LinuxQuestions.org
Welcome to the most active Linux Forum on the web.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Laptop and Netbook
User Name
Password
Linux - Laptop and Netbook Having a problem installing or configuring Linux on your laptop? Need help running Linux on your netbook? This forum is for you. This forum is for any topics relating to Linux and either traditional laptops or netbooks (such as the Asus EEE PC, Everex CloudBook or MSI Wind).

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 06-13-2004, 08:51 PM   #1
jd_programmer
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Jun 2004
Posts: 3

Rep: Reputation: 0
Installing Linux on an Old Laptop


Hello all,
I want to install linux (any distro with X window manager, preferably RH) onto an old Dell Latitude XP 450CX. It doesn’t have a CD-ROM drive or a network card, only a floppy. I want to just set it up for OpenOffice and a few games. I would like to install linux to the hard drive only if I know for sure that I’ll get a working computer out of it. Right now, it has Win95 and a 700mb hard drive (200mb free.) I also have a working linux desktop. I was just curious if I could go about installing linux across a serial port or something. (I know, it would be slow, but I think that I can deal with it (with many long nights ) anyway.) Any help would be appreciated.
Also, if you don’t think that I should even attempt this, I *guess* that I could live win W95.

Thanks in advance,
JD>Programmer
 
Old 06-13-2004, 10:34 PM   #2
thejoe526
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Mar 2004
Location: Houston, Texas
Distribution: Fedora Core 2
Posts: 26

Rep: Reputation: 15
what are the rest of the system specs? CPU, RAM?
 
Old 06-13-2004, 11:04 PM   #3
benoy4007
Member
 
Registered: Jun 2004
Location: India
Distribution: Red Hat
Posts: 30

Rep: Reputation: 15
Please do not for dual boot.
Only install Linux that will increase the speed of the atmost dead system of yours. OpenOffice will do best, but if you are allready win user and want to swich to Linux, go for Star Office it will be best and user friendly option to you.

Please specify the MHZ of cup and how much ram is there in your system, so that i can help you out which Lin Dist to install. Also figure out the usage of the system so to get clear idea what to install and what not.

Thanks

Good day,

Benoy Anthony
 
Old 06-14-2004, 02:34 AM   #4
kbcnetau
Member
 
Registered: Dec 2003
Location: South Australia (ex-Devon, UK)
Distribution: SuSE, Slackware, Fedora, Debian, Knoppix
Posts: 141

Rep: Reputation: 15
Do you have a PCMCIA slot? If so, I'd stick a network card in there - it will be an enormous help.

To install to a machine without boot media, take out the hard disc and put it into a machine that does (you will need a 2.5" to 3.5" drive adapter). I did this on an ancient Thinkpad. I did a minimal (and I mean minimal) install of Debian, booting from CD, just enough to get the thing to boot and be able to load network drivers. I then put the hard disc back in the laptop, along with a PCMCIA network card, and completed the installation over the network.

I had previously tried this with SuSE, but it wouldn't boot after I transferred the hard disc - it had tried to be too "smart" with the hardware settings and only wanted to work in a desktop machine.

Please be warned - whilst old laptops can run Linux and make great X terminals, larger applications can be painfully slow. My Thinkpad runs Mozilla only and switching between tabs is a slow process. I believe this to be mainly lack of RAM - the machine is constantly swapping - you can hear the hard disc rattling away just about every time you move the mouse cursor ;-)
 
Old 06-14-2004, 03:15 PM   #5
jd_programmer
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Jun 2004
Posts: 3

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
Here are the specs:

50 MHz CPU
12 Mb RAM (I should probably upgrade, right?)
800 Mb hard disk (correction)
Here's what I want it to do:

+Run X Window System (REALLY want it)
+Run OpenOffice or other Office replacement (REALLY want it, too)
+Run a few games, doesn't matter what kind (not important, but a plus)
+I do NOT need it to run anything Internet-ish, so no browser or server software

