I installed it on my computer just for testing......it's incredibly fast , you can easily configure its environment , I installed one plank ...You can also configure easily the top bar , for example the seperators were made in the color of the bar (with right click to them),I changed the icons , (miya orange dark) ...usb and media mount automatically without problems . I installed : vlc - libbreoffice - google chrome - 4kvideodownloader & gimp without problems.....I rate it "9" because I think the best minimal distribution is antiX
I downloaded the Xfce version of Star 4.0 from Sourceforge. I noticed the newest ISO was uploaded almost one year ago.... mmmm...
I tried twice to install it in a partition in my testing machine that is running MX. Every time there was the same unintelligible message error at the end of the process and when I restarted into the installed system it didn't work properly, like not completely installed. It didn't recognise other partitions, there was no trash, every time I restarted the system went back to the initial condition, etc... A lot of weird behaviour.
There is no place to ask for help: no Star webpage, no Star forums... nothing.
Just changed my laptop over to Star from Zorin to escape systemd. The installer said it failed, even though the install was fine.
the welcome splash page updater is nice, and handy.
the xfce version is more geared towards me as an end user, while the openbox version was too minimal without either menu or dock on the desktop.
everything seems to be working as intended and the software is very light while fairly complete. I did install the printer, laptop, libreoffice, and chromium upon installation.
Star is a hidden gem. It's based on Devuan but without elogind. A truly systemd-free Debian.
Star is so minimal. It provides a base which is just enough for users to build their ideal systems upon. Because of its root (Devuan and Debian), Star is light, fast and very stable. During my use of Star, I have never experienced any serious problems.
In terms of packages, the default configuration in apt provides almost all packages for normal use. If extra packages are needed, back-port repo should most likely have them.
Star, Devuan and Debian are my favorite distros. I just read the only 1-star review on Distrowatch (all other reviews of Star Linux are 8 to 10). Yes, Star is bare and minimal, which makes it great not only for low specs computers, but also as a perfect base for building a fully customized system. It is better to add the packages that any individual user needs to a base system than to remove packages the user doesn't need from monsters like Ubuntu, Mint, PCLinuxOS, Zorin, etc. Why download Gigabyte sized ISOs, install thousands of packages, then remove most of them and break the system? Star netinstall ISO is only around 300 MB and installs a perfect base system. I installed Star multiple times and never got any crashes, lockups or any offers to report the bugs to the developers. I did get all the problems above with Ubuntu, Mint and PCLinuxOS. Ubuntu MATE showed system errors and offers to report the bugs to the developers on every boot, Mint refused to boot after installation and stuck in the emergency mode with root account locked and PCLinuxOS with KDE couldn't install any packages because of network malfunctioning. There are thousands of packages available in the default repositories and adding "contrib non-free" to the "sources.list" or manually adding repositories gives access to thousands more packages! AppImage or simply installing *.deb packages from the terminal or using gdebi installer adds plenty more. So it is simply not true that Star doesn't have many packages. Star 3.1.0 is based on oldstable Debian 10 - Devuan 3.1 versions. It is about time to release a new Star version based on newer Debian 11 - Devuan 4.0. Star is one of the few distros that simply work. Keep the good work, Star developers!
Star is a pretty bare and minimal distro, which would be good for older computers with not as powerful hardware, but does a damn thing work with this besides getting crashes, lockups and constant offers to report the bugs to the developers? There aren’t many packages that you can install to get a better day-to-day use of this and the default repositories don’t have a lot of applications in them. This feels like alpha quality software that shouldn’t of been released.
Installed from "star-3.1.0-spock_2021.03-netinst_amd64.iso" image, then installed LXDE and software. Absolutely perfect system - lightning fast, extremely stable and simply a pleasure to use! This distro is perfect for building custom Linux system without bloat or headaches. I prefer to have installed only what is necessary on my system and Star Linux is great for this. I have tried many distros over the years and Star is absolutely the best
Star Linux Xfce is a very powerful and robust distribution that just works. Many distros use the word lightweight but are they? Star is truly built from the ground up to be fast, lean, and only populated by a few essential apps.
Pros: Upgraded to Devuan new stable release Chimaera 4.0 from Beowulf flawlessly. Then, to Devuan 5.0 Daedalus Testing branch flawlessly. Not a single error.
Star is simply a project by seasoned developers, evident with how well the distro performs.
TREAT THIS AS A CAUTIONARY TALE (and feel free to laugh).
I tried installing Star to a Dell 3583 that I had bought as an Ubuntu OEM machine.
Star proved to be uninstallable, regardless of which install method (text/graphic/advanced), regardless of the install medium (USB stick/CD-ROM). I tried 6 times, with the same results, every time.
The installation came up with a multitude of errors, probably because the Devuan-basis of Star did not recognise the firmware/driver libraries. I was prepared to ignore these as 'to be fixed later', but ultimately, installation failed because GRUB2 failed to install. Whether this was a problem with the Debian Installer (I doubt it) or with the Star build (I suspect it is), I cannot be certain; although I have encountered several Debian-based distros that fail to install for the same reason (and Ubuntu-based distros, likewise). Clearly, the installer is not just an app., clearly not just an afterthought to slot into your brilliant new spin.
