I have an older computer that I want to try installing the Linux OS and the Open Office Software - Where can I get some instructions on how to install them?

There are a number of linux distributions out there to try. All linux is not the same, so I urge you to try a few different ones before you give up on it or settle with the first one that installs correctly.

The first thing I'd do if I were you would be to go to the following site:
www.distrowatch.com . They have a list of the most popular (by virtue of number of clicks) distributions on the right hand side.


Many linuxes have what is called a "Livecd" - it is a way of booting your pc from a cd to try out a version of linux before you put it on your hard drive. Most of these LiveCD's have a desktop icon that you can click on to install the operating system on to your hard drive. The graphical installers have come a long way since the early years of linux, and if you intend to install only linux on your old machine, you can pretty much install any of them and just take defaults for all the installer questions.


The following are my recommendations:

PCLinuxOS - they have a livecd that is pretty good. Installing is easy, and it has a lot of software out of the box:
http://www.pclinuxos.com/index.php?o...iles&Itemid=28

Ubuntu - this is a very popular distribution. I'd have to say it probably has the most desktop users at the moment. It's not my personal preference, but there is a vast community of users who swear by it:
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Honorable mention: Mandriva, openSuSE

If you're new to Linux, Ubuntu is probably your best bet.
download it here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
choose "Desktop Edition" and "Ubuntu 6.06 LTS - Supported to 2009"

then follow the instructions here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall

and if you have trouble, ask a question in the ubuntu-specific forum here:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/ubuntu-63/

there are many roads into linux, and many choices along the way. ask a dozen people and you will get a dozen recommendations. unlike other operating systems, there isn't only one way to do it. but this will be pretty easy, and you'll find lots of help, and when you want to try something else later, it's always free!

have fun,
andrew

please mention ur configuration of ur "older system"
as that would help u in choosing a linux distro

as the latest distros have some minimum requirements

If its a really old computer you might consider using a featherweight distro such as "Damned Small Linux" and then install Open Office on it. You supposedly can run "Damn Small Linux" on something as under powered as a 33 MHz 486 PC with 32 MB of RAM . Otherwise I'd suggest Ubuntu or SUSE, maybe Mandriva. Personally, I don't put much stock in how many page hits a distro gets at the distrowatch web site.

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/
http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS8272592722.html
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
http://www.opensuse.org/
http://www.mandriva.com/
http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/s...s_reqs_20.html

Why would you recommend Dapper? There's been a ton of great changes between Dapper 6.06 and Feisty 7.04. Especially when it comes to hardware recognition. Just as an example, my ethernet adapter on my laptop, required a fair amount of configuration under Dapper to get it to work. Under Feisty, it is auto recognized and works fine. I can see not getting 7.10, as its just now getting to final release, let the bugs get worked out by experienced users, then upgrade if you like, but I'd definitely get at least 7.04.



Unless you have some need for LTS(ie, you're managing Ubuntu on many different PCs in a corporate setting), I'd go straight to version 7.04.

Other than that, I agree with the above posts, Ubuntu or PCLinuxOS will be the most user friendly, but it would also help to know what hardware you're using. IGF