What Linux distro to use for old Intel machine, that fits on CDs?

I have not been able to get a straight answer to this, despite almost
a year of trying.

Maybe three's the charm?

Here goes again...

I have an old machine, not my main machine, nearly in mothballs that
somebody uses on occasion to surf the net and print a letter on a
recent model HP inkjet using OpenOffice as the word processor
program. The machine is running on Windows 2000. The machine is an
Intel Pentium II, about 200 MHz clock, with about 500 MB RAM (or maybe
it's 225, I upgraded it but forgot what it was, but I'm pretty sure
it's 512 MB). The C: hard drive is only 2 GB large--the only one for
the OS. This was a popular configuration in the mid to late 90s so
I'm sure a lot of these machines exist in the world, so somebody must
have loaded Linux on one of them.

The machine has no DVD, only a CD reader. It has a late 90s but
popular video card, forget the brand.

What Linux distro to use for this configuration? I can, using another
PC, download a distro, but then I would have to burn it onto a CD or
CDs, so I would rather not do that--that is, I would rather get or buy
a Linux distro that is already burnt, in proper order, onto labeled
CDs to make installation easier.

In case you're wondering why I want to switch to Linux: though the NT
system is functional, it's slow, and rumor has it that Linux is 'virus
free' (or nearly so) and faster. Presumeably since Linux is virus-
free I would not need antivirus (AV) software. Is this true?
Eliminating AV software would free up RAM. Again, this system is not
for a power user. I myself am a power user, would never think of
switching to Linux. But for this lightweight user, perhaps Linux
might work for them.

Any ideas welcome. Be advised that I also needle the posters at
comp.os.linux.advocacy, but this is not a flame. I really have not
been able to get a straight answer on this issue.

Some common mistakes made by respondants: they recommend their
favorite distro without checking the min system requirements; they
recommend something they've never tried (Puppy Linux, Ubuntu, and Damn
Small Linux seem to be a favorites--but I need somebody who is very
familiar with a distro before I install it and find out it won't work
on this archaic system); and they assume that I have fast internet
access on this machine. Also, some spiteful types from
comp.os.linux.advocacy (avoid this group like the plague unless you
simply enjoy flaming for its own sake) recommend distros that, when I
research them, find they won't work on this machine specified above,
so, please cite your choice with a link if possible.

Thanks for your attention.

RL

raylopez99 wrote:

I have an old machine, not my main machine, nearly in mothballs that
somebody uses on occasion to surf the net and print a letter on a
recent model HP inkjet using OpenOffice as the word processor
program. Â*The machine is running on Windows 2000. The machine is an
Intel Pentium II, about 200 MHz clock, with about 500 MB RAM (or maybe
it's 225, I upgraded it but forgot what it was, but I'm pretty sure
it's 512 MB). Â*The C: hard drive is only 2 GB large--the only one for
the OS. Â*This was a popular configuration in the mid to late 90s so
I'm sure a lot of these machines exist in the world, so somebody must
have loaded Linux on one of them.

The machine has no DVD, only a CD reader. Â*It has a late 90s but
popular video card, forget the brand.

What Linux distro to use for this configuration? Â*I can, using another
PC, download a distro, but then I would have to burn it onto a CD or
CDs, so I would rather not do that--that is, I would rather get or buy
a Linux distro that is already burnt, in proper order, onto labeled
CDs to make installation easier.

Last time this question was asked I pointed to Vector Linux. I have used
Vector Linux -- not on a machine as old as yours, but one close to it.
Vector Linux Standard defaults to the Xface desktop -- a nicely implemented
version of it -- so it is not weighted down by KDE or Gnome. You can buy a
CD if you want for $25-27.

I don't use Anti-Virus or Anti-Malware software on my Linux computer. I
originally installed AVG but, since it found nothing, I uninstalled it
considering it a waste of time and space.

Vector Linux's website below:

http://www.vectorlinux.com/

The Standard 5.9 edition requires 128 Meg of RAM and... ah... 2.6 Gigs.

So I guess you would have to go with the Light Edition, which requires 64
Meg of RAM and a 2 Gig hard drive.

(Hell, send me an email and I'll dig up a "huge" 6 Gig hard drive and send
it.)

--
RonB
"There's a story there...somewhere"

* raylopez99:
I have not been able to get a straight answer to this, despite almost
a year of trying.

