Aaagh!! Too many versions of Linux!! Which one for me??

[jetpaintedblack]

With so many versions to choose from, which should I use?

What if I have an old Mac? (I've got a 68040/33 and a 604/120)

How about a 486 PC?

[voidmain]

I'm sorry but that's about like asking someone what kind of car you should buy. You're going to get many different answers. This question is one of the most asked though and everyone chimes in with their answers.

I would suggest searching around these forums and you will find similar threads. Look at the answers and see if they are helpful. My opinion is that any answer you get is not that helpful. It's something you have to figure out on your own.

[rtgwbmsr]

If you want a Mac OS:
604/120: 8.1 or 8.6 if you can find it cheap
'040/33: Mac OS 7 is availible for download from Apple's website. You have to look though, it's buried

If you want a *Nix:
604/120: Gentoo, Darwin, Debian, LinuxPPC (sorta dead), Mandrake, NetBSD, and Yellow Dog Linux all have PPC versions. Check out the system requirements and make sure you download the PPC version.
'040/33: No version of Linux supports non-PPC processors
486: Any version of Linux that says i386. IT HAS TO SAY i386+, not i586 etc...those versions are too high for a 486. Go to LinuxISO.org, and in the lower right hand corner there is a box, select i386 only.

Have phun with Linux!
Go here to download Linux:
www.linuxiso.org

[ October 07, 2002: Message edited by: The_Muffin_Man/B0b ]

[Master of Reality]

how hard can it be to choose from 298 different distrobutions.
How fast is the 486? RAM?

Any major distrobution would be fine (Red Hat, Mandrake)

[TheQuirk]

Doesn't Void have an old version of Slackware? That would go perfect on an old 486.

[voidmain]

I used to have an old version of Slackware. But at the time it was a new version (about 8 years ago). Someone else was looking for and found an old version of Slackware here (was it Tux?). Search the Linux forum for "slackware" and the thread should be there with a link to the old Slackware distro downloads.

[hm_murdock]

604 at 120MHz? what model is that? 7300?

[Master of Reality]

quote:Originally posted by The Master of Reality / Bob:
how hard can it be to choose from 298 different distrobutions.
How fast is the 486? RAM?

Any major distrobution would be fine (Red Hat, Mandrake)

hmmmm.... i started writing this post when there was no replies.

[Master of Reality]

quote:Originally posted by void main:
I'm sorry but that's about like asking someone what kind of car you should buy.

A 1970 Hemi-Cuda with the 427 Hemi big block street engine.

[preacher]

My suggestion is Coyote Linux http://www.coyotelinux.com which I use on my old ass laptop that doesnt even have a cdrom. Its text only, and it requires skill, but the good thing is that you dont need a hard drive.....lol. If you have a cdrom and dont want to try out a full install yet, check out Virtual Linux http://www.virtual-linux.org which is great because often I will be at school and I want to show off linux to other computer science students. This allows me to show it using any pc without installing it. The version I use is based on Mandrake 7.2 and runs good on an old 200 mhz clunker. Of course a full distro is the way to go and Mandrake, Redhat, Slackware, SuSe, Debian, and a whole hell of a lot of other places make great distros.

[lazygamer]

Any thoughts on Libranet VS Mandrake? Im very curious about it(I have chosen Librant btw), and today im gonna re-install it(fix the fuckin bootloader BS) and have some more Linux fun. I only found out about it cuz someone here mentioned it as a Mandrake alternative.

[RudeCat7]

IMHO I don't it is right/helpful to suggest that a noob start off with distros like Gentoo, Debian, etc. You know the top noob distros, right?

If a noob starts off with a distro that he has to partition the hard drive, configure X, etc....chances are he/she is going to get discouraged and wind up like Harry, XP Luser, Unixsux.com, and the other haters.

...just trying to give the noobs a chance.  

[TheQuirk]

Enlighten me and tell me how to install Mandrake 9.0 or Red Hat 8.0 on a 486  

[pkd_lives]

Text Install.  

[preacher]

quote:Originally posted by TheQuirk:
Enlighten me and tell me how to install Mandrake 9.0 or Red Hat 8.0 on a 486      

Actually Mandrake has a nice install feature called Minimum Install. It is simply put only the very base of linux and its programs and does not include unneeded features like X windows. It takes up a quite small 70 mb, so it can fit on some of the smallest hard drives. I installed Mandrake 8.2 on an old 486 this way.

Besides installing only the packages you need and want is fun. I guess though if you are a newbie you might need a full distro.

[ October 08, 2002: Message edited by: ThePreacher ]