hello everybody

I'm all new with linux and I need some advices to begin

I've catch an old computer with processor Intel Pentium 75 Mhz 16 Mo RAM and I would like to try to install Linux on it

I must say there is a version of windows 95 installed on it but it doesn't work (never launch because there are file missing)

so the job would be replace windows by linux OR repare windows and add linux

I expect a very "little" use of linux that is to say just some programmation and an approach to the UNIX system so I don't need a very sofisticated version ; just smthg easy to use and to help me getting familiar with linux

let's begin : first question : what version will work on my computer ; for example will Slackware 10.0 work well (I doubt...) ; if no which one ? and where can I dowload it ? (I've found a plenty of versions very recent but it's impossible to catch some old versions ...)

then when I caught the files (and burned them on cd i suppose) I would have to install then and then I will need to help my computer cause it can boot from the cd ; don't ask me why or tell me to change the bios it's no way it refuses to boot from cd ; so I need a boot diskette ; here I believe we can use a file call rawrite or stg like that which create a boot disk ; tell me plz if I'm right

for the moment the hard drive have 3 partitions ; I formated 2 of them and there just stay the one with a corrupted version of win95

i would probably try to install linux on an other partition ; there I belive it's not too hard to replace C: by D: but if there are tell me plz

then will come the critical point : the configuration ; I have no idea of the material, no cd with drivers or things like that and I suppose I'll be missing them

but I belive too that's it's not impossible and I hope you'll be able to help me


thx a lot in advance for any contribution

(the very first pb is, I recall, the verion I choose and where I find it....)

bie

Well if you have access to another computer you can just download the linux you want and make a boot disk. I would suggest a old version of slackware, try googling around a bit untill you find one.
The driver part wont be nessecary at all I think. I dont use drivers on my old laptop...

yeah, forgott to mention, the partitions arent called anything what you think there called.
for example if you have C: under windows, it will probably be /dev/hda under linux. So if you want to install on the second partition try /dev/hdb or /dev/hda2.

IMO you don''t have enough ram on this box. I have installed modern distros on a p150 with 32 meg ram and it will go, but goes much better with 64meg ram. You would only get a text based install with 16meg ram and an X would be very slow, if possible at all.

Maybe so, but if he can get the X server running maybe swap space cann be used?

Sure, I have run X on such a box. It just may be quite slow and you would only want fvwm or such - which may go okay... Once upon a time that was all the ram I had and it worked... But modern apps would kill it. It would swap continuously...

I think even distros like FeatherLinux need 24MB RAM just to install. I am sure there are possibly a few distros that would install with 16MB, but there probably aren't many. Like amosf said, any modern apps would just kill the machine....

When I originally installed slack 3 back in 1995 the minimum ram for X was 8-16meg... There would be some distros that would do some X, but it wouldn't be capable of much...

enter here and have fun!

Linux ISO

I've tried with the Last Red Hat and it is said I can't beacause I've not enough RAM...
Probably I'll give up cause I can't find any older version of Slackware or stg else

thx a lot for helping

bie

you could try this distro:

Deli Linux

It's not very known but it runs in VERY OLD machines