Landy's n Linux

Printable View

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page

13th March 2007, 10:20 PM
Rovernaut

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mick-Kelly

How does one change the boot sequence. I went out today and got that magazine with the disk and ive also ordered some disks online. if i can find out the operating requirments i would like to set up my own toy laptop running on linux. I asume its going to need a CD drive at least :D

You change the boot sequence by hitting the DELETE button on the keyboard as your computer is Booting up.
This will take you to the cmos settings.
Navigate to the boot settings and you will see CDROM , Floopy, Harddrive etc listed.
Just make the CDROM the 1st, ie up the top of the list and then hit save and exit.
Then reboot your PC, it'll then look for the CDROM as your fisrt boot order, if a CD is in the CDROM it will start reading it. if not then it will boot to your next, usually the Harddrive, and start normally.
Re operating requirements, insert the Live CD and you'll soon know if there are any problems with running your O/S. A lot of hard ware is supported and doesn't need any tweaking.
Dialup internet is a little harder as most are WINMODEMS, but if you are on ADSL or Cable with an etho cable then all is well straight from the box.
If your Modem is ADSL and USB supported then may be a little prob, as Etho is better.
I'm only running an AMD 2gig, with onboard graphics /sound and 768 Mg of Ram and it is fast enough.
13th March 2007, 10:48 PM
Mick-Kelly

Cool thanks for the help. Ive been looking at flea bay laptops/notebooks some of which are dirt cheap. It seems to be a gamble but if i can get a cheap runner with a cd drive and a power source i think i'll go that way as i would like to keep them seperate till i gain confidence. If its a successfull expirement then who knows.
cheers
Mick
15th March 2007, 12:54 PM
shorty943

Mick-Kelly, the system requirements for the base Linux itself, are actually quite modest. Most Linux distro's will install 386 binaries, that will work perfectly well on any IBM compatible 386,486,pentium1,AMD K series, and any later CPU's. There are some "optomised" distro's that will only run on Pentium\Athlon style CPU's, but those producers also use 386, as well. There will be applications, that simply won't work for you, if your CPU is not up to scratch, but that is all.

A second hard disk in the machine you have now, would also fit the bill beautifully. Install Linux to the second hard disk, boot Linux, and your entire Windows C\: drive, is just a click away on your desktop. Boot Windows, and it can't even see the Linux installation.

You won't need to worry about trying to use any MS Windows applications, they won't work anyway, unless you install virtualisation software. Bit complex, but basically it tricks the Windows program into thinking Windows is driving it.
Linux has an application repository or data base, of over 60,000 current running applications.
Use Open Office, instead of MS Office. Web browsing is built into the native file browser, no Win Explorer and IE, use the one file browser for all things. It even displays graphics, text docs, PDF's, etc, all in the one browser. For graphics and photo work, use Gimp2. The movie Shrek2, was produced using Gimp2, a free as in beer application.Amarok for music, Kaffiene for multi-media. Audacity for audio manipulation.
Google, "sourceforge" for a taste of the depth of programs for Linux. I even have NASA toys for aerodynamics experimentation, on my Linux box.
The biggest hurdle for newbies, is the configuration of your personal system, and even hardware probing and config, is getting almost as user friendly as Windows. Lots of hardware vendors, are now at last seeing the light, and the hardware detection routines and config "deamons" (Wizards in Windows) are getting quite good.

Give it a go, and enjoy virus and hacker free computing. As long as you read the documentation, you will see the last of your Internet nerves float out the window. If you get stuck, there are many of us Linux users on this and many other forums. Just give a yell.

Shorty.
15th March 2007, 05:54 PM
loanrangie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mick-Kelly

Cool thanks for the help. Ive been looking at flea bay laptops/notebooks some of which are dirt cheap. It seems to be a gamble but if i can get a cheap runner with a cd drive and a power source i think i'll go that way as i would like to keep them seperate till i gain confidence. If its a successfull expirement then who knows.
cheers
Mick

Mick, once you have Ubuntu installed, do yourself a favour and install the KDE desktop enviroment (Kubuntu), all i can say is WOW ! I have just configured it and it really is an alternative to MS crap and even swmbo will enjoy using it as it can look like windows.:thumbsup:
15th March 2007, 07:39 PM
Rovernaut

Quote:

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Mick, once you have Ubuntu installed, do yourself a favour and install the KDE desktop enviroment (Kubuntu), all i can say is WOW ! I have just configured it and it really is an alternative to MS crap and even swmbo will enjoy using it as it can look like windows.:thumbsup:

Yep and when you learn to extract and install with konsole and script and install KBX, you can change your kicker, menu bar etc etc and have what Vista tried to copy from linux.
Have a squiz at www.kde.org , theme shots, wallpapers etc etc
15th March 2007, 08:46 PM
Rovernaut

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rovernaut

Yep and when you learn to extract and install with konsole and script and install KBX, you can change your kicker, menu bar etc etc and have what Vista tried to copy from linux.
Have a squiz at www.kde.org , theme shots, wallpapers etc etc

should read www.kde-look.org
18th March 2007, 09:13 AM
Pedro_The_Swift

just for you penguin people---;)
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2103846,00.asp
18th March 2007, 11:34 AM
incisor

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rovernaut

Yep and when you learn to extract and install with konsole and script and install KBX, you can change your kicker, menu bar etc etc and have what Vista tried to copy from linux.
Have a squiz at www.kde.org , theme shots, wallpapers etc etc

vista tried to copy from linux?

you mean what vista tried to copy from gnome and kde which tried to copy from osx which tried to copy from OS/2 which used to be in a 32k rom on a 6502... and they call it progess... god bless em...
18th March 2007, 06:40 PM
Rovernaut

Quote:

Originally Posted by incisor

vista tried to copy from linux?

you mean what vista tried to copy from gnome and kde which tried to copy from osx which tried to copy from OS/2 which used to be in a 32k rom on a 6502... and they call it progess... god bless em...

Ah yeah, but some body had to to invent the wheel :D:D:wasntme:
18th March 2007, 07:00 PM
Mick-Kelly

Rightio gents I am the proud new owner of an old e-bay laptop. It is a bit limited compared to contempory gizmos but a large upgrade for itt is on the cards. In the meantime can someone suggest a LINUX OS that it will be capable of running. I dont think it will handle Ubuntu with it current memory or speed. Stats are below. Thanks in advance for my baby step schooling.

Processor - Intel Pentium 133 MHz
RAM - 16 MB High Speed RAM, 1MB Video RAM and 256KB Cache RAM
ROM - 256KB x 8 bit, Flash ROM
Card Slots - Two 32 bit card slots for Type II or one Type III PC card, 5V or 3.3V interface
LCD Display - 12.1 inch with 800 x 600 pixels
Disk Drive - Standard 1.44 MB drive - 3.5 inch
Hard Disk Drive - Internal 1GB, 2.5 inch IDE
CD Rom Drive - 8X Speed CD ROM Reader

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page