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Thread: Linux on a Compaq Presario 1234

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    Not *@!%in Postman Pat! Ruggerbugger's Avatar
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    Linux on a Compaq Presario 1234

    I have an old (1998) Compaq Presario 1234 with an AMD K6-2 266MHz, 96MB of RAM, a 3.1 GB HD and Aureal A3D sound hardware. I'd like to experiment with a noob-friendly linux distro and was wondering if anyone would recommend anything that might be of use.

    I've asked a similar question in a recent thread, but the hardware available here is obviously much less advanced.


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    Quote Originally Posted by Gonzo
    my a55 shoots great video in 1080i

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    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
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    that's some pretty weak hardware you've got there! hrm....... i wouldn't run anything cutting edge on that. perhaps red hat 9, if you compile up a new (more secure) kernel once it's on

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    You could try dipping you toe into the Linux water with a live CD, but 96Mb of RAM is very limited, since live CDs tend to need a fair sized ramdisk to boot.

    Try xfld (a version of knoppix that is happier on less powerful PCs) and keep your fingers crossed that it will work on that spec. If it does boot up from CD, you could install to hard disk (somewhere in the utilites menu) which will ease things RAM-wise considerably (although its around 2Gb once installed to hard disk, which doesn't leave an awful lot of space on your hard disk).

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    Bigger than Jesus Norky's Avatar
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    How scary, I have the exact same computer running as my firewall.

    I have Knoppix STD (security tools distribution) running fine on it, installed to the harddrive.

    If you want to try Linux, download the live cd version of Damn Small Linux (stripped down Knoppix)

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    Not *@!%in Postman Pat! Ruggerbugger's Avatar
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    Thanks Norky.

    I looked at Knoppix Live, but then saw the 2.3GB of hard drive space it needs. TBH I was a bit surprised to see that from a distro that's supposed to run from a CD. I've thought about getting a hardware firewall, but never been brave enough to take the plunge.

    Lol @ the hardware . This cost me £1400 when it came out, and the week after they released the 366Mhz version The main problem with it these days is that it takes an age to boot; it was never enough for games anyway.


    Click here for larger versions of photos

    Quote Originally Posted by Gonzo
    my a55 shoots great video in 1080i

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    Goron goron Kumagoro's Avatar
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    I have a 266 compaq laptop with 64 MB of ram. I have got a poor mans install
    of knoppix 3.3 running on it its very slow and barely useable.

    I really want to use something else but i dont know of any low spec linux which keeps
    uptodate.

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    theres always Gentoo, its a highly optimised distro, highly configurable, but definatly not for linux newbs.
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    Agent of the System ikonia's Avatar
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    get and download an old redhat 6.2 or something CD

    It will fit like a glove
    It is Inevitable.....


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    You should be ok with any modern distro providing you don't install KDE or Gnome, both of these really need at least 128MB to run ok.

    Try Windowmaker or Fluxbox as a windowmanager, I think RH9 comes with the windowmarker rpm on the disks, I'm not too sure but I suspect FC3 would do as well.

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    Bigger than Jesus Norky's Avatar
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    No no, don't use the latest versions of Knoppix, they are not designed for old computers, instead you want a stripped down version.

    You could use Knoppix STD (http://www.knoppix-std.org/), it runs off Fluxbox so is a bit faster.

    You could also try DSL (http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/), it also runs off Fluxbox but comes with less packages.

    I prefer STD but I have a feeling that DSL is more user friendly.

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    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
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    or go for debian

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    Bigger than Jesus Norky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by directhex
    or go for debian
    Knoppix = Live Debian

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    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Norky
    Knoppix = Live Debian
    + kde + bloat. on this spec, a fairly stripped install is needed.

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    Agent of the System ikonia's Avatar
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    retro redhat 6.2 will be "ok" or a good old stable debian release as suggested above.
    It is Inevitable.....


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    Slackware will run happliy on that, i'd suggest a minimal window manger such as xfce or fluxbox, save on resources.

    Joel

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    Bigger than Jesus Norky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by directhex
    + kde + bloat. on this spec, a fairly stripped install is needed.
    Why I keep suggesting stripped down Knoppix distros!

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