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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.
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.
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 ;-)
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:
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).
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!
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.
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
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