Post #2896540
2026-05-27 10:51 UTC
Why not give Gentoo a try?
It natively require you to compile the kernel which is perfect because you get to drop all the drivers and features you don’t need.
Gentoo package manager also compile every package in the system which is very slow but it gives you lot of control over what features you want from each package. You’re no longer required to install X server just because one package provide GUI support.
End result is less memory for kernel and less memory for most other apps. 256 should be doable but just to be sure try running “sysrescuecd” which is based on gentoo. first to see if it would work
Replies (2)
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@dan@upvote.au 2026-05-27 17:36
I’ve been using Linux for over 20 years and yet I’ve never tried Gentoo. Good idea. I’m not sure how well compilation would work on a 256MB system, but I could probably build a system in a VM locally then use Clonezilla to copy it to the production system.
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@nyan@sh.itjust.works 2026-05-27 16:38
It natively require you to compile the kernel Nitpick: precompiled kernels are now available as sys-kernel/gentoo-kernel-bin, but you certainly can build your own (I’ve done that for two new machines in the past six months). “sysrescuecd” which is based on gentoo It used to be, but isn’t anymore. Try booting the Gentoo minimal install image for your arch instead.