Description of problem: There is a discussion going on the QA ML where one member, Benedict McMonagle, is attempting to make Cauldron run on a 32-bit AMD-based machine with 512MB of RAM, without success. Martin Whitaker is attempting to track down the problem using VirtualBox, also with little success so far. McMonagle says he can make Mageia 6 "run" on the hardware, but barely. It's my belief that even if he and Martin can eventually get Mageia 7 to "run" on that hardware, it will do so so badly as to be unusable. Inexperienced users of that sort of hardware would probably fail to make it work. I have been able to make Mageia 7 work on a 1GB 32-bit Pentium 4-based machine, with little trouble as long as a light DE is selected. It will even run Plasma, but I have to use the VESA video driver to do it. The result is usable, if slow by modern standards. But I highly doubt that it would work at all with but 512MB. I would propose that with the release of Mageia 7, the minimum requirements for RAM be changed to something higher, so that we don't wind up with so many frustrated users. It's not particularly professional if we publish minimums that we can't make usable ourselves. I would suggest a minimum of 1GB if we aren't to have to revisit this for a while.
I have m6 running xfce on a system with 1GB ram. After lots of tweaking to minimize ram usage, free -m is showing 425MB actually used (zero swap). That's with konversation running on that system. A 512MB system is fine for running a non-gui system, though I'm not sure if the standard installers will run with that level of ram. I think we should state that a minimum of 2GB is needed for most people, but that it will work on lower ram systems for user's willing and able to invest the time and effort to tweak the ram usage. The installers have been tested on a 1GB system, but only with heavy swap usage during the installation.
CC: (none) => davidwhodgins
CC: (none) => westel
See Also: (none) => https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=27872
This bug is a near duplicate of bug 27872. > A 512MB system is fine for running a non-gui system A point worth making. Otherwise recommend minimum 768Mb | 1Gb ? With 2 bugs about this, we do need to update the public advice.
CC: (none) => lewyssmith
I have an Acer Aspire One, 1GB RAM, 64 bit, than i tested on now: Default Xfce install is usable. Starting MCC, and install packages, ram usage go to 800MB according to the graphical process monitor... (bot no swap utilised) Firefox works but better switch to a lighter, like Falkon. For even lighter use i.e IceWM. I guess that at 768MB RAM you *may* have problem with drakrpm, but *probably* it works when it can use swap. It all depends... Booting a default *Live* Xfce 64 bit without persistence Firefox can hardly load at all. But with persistence (which avoids using ramdisk) and swap you can use Firefox, but as said better use lighter programs... Then it is OK. So I would say 2GB is only *needed* for full fledged desktop and programs (swap needed) 1GB is minimum for "light use". - Mageia makes this laptop useable :) If you have less than 1GB, and want to use it with a DE, better go for a distro made specifically to be light. Suggestion: Light install Xfce, and light programs: min 1GB Gnome, Plasma and normal program choices: min 2GB
CC: (none) => fri
CC: lewyssmith => (none)
Bug 27814 - System classification for package selection at install is dated
See Also: (none) => https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=27814
Thanks for your contribution. I'll add sentences bellow. I hope that they're fine. Memory (RAM): 512MB minimum, 2GB recommended; For headless systems that minimum can be usable. For low memory intensive programs and light graphical Desktop Environments like Xfce the minimum is 1GB. For more feature rich like Gnome and Plasma the minimum is 2GB.
CC: (none) => filip.komar
Looking good to me :) ( I see from other threads that use case personal preferences also matters, as well as if it have fast drive (fast swap) and tuning can be made. That is out of the scope of minimum requirement section )
Fixed with: https://gitweb.mageia.org/web/www/commit/?id=3fcfc9aac19a33762c7260efe41dd55745928a11
Status: NEW => RESOLVEDResolution: (none) => FIXEDAssignee: atelier-bugs => filip.komar