Easiest to use linux distro for i486
 

hey, i was just wondering what linux distro (in your opiniion) is the easiest to use for a new user like myself. I currently use Zenwalk, which isn't bad but i hope there is something easier to use out there

antiX_M8.5_i486 or
CrunchBang-10-i486
(just click on the i486 links)

are both Debian-based, which I feel is "easier" than Slackware-derived distros. I, too, like Zenwalk, but Debian is easier for me.

Both have great forums, too.

http://ftp.cc.uoc.gr/mirrors/linux/ downloads

About #!

Why not Debian itself?

That's what I'd be installing. It has a 486 kernel option.

ive only used ubuntu mepis fedora, and just to peek, plop, dsl, knoppix, and gpartedLive. --ubuntu won out for me.

Unless someone has to mess with setting up non-free hardware, such as Broadcom wireless, I would recommend Debian over Ubuntu. I have found Ubuntu to be most reliable, but I am tiring of Canonical's what looks like efforts to make it Appli-licious. Debian is rock solid.

For ease of use for a new user, Mint is also highly recommended. CentOS, for all its rep as a server OS, is also very easy to set up and get running.

I started with Slackware. I'm glad I did. But I didn't have to deal with Broadcom wireless.

To the OP: If you ask 10 Linux users what distro they recommend, you are guaranteed at least 17 recommendations.

vector linux
 

i have been looking around and vector linux looks easy to use (or at least, it claims) i was wondering if anyone has any thoughts about it. also i looked at debian but could not find an i486 type processor option, could you please post the link to help me find it?

If you like KDE, go for it! I couldn't stand Konqueror.
If I say Salix, some @$$ will say, "Why not Slackware?" So I won't (lol)

I used Vector on a low-spec machine (a 586, though, rather than a 486): like Zenwalk, it's another Slackware derivative which may mean that it shares the features you dislike about Zenwalk, but which will also mean that some of the knowledge you've acquired with Zenwalk will come in handy. Went pretty well on my old box, as I recall.

Hope this helps. :)

If you want to stick with a Slackware base, SalixOS is very nice.

Debian is my personal favorite distro, having hardware that requires non-free drivers can be a pain when installing it though.

Mint is good if you're looking for *very* user friendly.

PCLinuxOS is a heavy fork of Mandriva that I enjoyed very much.

Well i tried to install vector linux last night. Unfortunately, the installer pretty much froze and i could hear a wierd clicking and buzzing inside the machine. Assuming the installer is to blame, a link to debian (i486) would be nice since it looks alright. as well, i did like the look and feel of pinguy OS and Mint, but both would not run my fans on my old laptops. if there are any distros similiar to that but in i486, that would be greatly appreciated

Here's a basic link with various options. My advice would be to choose the DVD as it has the full install, the CD is very basic and may cause you some frustration.

I personally use jigdo but it can take some setting up, torrent has never worked for me with Debian, so http might be your best bet.

Best to post your hardware specifications. Do you have a k5/k6 or PI box? If so, some of the suggestions made by others above won't work as those distros only use a 'modern' 686 kernel.

Debian has the 486 kernel on the same disk as the 686 kernel.

and in addition to that, http being the best solution, get the firefox addon DownThemAll! and give it the debian dvd you download and some md5sum to make sure that if you leave your comp on all night you get the right iso and not some corrupted stuff...

applecheeks,

I would recommend Debian since it's an older system. Ubuntu is great, but it's by default a little graphics heavy, and you definitely want to stay away from the Red Hat derivatives (CentOS, Fedora); they are very graphics heavy by default. Debian's x86 installer will work for your 486, as it's an all inclusive x86 kernel. It will also allow you to install a lightweight x-windows-manager like XFCE. Of course, Ubuntu has LXDE, which would provide the same lightweight feel. I will say, however, Debian is not for the faint of heart. I've been using Debian for 10 years, and it's like that hot girl/boyfriend that you have the volatile relationship with; when it's good, it's really good, but if it get's bad, it can get really bad. Good luck to you and welcome to LQ.org.

HTH,

is there a quick way to showing you guys my system information? can i enter some sort of line into the terminal and get the information needeD?

The software on your system's liable to be different from mine, so I'm not sure what you have at your disposal. My preferred tool for listing hardware is called lshw --- it may or may not be installed on your machine. Log in as root and try:

If that doesn't work then lshw is probably not installed on your machine. Of course you can simply install it if you wish, but it's possible that your distribution already includes a tool similar to lshw --- I can't say. Maybe someone else can shed light on this...

...Anyway, you can always find information about your CPU & memory from /proc:

For information about your PCI devices, issue the command

...And if you want even more (and can wait an age for the benchmarking to complete), you could try

(here the output is in HTML and is redirected to a file which can be viewed in a web browser).

Also, you can have a look at what the kernel spits out during the boot process:

Again, though, there's a lot to sift through, so you may want to redirect it to a file or pipe it to a paging program and peruse it in order to pick out the interesting bits, e.g.

Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck!