to boot. The machine is being used as a file / web server for my needs and to stay running while torrents are being downloaded. This machine is running for a month now without getting hot and not rebooting. A few times I did a drop cache to free some memory (as it has only 1Gb on the SoC).
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Hi Zendrael
Anyone running Core on some sort of cluster
See:
http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/topic,12595.msg70345.html#msg70345
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doesn't your wife ever complained about all that computers in the house? Hahaha! (just a joke...)
The joke's on her. ;) Only about half of the systems I've mentioned are at my home (and one of them is her Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit box, which only very rarely gets to run Core). But yeah, it has occasionally "come up in conversation" that she thinks I have "too many junky old computers" in the basement. So far she's not complaining about the PowerEdge SC440 boxes, as they are the most modern things in the house aside from her Inspiron.
Most of the other half of the list are older boxes laying around at work... where it occasionally comes up in conversation that we have "too many junky old computers" in the data center. :) The next time -that- subject comes up, guess what's going to happen... The wife will not be happy. :D
In the mean time, I dragged one of the Compaq Deskpros out and actually hooked up a monitor to it so my teenagers can use it to learn a little geekery with no real chance of playing flash based games. I updated it to Core 4.7.4 (from 2.6) and was all set to download all the latest extensions... and Verizon DSL went down... for a day and a half! It only just now started working again. In fact, its still not real stable - I've already failed once to be able to preview this post. Grrr!
And, oh yeah - didn't we just mention the hard drives in those old Deskpros? Now that the Core is updated and the internet link is back up... yeah, "non system disk..." blah blah blah. Double Grrr! Hmm, let me see now, what will the kiddies get to learn first...
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I almost forget it, a machine that is not with me anymore:
Philco Netbook (2011 more or less...)
Hardware
CPU: Intel(R) Atom(R) CPU 1.6GHz ( 1 core )
RAM: 2 GB
HD : 250GB
NIC: Intel (something... )
WIFI: yes, but can't remember model...
VID: Intel 945 GMA
Sound: Intel ....
Software
extlinux
Core 3.x with cairo-dock, thunar, compiz and others... (screenshot in the wiki)
Config
Frugal install on the harddrive. Persistent opt and home
Usage
used to web development, some image manipulation with gimp and inkscape, web durfing
Comments
pretty good machine. The actual owner is running Kubuntu on it.
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Dell Dimension XPS PPro200n (1997 vintage)
Hardware
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Pro 200MHz
RAM: 256 MiB
HD : 80 GB IDE
NIC: PCI Intel Corporation 10/100 Ethernet Controller
WIFI: None
VID: PCI Nvidia Geforce FX 6200, 256MB DDR2 Memory, VGA, Low Profile
Sound: None
USB: PCI USB 2.0 card
Software
Core 4.7 rdesktop, openssh
Config
HD install from CD-ROM
Usage
A Dev / general utility box.
Comments
Old, but still ain't broke. :)
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Hi All
I am new to Tiny Core but here is my project.
HP T5710 thin client
Hardware
CPU: 1.2GHz ( 1 core )
RAM: 512mb
HD : 512mb internal flash
NIC: (something... ) 100mbit
VID: Nvidia something
Sound: AC97
Software
TC 4.7.4
Config
Frugal install on the internal 512 flash drive .
Usage
Basic web browsing and youtube
Comments
Runs good
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HP5720
CPU: 1G AMD Geode
HD: 1G Flash drive
RAM: 512M
NIC: VT6102 100M Ethernet
VID: SIS VGA
SOUND: SiS7012 AC'97
USB: 6 USB2.0
HP5730
CPU: 1G AMD Geode
HD: 1G Flash
RAM: 1G
NIC: BCM5787M Gigabit Ethernet
VID: Radeon X1200 VGA and HDMI
SOUND: AMD (ATI) SBx00 Azalia
USB: 8 USB2.0
HP5740
CPU: 1.66G N280 Atom
HD: 2G Flash
RAM: 1G RAM
NIC: BCM57780 Gigabit Ethernet
VID: Intel Mobile 4 Graphics 9 VGA and Display Port
SOUND: 82801I ( ICH9 )
USB: 8 USB2.0
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Hey Gerald_Clark!
How high you can get your screen resolution in your machine with SIS VGA? Are you using Xvesa or Xorg?
Thanks for sharing your machines!
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My HP5720 is running headless rith now, but
it does have VESA modes up to 1600x1200x24.