Fortunately, I have an OEM recovery disc.
PROS:
Star is like real CrunchBang#! reborn. I think Phil Newborough would approve.
Star runs excellently as a live USB, and would be a viable system for forensics or data recovery, especially if it could be given persistence to keep it up to date.
CONS:
Apart from the hithertoaforementioned saga, the main problem is the lack of hardware compatibility.
ALL-IN-ALL:
I won't be mean: Star is a good distro that could have a long way to go.
I write this review from a live usb install of STAR 'Spock' OpenBox.
Pros:
All of the ISOs are CD-sized.
Connection via mobile broadband is easy.
On a live session, the firewall starts on boot. That's good security out of the box. Bruce Schneier would surely approve.
Minimal: this is a genuinely minimal distro; so minimal, in fact, that it makes CrunchBang#! seem bloated. There is nothing unnecessary included in the live medium (e.g. massive web-browser), but all of the necessary things ARE included (e.g. Synaptic Package Manager). This is a real 'operator's system'.
All of the benefits of being Debian/Devuan Stable-based: Ubuntu has a habit of removing available packages, while Debian is less likely to; and programmes/applications that suddenly no longer work on Ubuntu still work on Debian.
At last: a real replacement for CrunchBang#! Really: having started with Ubuntu, moved to MadBox, then CrunchBang#! (Ubuntu-based through to Debian-based, until the end) & then been disappointed by BunsenLabs/ArchBang/SliTaz/et al, & since been running customised wattOS, it's good to see that the #! spirit is still alive.
Perhaps most importantly for me, all of my config scripts can be copied & pasted into a fresh install, without causing any problems.
Cons:
Why isn't this distro better known?
In summary:
If you want to build your own distro upon a solid base, then STAR is a solid base.
If you're a nostalgic CrunchBang#!er, then this is the one for you.
Latest Reviews
Project: Star Version: 4.0.0 Rating: 9 Date: 2023-04-26 Votes: 6
I installed it on my computer just for testing......it's incredibly fast , you can easily configure its environment , I installed one plank ...You can also configure easily the top bar , for example the seperators were made in the color of the bar (with right click to them),I changed the icons , (miya orange dark) ...usb and media mount automatically without problems . I installed : vlc - libbreoffice - google chrome - 4kvideodownloader & gimp without problems.....I rate it "9" because I think the best minimal distribution is antiX
Project: Star Version: 4.0.0 Rating: 1 Date: 2023-03-28 Votes: 0
I downloaded the Xfce version of Star 4.0 from Sourceforge. I noticed the newest ISO was uploaded almost one year ago.... mmmm...
I tried twice to install it in a partition in my testing machine that is running MX. Every time there was the same unintelligible message error at the end of the process and when I restarted into the installed system it didn't work properly, like not completely installed. It didn't recognise other partitions, there was no trash, every time I restarted the system went back to the initial condition, etc... A lot of weird behaviour.
There is no place to ask for help: no Star webpage, no Star forums... nothing.
A waste of time.
Project: Star Version: 4.0.0 Rating: 9 Date: 2022-11-13 Votes: 2
Just changed my laptop over to Star from Zorin to escape systemd. The installer said it failed, even though the install was fine.
the welcome splash page updater is nice, and handy.
the xfce version is more geared towards me as an end user, while the openbox version was too minimal without either menu or dock on the desktop.
everything seems to be working as intended and the software is very light while fairly complete. I did install the printer, laptop, libreoffice, and chromium upon installation.
Project: Star Version: 4.0.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2022-06-10 Votes: 17
Star is a hidden gem. It's based on Devuan but without elogind. A truly systemd-free Debian.
Star is so minimal. It provides a base which is just enough for users to build their ideal systems upon. Because of its root (Devuan and Debian), Star is light, fast and very stable. During my use of Star, I have never experienced any serious problems.
In terms of packages, the default configuration in apt provides almost all packages for normal use. If extra packages are needed, back-port repo should most likely have them.
Star is what Debian should have been.
Thanks, Star dev team and keep up the great work.
Project: Star Version: 3.1.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2022-04-18 Votes: 12
Star, Devuan and Debian are my favorite distros. I just read the only 1-star review on Distrowatch (all other reviews of Star Linux are 8 to 10). Yes, Star is bare and minimal, which makes it great not only for low specs computers, but also as a perfect base for building a fully customized system. It is better to add the packages that any individual user needs to a base system than to remove packages the user doesn't need from monsters like Ubuntu, Mint, PCLinuxOS, Zorin, etc. Why download Gigabyte sized ISOs, install thousands of packages, then remove most of them and break the system? Star netinstall ISO is only around 300 MB and installs a perfect base system. I installed Star multiple times and never got any crashes, lockups or any offers to report the bugs to the developers. I did get all the problems above with Ubuntu, Mint and PCLinuxOS. Ubuntu MATE showed system errors and offers to report the bugs to the developers on every boot, Mint refused to boot after installation and stuck in the emergency mode with root account locked and PCLinuxOS with KDE couldn't install any packages because of network malfunctioning. There are thousands of packages available in the default repositories and adding "contrib non-free" to the "sources.list" or manually adding repositories gives access to thousands more packages! AppImage or simply installing *.deb packages from the terminal or using gdebi installer adds plenty more. So it is simply not true that Star doesn't have many packages. Star 3.1.0 is based on oldstable Debian 10 - Devuan 3.1 versions. It is about time to release a new Star version based on newer Debian 11 - Devuan 4.0. Star is one of the few distros that simply work. Keep the good work, Star developers!
