I tried running Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon on my parents desktop computer since Windows crashed and i wanted them to use the CD as a temporary fix for them to access internet...thats all my mom does: email.

When running it, the main screen popped up and then gave some error and turned off. All a friend of mine told me was that older computers can't run some copies of Linux, but there are copies for older computers out there (Kubuntu, Knoppix, etc.).

My question: What copy do I need?

What are the specifications for your computer (processor and RAM)? If it is a matter of it being a little below ubuntu's minimum specs, you can try xubuntu, which uses the xfce desktop manager instead of GNOME. Others to consider are mepislite, mepis anti-x, damn small linux, puppy linux, and feather linux.

Also could you tell what the error was? If it is something to do with the video card, and you are given a prompt for a boot option, see what options are available. There might be one to use a generic vesa display, which is more likely to work.

personally I'd use Damn Small Linux.

expiecially if your only going to use email.

since DSL is only 50MB

The advice you are being given by a friend isn't wrong, but it may only be partially helpful. If you haven't got much ram, you may run into the problem that one of the heavier GUIs (kde, gnome) won't run. That aside, pretty much any PC should run any common linux distro (a few exceptions come to mind) albeit slowly and maybe with some messing about to get things configured correctly.

If the computer is low specification, then one of the light variations mentioned earlier will give you a better experience. To help more, you will have to supply more information.

Hi,
That's a good idea. You need to provide us with your computer specifications so recommendations can be made.
There are several LiveCDs' that could possibly be used on the machine. The moost current may not be the way to go. You could roll back to earlier versions but if you don't have enough RAM then a small desktop may be the ruling factor.

Your friends general statement is a half truth. You need to fit the machine to a distro that works with some possible tweaking. You can pass kernel parameters to setup certain conditions.

I used XUbuntu and it worked like a charm.
thanks for all the help.

-John

Damn Small Linux is my recommendation.
Perfect, extremely fast on old machines and all multimedia and internet tools available.

Try it.. You will love it.

Yay! I am glad you were able to find a suitable linux distribution. Xubuntu should be easy to keep up to date or install other applications you would like using synatpic. You should also be able to upgrade from one release to the next without difficulty or having to resort to an installation CD. Ubuntu prompts you when updates or upgrades are available, and I would expect that it is the same with Xubuntu, which is officiallly supported by Canonical, Inc. and the Ubuntu community.