Hi,
i have an old 1-step better than a 486 (which means, i'm not sure what i have - got the box from a co-worker).
Trying to install FC3 - b/c that's the CD i have, but will update after it's set up. it keeps saying that it can't find the drive. when asked to pick one from a list, it's a long extensive list of things that don't seem to fit the need.
So, i tried to install on a 500G external, but it was formatted for the MAC and has a few years of stuff on it. it wanted to reformat the drive, which means i would lose everything. SO, i went to buy a 250G external so i wouldn't lose the stuff on the 500. However, when i hooked up the 250, it would not do anything. it is found on the list of extensive things to load for the drive, but when i choose it, it still says that it can't find the drive. it won't even try to format the 250.
If this makes sense to anyone, a little advice is more than welcome~
Thanks in advance!

First, get one of the current Linux distros.....e.g. Fedora is now on version 9. In the long run you will save time by not trying to work around the limitations of out-of-date versions of Linux.

Next, If you don't know what the hardware is, you can find out some info from the BIOS setup page and/or from running with a "live CD" version of Linux (Most modern distros now come in a live CD version). If the computer can't find it's internal harddrive, then there may be some more fundamental issue. In this event, adding external drives is not going to help.

Go into bios and see if it sees the hd.

Thanks, i'll be able to check the BIOS and play around in a few hours.