I would like to creat a nice little home server for my website and other random things. I originally wanted to use Red Hat Fedora Core but the computer I am using can't handle it. I e-mailed Red Hat and was told to use 7.x-9 and I needed to upgrade the RAM. Upgrading the RAM is no problem, but I need to find a download of 7.x and I need help installing and stuff. I also need to learn Linux so if there is a book that teahces you Linux, I would like to know about it.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Sincerly,
The Dark Skwerl

Hi,

What are the specs of the machine you're hoping to use?

I don't know about where you'll be able to download RH7.x, but some food for thought -

Recently installed Debian 3.0 Woody on an old iMac 333 (equivalent to 750MHz-ish Intel) with just 64MB RAM - installed okay, worked fine, if rather sluggish when using KDE (old version 2.2 I think?)

Just installed Mandrake 10.1 on an old Celeron 300 box, albeit with 512MB RAM - installed fine, runs surprisingly well, even KDE 3.2!

Anyway, there we are.

Cheers.

for that level of newbie a good book with the CDs might be the best way to learn.. also look around in your area for a LUG (local user group, or is it linux user group) normaly they are around schools and such.

as for finding older distros that are no longer supported....

http://www.linuxiso.org/viewmirrors.php/349

that page has a few mirrors that still have the RH7.3 disk 1 ISO.

that is really the only Cd you need to install a server. then you will need to visit

http://linux.duke.edu/projects/yum/

and find the respositories for RH7.3 to populate your yum.conf file so you can install the files/programs you need for your server.

Packard Bell Platinum Supreme 1680
Microsoft Windows Millennium
Main Features
• 200 MHz Intel Pentium Processor with MMX technology and 32 KB internal cache
• 4.3 GB hard disk drive
• 16x, maximum speed, variable speed CD-ROM drive
• 32 MB of EDO RAM, upgradeable to 128 MB
• 256 KB of pipelined burst cache
Video and Sound
• 3D Graphics/Video Accelerator (64 bit) 2 MB EDO video memory
• MPEG 2: full motion video playback (supports MPEG1)
• BBE High Definition Sound Enhancement, 16 bit SRS, 3-D Amphitheater Stereo Sound, Dolby Digital (AC-3) Surround Ready, Microphone and stereo speakers included
• Wavestream Wavetable Synthesis
Communications
• 33,600 bps Modem with 14,400 bps Fax installed
• Telephone Answering System, Full Duplex Speakerphone and Voice View Talk Shop

Those are the basic specs. Like I said, I'm really new to this and need everything handed to me as simple as possible.

Hi,

I think Lleb_KCir's suggestion of a book with CD is a good idea. There are plenty of Linux books available but I can't make a specific recommendation - I've picked things up from the web, magazines, etc..

As for the machine - it's quite a lean spec - which kind of puts me in a bit of a fix as to what to recommend..

If you're just hoping to use the box as a server (on a home network?), then you don't really need a windowing system, in which case the system will be fine.. But no nice GUI means you'll be using the command line, which you might find a bit intimidating at first.. Add a GUI and the performance might be quite sluggish (I would make a memory upgrade a priority in this case - and go for the maximum 128MB!) but the system will be more comfortable to set up and use.

As a test, you might try one of the live CD based distros to see what performance you get (although they'll tend to be rather slower than a proper install) - you basically pop the CD in, and as long as your machine is able to boot from CD, you'll boot into Linux. Possibilities here are Knoppix, Morphix, Mandrake Move, etc.. I'd go with Knoppix.

For a pukka install, Debian springs to mind, essentially because you can just install the basic system without a GUI. It is rather more difficult to do than an install of, say, Mandrake, which is fully graphical...

If you've got nothing to lose, give a few options a try to see how you get on and remember that help is always available here in the event of difficulties. I've tended to find that whilst some things can be tricky in Linux, much of it is about 'familiarisation' and the best way of learning it is to just dive in!! The only cost is time..

Good luck and, most importantly, hope you have fun!

Wow.
You people are really nice to a 13 year old kid who only knows the bare minium of what you are talking about.
so, here are the steps I'm going to take:
1.Buy a Linux book
2.Learn Linux
3.Upgrade to 128 MB
4.?
GUI=OS right?
distros?
pukka install?
This is kind of a stupid question but, what exactly is a mirror?
EDIT: Is the Linux symbola penguin cause on every Linux site all I see are PENGUINS!!! Don't get me wrong though, penguins are cool

1. yes try to find used books for older distros. distros that were common when your system was current.

2. spend many hours here and try to find some local linux users that might be willing to help you learn a bit faster.

3. only if you really really plan on using this system for long and have no other option to get an other system. that old of ram will cost you an arm and a leg. you could possibly end up spending well over $200USD for that kind of ram... that kind of cash could buy you a newer used system.