Maybe then this time you should take the time and at least check what
you really have? "...about 200 MHz clock, with about 500 MB RAM (or
maybe it's 225.." and "...It has a late 90s but
popular video card, forget the brand...." is worth nothing. There is no
PentiumII 200MHz, so either it is a Pentium 200 or a PentiumII with
higher clock speed. If it's a Pentium then you won't have much fun
running Linux on it, too (except maybe for use as a router or file
server). Same about memory (exact size and type), the mainboard and also
the gfx card. You also want to check the gfx card because it won't give
you much fun if it's not supported by Linux.

If you expect people to help you the least thing you can do is to
provide accurate details.

Benjamin

In comp.os.linux.misc raylopez99 wrote:
I have not been able to get a straight answer to this, despite almost
a year of trying.

Here we go....
over a dozen posts all with valid straight answers...

Warning to non-COLA members...
Lopez is a waste of space. An utter waste of skin.
He's always pulling this trick, asking for help on a simple install and then
utterly ignoring anyone who offers advice and complaining that no-one helped
or no-one would give him a straight answer.

He does it every few months.
--
| | |
| Andrew Halliwell BSc | "The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't |
| in | suck is probably the day they start making |
| Computer science | vacuum cleaners" - Ernst Jan Plugge |

In comp.os.linux.misc Benjamin Gawert wrote:
If you expect people to help you the least thing you can do is to
provide accurate details.

Yeah, like THAT'LL ever happen...
I think he makes the specs up as he goes along, sometimes.
(to be fair to linux though, I doubt there's a video card THAT old that'll
cause problems)
--
| ,uk | "Are you pondering what I'm pondering Pinky?" |
| Andrew Halliwell BSc | |
| in | "I think so brain, but this time, you control |
| Computer Science | the Encounter suit, and I'll do the voice..." |

Benjamin Gawert wrote:
There is no PentiumII 200MHz, so either it is a Pentium 200 or a PentiumII
with higher clock speed.

It runs Microsoft Windows 2000, so it must be a Pentium II

If it's a Pentium then you won't have much fun
running Linux on it

I use Pentium 120s here, and they work fine. It depends really on what
you use them for, I suppose.

You also want to check the gfx card because it won't give
you much fun if it's not supported by Linux.

Yeah, this is important. You will not be able to use "Windows
Acceleration" without a supported card, and you will be limited to using
800x600 SVGA mode. However many popular cards are supported, but you
could really do with finding out what type of card is installed.

If it runs Microsoft Windows 2000, you may be able to look at the system
properties to find this.

I use Debian on my computers, but I have upgraded all of my hard drives
to at least 20Gb in size. (Many modern IDE drives have a capacity
limiter jumper, restricting their capacity to 32Gb, making them useable
in older machines.)

If you want to stick with a small 2Gb drive, I would suggest Puppy
Linux.

Regards,

Mark.

--
Mark Hobley,
393 Quinton Road West,
Quinton, BIRMINGHAM.
B32 1QE.

On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 06:31:17 -0400, Mark Hobley wrote:

Benjamin Gawert wrote:
There is no PentiumII 200MHz, so either it is a Pentium 200 or a
PentiumII with higher clock speed.

It runs Microsoft Windows 2000, so it must be a Pentium II

Do not waste your time speculating. Belarcs advisor runs on any WIndows
platform down to Win98. Simply ask him to save the4 output and post it.

On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:24:31 -0700, raylopez99 wrote:

I have not been able to get a straight answer to this, despite almost a
year of trying.

Maybe three's the charm?

Here goes again...

I have an old machine, not my main machine, nearly in mothballs that
somebody uses on occasion to surf the net and print a letter on a recent
model HP inkjet using OpenOffice as the word processor program. The
machine is running on Windows 2000. The machine is an Intel Pentium II,
about 200 MHz clock, with about 500 MB RAM (or maybe it's 225, I
upgraded it but forgot what it was, but I'm pretty sure it's 512 MB).
The C: hard drive is only 2 GB large--the only one for the OS. This was
a popular configuration in the mid to late 90s so I'm sure a lot of
these machines exist in the world, so somebody must have loaded Linux on
one of them.

The machine has no DVD, only a CD reader. It has a late 90s but popular
video card, forget the brand.

What Linux distro to use for this configuration? I can, using another
PC, download a distro, but then I would have to burn it onto a CD or
CDs, so I would rather not do that--that is, I would rather get or buy a
Linux distro that is already burnt, in proper order, onto labeled CDs to
make installation easier.

In case you're wondering why I want to switch to Linux: though the NT
system is functional, it's slow, and rumor has it that Linux is 'virus
free' (or nearly so) and faster. Presumeably since Linux is virus- free
I would not need antivirus (AV) software. Is this true? Eliminating AV
software would free up RAM. Again, this system is not for a power user.
I myself am a power user, would never think of switching to Linux. But
for this lightweight user, perhaps Linux might work for them.

