Hey everybody,
Before I ask my question, I would like to compliment the admins, mods, and users of this wonderful forum. LinuxQuestions.org is everything I could have hoped for. Great work!
Anyhow, for the last few years I have always had an interest in Linux. I completed a number of failed/non-working installations of Debian 2.0 on an old Laptop. It was a disaster, none of the hardware was recognized properly and the install was messy.
I got into something I didnt really understand, and like many Newbs, ended up formating my HD and reinstalling windows.
Now I have a very very fast home computer setup running XP. I use it for work and play. I need XP for several work programs, so I need it.
I was thinking about trying to partition the HD, and run a dual installation of XP and Linux, but this would be a horrible idea for a newb like me.
So I went on ebay and bought new old-stock parts to build a little computer to run linux on. It has the following specs:
Motherboard: ASUS TX97 XE
Processor: 200MHZ Pentium MMX
RAM: 64 MB SDRAM
Video Card: ATI Rage IIC 4MB PCI
Hard Drive: IBM 2GB
As you can see, all the components were very popular during there prime, especially the motherboard and processor, and I suspect they will be readily supported by Linux.
So, I am looking for a non-graphical distribution of linux that I can install and tinker with on a PC with these specs. I want to be able to setup little test servers and play around. Basically, this will be a platform to learn good linux skills on. So what is a good distribution to run? What will work on the PC?
Also, can anyone suggest a PCI ethernet card that will work with linux?
And what is a good book to read to learn linux install procedures and command line operations?
Any help and suggestions greatly appreciated,
Cassidy