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What is the best portable Linux distribution?

11

Options
Considered

93

User
Recs.

Aug 4, 2020

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

11 Options Considered

Best portable Linux distribution	Price	Based On	Default Desktop Environment
-- Puppy Linux	-	N/A (however binaries are usually taken from Debian/Ubuntu or Slackware)	Usually JWM
-- Knoppix	-	Debian	LXDE, KDE or GNOME
-- Slax	-	Debian Stable	Fluxbox
-- Porteus	-	-	-
-- antiX	-	-	-

Puppy Linux

Top Pro

Designed to run as a live USB/CD

A portable version, that can be carried on a thumb drive without requiring installation, weighs less than 100MB; a Live CD - less than 150MB. You can even save your settings and files for Puppy on the external device/media. Running off a live CD also has security benefits, as your system will reset to the known config after each boot. See More

Top Con

Ugly

Using puppy makes you feel like you just jumped 20 years into the past. Being that the purpose of Puppy Linux is to run or really low resource machines the software used is often on the older side, which is precisely why it has a 20 year old look. See More

OptimisticBeletSeri's Experience

Been playing with many, many v's of Puppy. Have settled with Bionic Pup. IMHO, it is very, very good, and can definitely be used full time. See More

Specs

Based On:N/A (however binaries are usually taken from Debian/Ubuntu or Slackware)

Default Desktop Environment:Usually JWM

Init-System:SysV

Main Usage:Live System

Top Pro

The whole OS runs off of RAM

Since Puppy Linux is completely loaded and run off of RAM instead of HDD, its read/write speed is not a factor. See More

Top Pro

JWM used as window manager

JWM is a low resource window manager that is used in most Puppy Linux installs. See More

Top Pro

Linux distro designed for this exact purpose

Top Pro

Offers a long term support release

Puppy Linux offers an LTS release called Precise. See More

Top Pro

Different distro based versions available

Puppy Linux offers a few different releases. The first is an Ubuntu based release called Tahrpup, by using this version the user is able to take advantage of all software and support from Ubuntu. The second version is called Slacko, which is built upon the Slackware binaries. The third is called Wary and it is built to support older hardware than the rest. And the fourth is called Quirky, which is used as a base to explore new ideas. See More

Top Pro

The whole OS runs off of RAM (depending on installation method (frugal, etc.))

Since Puppy Linux is completely loaded and run off of RAM instead of HDD, it's read/write speed is not a factor. See More

Top Pro

Built-in tools for creating portable versions of Puppy

It consists of built-in tools that can be utilized for creating new Puppy CDs, bootable USB drives, etc. See More

Top Pro

Extends the life of USB flash drive that it's on

It also comprises of sophisticated write-caching system which helps to extend the life of USB flash drives that Puppy Linux runs from. See More

Top Pro

Extremely low minimum system requirements

Puppy Linux requires 128MB of RAM and 333Mhz of CPU, although 256MB of RAM is recommended. See More

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Knoppix

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Specs

Based On:Debian

Default Desktop Environment:LXDE, KDE or GNOME

Init-System:SysV, knoppix-autoconfig

Main Usage:Live Desktop, System Rescue

Slax

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Top Pro

Persistent changes

Changes you make the configuration are persisted if you run from USB. See More

Top Con

Works slowly on old computers

Specs

Based On:Debian Stable

Default Desktop Environment:Fluxbox

Init-System:Systemd

Main Usage:Portable & lightweight Desktop

Top Pro

Pretty fast to boot up

It was considerably fast to turn on when booting from cd. See More

Top Con

Infrequent releases

Since Slax is maintained by only one person, releases are not that frequent. So it may take a while to get bug fixes or new features once you start using it. See More

Top Pro

Modules

Standard tar archives plus some simple shell scripting produces modules that you can load dynamically into the OS for added apps and functionality. See More

Top Pro

Easy installation on usb flash disk

Just copy files to your usb disk and run a single command to make it bootable and persistent to changes. See More

Top Pro

Modern desktop

Top Pro

Small footprint

About 200mb, but with a full KDE4 environmennt and loads of useful apps. See More

Porteus

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Damn Small Linux

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SliTaz

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Dog Linux

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Specs

Based On:Debian or Ubuntu or LinuxMInt

Default Desktop Environment:JWM (depending on version)

Init-System:Systemd

Main Usage:Full Debian LiveCD that acts like Puppy

Xubuntu

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Top Con

XFCE development is slow

The desktop environment used in Xubuntu has not been updated in over two years and is developed at a snail's pace. See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment:Xfce

Init-System:Systemd

Main Usage:Ubuntu with preinstalled Xfce desktop

Top Con

UI is pretty generic without customization

The default XFCE UI is pretty generic and sometimes ugly unless customized to suit the user's needs and liking. Customization in XFCE is easier than on Unity, but still hard for beginners. See More

Top Con

Redundant

There is absolutely no reason to install it, since it uses the same package repositories as Ubuntu and you can transform any Ubuntu install into a Xubuntu install. See More

Kali Linux

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Specs

Based On:Debian Testing

Default Desktop Environment:GNOME, Xfce, KDE, MATE, Enlightenment, LXDE

Init-System:Systemd

Main Usage:penetration testing

Tiny Core Linux

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Specs

Default Desktop Environment:FLWM

Init-System:SysV

OS Family:GNU/Linux

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