Try going to slax.org and search slax on harddisk (or similar) lzm file. If you run this module within slax, it will create an iso that you can burn to cd as your boot selector. The menu then will include options that will retain your bookmarks, files etc.

dreamlinux 3.5,based in debian linux lenny,included wicd manager wifi,the best…sorry for my inglish

Try using Puppy Linux. Version 4.12 works fine on my old Compaq 5220 and IBM thinkpad. It found all the hardware including sound on both machines and wifi on the Thinkpad.

It’s a good solid lite Linux.

I also have tried several different Linux distributions on an old Dell Inspiron laptop. I had an issue with DSL loosing use of my touch pad and Puppy, although I do appreciate it did not fit the bill because of connectivity issues. I am currently running Tiny Me a pint sized distribution of PC Linux. Although not perfect it runs well on 128MB of RAM, recognizes my USB drives and has no connectivity problems.

Puppy is better than DSL on my old Deskpro, esp. in terms of graphical interfaces – but I believe this is why DSL uses damn small RAM. :) I’m gonna try SLAX in a short moment. ;)

P/S: I’m using The World Browser, not the real IE.

Puppy Linux 3.01, the latest, works great for me and the setup of my Broadcom 4318 Wireless was relatively easy. I have a Dell Latitude D400.

It didn’t install completely automatically, but after I went thru the Connect software, I found that I needed just a line or two from the Puppy Wiki, wireless section, about manual installation, to make everything jake. And it was easy to create a text script that put in a few commands so now it’s all automatic. The module needed was automatically selected by Puppy, so I didn’t have to download or reconfigure anything, just issue the correct iwconfig settings.

Thanks for the tip Pete. I did try Fluxbuntu recently and it was ok – not great. I will definitely give MEPIS-Antix a look. :)

I have tried almost all the “lightweight” distributions on my Omnibook 4150 (Pentium II 400 with 128mb ram) and i have found that the only distro that live up to the hype is MEPIS-AntiX.

MEPIS-Antix is a version of MEPIS that uses the Fluxbox Window manager. There are Kernel changes that MEPIS has made, that make it a better choice than Ubunbu. The install is also easy from the liveCD or Install CD. All my hardware was detected including my broadcom wireless PCMCIA card!

Once installed, its a simple APT-GET to install from the MEPIS repo’s.

MEPIS-AntiX also includes conkey, feh, and firefox.

I just added wifi-radar and PCManFM. (Thunar is good, but seems to install more SH*t than nessesary.

Well, hope this helps, and I am eagerly waiting to try Fluxbuntu (Release), but I feel MEPIS-Antix will still be a better product.

Boot Slax from your hard drive (installing Slax)
If you want to install Slax on your hard drive, make sure you have a Linux partition which is free. Then go to the “Home” icon on your KDE desktop. Select the “Slax-Install” program, and fill in all the nessacary information. Make sure you select the right hard drive partition, you probably don’t want to install Slax over another operating system you have. It installs LILO with it, which means that the install could make Windows, (or other operating systems installed on the drive) unbootable. So you should only do this if you know how to use and edit LILO.
copy and paste from http://www.geocities.com/slaxfansite/#boot

I’d agree — Slax is fun and works wonders sometimes, but until it gets past the “just a Live distro” angle, it’s only a curiosity to me.

That being said, if you have a machine that will boot from USB and you want to use a teeny Linux distro that’s easy to customize, Slax works great. I used to run it off a 256Mb USB key on a P4 machine in my old office. It was perfect since I could customize the live environment by dropping modules on to the flash drive, and never have to wait for CD access, or reburn them.