Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1010 pp19s): Best Operating System Comparison

This is for Inspiron Mini 10 (1010)Service Tag:1k5grm1

I got my hands on this device from Tante Lyna, to whom I'll be returning the device. With 1GB RAM, Windows XP, Win 7 both suck. This is a 32-bit/x84 machine. There was a suggestion to upgrade from 1GB to 2GB RAM in order to make it run better.

Note: Regarding WinXP, Installing a new version is not easy due to SATA support not available on XP CD. So, I should have left the original WinXP's recovery system intact. I tried Windows 98 SE, boot time error may be related to SATA support as well.

Online search lists these for me to test them. Example source: http://mashtips.com/lightweight-os/

Basic test area: Wifi, Browsers, Video, Audio, Office
OS Image file to USB loader: PenDriveLinux's Universal-USB-Installer or Win32 Disk Imager.
Video test: YouTube & Russia Today

I've tried Android 4.0 (Android 6 doesn't work), it seems to play well, but wifi and graphics appear to be poorly supported.

Xubuntu 16.04.2 has bad video support as well, though wifi works with third party free installation (bcm). Then it crashes a lot after a few more reboots.

ELIVE 2.0 of Debian appears to be the best (fast graphics), but no wifi and runs live on USB. If you want to install it on HDD, you need to pay, cheap shot developer.

LinuxMint 18.1 runs live on USB, then it gives you the option to install to HDD in the system. It seems better than Xubuntu. Video seems to work better but still breaks from time to time on YouTube.

*** Haitus: I'm working on upgrading the RAM to 2 GB or maybe even 4GB (according to ebay)?

*** Forget it...upgrading to RAM 2GB appears to be more troublesome than I thought: Instead of the memory chip, I had to upgrade the whole motherboard where the RAM is fused to the board.

Damn Small Linux 4.4.10: I couldn't load DSL-4.4.10-syslinux.iso to USB properly to install from USB. I didn't want the embedded DSL version on USB. I burned the iso to CD, booted fine but installation encountered error. I give up.

Lubuntu 17.04: Comparable to Xubuntu, not bad. Everything works. Just that YouTube videos are slow. Adobe Flash Player plays better.

Linux Lite 3.4-32 bit: ...

Puppy Linux

Debian + PIXEL

CrunchBang

Bhodi Linux

Peppermint Linux

Arch Linux

Slax

Solus OS 2017.04.18.0-MATE: Doesn't work, only supports 64 bit system.

Deepin

Q4OS

Cub Linux

LXDE

CentOS

AntiX

NimbleX

ZorinOS 12.1 Education-32: It comes with USB OS, but everything is very very slow. Installing Zorin 12 onto HDD experienced an internal error. So forget it, not worth the time. I read that someone did it but he still preferred LinuxMint.

GeeXboX

EasyPeasy

Remix OS (warning, this suggested RAM is 2GB)

Phoenix OS

CloudReady 56.3.80-32: Had to burn the bin image using Win32 Disk Imager instead of PenDriveLinux's Universal-USB-Installer. USB version: Wifi's fine. Video breaks on YouTube. Considered installing CloudReady onto HDD instead of USB, but Dual-boot option (I had Win7 on it) gives UEFI error. Some review commented: Dell Mini Inspiron 1010 (poor audio/video playback)