Installing Ubuntu Alternate with WEP and without a CD/DVD player
 

Hello. I am working with a "Legacy" computer (a Dell Dimension, 125MB RAM, and a Pentium III processer) without a working CD/DVD player.

I am trying to install Ubuntu 10.04 Alternative i386 iso (from the hard drive using Unetbootin) using the Command Line installation option.

The computer already has Windows XP Professional installed with a working internet connection (Linksys - Wireless - G - USB Network Adapter WUSB54G).

The problem is that during installation I can't get Ubuntu to recognize my WEP internet connection. I am sure I could get Ubuntu to recognize my wireless device/connection if I already had Ubuntu installed, but I can't find anything on how to get it to recognize it during a hard drive installation.

Any ideas on how I can get Ubuntu to recognize my WEP internet connection/USB Wireless Adapter during installation?

Let me add that I don't understand why it is manditory to have an internet connection during a hard drive installation, but not from a CD installation - it is the same iso isn't it?

you probably mean 128MB?
ubuntu should only install on machines with more than 128 MB ram
I would try something like Puppy on your computer..
One solution to WEP problem is to disable encription and share internet access..

really a too underpowered machine to run Ubuntu 10.04

try lubuntu, Linux Mint 9 LXDE or, as suggested above, Puppy Linux

I agree - standard Ubuntu is barely usable on 256 Meg.
I have never gotten the installers to recognise wireless consistently. I gave up trying, and keep a long cat5 just for installs - easier all round. As for the query on why WAN access is even required, I reckon that is probably a unetbootin requirement (just look at the name :p ). You are running that as a frugal, not the base iso - at least initially.

also a nice distro for old computers: http://antix.mepis.org/

Thank you for the advice so far
 

Thank you for the posts trying to help me so far.

Just so you know:

Ubuntu on Low Memory Systems

"Installing Ubuntu on any system requires at least 32 MB of memory: The textbased installer included with the alternative (install) CDs needs that much space to run reliably."

But, I would rather just install VectorLinux, but I've been having problems with that (been trying for two weeks...and I mean REALLY trying). Anyway, I've repaired the CD/DVD (swapped the ribbon with the zip player), so things are improving rapidly here.

I burned a CD with Ubuntu Alternative, but am going to continue to struggle installing VectorLinux (it hangs up on partitioning the hard drive - I've tried to do that with another program, but VectorLinux doesn't recognize the additional partitions [perhaps because I have to go back and format them file system recognized by Linux using another program]).

If it is OK with the administrator I'd like to keep this thread open for just a week just in case.

No-one cares what it needs to run the curses based installer - trying to use the installed system on that RAM will be futile. Ubuntu presumes X.

Actually, in a head-to-head battle Debian vs Ubuntu, no matter what window-manager
the Debian install will run at lower ram and use less resources...

I have had all 4 versions of my own nFluxOS running on my Toshiba 7000CT Portege 266mhz PentiumII with 160MB RAM and 4GB hard drive
http://multidistro.proboards.com/ind...play&thread=38

but 128mb is a stretch even with fluxbox...but my nFluxOS Ubuntu is the slimmest/low-resource of any *buntu I believe; turn off fbpanel/lxpanel, gdm and will run even lower....

I would recommend a non-X install of Slackware and use the lappy to learn CLI and the innards of Linux...
Slackware is great for this and will give you full control of everything
and you can use console wm's like Screen, Twin, etc

You could run a non-X install of even Ubuntu too...

If you can add RAM then do so...

EDIT:
also check out Fathom's SlaxRemix07 installed to hdd, remove KDE and I guarantee it will run on that
http://www.slax.org/forum.php?action...parentID=62815

manual install method
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...5-10-a-802853/

Current status
 

I successfully loaded my "Legacy" computer (Pentium III with 128MB RAM) with VectorLinux, and it is doing fine. Had to settle on a less than optimum video setting, but it recognized my USB wireless adapter right away.

Firefox runs awful slow on it, so I'm going to try Swiftfox, or Chrome (if I can get it installed right).

Again, thank you for the help - it turns out that X doesn't run too slow (at least with VectorLinux).