RAM needed for desktop installer reduced to half by zRAM

[Nio Wiklund]

On 2013-06-18 15:13, Nio Wiklund wrote:
> Hi everybody,
> 
> I was made aware of a typing error in the attached text file. 'RAM'
> should be changed to 'swap' at the end of the line:
> 
> correct: Crashes at 224, 192 MB RAM also with 2 GB swap
> 
> -o-
> 
> Anyway, I have a short report from testing the desktop iso, that I
> zsynced June 16 at 17.30 Central European time. It has zRAM, I tested it
> in a computer bought in January 2004, a Dell Dimension 4600. I used the
> mem boot option to make it use various amounts of RAM.
> 
> Summary: The RAM needed to install with the desktop installer was
> reduced to half compared to my previous tests in Raring. Now the desktop
> installer reaches the same low levels as the alternate (text) installer.
> It is possible to reach further down with special methods, as shown by
> amjjawad (or by adding zRAM to the alternate iso too).
> 
> The desktop installer (ubiquity) in Lubuntu 32-bit
> 
> works without disk swap: down to 384 MB RAM
> works running disk swap: down to 256 MB RAM
> 
> at 384 MB, free -m reports 369 MB
> at 256 MB, free -m reports 242 MB
> 
> See the attached file.
> 
> Best regards
> Nio
> 

Hi again,

Results with 'grub-n-iso-n-swap' and Pentium M indicate that using the
default installation (starting from a blank drive or overwriting it) is
maybe slightly smoother than a complicated manual partitioning at the
'Something else' page.

So I tried something similar in the Dell. It could not be exactly the
same, because I did not want to overwrite the installed systems, but I
wiped a USB HDD before, and then installed to it. I tried 5 times with
256 MB RAM without any swap, and maybe succeeded once (I cannot rely on
that single event, that all the disk swap was actually off, because
after the installation swap is on).

But I succeeded three times at 320 MB RAM without swap, and failed
twice. But after those failures I came to the Lubuntu desktop and could
wipe the USB HDD again, swapped off disk swap again keeping only the
zRAM, saved the ubiquity command from the desktop file to bash_history
and switched to the Openbox session, which is basically the same as the
direct 'Start Installation'. And when I had patience to wait after
partitioning and swapon, the swapping finished, and after that the
process was stable. Each time I checked that the installed system was good.

So this procedure was clearly smoother than that of complicated manual
partitioning inside Ubiquity, and it is similar to the default
installation. In other words, the default installation is at least as
easy as the manual partitioning: tested directly in one system and
indirectly in another system, both of which have 8-10 years old hardware.

-o-

My first conclusions remain untouched

> The desktop installer (ubiquity) in Lubuntu 32-bit
>
> works without disk swap: down to 384 MB RAM
> works running disk swap: down to 256 MB RAM
>
> at 384 MB, free -m reports 369 MB
> at 256 MB, free -m reports 242 MB

because

1. The results with 320 MB RAM without disk swap were erratic, really on
the limit.

-o-

Two questions and one comment:

- How common are computers with 320 MB and 384 MB RAM? I think standard
step is from 256 to 512 MB RAM.

- Would it be possible to add the Ubiquity command to the Openbox
right-click menu? It would make it much easier to get the lighter
environment afterwards, if the first attempt fails. This makes it
possible to wipe the partitions before Ubiquity is started without
having to reboot twice. (But it is definitely not 'mainstream'.)

- But zRAM in the alternate installer is probably a better alternative.


I hope this helps
Nio