Hello all. What version of linux is the smallest and fastest ? Maybe it only takes less than 100 mb.

Personally i choose Dawn Small Linux Check it here There are also many other.

There is also slitaz
If you prefer something linux-like, but smaller and faster you can try kollibri

Regards

puppy

SliTaz (30mb) is my personal favorite but Puppy and TinyCore are also popular in that weight class.

Is it better to install on my regular drive, or should I simply install another hard drive to use just for linux?

Welcome to the forums Neal12! It is good etiquette to start a new thread introducing yourself and describing your specific question. We don't really know anything about you or what your goals are.

Most Linux distributions are quite capable of running side-by-side with another operating system on the same hard drive. This is called a "dual boot."

The advantage to using a second hard drive in your case is that you could experiment confidently with Linux knowing that your Windows (I'm assuming, correct me if I'm wrong) is safe and sound on your original drive, and you can always switch back. You don't necessarily need an entire hard drive, either; you can run most Linux distributions from a Live CD or a USB thumb drive while you are experimenting.

Hope that clears things up a bit, again, welcome!

I like slitaz but see also austrumi.

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!

'How to Ask Questions the Smart Way' would be one link you should look at to help us to help you in the future.

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

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

Me too.

Thank you all for your replies. I'm just a beginner of the linux world. I'm now trying "damnsmalllinux".
Can I make it for usb boot enabled ? If so, how can i make it done.

I used Puppy on some Fujitsu P1120 machines about 2 years ago and was very pleased. Had it configured to boot off a compactflash card which I installed in place of the hard drive. The speed was great! Was able to support the touch screen and wifi as well! I also tested DSL but not as extensively. Seems they both worked well.

DSL is almost 2 years old and no sign of the original owner. Not that that is bad but if you want to start usb flash installs start at pendrivelinux.com. If you want DSL or Puppy they tend to have how to's on their forums or web pages.

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/all-in-one-usb-dsl/

+1 don't use DSL for banking or anything like that... it's missing 2 years of security patches.