Hey guys,

i'm pretty new to the linux world and want to learn it.

Took a pretty old pc from one of my friends who was getting rid of it, and decided to make it into a linux box. Was going to install Debian on it, but need to know which image i need to download and burn to install the OS? i need to burn to cd

going to this site: .debian.org/CD/http-ftp/

This is the PC i want to install it on: (dont know much about the PC since when i got it, it was completely formatted. i think it was dual boot fedora/winXP at one point. This info is from googling 'PowerSpec® 1405')

PowerSpec® 1405

Processor

AMD Sempron™ Processor 2200+

System Board

Biostar M7VIG 400 Pro

System Memory

640MB DDR333 SDRAM 184-pin DIMM

CD-ROM Drive

52x CD-ROM Drive

Video

Integrated VIA ProSavageDDR Graphics Accelerator; open AGP slot


Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys

Hi,

Welcome to LQ & Happy New Year!

This machine will make a swell GNU/Linux Desktop. I suggest that you look at 'The LiveCD List' to get a LiveCD to test drive on the hardware. I do suggest that you increase the RAM. You did not state the size of the hard disk. Most modern GNU/Linux distributions will use 4 to 6GB for a typical install.

Just a few links to aid you;
Linux Documentation Project
Rute Tutorial & Exposition
Linux Command Guide
Utimate Linux Newbie Guide
LinuxSelfHelp
Getting Started with Linux
Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide
Virtualiation- Top 10

The above links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

Hi, inwaz -

Your platform is "i386" (it's not a SPARC, it's not ARM, it's not AMD/64 or Itanium/64, etc. Even though it's an AMD/Semperon, and even though it's Pentium compatible, it's still Intel/32-bit, hence "i386").

Whether you get the DVD or CD-ROM is up to you. If you can afford the download time and disk space (and if you can read/write DVD's), then DVD is probably more convenient. Otherwise, go for the CD-ROM.

'Hope that helps .. PSM

Thanks guys. That really helped. I'm goin to be downloading the cd to burn (just to have).

Just curious. What is 'LiveCD'? From what I understand, it is an OS I can boot rght from the cd. And you recommended it since I have no OS on it now and can use this to see what my specs are. Am I correct?

Hi, again, inwaz -
Yes, you're absolutely correct.

Live CD's are most useful, however, if you already have an OS installed and you just want to "test drive" the alternate OS, without jeopardizing anything on your hard drive.

Anyway - good luck. And please post back with what you find!