Smallest OS with GUI

[Chandratej]

I want an Operating System which is really very small or smallest but it should have GUI(Graphical User Interface). It is not necessary that it should be Linux only but it should have GUI and should be very small. Till now I tried using MenuetOS. Is there is any Operating System which is smaller than Minute OS or you can say it’s size should be smaller than 2MB. If you know any of such OS then do give me the name of it or the link for it.

[fANIBHUSAN]

An Operating System with GUI and size less than 2MB? I don’t think that such Operating System can even exist. I think it is impossible to make such Operating System of size 2MB. I would like to know if there will be any OS of this kind.

[Zhankana_n]

I also don’t know any Operating System of size 2MB. But, the smallest Operating System that I have used till now is “DSL (Damn Small Linux)”. You can find it by doing a Google search for it. It is the smallest Linux Operating System that I have came across. DSL is really very versatile and its size is nearly 50MB. It is a mini desktop oriented Linux. It was originally developed to test that how many usable desktop application can actually fit inside a 50MB live CD but after it grew into a community project now DSL can also work as FTP/SSH/HTTPD server right off a live CD. Although its size is not as small as you asked but it really worth it.

[teena_pansare]

I don’t know 2MB Operating System but I know Windows 3.11 and its size is nearly 15MB and it is also really a very small OS.

[Ekpah]

The smallest OS that I know is Minix. You can easily search and find it on Google. It runs only on 4000 lines of codes but it can run a 386 processor with only 8 MB of RAM. Isn’t that sounds interesting? You can either install it onto a Hard disk or just download it as a live CD. I think you should try it at least once. You can also find Minix 3. It runs under 6000 lines of code. But, It is highly secure, reliable and flexible and it is an open Source operating system. And As far as I know 2MB of Linux is not possible because, kernel itself takes up around 20-25MB of memory. So, I think it is not possible for Linux to come up with GUI in 2MB. So I think Minix is really a good option for you.

[windows_user]

Some GUIs are made in size of 1MB in total as they are directly programmed into kernel. There are many Open Source Operating Systems with such Graphical User Interface. But, I would recommend you to try “Aros research Operating System”. It is pronounced as “AR-OS”. It is designed to be portable and flexible and it is free, Open Source Operating system. Its size is less than 15MB.

[Dolsy_bendal]

You want an Operating System with GUI and of size less than 2MB. So, you can try demo of QNX 4 RTOS. Its size is just 1.44MB as you required. Once you downloaded the QNX demo, you can use your IP address to connect and surf the web. You can also generate dynamic HTML pages. You can also extend the OS by downloading the drivers on the fly and it will not require rebooting also.

[Elijah]

It really depends on what do you want from your Operating System. DSL is also a fine Operating System. Although, there are many Linux of same size as of DSL, but they run from command line and you are not looking for that, I think so. If are looking to run an old system then DSL is really right for you. But, If you have reasonable level of computing power then you can find many Linux distros such as Ubuntu, Debian and Suse. They have their smaller versions that you can use for your server. They have minimal system overhead. But, 2MB is a very small size for an OS to have a Graphical user interface. Size of 2MB is not enough to hold that much lines of code, required for an OS with GUI. If you want maximum things in smaller size then minimum 50MB is required to have all lines of code and even some picture like icons. I think it is not possible to find OS of 2MB with GUI. And, even if you succeed to find one then it will not support any of the current programs. You will get almost nothing from a 2MB OS with GUI.

[Aleksandra]

I am also searching for a samallest GUI OS but it should be Linux. Because, I want to run it on a Computer which has 1GB hard drive and 64MB ram. I also want o port it over to PS1. So far I liked DSL(Damn Small Linux).