newbie question about running Linux
 

Hey guys,

I just built my own computer and want to use my old one to run Linux. This is what my old computer (Dell Dimension) has left in it: P4 1.6 gHz, 512 mb of RAM, 2x40 gig harddrives. I've been reading a little bit about Linux on the internet, but I'm just a little confused as to how I should go about installing Linux and anything else I would need to know to get it running properly. Thanks

That's a very general question! The best way to start might be to use a live CD - these are bootable CDs which you can download and burn yourself. The CD allows you to run Linux off the CD without having to install anything, so you can try Linux, play around etc. without having to change anything on your PC. The best-known ones are Knoppix, Damn Small Linux, and hundreds of others.

Your definition of "old computer" is not what we often see here.......;)
You will have no trouble at all getting Linux running on this machine.

Start with any free distro--including the live CD options already mentioned. However, since you are starting with clean machine--no dual-boot, etc. I would simply install.

distrowatch.com has LOTs of good info on various distros. I personally use--and highly recommend--Ubuntu.

You'll need a CD-ROM-----and a CD burner in you new machine. Ubuntu gets you started with ONE CD--which they will even mail free if you don't have broadband access.

go to barnes and noble and look both in the magazine section and the linux section(yep, they have one). Many mags have free versions. there are also pay for distros in the linx section that have "bibles" with them so you can learn as you go. Ive tried Fedora 4 . . . Centos . . . and suse 10.0. Suse is the easiest to use for me becuase of the yast interface. . . . .