[snorg]

I have an old Win98 PC, CPU is K6 running at 450MHz & 512MB RAM
I would like to put Linux on it and use it for web and simple stuff, & learn about Linux just for fun.

Does my old beater have enough power to run it fine, or is it too slow for Linux?

[mphenterprises]

Hi Snorg. From what I can gather, the system specifications for Ubuntu are at least 256 MB of RAM is required to run the desktop install CD. Install requires at least 4 GB of disk space.

Now, I do not know if this is the same for any version of Linux but I would feel safe in assuming that you would not want to go any lower. I am not sure if your K6 CPU will be an issue; however, it will not hurt you to try.

[snorg]

Hi mphenterprises
Im looking for something sort of like windoze, that is completely free of $ charge.
Does Ubuntu fit the bill, if not then what else?
tnx

[mphenterprises]

Let me see if I can give you a good example of my feelings on Ubuntu. Personally, it was like when I graduated high school in New Jersey and went to college in the Iowa, a major cultural shock. Ubuntu is like Windows. You can do all the things you can do in Windows, expect Ubuntu is free. The major drawback, not for me, but for many individuals, is that many current games cannot play within Ubuntu.

If you are not a major gamer, the other issue you will have is making sure that all of your hardware components have applicable drivers for Ubuntu. For example, I have Sprint Mobile Broadband. Within Windows, I simply inserted the software CD, installed the software and drivers, restarted the computer, insert the USB modem, and away I go. Within Ubuntu, I was not so lucky. Smax actually found a workaround for me to use my mobile broadband within Ubuntu, but I cannot find it right now.

If you would like to get a sense of how Ubuntu, or any version of Linux, will work for you, you can get a virtual machine application similar to VMware. I use VMware Workstation to run Ubuntu in a virtual environment. I configured the workstation to run underneath Windows so it essentially piggy-backs all existing components, internet connection, and even hard drive space. Now VMware is not cheap. So I would advise evaluating it while you evaluate Ubuntu.

[snorg]

Ok, if I read you right.......
Ubuntu will never cost me a penny.
Its similar to windoze.
Ubuntu is no good for games, thats cool I dont need to game with it.
I think I will forget VMware and just install Ubuntu, I can always format and put Win98 back in, thats no biggy.

As for drivers, all the old beater has is a dialup modem, an old old Nvida video card, and a Sound Blaster 16 sound card.
Will it be hard to get drivers for those?

[mphenterprises]

snorg said:

As for drivers, all the old beater has is a dialup modem, an old old Nvida video card, and a Sound Blaster 16 sound card.
Will it be hard to get drivers for those?

>
>


That is a very good question. My gut is telling me yes simply because the hardware components you listed may not have corresponding drivers for a current Operating System, let alone a Linux Operating System. What you may want to do is go to Nvidia, Creative, and the dialup modem manufacturer's websites and see if there is any applicable drivers for those components. That may be the main hurdle for your situation.

[snorg]

AOK
I guess thats all I need to know for now.
As usual you did a super job helping me out, we are lucky to have you here mphenterprises.

:D

[mphenterprises]

:D My pleasure, Snorg. It makes me feel great to help in any way I can.

[RedRat]

I currently run Ubuntu 7.10 on an old Dell Dimension 4100 at 900MHz and 256 memory. I had to install a new video card nVida FX 5200 because my old card crapped out. The system works fine! OK, I am not going to be doing any video editing or fancy Photoshop work on that machine, but then I couldn't do that with XP running on that same machine either. You must keep in mind that you are running a very old computer and a system really designed for Win98SE. Linux works very well on this old beater of mine. To be frank, XP was a dog on that machine.

My intention is to build a new machine, using quad core or dual core (Intel or AMD) so that I can do video and photoshopping but in Linux, probably Ubuntu Studio. Clearly I will need a bit more horse power here.