I just got a used dell inspiron 5000 to play around with. I upgraded it to 128mb of RAM and I want to install fedora core 6 on it. I am a newbie and I have started to download the cd from linux.softpedia.com, after this is finished what do I do??

Well first things first, burn the CD, and make sure that "boot from CD" is enabled in the Dell bios. Has the Dell got Windows on it?? Do you want to keep windows on it?? If the answer to these is no, then you simply put in the CD, answer the question and let Fedora do its work. If yes then the situation becomes a little (not a lot) more complex. Installing linux is very, very easy these days. What I would do is look up the hardware on your Dell (graphics card, wireless, etc, etc) and find out if it's supported in linux. Also go to tuxmobil (just google it) and see if somebody has written a guide for installing linux no the model you have! Good luck!

I'm afraid you're bound to run into trouble with 128MB RAM... at least 256 is required to run Gnome or KDE. You'll have to select a lighter window manager. I also imagine you won't be able to install in graphical mode. Use the text installer with the boot option

linux text

I assume it's still the same command, it certainly still worked the last time I did an install in text mode.

If you are looking for a lightweight window manager try Blackbox. I liked it and they have a config tool that makes it a sinch! When you get more RAM and depending on your proc, try Project Looking Glass from Sun. I think it is the future for desktop environments. You might check out XFCE, I am not sure what the requirements are for it.

iam_techno