[CLUE-Tech] Total newbie here....it's not easy being green ;)

[Ed Hill]

On Sun, 2003-04-06 at 14:11, e z wrote:
> 1)I read somewhere that Linux will work on older equipment, and I was hoping 
> someone could tell me if my old machine would be adequate or not.  It's an 
> old Gateway with a 1Gb hard drive, Pentium 100 with either 128 or 256 
> memory.


Hi Ed,

Yes, older and intended-for-smaller-systems Linux distributions will
very likely run on your older computer.  However, I wouldn't expect a
lot from it--particularly with newer distributions which will likely
require a lot more hard drive space, memory, and CPU power.  I would not
recommend that you try to do a default install of Red Hat 8 or 9 on it. 
Theres simply not enough HD space--you'll need a min of about 4-6Gig.


> 2)My current machine is an HP, 100 gb hard drive, Athlon 1.4 ghz and 256k 
> memory.  If I were to put Linux on here and keep windows, would I have to 
> partition my hard drive and all that, or would Mandrake/Red Hat help me out 
> with that upon installation?

Thats a nice system.  And yes, it will probably run a recent Linux
distribution (eg. Red Hat 8 or 9) smoothly.  Chances are that you will
have to re-partition your hard drive which is easily done with Partition
Magic or similar.  The steps are:

  1) re-partition to create a min of 10Gig of free space
  2) pop a recent Linux distro install CD in the drive and 
       follow the prompts--most distros will automatically 
       recognize multiple OSes on a machine and will help 
       you (automatically) setup the dual-boot arrangement


Also, the Boulder Linux Users Group (BLUG):

  http://lug.boulder.co.us/

is having an Installfest at Softpro Books in the shopping center at
Baseline and Foothills in Boulder from 10am to 4pm on April 19th.  If
you show up for it, there'll be plenty of folks there to help you
re-partition, do the Linux install, and answer questions.  Just be sure
to show up *early* as it will probably take a while.

And if you can't attend that Installfest, I'm sure you can get plenty of
help from this email group.

good luck,
Ed


-- 
Edward H. Hill III, PhD 
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Division of ESE, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401
Email: ed at eh3.com  ehill at mines.edu
Phone: 303-273-3483
URLs:  http://cesep.mines.edu/people/hill.htm  http://eh3.com
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