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Operating Systems => Linux and UNIX => Topic started by: DarkTan on 7 March 2006, 22:48

Title: New to Linux
Post by: DarkTan on 7 March 2006, 22:48

I'm new to linux, or at least want to use it, but have no idea with one of the 500 versions to go with. I wanted to know some of the best free versions out there that will run on an extremely low end, older than dirt, nearly pre-Pentium computer. (Not willing to use my main system jest yet.)
 
thanks

Title: Re: New to Linux
Post by: piratePenguin on 7 March 2006, 23:00

On a system that old, Slackware or Damn Small Linux would work, but they're not for newbies.

My suggestion: install Ubuntu on your main system. You'll still be able to boot into Windows aslong as you don't ask the Ubuntu installer to remove it (when you turn on the computer, a "bootloader" will ask if you wanna boot Windows or Ubuntu).

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Enjoy.

Title: Re: New to Linux
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 7 March 2006, 23:44

Vector Linux (http://www.vectorlinux.com/) will run on a faily low spec machine and it's not all that hard to use.

Title: Re: New to Linux
Post by: mobrien_12 on 8 March 2006, 04:01

http://www.microsuck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10122  has some information you might like.

Title: Re: New to Linux
Post by: Pathos on 8 March 2006, 05:45

Damn Small Linux is great to learn with and with very low system requirements, it runs on the P1 100mhz 22mb ram machine next to me.

It can also be installed without a cdrom.

Title: Re: New to Linux
Post by: RaZoR1394 on 8 March 2006, 12:18

Quote from: Pathos

Damn Small Linux is great to learn with and with very low system requirements, it runs on the P1 100mhz 22mb ram machine next to me.

It can also be installed without a cdrom.

22mb??? Isn't that under the kernel requirements? I guess you tweaked the kernel somehow. Very impressive.

Title: Re: New to Linux
Post by: Aloone_Jonez on 8 March 2006, 13:24

DeLi Linux (http://www.delilinux.de/) is also very small, I don't know about kernel requirements be the 2.4 kernel would fit on a floppy.

Title: Re: New to Linux
Post by: WMD on 8 March 2006, 17:08

Quote from: RaZoR1394

22mb??? Isn't that under the kernel requirements? I guess you tweaked the kernel somehow. Very impressive.

Um...the kernel only uses around 6MB.

Title: Re: New to Linux
Post by: H_TeXMeX_H on 8 March 2006, 20:27

And DSL uses the older 2.4.x kernel which is way smaller than the newer 2.6.x kernel.

Just go there (http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/download.html) and try the live CD ... if you can handle it and like it then install it (do note that things are considerably slower when booting from CD than from HDD)

Title: Re: New to Linux
Post by: DarkTan on 9 March 2006, 13:24

Thanks for al the info, looks like i'll go with DSL.

Title: Re: New to Linux
Post by: Pathos on 10 March 2006, 07:00

you can run linux on 2MB apparently.

DSL can run on 16MB. XVesa is the biggest memory user so you can do with less if you only use the CLI.