Re: Will Soon Install Linux on Old Win Machine

On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 13:44:02 -0700, Dano wrote:

I recently bought a surplus computer from my work: Gateway 600MHz
Pentium III with a 20 GB hard drive, and 258 MB RAM. By all accounts,
this should be fine for a Linux box, yes?

I have done some research, and will likely install Ubuntu Linux (when
my discs arrive in the mail), and in the meantime, I have downloaded a
version of Feather Linux and Damn Small Linux (on a dialup! Yikes!) to
play around with.

I'd recommend you check out Elive - it is a Live CD using Enlightenment
desktop and has an install button. It's wonderful for older equipment -
I've installed on a P166 with 64MB and it runs quite well.


I want to convert the "new to me" Gateway box into a strictly Linux
box, so I want to completely get rid of the Windows that currently
resides on (infests? ;) ) its hard drive. Do I simply do a "format c:\"
DOS command to erase the hard drive, or is there some better way to
make sure it goes away completely. (I just ran across the term
"zerofill utility" today, and if anyone could clarify this, that'd be
great!)

You could, but it's really not necessary. Most modern Linux distros allow
you several choices include 'use the whole disk' or 'do custom
partitioning'. I generally allot about 10gb for a Linux distro - with that
in mind you could certainly install two different Linux distros and dual
boot - would be good to evaluate what you like.

IMHO - you're probably going to be happier with a 'lighter' desktop than
Gnome or KDE. I'd suggest XFCE or Enlightenment, but there are about a
dozen or so more.



Then, when it comes time to install Linux, do I just pop a CD in, and
it automagically installs using the BIOS or any remnants of DOS that
might remain?

DOS has nothing to do with it. That's what you do (pop in the CD and boot
from it) whether it has MS installed, Linux installed, or is a completely
virgin machine.


I'm fairly good with computers, but this is my first foray into the
Linux world. I'm anxious to learn, which is why I'm doing it in the
first place. So any pointers the experts out there can give me would be
much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Dano

You might want to explore some of the Live CDs first. They boot and run
from the CD with no installation. My favorites are: Knoppix (also
available as a Live DVD) and Elive.

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