PLEASE remeber that I want a working system (linux preferably) for this laptop, not a dead pile of trash. If you don't really think I should try it, then that's not really a problem. I say this b/c of this:

Another post on Experts-Exchange

Thanks again,
JD>Programmer
 
Old 06-15-2004, 03:32 PM   #6
zakaluka
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2003
Posts: 58

Rep: Reputation: 15
Quote:
50 MHz CPU
12 Mb RAM (I should probably upgrade, right?)
800 Mb hard disk (correction)
Here's what I want it to do:
I had an almost identical config: 133 Mhz CPU, 12 MB RAM (4 for video), ~1 GB hdd. Ran debian (installed during 2.x, kept upgrading through apt).
Quote:
+Run X Window System (REALLY want it)
Windowmaker runs okay, but RAM is an issue. I believe I started using icewm or pwm or something like that (VERY lightweight).
Quote:
+Run OpenOffice or other Office replacement (REALLY want it, too)
This is going to be a problem. You might be able to start it, but it is going to be EXCEEDINGLY slow. I started using LyX (http://www.lyx.org) because of the lack of speed. You might be able to do something, but I DON'T recommend using anything Gnome/KDE based. It's just too damned slow.
Quote:
+Run a few games, doesn't matter what kind (not important, but a plus)
Tetris is good. Nethack, etc. are also good for passing the time.
Quote:
+I do NOT need it to run anything Internet-ish, so no browser or server software
In case the need ever arises, try lynx and links. Opera COULD work, but it's pretty slow also.
Quote:
PLEASE remeber that I want a working system (linux preferably) for this laptop, not a dead pile of trash. If you don't really think I should try it, then that's not really a problem. I say this b/c of this:
Another post on Experts-Exchange
Define working... I used my machine to write several papers, software programs, etc. before it died. If you pick the software carefully, you can make it work. (I'm confident on everything except X).

Regards,

zakaluka.
 
Old 06-15-2004, 05:27 PM   #7
jd_programmer
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Jun 2004
Posts: 3

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
I think that I'll just forget the idea of running Linux on this laptop. It already has W95 w/ Office 97 on it, so I'll take what I can get. Thanks a ton, and this forum is awesome!

JD>Programmer
 
Old 06-16-2004, 12:28 PM   #8
bikedude880
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Mar 2004
Location: San Jose, CA
Distribution: Mandrake 9.2, Mandrake 10 (almost)
Posts: 19

Rep: Reputation: 0
Two words: GOOD LUCK! I had some trouble (probably just me) dual booting Win XP and Mandrake on a 600 Mhz, 56 MB ram, CDROM, pcmcia, floppy, etc. comp. Um, yeah, good luck.
 
Old 06-16-2004, 08:33 PM   #9
MS3FGX
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Jan 2004
Location: NJ, USA
Distribution: Slackware, Debian
Posts: 5,852

Rep: Reputation: 361Reputation: 361Reputation: 361Reputation: 361
I have a 133MHz laptop with 32MB of RAM and it can just barely run FluxBox.

I would stick with Windows 95 on that machine.
 
Old 06-19-2004, 02:22 AM   #10
boundsofdreams
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Jun 2004
Distribution: fedora core 2
Posts: 13

Rep: Reputation: 0
i doubt you should install linux on it seeing you have a really small harddrive plus if you do its going to be pretty slow loading up openoffice. even for me it is and I have a 600mhz cpu, 126mb of memory, and 6g of harddrive
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Installing Linux on old laptop Johnnyae17 Linux - Software 2 01-03-2005 02:28 PM
Installing Linux on a Laptop j03 Linux - Laptop and Netbook 11 08-24-2004 11:54 AM
Installing Linux on my Laptop chivas Linux - Software 3 05-09-2004 05:14 PM
Linux installing on very old laptop tga-crew Linux - Laptop and Netbook 5 10-10-2003 10:59 AM
Installing Linux on Laptop nchauhan Linux - Newbie 15 06-22-2003 01:13 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Laptop and Netbook

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:30 PM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration