installing without cdrom or internet
 

im soon going to be getting an old computer that i would like to install some version of linux on, im not exactly sure what the specs are on it but im pretty sure its a 486 16mb ram, i was wondering if there were any linux distributions that can be installed via floppy disk either from ordering or a small version that could be downloaded onto a floppy disk(i only got a few days of internet access), anyone got any suggestions? im looking mainly to do programming type stuff, so i mainly need a distribution that can handle compiling C based programs, though id really appreciate being able to find any distribution that i could get on it, any help?

sure you can, but anything other than a small distro would be a big pain, read the thread "linux installation with floppies???" on this site for more info, your best bet would be just to bite the bullet and get a second hand1x cdrom, or a 4x, another option is you can i think buy hard drives pre-loaded with some linux distributions, although expensive it would be, it might save a headache, hope this helps, cheers

Need a bit more info. What are you planning on using it for? If its something...basic or simple there are a number of small distros availaible for various purposes come to mind FreeSCO would be a good start. If you want a full distro...well X ain't gonna run well on a 486 at all but if you have another machine you could do temporary cd surgery and put it in the 486 until you've done the install.

Im planning on just using it to run a MUD server and to program other C based applications, so i guess all i really need is something with a compiler, so are there some other good small distributions that would work?

i should also note that its only going to be used as a test computer, it wont be connected to the internet or a network or anything