[Old Computer] - Computers

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Old Computer
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Posted by: PnkFloyd27

I may be getting an old computer from my dad's work. From what he said, it will probably be a later '90s/early '00s computer. I am going to be using this to mess around with Linux and learn it somewhat until I build the Linux Box that I plan on building in the next two/three months. What I want to know is, will I be able to put most Linux distributions on it? More importantly Ubuntu (at first) and Slackware (when I learn enough about Linux)? Thank you.

Posted by: jakec

What are the specs of this Machine?

for ubuntu

500MHz machine with at least 192MB memory could run Ubuntu great out of the box. you should at least 2-3 GB of hard drive space to devote to Ubuntu as well. Although 10GB is strongly reccomended

For slackware:

* 486 processor
* 16MB RAM (32MB suggested)
* 100-500 megabytes of hard disk space for a minimal and around 3.5GB for full install
* 3.5" floppy drive

Additional hardware may be needed if you want to run the X Window System at a usable speed or if you want network capabilities.

Most Linux distros will run on the machine you discribed

Jake

Posted by: PnkFloyd27

Yeah, those are really low standards so I'm sure it will be fine. Also, I don't think that I will be using the X Window System. Not anytime soon at least. I want to learn how to use the console and stuff first. Thank you.

Posted by: Greg

You'll probably want X installed for doing everyday things (browsing the internet, watching movies, playing music, etc.), but you can still use just the terminal. Just hit Ctrl > Alt > F1 and it will switch you to the text only terminal (in Ubuntu at least, not sure about other distros).

Posted by: PnkFloyd27

Oh oh oh, yes of course I want that. I was watching a tutorial on the X Window thing on youtube and I got the wrong idea of what X Window is. So it's just the normal Desktop environment, as compared to only text? Okay

Edit:
I realize that Slackware uses KDE, I do, however, like the Gnome task bar and look better, I will probably try both KDE and Gnome out to see which I like best. However, If I like Gnome better than KDE is there an easy way, or a way at all, to uninstall KDE from Slackware and install Gnome? I'm asking because if not, but I'm pretty should I could, then I will want to use KUbuntu.

Posted by: horndude

most linux distros these days have a package manager, slackware is no different, it has one too

to uninstall KDE you'd simply type pkgtool in a terminal as root then select removepkgs then scroll thru and select the ones you want removed

to install gnome just download the gnome packages or mount the disk with the gnome pkgs on it and install them

single packages can be installed with installpkg <pkg name> or removed with removepkg <pkgname>

then when your happy everything is either installed uninstalled simply type xwmconfig in a terminal and select what window manager you want to use, then type startx

Posted by: PnkFloyd27

Oh okay that's great. So I can pick and choose the different things that I want from each?

Posted by: horndude

yes, this is linux, you can do whatever you want

gnome and kde have dependencies, the libraries they each use must be present for them to work however

Posted by: PnkFloyd27

Okay, I've been reading around the internet and I'm a bit hesitant about using Ubuntu. What is a good starter distribution that will be easy to install (graphical) and easy to set up and running, but will allow me to learn a lot about Linux as well? I would prefer that it has Gnome already, the task bar in KDE looks like it's for retards.

Posted by: t3ch_threads

Ubuntu should suit you needs just fine. It's super easy to install and has excellent defaults. It uses Gnome (although there is a KDE version too called Kubuntu). There is always more to learn, and ubuntuforms.org is simply awesome.

Posted by: zmatt

i like openSUSE 10.2 myself. it is very user freindly. in many was its more advanced than windows XP and can run on less than top notch hard ware fine.

Posted by: PnkFloyd27

Okay, I have inherited the old IBM computer in my home. My parents really don't want to lose all of their stuff that have on it now so I was going to dual boot Ubuntu Linux on it. This is how I think it works: I will buy a new hard drive and install it. Then I go into BIOS and make it so that the computer will automatically boot into the CD drive first. Now this is where I have my first question, when I install the cd, will I be able to install it on a certain HD, will it prompt with that? After that, I will go into BIOS and make it so that the computer will boot up into the new HD first. Is that it? It seems simple, is there something else I need to do? I will still search google for help.

Posted by: PnkFloyd27

[url]http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-9-Manual/install-guide/ch-x86-dualboot.html[/url]