Thread: Which distribution of Linux should I get?

  1. #16
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    Originally posted by adrianxw
    >>> Red Hat can run on a 486-DX as far as I am aware.

    Not according to their hardware spec page.

    http://www.redhat.com/software/linux/technical/

    >>> Redhat does not support geforce and I dont think there are any drivers for nvidia geforce on redhat 8.0

    Click the hardware compatibility list and navigate to the search option, you can see what graphics cards they support - there were some Nvidia GeForce cards there against 8.0.
    Well a p200 ain't hard to get your hands on nowadays.

  2. #17
    It's full of stars adrianxw's Avatar
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    >>> Well a p200 ain't hard to get your hands on nowadays.

    No indeed, the old machine I was talking about has a 233 P-II processor, but not enough memory or disk space. My whole reason for looking into Linux was to find something useful I could do with the old machine without upgrading it. Actually, buying parts for machines that old can be quite expensive - no demand.
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  3. #18
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    I've got Red Hat 7.3 running on a Pentium 133 mhz with 64 MB of RAM and it is basically a machine to run a test webserver, database server, etc on. It runs perfectly. I believe RH 8 has a lot more fluff than older distros so you will probably want to stay away from it if you're putting it on legacy hardware.
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  4. #19
    Redundantly Redundant RoD's Avatar
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    When i had redhat it was running on a 133mhz pentium with 128mb of ram. Ran great, i just decided to go with mandrake.

  5. #20
    Registered User Fredd's Avatar
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    I'd say you should try a couple of distros and pick the one you like the best. No one could ever tell you which distro is the best for you, thats something you will have to decide for yourself.
    "Writing software is more fun than working."

    got slack?
    http://www.slackware.com/

  6. #21
    Senior Member joshdick's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Fredd
    I'd say you should try a couple of distros and pick the one you like the best. No one could ever tell you which distro is the best for you, thats something you will have to decide for yourself.
    That certainly is a plan for me in the future. I just wanted to know which distro I should get first that would be easy to use so that I could get my feet wet. Then, I'll be able to investigate this matter further.

    I'm currently thinking about getting Mandrake. My linux buddy says that it comes with more applications than Red Hat, but that whole bankruptcy thing has me worried. If Mandrakesoft really goes under, what will happen to Mandrake? Will it be able to survive without having a company? Will I be .......... out of luck if the company does go under, or will that not be a really big deal?
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  7. #22
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    The version of Debian GNU/Linux I tried, 2.2rev6, was very good for one purpose: It gave my 100-MHz P1 computer with only 1-GB hard drive space and 24-MB RAM renewed life. I was able to cram on all the standard *nix utilities, including GCC, Perl, and Python, along with xfree86 and a version of GNOME 1. The GIMP will even run on this machine. It did require more knowledge of the PC's hardware to install than Windows 95 would, though.

    For someone new to PC's, Red Hat Linux or Linux Mandrake would be best as long as the computer is recent. Everyone says they have easy-to-use installers and do not require as extensive knowledge as some other distributions, like Debian. If you want to choose from these, just pick one that supports the hardware you want to get. If they will both support your hardware, flip a coin or use a Weedje Board.

  8. #23
    Microsoft. Who? MethodMan's Avatar
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    I am currently running Mandrake 8.1. Its a little old, but I acutally purchased a 7 cd set, since I didnt have high speed at the time. I dont feel like upgrading it until I get a box just for linux. I had a 486 which I tried to put linux on it was waaaaaaay to slow, so I just put the hard drive in my better computer and booooya. Its a 4.3, and it all fit.

    Mandrake was easy for me to install, only problem was with the Nvidia card, had to change it from a specific one to a generic Nvidia card.

    As someone suggested try out different distros. face_master has been trying a few recently just to see which ones he likes.

    Good Luck.
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  9. #24
    Registered User CompiledMonkey's Avatar
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    From my experience, Mandrake and Red Hat are the best for newbies. I don't think I've seen a list of what you plan on doing on this computer but you should be safe with either of those. Good luck. BTW, if you need support with Linux, head over to www.tech-lounge.com to ask questions and such.

  10. #25
    Registered User Fredd's Avatar
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    In my opinion you should start with one of the "harder" distros for example slackware, gentoo or debian. this way you will learn much more about Linux in general than if theres automated configuration tools like the ones redhat, suse etc offers.
    "Writing software is more fun than working."

    got slack?
    http://www.slackware.com/

  11. #26
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    Originally posted by Fredd
    In my opinion you should start with one of the "harder" distros for example slackware, gentoo or debian. this way you will learn much more about Linux in general than if theres automated configuration tools like the ones redhat, suse etc offers.
    Yeah right, and if you want to learn math then just jump right into Calculus and don't worry about learning Algebra and Trig first.

    You can learn just as much about Linux with Red Hat or Mandrake as you can using a harder distro. I use Red Hat and use no configuration tools, use a terminal and vim to configure my services and environment.
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  12. #27
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  13. #28
    Registered User Fredd's Avatar
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    Originally posted by damonbrinkley
    Yeah right, and if you want to learn math then just jump right into Calculus and don't worry about learning Algebra and Trig first.
    That's kind of a far stretch but ok

    You have to agree that if you will inevitably learn more if you configure everthing yourself than if a program does it all for you.
    For example if you install SuSE everything will be done for you after the installation but with Slackware you most likely will have to configure the majority of the hardware yourself, somepeople might not like this or have any interest in it whatsoever, fine by me, but I prefer 'the hard way'.
    I tried RH once and I did not even come in touch with a console before it started X.
    "Writing software is more fun than working."

    got slack?
    http://www.slackware.com/

  14. #29
    Redundantly Redundant RoD's Avatar
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    hes trying to get his feet wet, not drown, so i am going to agree with damonbrinkley and suggest he NOT start with a harder distro.

  15. #30
    Registered User CompiledMonkey's Avatar
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    Originally posted by RoD
    hes trying to get his feet wet, not drown, so i am going to agree with damonbrinkley and suggest he NOT start with a harder distro.

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