GUI = graphical user interface. yes for windows the GUI is the OS, but only in windows, maybe mac too, dont know a lot about macs. in the *nix world a GUI is exactly that. it is a fancy way for the user to clicky things and have big pictures instead of command line instructions only.

that old of a box, you might want to check out DSL (damn small linux) or one of the other lighter OSs, and yes a GUI is out of the question for that slow of a system.

a mirror is a server that copies an other, so it is like a 'mirror' to the master server. it adds redundancy and a bit of overflow protection. if the main server is extreemly taxed the mirror sites can be a better option most times for pulling down the exact same information. the link i provided above has several sites that are mirrors of the exact same bit of information. you can pull from any of them, but often times the site closet to your current location will have the best performance for you to download data.

the penguin IIRC is really a GNU, thus the gnu license

i could be dead wrong on that though.

The penguin's name is Tux:
http://www.sjbaker.org/tux/

Dave

I am the only kid within at least 10 miles who probably knows what Linux is and I live in the middle of no where.

Another option I came up with is getting an external harddrive for the computer I normally use and then installing a newer OS on that so its a dual-boot system. Is this a better idea? If I do this this does it mean that the comp is the regular comp AND a server? If so, how do I transfer files?

Hello,

This opens up some new possibilities...

I'm presuming that you've got a machine with Windows already installed... In which case, then yes, you can dual-boot. You don't necessarily need to go to the expense of a new hard drive - you can 'partition' your existing drive to make space for a Linux installation. What this means is that you divide the space on the drive between Windows and Linux. The newer distributions include tools to do just this in their installers, and it really isn't difficult.

However, for ultimate safety (ie, less risk of trashing your Windows install, which is a small risk if you take adequate care), then yes, a new drive would be a good option. It doesn't have to be external (unless you use a laptop....) - you should be able to fit a second drive into your machine. Now, if you're just experimenting with Linux and you just want to get a web server up and running, you're not going to need much in the way of capacity - last week I bought a 4.3GB drive 'new old stock' for £10 (UK) - plenty for a full install of Mandrake 10.1, with 1.5GB still left for files...

When you dual boot, you boot into Windows or Linux - you can't have both running side-by-side. As for file transfer - if you're running Linux, no problem - you can 'mount' and use your Windows file system from within Linux. The other way around is a bit more difficult though - Windows will only recognise Microsoft filesystems - ie, FAT16/32, NTFS. It will not 'see' your Linux filesystem at all. There are utilities out there to let you do this, but it depends on the type of file system you use in Linux (there are several).

If you go the dual boot method and decide to re-partition your existing drive, then whatever you do, make sure you back up any precious existing files, and defragment your Windows drive before you start. I haven't had any problems so far, apart from once when I was really stupid but that's another story, but it still pays to be cautious.

Cheers.

I don't think Fedora will runon 4 gigs. I'm running Windows, but its so f-ed up I dont think it could handle a second OS. I don't know how nmuch Fedora needs, but it won't run on 4 gigs (I think). How much (USD) is and external hard that will hold fedora and give me a little room left? I need like at minimum, 250 MB (maybe more, maybe less). Thats a funny story in itself too. My internet provider host websites and you only get 15 MB. I used 115 MB, and if I didnt get rid of it, I'd be broke right now and this thread wouldnt be here.

Hello again (I ought to be getting some sleep now - it's jgone midnight here in the UK..)

Just some clarifications -

I'm pretty sure it will, unless you go for a kitchen sink, chuck every single thing in there type of install!! No, honestly, Linux is much more efficient with disk space than Windows is.

Don't worry about Windows, it may well be screwed (well now, there's a surprise), but when you 'divide' your hard disk up, you simply pinch some space that Windows would otherwise use and use it for Linux instead. During Linux install, you'll install a new bootloader which gives the option of booting into either Windows or Linux. Linux couldn't care less about the state of your Windows installation!

If you're short on space on your Windows drive, and you don't want to open up your machine, then yeah, an external drive is an option - I'm a Mandrake fan myself (fairly recent convert from SuSE, which was good, too), they offer Mandrake 10 pre-installed on a Lacie external drive that you just plug in and go - can't remember the cost, try the website. Or, again with Mandrake, you could look at Mandrake Move, which boots from CD but uses a USB key to hold user data - but I've got to admit, I tried Move and I thought it was, er, not brilliant..

Anyway, just a few ideas. I'm off to sleep.

Poor you. Please remeber though, Im in the US so I dont know any of these big UK companies. Seems to me right now that I probably might runa dual boot...gotta run it by my parental units though...as for me I probably shouldnt even be on the computer. I'm only 13 and I can run on like 5 hours of sleep...nifty eh?

Hi,

Lucky for you! - It was a long time ago for me..

Anyway, yes Mandrake and SuSE are both European (French and German respectively). So yeah, you're probably best sticking with Red Hat / Fedora if that's what you can lay your hands on easily - remember though that Mandrake Linux is available for download off their website for free (OK if you've got a fast internet connection).

I think dual boot is the way to go - I believe the Fedora installer is another good one so you shouldn't have too many difficulties if you take your time and ask questions where necessary.

Enjoy Linux!

Edit: Oops, forgot - SuSE are now actually owned by Novell, which makes them American-owned, but they're still based in Germany I think.

Well im young to, 15 here, and I found Mandrake 10 really easy to get to grips with, but I doubt that would run on that machine, you could probably get a 1Ghz with 256mb ram on ebay for around $150-$200, which would be nice to run Mandrake on.