Any ideas welcome. Be advised that I also needle the posters at
comp.os.linux.advocacy, but this is not a flame. I really have not been
able to get a straight answer on this issue.

Some common mistakes made by respondants: they recommend their favorite
distro without checking the min system requirements; they recommend
something they've never tried (Puppy Linux, Ubuntu, and Damn Small Linux
seem to be a favorites--but I need somebody who is very familiar with a
distro before I install it and find out it won't work on this archaic
system); and they assume that I have fast internet access on this
machine. Also, some spiteful types from comp.os.linux.advocacy (avoid
this group like the plague unless you simply enjoy flaming for its own
sake) recommend distros that, when I research them, find they won't work
on this machine specified above, so, please cite your choice with a link
if possible.

Thanks for your attention.

RL

I would probably try Elive first - I installed it on a P166 with 64mb RAM
last year and it was 'decent'. Other options would include Damn Small and
Vector.

On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:24:31 -0700, raylopez99 wrote:

I have not been able to get a straight answer to this, despite almost
a year of trying.

Maybe three's the charm?

Here goes again...

I have an old machine, not my main machine, nearly in mothballs that
somebody uses on occasion to surf the net and print a letter on a
recent model HP inkjet using OpenOffice as the word processor
program. The machine is running on Windows 2000. The machine is an
Intel Pentium II, about 200 MHz clock, with about 500 MB RAM (or maybe
it's 225, I upgraded it but forgot what it was, but I'm pretty sure
it's 512 MB). The C: hard drive is only 2 GB large--the only one for
the OS. This was a popular configuration in the mid to late 90s so
I'm sure a lot of these machines exist in the world, so somebody must
have loaded Linux on one of them.

snip

I recently bought a Dell Dimension 4100, built circa 2001. I got it from
the local university surplus property for $20. It came outfitted as
follows:

CPU: Pentium 3, 933 MHz
Memory: 512MB
Network: 3Com 10/100
Sound: Ensoniq
Optical: CD-RW (12x)
HD: none

I added a 500G SATA drive and controller, and now it has new life. It
can do all of the jobs you outlined without a hitch. I use it as secondary
workstation all of the time. Here are some screenshots running Dropline
Gnome on Slackware 12.0:

http://www.xmission.com/~ddmayne2/im...8-06-20.01.png
http://www.xmission.com/~ddmayne2/im...8-06-20.01.png

My advice is to get a computer with similar specs if you intend to run
Open Office, Mozilla, etc. without running into a lot of frustration. As
an academic exercise, the absolute minimum that I would consider using as
desktop (in 2008) is

CPU: Pentium 3, 500MHz
Memory: 256M

Memory is critical. The more the better.

BTW, I needed to add a disk to the system above because the university
removes all disks before reselling their systems. In your case, you
probably will need to add a disk, also. That is because of the fact that
2G is tight for installing any major GNU/Linux distribution. Maybe, you
should consider throwing a few bucks at a SATA PCI disk controller ($25)
and 500G SATA HD ($100). That could be a good investment because if you
decide to upgrade to a totally new system later on you already have the
disk. On the other hand, a lot of vendors have prebuilt complete systems
for about $300- and they will definitely run circles around these
"junk" systems. You'll have to decide if it is worth it because at some
point, it becomes a case of throwing good money after bad.

--
Douglas Mayne

Andrew Halliwell wrote:

In comp.os.linux.misc Benjamin Gawert wrote:
If you expect people to help you the least thing you can do is to
provide accurate details.

Yeah, like THAT'LL ever happen...
I think he makes the specs up as he goes along, sometimes.
(to be fair to linux though, I doubt there's a video card THAT old that'll
cause problems)

One example that springs to mind as a tricky card that old is the ISA and
VLBUS range of Cirrus Logic cards, had to try several settings before
getting it working without display corruption last time I tried to use one
of these cards - but then that was about 9 years ago on Mandrake 7.0 so
maybe even these work now.

Quite why he insists on finding a distro for a machine of unknown spec this
old is still a real mystery when newer and faster hardware is being thrown
away (I know of companies near me who are now trashing 2ghz P4's as
obsolete - unfortunately their company policies demand they get sent to
outside recycling companies due to current EU disposal laws).

Lets face it even if someone on here offered him a free PIII machine with
Linux pre-installed he'd still insist that this was not good enough and we
have to supply a source for a distro available retail that supports his
unknown spec machine.