First: DSL Linux
Damn small Linux is a Linux release based on a business card (50 MB in bytes) that can start a CD. Despite its small size, it strives to become a usable and easy-to-use desktop. Damn small Linux Desktop is almost a complete set, including xmms (supporting MP3 and MPEG), FTP client, links-based Web browser, spreadsheet software, emailProgramEnglish spelling check, word processor, three Editors (nedit, nvi and Zile similar to Emacs), xpdf reader, worker File Manager, Naim (support for aim, ICQ and IRC), vncviewer, ssh/SCP server and client, DHCP Client, PPP and pppoe, web server, calculator, fluxbox Window Manager, system monitoring software, USB support, and it will soon have PCMCIA support. If you like damn small Linux, you can install it on your hard disk. Because all the software is clever, it will be a good choice for old hardware.
Second: puppy Linux
Puppylinux is another Linux release. The difference is that puppy is exceptionally small, but full of features. Puppy can be started from a 64 m storage device, and the entire system can run in the memory. There are a lot of Linux releases that run the CD on their own. They need to read data from the CD continuously to run, Puppy is different from them, and puppy is loaded in the memory. This means that all applications can be started in a blink of an eye and respond immediately to user input. Puppylinux can be started from flash cards or any USB storage device (this is flash-puppy), or CDs (this is live-puppy ), or zipdisk and LS/120/240 superdisk (this is Zippy-puppy), floppy (this is floppy-puppy), or hard disk (this is hard-puppy ). It can even use a multi-section burned CD-R/DVD-R to save everything back to the CD/DVD.