ms dos 9x
 

i have a fujitsu siemens s6120 centrino 1.6ghz 512 ram laptop with xp/ubuntu dual boot.
on the xp i use i2cdos09 for editing bits on 24cxx eeprom via parallel port.
i have tried wine but no joy and terminal is hard. eepc has been seen but not much help with the running off.
overall its not really a problem but help or guides would be great. nothing big is needed, just to be able to view and edit (viewed in hex would be nice) bits.
if any body knows off usb to eeprom without having to go as advanced as microcontoller.
laziness is kicking in and if there is any GUI's out there that are easy to install,
or a Linux distro that is easy for 9x msdos port configuration or less work.
i am willing to give things a try and pointers would come in handy.
so hope to see your ideas and thanks

If you want to install a lightweight distro on an old computer that currently has Windows 98 (or whatever), you could use one of the mini distros like Puppy or Slitaz.
You can also do a minimal install of Ubuntu and add a basic window manager like this for example: http://psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal
What are the specs of this computer (CPU, memory, graphics card)?
Will it boot from the CDROM or usb?
And what exactly do you want to use it for?

And welcome to the LQ forums!

Thanks tommcd! I was looking for an alternative for google and yahoo! :)

Thor

To be correct, it's ixquick
https://www.ixquick.com/eng/aboutixquick/
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Ixquick
You can add ixquick to firefox
https://www.ixquick.com/eng/download...ck-plugin.html
You can even add linuxquestions.org
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...onsorg-search/

Kind regards

Tnx repo! Not that I have something against Google ot Yahoo persé, but and alternative is always welcome! ;)

Thor

Please re-read this phrase and try to imagine how someone not indulged in your problem should try to understand this. We are not here to decipher cryptic messages, shoot back answers and see which one was on target.

jlinkels

Better yet...find the answers here

http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

complete this "questionaire" and the site will recommend the distro that best suits your needs.

Otherwise, follow the checklist:
- where am I
- where do I want to end up?
- what's on the table.

So...what exactly do you ask with:

Are you new to Linux? Say so. Do you want a free windows clone...sorry, but linux is NOT windows

Help us help you by asking the right questions, the right way... ;)

Thor

If you want to handle eeproms from Linux, look here
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ftdi-eeprom-gui/

If you need to run Windows software, install Wine: that emulates the 9x versions specifically.

If you have an old version of Windows and want to install Linux alongside it, that's possible.

If you want a simple version of Linux, try one of these
http://linuxmint.com/
http://www.pclinuxos.com/

You could have found this yourself, you know: Google is your friend!

thanks
 

i have tried puppy and dsl and i think puppy is amazing. i used it but the terminal was hard to use
i re-edited my post and hope it will be more helpful.
thanks for the suggestions

I don't understand.

using puppy
 

i tried puppy 5.01 on a pentium 3 laptop, 128 ram. it ran very fast (it was how i discovered LQ), but difficult to learn.
getting help off the INTERNET - mention puppy Linux, everybody seems to think you know what you are doing.
i still use it as as a live CD, but using the mouse to do the work. but hats off, it comes with everything you will maybe need. i did install it onto the hard drive. getting updates, or how to, was fun. it took me around 10 hours to get connected with my usb mobile dongle.
i had been using Ubuntu with launch pad account and the help files are so much easier, mention idiot and you're reminded to copy and paste.
i hope that helps to clear things up

gui
 

i
i had a look at ftdi (thanks), and it was a bit much. i don't fully understand source etc i was hoping for a distro program with a GUI .
i already have both those distros on dual boot. i cant decide which is best. they both came with a eepc or similar. but again using terminal. with wine, on both they have different glitches. but both very good.
i have done a repost and hope it helps a bit.
and thanks for the k. always good to have one handy

cheers big ears
 

sorry for the delay in replying. but thanks for the guide lines.
i was just trying to ask fpr a general, easy to install GUI. the program only has to be able to edit bits on a 24xx i2c eeprom.
i have tried programs, but a bit too advanced for the level i am at.
i have done a repost hoping it will help, thanks for trying though

If you would like to learn the command line, here's a nice tutorial: http://linuxcommand.org/

And it's not at all like the DOS command line, it's much more powerful. And unlike in Windows, where the command line is considered a relic of the past that's to be avoided, in Linux it's considered just another interface that's better suited to some tasks than a GUI.

I suggest that you ought to start by re-framing your question...

• Your objective is that ... you want to re-program an EEPROM. That's it, that's all. Therefore, you are looking for "the shortest distance between two points."
• I do not see anything in that mission-statement which "necessarily requires" the use of Linux at all; nor, particularly, the use of "that old computer."
• Electrical engineers all around the world are "re-programming EEPROMs" just like yours, and none of them are scratch-building the tools with which to do it. They selected existing, well-tested software that does the job, and then they bought the computers with which to do it. So, you really are not "boldly going where no man has gone before," and you should not take that approach.
• You should fully expect the Windows-9x tool to be useless in modern environments, no matter what environment it is, because computers now have (and, operating systems now enforce) hardware protections against the arbitrary use of system resources. Software drivers must be used. Windows 9X (and MS-DOS) had no concept of such things. Nevertheless... this is not an issue that you need to address. The developers of the software tools that you need to merely select and buy have already done all of these things for you.

It is merely a waste of time to do a thing that has already been done, or to bash your head against the obstacle of "the first approach that popped into your head" (when a wide-open window is right next door to it, and you simply haven't bothered to look around first.) :o We have all done just that, of course ... :o