Installing Linux on older machine - Failing
 

I'm having all kinds of problems installing Linux and I can't figure it out.

Boot CDs work most of the time - no problems with windows installation/CDs. When I use a Linux install cd (Fedora or Debian) the install fails randomly.

Debian - wont even boot.

Fedora - boots half the time. Self check fails 50% of the time, when it doesn't fail, the install locks up randomly before the installation actually begins. If I use the boot.img, and not the full ISO, it'll boot, and I can do an FTP install - but again, it randomly hangs at different points before the install actually starts.

These problems don't exist on other more recent machines. Are older machines just out of luck? Is there a better distro for old computer?

VA-503+ AMD 300mhz


I've hit deadends in the Fedora IRC channel and can find no documentation that's been of any help. Anything at this point is welcome, otherwise I'm just going to have to stick with Windows (which I'd rather not).

Trefalgar

Re: Installing Linux on older machine - Failing
 

Ya, Slackware.

I agree with the above. I got slackware to run perfectly on a 233 mhz laptop. If you remember what laptops were like 7 - 8 years ago, then you'll be as suprised as I was.

I've heard that Vector Linux, which is based on Slackware, is even better than Slackware for older machines, maybe you should give it a try too.

Seems a bit odd that you are having so many problems and I'd be tempted to just check the memory and hardware in general just to be sure.

I just installed mandrake 10 on an old 430vx MB with a pentium 150 CPU 2 gig drive and 64meg edo ram. The install went fine and the box runs quite well considering it's using KDE and running mozilla and KMail.

I've downloaded both Mandrake and Slackware - small problem. How do you burn a 670-710 meg ISO to a CD?

=\

Trefalgar

I got debian woody on an old 486.
Some old cdroms don't like cd-r/rws.

Ja, I'd check the ram and hard drive, sounds like flaky hardware.

rjtucke

I was able to burn the Slackware CD1 Install (it's under 670 megs). I might be getting closer to the overall problem.

It's locking up trying to detect the partitions after detecting the harddrive. The harddrive is new, 60gigs, so new that you have to use the "MaxBlast 3" software to get it to see it as a larger drive than 33 gigs. Slackware believes it is 33 gigs even though MaxBlast has been installed (the software sets up your partitions and is suppose to add something to boot to get everything to work nice together).

I'm guessing this is my problem - the only question is there anything I can do to use the larger harddrive?

Trefalgar
:newbie:

Older processors sometimes can't see large hard drives, I tried to put an 80 GB in a P3 500 MHz once and it wouldn't see past 60 GB.