Project: Star Version: 3.1.0 Rating: 1 Date: 2021-12-14 Votes: 0
Star is a pretty bare and minimal distro, which would be good for older computers with not as powerful hardware, but does a damn thing work with this besides getting crashes, lockups and constant offers to report the bugs to the developers? There aren’t many packages that you can install to get a better day-to-day use of this and the default repositories don’t have a lot of applications in them. This feels like alpha quality software that shouldn’t of been released.
Project: Star Version: 3.1.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2021-12-11 Votes: 2
Installed from "star-3.1.0-spock_2021.03-netinst_amd64.iso" image, then installed LXDE and software. Absolutely perfect system - lightning fast, extremely stable and simply a pleasure to use! This distro is perfect for building custom Linux system without bloat or headaches. I prefer to have installed only what is necessary on my system and Star Linux is great for this. I have tried many distros over the years and Star is absolutely the best
Project: Star Version: 3.1.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2021-11-02 Votes: 3
Star Linux Xfce is a very powerful and robust distribution that just works. Many distros use the word lightweight but are they? Star is truly built from the ground up to be fast, lean, and only populated by a few essential apps.
Pros: Upgraded to Devuan new stable release Chimaera 4.0 from Beowulf flawlessly. Then, to Devuan 5.0 Daedalus Testing branch flawlessly. Not a single error.
Star is simply a project by seasoned developers, evident with how well the distro performs.
Cons: Not yet!
Try it!
Project: Star Version: 3.1.0 Rating: 8 Date: 2021-05-18 Votes: 2
TREAT THIS AS A CAUTIONARY TALE (and feel free to laugh).
I tried installing Star to a Dell 3583 that I had bought as an Ubuntu OEM machine.
Star proved to be uninstallable, regardless of which install method (text/graphic/advanced), regardless of the install medium (USB stick/CD-ROM). I tried 6 times, with the same results, every time.
The installation came up with a multitude of errors, probably because the Devuan-basis of Star did not recognise the firmware/driver libraries. I was prepared to ignore these as 'to be fixed later', but ultimately, installation failed because GRUB2 failed to install. Whether this was a problem with the Debian Installer (I doubt it) or with the Star build (I suspect it is), I cannot be certain; although I have encountered several Debian-based distros that fail to install for the same reason (and Ubuntu-based distros, likewise). Clearly, the installer is not just an app., clearly not just an afterthought to slot into your brilliant new spin.
Fortunately, I have an OEM recovery disc.
PROS:
Star is like real CrunchBang#! reborn. I think Phil Newborough would approve.
Star runs excellently as a live USB, and would be a viable system for forensics or data recovery, especially if it could be given persistence to keep it up to date.
CONS:
Apart from the hithertoaforementioned saga, the main problem is the lack of hardware compatibility.
ALL-IN-ALL:
I won't be mean: Star is a good distro that could have a long way to go.
Project: Star Version: 3.0.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2021-04-05 Votes: 13
ACTUALLY 3.1.0
I write this review from a live usb install of STAR 'Spock' OpenBox.
Pros:
All of the ISOs are CD-sized.
Connection via mobile broadband is easy.
On a live session, the firewall starts on boot. That's good security out of the box. Bruce Schneier would surely approve.
Minimal: this is a genuinely minimal distro; so minimal, in fact, that it makes CrunchBang#! seem bloated. There is nothing unnecessary included in the live medium (e.g. massive web-browser), but all of the necessary things ARE included (e.g. Synaptic Package Manager). This is a real 'operator's system'.
All of the benefits of being Debian/Devuan Stable-based: Ubuntu has a habit of removing available packages, while Debian is less likely to; and programmes/applications that suddenly no longer work on Ubuntu still work on Debian.
At last: a real replacement for CrunchBang#! Really: having started with Ubuntu, moved to MadBox, then CrunchBang#! (Ubuntu-based through to Debian-based, until the end) & then been disappointed by BunsenLabs/ArchBang/SliTaz/et al, & since been running customised wattOS, it's good to see that the #! spirit is still alive.
Perhaps most importantly for me, all of my config scripts can be copied & pasted into a fresh install, without causing any problems.
Cons:
Why isn't this distro better known?
In summary:
If you want to build your own distro upon a solid base, then STAR is a solid base.
If you're a nostalgic CrunchBang#!er, then this is the one for you.
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