DSL installation newbie
 

im in the process of learning a new OS. which is DSL
ive read a lot of success stories regarding old PCs resurrecting.
and that is what im doing now as well.
Been searching for days now on the steps and procedures.
saw some sites w/ steps but Im stuck at step1 (full of unfriendly jargons) regarding partitioning etc.Before my Hard disk is going to collapse (due to numerous formats and partitioning from experimenting) I decided to seek help on this forum.

goal:
-install a lightweight distro
-single OS,not dual boot
-boot inside HD,instead of live CD
-perhaps a reserve space;partition for another OS,after getting the hang of DSL (but not necessary)

old pc specs:
-300mhz processor
-128 mb ram
-10 gb hard disk
-boot only thru CD
-usb boot: not supported on bios but USBs are present as add in card
-floppy booth : malfunctioning


can i have a road map for the uninitiated that is applicable for all distros?
e.g.
1.download an iso.
2.boot from iso
3.partition disk
4.mount partition
5. ???

1.is it possible to partition the old hdd under XP? Then remove it and bring it back to the old PC to continue the live cd boot?
1.1if yes,what special linux considerations should i employ?

2.which comes 1st: partioning or mounting or xsetup(installation)

3.does the dsl live cd has a partioning built in (bundled) or shuould I use another disk?

4.does the DSL live cd has a visual gui installation counterpart?

5.can DSL be installed on an partitioned drive?
5.1 if yes,should it be fat32 or ntfs?

6. i cant seem to download the dsl-n via ftp site,do you guys have it under http? or some online storage e.g: rapidshare or similar

7. does linux or DSL have an install wizard that can automate all of this for a confused newbie like me? :(


7.1 when a linux step says: open a terminal --> is that applicable from live cd? or is it pertaining to the blinking cursor? commands involve?

8. am I on the right path for: smallest distro + old pc + newbie
sorry for the confusion/s

more power to you guys

Suggestion: if all you want is to make use of an old, under-powered PC with a slow CPU and very little memory, then why don't you try Puppy Linux? It's as "lightweight" as DSL, but it also has a GUI, and lots of "goodies" you might enjoy.

Here's the "roadmap":

1. Check out the Puppy Linux page. I think you'll like what you see:

http://puppylinux.org/

2. Download the .iso, and burn it to a CD.
Personally, I've always used a USB pendrive (it fits handily on the smallest pendrive you can find!), but CD should be fine.

3. Boot from the CD, and see if you like it.
You don't have to "install" anything if you don't want to - you can just run off the CD to familiarize yourself with it.

4. Once you decide you want to actually install Puppy Linux on your hard drive, just click "Install".
It'll guide you through all the options - it's really very, very simple!

'Hope that helps

PS:
If you're really interested in DSL (and I would certainly encourage that interest!), I'd use it on a completely different project. For example, a good application might be to install DSL to a thumb drive, and try doing "forensics" on a Windows PC booted from a DSL thumb drive.

Again - if you want to breathe new life into an old PC, I believe Puppy Linux, or Arch Linux, might be much better choices for you. IMHO...

kool.

i really wanted to try linux ASAP.
will consider your suggestion
hope it can install immediately and has a install wizard

+1 for Paul
+1 for the prompt reply

still waiting for enlightments on other questions on the initial post

OT: on some forums people get 'thanked' by pressing a button,does the 'rep' link under paulsm4 works the same here?

Hi -

Thank you for the kind words; glad I was able to help.

Yes, LQ has a "reputation" facility. Several, in fact:

1) LQ used to have a "Thanks" button.
There were two overwhelming benefits of "thanks":
a) it was simple (click button)
b) it was POSITIVE (you couldn't downgrade people if you didn't like the answer)

2) LQ now has a "was this post useful?" button
This is extremely similar to "thanks" ... but it's not available to new users below some minimum threshold of LQ posts.

3) There's also a (relatively new) "reputation system" discussed in this thread:


I opted out, as a matter of principle.

In theory, "reputation systems" can be valuable.
In practice, they can be really, really hard to get right.
I believe LQ's tried very hard to "get it right", and I definitely think it's one of the better implementations.
But I believe it's still "fundamentally flawed", for many reasons.

Thank you again - and please, enjoy Linux, and enjoy LQ!

I second the recommendation for Puppy. DSL was a very popular and versatile project in its day, however the project was abandoned about 2 years ago, which means DSL has rather outdated software (for example Firefox 1.0). You might also be interested in Tiny Core Linux, a new project by one of the DSL team members, or SliTaz, another very lightweight distribution.

You might be interested in this blog, which has a lot of great suggestions for how to use older hardware: http://kmandla.wordpress.com/

Whichever you choose, learning Linux is a very fun and enriching project. I wish you the best and welcome to the forums!

@paul
2 thumbs up for you! one of these days the favor will be returned to you +1
im on the way of enjoying linux and LQ,but for now I have to endure the darkness.

@snow
thanks for the suggestion. +1
seems like for every comment from this thread I keep on moving away from the original DSL distro plan :)

update:
finished downloading and running puppy
after pressing enter (no special commands)
kernel panic - not syncing:broken padding

proceed w/ the next distro iso download??..hmmm (sigh)

@anyone/all
pls answer (some) the linux general questions on the 1st post.i really need enlightment

Unfortunately the instructions will be different for different Linux distros. So there is no "one size fits all" answer that I can give you. Fortunately, most Linux distros are very well-documented. These links should at least get you started:

http://www.puppylinux.com/install.htm
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/

The "kernel panic - not syncing:broken padding" error is a mystery to me, I'm afraid. :(

What version of puppy did you try? The newest version of puppy 5.1.1 probably will not work with your computer specs. Puppy-4.3.1 or special-puppies/pup-431-k2.6.21.7-scsi-intel_modems.iso should work with your computer specs.

Puppy has two methods to install, frugal or harddrive install. With your memory specs, the hard drive install will work best. With the live cd use the gparted partition manager to create two partitions. One will be a swap partition and the other one a linux ext3 partition to put the puppy operating system on. I don't think the order of the partitions matter, But I usually put the linux ext3 partition first. Also flag the linux partition to boot with manage flags in gparted. for partition sizes make your swap partition twice the size of your ram and the rest of the hard drive for the linux partition.

To install puppy use the universal installer and just follower the prompts. During the grub installation, install to the MBR(master boot record). your will probably get a warning about installing grub to MBR, but ignore the warning.

@color
downloaded puppy version:
4.2.1-k2.6.25.16

tnx.for the reply,will download the recommended version
does the iso contain an install wizard including partitioning?
will try the harddrive install.
was about to give up,tnx for ur reply.
+1

You can try TinyCoreLinux, too.
Have a look at the mainpage of this distro.
And: read.. read.. re-read.. diverse installation advice in the internet.
Then you will understand what has to be done.
Or ask a friend or an user group in your town for explaining/installing linux.
I am installing the 3rd distro on my old PC and still not finish (nearly! tomorrow evening I will install on a second 10GB HDD the antiX distro; lets see how it looks in comparison with TCL.. probably slower.. but PuppyLinux was too fat for my old PC).
take your time.
Pascal

Let me throw in the mix Slitaz as well. An excellent very small distro.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/...az-gnulinux-30