Toe Testing the Waters

[DryFly]

Hi!
okay guyz and galz, ya have me convinced. I'm gonna give it a whirl. This is my first post to here, so if I screw up, be gentle, k? http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif
I've been lurkin' around this board for a few days now, trying to absorb as much as I can before I take the plunge. I've pretty much decided to go with Slackware, as my machine is O-L-D old. (mamma needs shoes and the kids need braces http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif). It seems to need less kick to run that some of the others I have looked at? I did try to install RedHat 4.2 a while ago, and managed to crash my hard disk, kinda scared me off.
Any words of wisdom would be appreciated, am I going with the right one? etc.

Thanks all,
DryFly

P.s. a 133/32megRAM/2 harddrives 2.0 & 6.4

http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Lookin' for that Perfect Drag Free Float

[linuxraver]

there are a few factors that play in your distro choice.
and is a rather old and mondane question i belive there is a nhf on what distro to choose.

now as far as slack goes understand that the learning curve is insane for a newbie.
it requires u to learn more at a faster pace

Sence u said u have been around the board for a few days. you may be aware of some of the following facts.

BACKUP ALL IMPORTANT DATA
This is a very important step and will save u a great deal of head aches in the near future

COLLECT EVERY BIT OF SYSTEM INFO U POSSABLY CAN
your gona need it to configure your hardware and to trouble shoot problem's should they arise.this includes any network setting's
"ip,DNS,Gateways ect ect" if your on a persistent connection like cabel or dsl.
or have a home network.

MAKE SURE U HAVE ALL THE REQUIRED FILES FOR INSTALL
if u burned an ISO image of the distro of your choice these files will be on the disk.
if u do not have access to a burner u can buy the disk for 5 bucks!
or download all the files to a winblows fat32 partition and do a hard drive install
or install via ftp

for more detailed info on any of the above do a search of the boards for those subjects.
u will find MANY posts related to it.
or search the NHF's

LINUX NEED'S AT LEAST ONE PARTITION (type linux native code: 82 or 83 in fdisk)

unless your useing lin4win or zip/bigslack your gona have to to some partitioning.
wich isnt even a problem as fdisk in linux is soooooooooo easy http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif!

TURN YOUR BIOS VIRUS PROTECTION OFF!
TURN OFF PLUG AND PLAY OS IN BIOS!

Now providedu backed up all your data,collected all your system info and have everything u need to install and have double and triple checked your hardware for support and its all go
then u should have very lil diffaculty instaling linux

also i cant stress enough the point of ... No Matter what distro u choose....always ALWAYS RTFM! it will answer many questions or it may not ether way we are always here.

I Wish You the Best of luck and i hope that your leap into linux is succesful..it may or may not seem a bit overwhelming but stick with it you will not regret it!!!

[DryFly]

LMAO..I take it RTFM = Read the Freakin' http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/wink.gif Manual....

I bought a manual with my copy on RedHat with installation instructions and so forth, everything went fine until after picking the software I wanted installed. Everything dumped at that point, but, I'll take however many kicks at the can it takes to get it on there.

Thanks for the reply,
DryFly

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Lookin' for that Perfect Drag Free Float

[D-Termind]

Originally posted by DryFly:
Hi!


P.s. a 133/32megRAM/2 harddrives 2.0 & 6.4

http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif



Hi..Dry Fly,

I've installed TurboLinux, RH 6.2, RH 7, Mandrake 7.2 all successfully on my P120 - 32M RAM - 2x 1G hard drive unit.

I never did get Slack to install even though I tried several times.

For some reason I shied away from Debian and Caldera...couldn't tell you why???




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D-Termind
2
Leave
Win-DUHs

[ph34r]

I'd go with Slackware 7.1, Redhat 6.2 or maybe Storm (if you want something debian based) on that box - they all will run it fine, but X and some apps may be a little slow.

The key is to get a good book with your copy of the distro - I like Slackware Linux Unleashed or Redhat Linux Unleashed, both from Sam's Publishing.

[fuzzy]

I ran debian on a 486-dx4 with no problems. X was a bit slow but I'm patient. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif
Yes, read up! Reading is good for you and your sanity (in the end).
Slackware is a good choice but, again, read and be patient. It can be a bit tricky.
Debian (or distros based on debian) is great too ('s what I use!). All worked fine on my old box (and my current p133, 32Mb ram).
(Someday I'll go all out and buy me one of them super-fast 333MHz pentiums. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/wink.gif )
Anyway, good luck and enjoy. Come here often and you'll have your linux box up and running in no time.

[DryFly]

Okay, thanks for the advice guys.
I have a manual (discover Linux) with a copy of redhat 4.2 with it. In some areas it's vague at best concerning partitioning and setting the right parameters, but, I've been going thru Craig McPherson's posts in here, and I think I can get it (the doods a freak!? http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif)....
Thanks again for the advice
DryFly


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Lookin' for that Perfect Drag Free Float