Would like to connected a nice old desktop computer to a LAN. What is nice about the old desktop computer is it runs quietly and it passed diags 100%. It's a Presario 5020. It has a Pentium II processor, 6kb memory, and an 8GB DOM.

I can perform computationally intensive applications else where on the LAN. All I want to do with the Presario 5020 is connect my printers and scanner, and possibly an external hard drive. It has two USB ports, and Windows 98 installed.

The issue is I need to install a network interface adapter. I have a Netgear FA311-v2 available. But unfortunately the FA311-v2 will not work with Win98. I could upgrade memory and install Win2K, or possibly find a NIC that will work with Win98. BuT I wonder, is there a version Linux that will run in a 64k environment and will work with USB ports?

KC

from what I can gather from what you said Linux will run fine on it

Hi Mike 10,

Thank you for replying to my post.

There is more to the story. I have a 300GB Seagate external hard drive. Sorry I don't remember the model and I just looked on the drive and can't find a model number... bregorra!

Any way I would like to install a very small os on the Presario 5020. All I want it to DO IS boot and allow me to connect USB devices including my external hard drive where I would like to install virtual environments.

What version of Linux should I use?

KC

normally the case :-)

is it known not to work in Linux? I see no reason to suggest that it wont work since it uses usb
are you new to Linux?
could you post the specs of the Presario 5020
do you need a gui (graphical interface) or will command prompt do?

have you checked out http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

or http://distrowatch.com

what virtual environments?

A minimal install (such as Ubuntu server or Debian with all packages de-selected) would be a good start. Not sure about distros such as DamnSmallLinux or even Toms RTBT. Also look at Slax. Could be worth a try. You can always try different versions with live CDs or floppys. Not sure about Your specs, how much RAM is it?

I would say the major concern would be using it as file server with USB disks, old USB give very slow throughput. Nothing You would like to run VM's from.

Just my 2 öre.
/Lakris

[


are you new to Linux?
Linux is newer than I am. It’s new to me.

could you post the specs of the Presario 5020Specs for Presario 5020?

Processor/Bus: It has a Pentium II, Intel 4400EX chipset, External bus speed 66MHz..

Memory – There are two memory slots for SDRAM, 3.3v unbuffered. It will support 64/128MB modules at 66/100/133MHz.

OS - It will run Microsoft, Windows 98, 2nd edition if version 4.10.1998 now running is not already 2nd ed. It also boots under DOS 7.

Storage - The available disk space 5165MB of 7648MB (FAT 32) MOD 8.0GB DOM. I went to Wikipedia to find out that DOM is an acronym for Document Object Model. The WWW Consortium developed the W3C Document Object Model standard for use in Web browsers. Isn’t that interesting?

do you need a gui (graphical interface) or will command prompt do?
I intend to run devices connected to the Presario from another computer. Command Line will do.

what virtual environments?[/QUOTE] I tried to run Vista in a virtual environment. It was sluggish so I stopped. I am not sure what virtual environment software to use, nor have I decided what os to run in it.

Thank you for the thoughts about what OS to install on my Presario 5020. While I pursue information on the links you provided, I would like to explain a little more thoroughly my goals and objectives, so possibly you might advise on how to install, configure and test performance once I find an OS.

I would like to attach Canon i9900 inkjet printer. I use the printer to print posters and pictures. The ink is expensive, but the quality is sometimes good. Another device that I would like to attach is an Epson, Perfection 4490 flatbed scanner. In this case instead of sending jobs out I will be transferring images in. Both connect through USB cables.

I had planned to connect the Presario 5020 to an Ethernet LAN using a Netgear FA311v2 PCI network adapter. I installed the adapter and it did not work with Windows 98. After studying the specifications of the adapter I found it does not work with the version of Windows 98 I have installed.

I found a Belkin KVM switch called Flip that I could use to hotkey from a notebook and not need a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. It would be nice if I could find a version of Linux these four components worked well with. I would like to get the buffers setup and know how to easily access the ques. Then write a few script files for repetitive operations so it would very simple to start. stop, cancel, etc. So my first thought was to connect the scanner and printer to this nice old machine so I could separate these slow cycle mechanical operations from the much faster interactive tasks I would be performing on the notebook.

Then I found out the Presario has an 8GB DOM. So I connected my PnP external hard drive to the Presario’s USB port. The drive has only firmware so there are no drivers to install. It started right-up same as it did on my notebook where I run Windows XP. That was when my concept of what to do with the Presario expanded.

The Presario is a nice machine to have next to you. It’s small and quit. Maybe it would be an ideal machine to output to a HD flatscreen monitor. SO the new issue is how to boot from the Presario and then run applications from within virtual environments on the external hard drive.

For this I would replace the 64MB 66MHz SDRAM there now with two 128MB, 133MHz memory chips, or whatever the motherboard is capable of utilizing. I have a feeling it will accommodate more than a 128MB SDRAM.

Thank you again for taking the time to reply to my post. I am off to find an OS. Hope to get more input from you.

KC

I'd recommend that a novice user select a distribution such as Xandros or Ubuntu for ease of use.

I've set up a number of older systems with Xubuntu (a lightweight Ubuntu variant), which works fairly nicely. It's won't be incredibly fast on a P2, but it should definitely be usable. It has the added advantage of being well-polished and fairly straightforward to use even if you're new to Linux.

Thank you for the advise. Learning the details has always been troublesome for me.

KC

Thank you for the advise. I look forward to making-up a sample of normal activity and testing the throughput and evaluating the complexity. Stay with me.

KC

well i you are new to linux then pick ubuntu if you are use to linux then pick fedora if you wanna ask me a nay question give me your msn aim yahoo i will add you

I never recommend a distro you have to pay for...it gives people the wrong idea about Linux.

Good starters are: Ubuntu (kind of), Mepis, Freespire, gNewSense, etc.

Fedora goes between the lines, it can be for beginners, but if you edit it enough, you can go way beyond and customize as much or more than even Debian.

thats why I put in the distro chooser http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/
cause a flame war will not help him lol

why not list distro choosers

I wonder why the only mention of Damn Small Linux was Lakris. Could it be DSL has slow execution?