Linux system requirements

Discussion in 'all things UNIX' started by stapp, Feb 20, 2009.

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  1. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

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    I have been given an old e-machine which has 254mb of memory and a 37gig hard drive.

    I was thinking of putting linux on it for the grandchildren to go on when they stay here, instead of them going on mine :)

    Is there a particular flavour of Linux that would work with these specs? At the moment it has xp on, but is slow, so I guess dual booting would not be an option.
     
  2. GlobalForce

    GlobalForce Regular Poster

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    Req's are a go Stapp. Booting two Wins, one BSD, and two distros here on a 2.60ghz P4, 256mb by 30g setup.
     
  3. Arup

    Arup Guest

    Try Xubuntu, DSL or Puppy Linux, perfect for your config.
     
  4. FastGame

    FastGame Registered Member

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    TinyMe is excellent, install some games from the repo and the kids will be happy :)
     
  5. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

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    Thanks for the replies, I shall look into them further now :)
     
  6. Cerxes

    Cerxes Registered Member

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    Do a base install (CLI) of your preferred distro together with a light desktop environment (e.g. LXDE), which will result in a low resource load.

    /C.
     
  7. Kerodo

    Kerodo Registered Member

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  8. Arup

    Arup Guest

    Zenwalk is excellent too.
     
  9. GlobalForce

    GlobalForce Regular Poster

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    That a stale install of XP you got there Stapp, one that's been lay'in around awhile? Would db'ing involve a partition resize?
     
  10. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

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    Just had another look at it. It seems as though there have been quite a few users on it, it's a bit mixed up but has sp3 on it and power point!

    I stuck in a little Belkin wireless G usb adapter and it connects great to the internet via my router downstairs.

    I tried puppy live cd and zenwalk as well but they don't see this adapter at all, just say nothing detected. Tried all I know (let's be honest here, that's not a lot :) )


    Would like to just put on zenwalk and not bother about Windows with it being in such a mess, but if I cannot go online there's not much point.

    Any clues here?
     
  11. GlobalForce

    GlobalForce Regular Poster

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    Which adapter, and did it come with a cd - F5D7050, F5D7050ed, F5D7051uk, F5D8051uk, F5D8055ed, F6D4050ed?
    You have the means to transfer (a'la flash drive, usb floppy) a few files from this box to your net connected one?
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2009
  12. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

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    It's F5D7050 and yes I have a flash drive.
     
  13. GlobalForce

    GlobalForce Regular Poster

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    And .... it came with a driver cd, good! ;) I'll have a few :shifty: tasks waiting for you by the am.
     
  14. NGRhodes

    NGRhodes Registered Member

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    Gnome and KDE will run on a 256mb machine, but soon as you load a few apps performance is likely to drop as you run out of ram and the swap is required, so ANY distro which uses a lighter weight desktop would be fine.
    Interestingly both Gnome and KDE are fine with low CPUs - my wife has an ASUS EEE and that runs gnome fine (512mb ram and a 733 mhz cpu) and even with firefox, open office, thunderbird, pidgin open the 512mb is not consumed.
     
  15. Beavenburt

    Beavenburt Registered Member

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    +1

    If you havn't the experience to do a cli install then i'd say Tinyme. Puppy and DSL are primarily livecd's therefore i'd say Tinyme is the better option for a hdd install.
     
  16. GlobalForce

    GlobalForce Regular Poster

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    OK, looking good Stapp. These appear to be the chipset and driver used by your (5xxx K7SF5D7050E) adapter.
    I've got a few more details to double check and then I think we'll be positioned to get that baby up.
     
  17. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

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    Looking forward to giving the Zenwalk install a go (a first time at installing for me)

    While I am waiting I have ended up downloading the debian live cd to give it a whirl.

    Is there no end to this distro tryout madness :argh:
     
  18. GlobalForce

    GlobalForce Regular Poster

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    According to this post it looks like the 5.2 live cd won't do, she's running a 2.6.25.4 kernel. To make progress in sticking with Zenwalk you'd need to have a little faith in yourself that you could install and configure the 5.4 beta. She's equipped to help you load the appropriate (I can only assume the rtl8187b's onboard) kernel module through their Zenpanel (xkernelconfig). Under the circumstance, it's this route or a distro with a later kernel. *This isn't to say I've ruled ndiswrapper out, I simply don't know whether it would be effective ....

    S
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2009
  19. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

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    I don't know if I have the ability to install a beta and configure the wireless part.

    Perhaps a distro with a later kernel suitable for my setup do you think?

    Do any spring to mind?
     
  20. GlobalForce

    GlobalForce Regular Poster

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    Don't let fear cripple ya Stapp, relinquish your crutch and embrace the challenge!
    Tell me you've decided on tank'in that XP install (mentioned in your third post).
     
  21. Timmo

    Timmo Registered Member

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    I had an Emachine with a 40 gig HDrive after I cleaned up the start programs and services added 1 gig of memory it ran fine . I paid $100 for the memory but prices have come way down. Check with crucial for the memory and check out Black Viper for help cleaning up your XP http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm
     
  22. Timmo

    Timmo Registered Member

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    Wubi is an officially supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users that can bring you to the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and safe way. Are you curious about Linux and Ubuntu? Trying them out has never been easier!


    Requirements

    Memory 256 MB memory

    Harddisk Space 5 GB harddisk space

    Operating System Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista

    http://wubi-installer.org/
     
  23. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

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    Thank you all for your suggestions. After considering my options I've decided I want to run Linux on that computer upstairs (not have Windows "host" it).

    However if I install it and then cannot connect to the internet I will not be able to re-install Windows as there are no disks for it. Sorry if I sound unsure, this is new ground for me and I want to make sure that my footware is up to the terrain so to speak. Any suggestions?

    EDIT>>>>By the way so far I've tried Ubuntu, Puppy, Knoppix 6, Zenwalk and Austrumi, none will connect. Windows currently occupies the entire disk
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2009
  24. FastGame

    FastGame Registered Member

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    Can't you make an Image of your Windows install ? Clonezilla is Free and works fine for me. I'm sure others have suggestions for Free Image tools.
     
  25. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

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    Hi Fastgame,

    I appreciate your suggestion. Would this then take me into the realms of having to get an external to keep the image on? I was hoping to avoid expense, my grandchildren already seem to cost more than my children ever did :D
     
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