Hello,

My first post is a question...

Does anyone know of a good "basic" Linux (hopefully with a GUI) that I can load onto a AMD K6, 64MB Ram, 5Gig machine to get my feet wet with Linux?

This will be my first load of the os, and I'm hoping to find something easy.

Thanks!

DSL: http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

However, you posted this in the wrong place.

This post would have been more appropriate in the "Linux- Newbie" section.

I have reported this thread, and it should be moved soon.

Note: reporting is not necessarily a bad thing, only a moderator can move threads.

Oh, also, Welcome to Linux, and LinuxQuestions!

Slackware with packages from amigolinux also works quite nicely. Granted, doing that is more like a cannonball than getting your feet wet, but if you are willing to learn, and ask lots of questions, and break things a lot, it is pretty good way of going about Linux.

Vector Linux
I will second DSL, too.

// moved. PastorWirl, out of curiosity; is there anything we could have done to make it more clear that this forum is for feedback about LQ itself and not for technical questions? Your feedback may help us improve. Thanks.

--jeremy

I am also a n00b. On my "real" computers I have used several live distro's but brought back to life an old box to learn the basics. I could not install Ubuntu or knoppix but was able to HD install DSL (Damn Small Linux).

My System
AMD K6 @ 333mhz
FIC VA-503A Motherboard
64 Megs RAM (PC100 SD)
4GB Hard Drive (Completly Blank)

Things run very quickly from command line but the GUI (I think its kde) bogs down due to the miniscule ammount of ram. My intent is to download from the internet the packages (programs) that I wanted to test (which would have automatically installed with a diffrent distro).

If you intend to USE this computer, I'd reccomend spending a few bucks to increase the RAM...but if your just dabbling to get your feet wet, install DSL to hard drive and accept that the "bogging down" is a hardware issue rather than software related.

FWIW, DSL was very easy to install (for me and I'm a total moran) and auto recognized ALL of my hardware...only problem I encountered was selecting a bootloader. LILO worked but GRUB did not.

This was my mistake of course, I didn't see the "Newbie" section further down the forums. I saw "SUGGESTIONS and Feedback" and thought, "Hey I need a suggestion." Sorry I'll post correctly in the future.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions... now I need to learn how to read.

OK everyone, I dl'd DSL and I've got a live CD now... However, once the GUI is visible, the mouse doesn't work. I've got an old serial mouse hooked up and ready to go, but it no go. Any more suggestions???

I ran into this in Vector linux when I was building an older machine to support file storage for our CNC machines at work. Try this.

"The /dev/modem link is set to /dev/ttyS1 = com2, the /dev/mouse link is set to /dev/psaux = ps2, these can be changed. For example if you have a serial mouse type this after you login as 'root' (User name is root): # ln -sf /dev/ttyS0 /dev/mouse"
This needs to be done in a console. With no mouse action try hitting "Control-Alt-F2" and that will open a terminal window. Login as "root" with the root password you set at install, and follow the above instructions. I hope this isn't too complicated, if it is maybe someone else can explain it clearer. "Control-Alt-F6" will get you back to your GUI, and usually a couple of test clicks will get it working OK. Good luck and welcome aboard this is a great place to get help.

thanks brainiac,
I'll try this... one thing... can I place the iso onto the HDD and boot from that? Right now, I'm booting from a live CD. I'll try your suggestion tonight.
YAY! I'm learning Linux, hehehehe...

Start up using the livecd. It pauses at a "prompt" where you can eithh wait for it to autostart or enter boot options. if you trype install it will start an semi-automatic HDD installation.

/I have no input if the ISO idea will work or not.