Stuff I want to know...

[Goemon99]

Ok...I have a 486DX , 32 megs of RAM and two HD: one of 317megs and one of 4 GB... This is what I want to know:

1.With all this..can I install Linux or everything is too old?

2.If yes..which distribution is better for my configuration? (for speed , HD space ,etc.)

3.Will I be able to run a good X Windows manager like KDE or Gnome?

4.What's the main difference between distributions?


Thanks a lot :)

[cage47]

Space wise you have plenty of room for a standard Linux install. I can load Mandrake 7 in about 1.2 gigs. And for 7.0 32 megs ram is fine. Though slow for Star Office. But an upgrade to 64 megs isn't so strapping now. I just got a 64 meg dimm for $29. But the dx could be a stumbling block. I had Mandrake 7 loaded on my DX4-100 last year and it did OK but severely lacking. A decent mobo-cpu can run only about $150. I spent $80 for my AMD K6-2 450 and $65 for my spacewalker hot519 mobo. Work like a charm. But yours will work to get your feet wet.

[mangeli]

Yes. You can learn linux. Though I would steer away from mandrake (It loads a ton of stuff you don't really need....) it is a little harder to learn, but Slackware or Debian would be good...

[ 04 May 2001: Message edited by: mangeli ]

[cage47]

Originally posted by mangeli:
<STRONG>Yes. You can learn linux. Though I would steer away from mandrake (It loads a ton of stuff you don't really need....) it is a little harder to learn, but Slackware or Debian would be good...

[ 04 May 2001: Message edited by: mangeli ]</STRONG>

HMMM, I'd agree that Debian is good to learn the ins-and-outs of Linux. I started with Deb downloaded on floppies 2 years ago. But a good start would be Mandrake to get his feet wet and then move on to more intricate stuff. But then again, with a 4 gig hd, why not make two primary partitions, on for Drake and one for Debian? I'm lucky enough to have a separate machine altogether to tinker with Debian on. That way you can have it to learn from the ground up from floppy install to setting up X and a network (if you have one or ppp) to getting KDE or Gnome up.

[Derango]

I would definitly NOT put mandrake on a 486. It runs slow on my p3 866 :)

Debian or slackware would be the way to go on this one.

[655321]

If he wants to really learn linux, I would say 2 partitions,do a small minimal Redhat 6.2, or 7.0 install on a small one, and then do linux from scratch. That is a really great way to learn about how Linux works. Well, debian and slack both do that too... personal opinion. Also, install lots of things from source, not using package managers, that helps you to learn about how things work.

<STRONG>3.Will I be able to run a good X Windows manager like KDE or Gnome?
</STRONG>

Yes, you'll be able to run them, but I would suggest using a more efficient Window manager, instead of a destktop manager. My personal favorite, Blackbox.

Originally posted by Goemon99:
<STRONG>4.What's the main difference between distributions?

Thanks a lot :)</STRONG>

Check this (http://www.linuxnewbie.org/nhf/intel/distros/distronhf.html) out.

[ 05 May 2001: Message edited by: 655321 ]