Some beginning questions...

Forum: HD Install
Topic: Some beginning questions...
started by: mcurtiss

Posted by mcurtiss on Aug. 24 2005,03:06

New here, so some novice questions.

DSL supposedly installs on 50MB HD space. How much functionality does that give. Will use mostly for internet apps. How does DSL compare to Tiny Linux, which can be used on even older machines but has to be installed with floppies?

Which download filename should I dl for use on several computers ranging from P150 laptop with a shaky cdrom and floppy drive to a 800MHZ desktops, both Intel and AMD? Is it one of the zip files? What are the advantages/disadvantages of using the same DSL on such a wide range of machines?

Where can I get the live CD for DSL?

Finally, why do you have to connect ssl to paypal to login to this site? I also got a timeout when trying to post this.

Posted by adssse on Aug. 24 2005,04:16

I will try to clear up at least a couple of your questions.
Yes DSL is small, but it offers a great variety of tools and apps for you to use. For many it will offer all of the essentials that you may need, if they dont there are many extensions available for DSL. I have never used Tiny Linux so I dont know how to compare but DSL runs very smoothly on old machines.

You can download DSL from here:
< http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/damnsmall/current/ >
The most current version is dsl-1.4.iso. This should run well on most machines but if you have trouble with an older machine you may want to try dsl-1.4-syslinux.iso.

As far as problems with the site dealing with paypal, timeouts etc... I havent run into any of those problems.

Hope this helps.

Posted by SaidinUnleashed on Aug. 24 2005,04:31

A few misconceptions...

DSL is a 50mb live CD.

If you choose to install it to a hard disk, we recommend at least 200mb of hard disk space for DSL, and 128mb of swap if you have 128mb or physical ram or less. The swapspace it really just for if you plan to use large apps. My little 100mhz toshiba is perfectly happy running with just 40mb of ram and no swap. Anyways, that's a total of about 330mb of space needed for DSL.

It also sings along happily on my 1.8ghz amd box. DSL will run on basicly anything.

Personally, I do not recommend using a hdinstall, at least until you are familiar with how things are done in the DSL camp.

Do a frugal install.

-J.P.

Posted by cbagger01 on Aug. 24 2005,16:26

FYI,

If you don't mind doing a poorman's or frugal install, it is possible to get DSL up and running on a 50MB hard drive partition.

However, it is generally recommended that you have some additional space leftover in order to save (backup) your settings and also for the creation of a swap file or swap partition.

So in my opinion, it is unrealistic to install DSL on a hard drive that is smaller than 80MB in size. For this arrangement, a frugal install of:

64MB partition for DSL filesystem image and backups/extensions
16MB partition for linux swap partition

or maybe even:

80MB partition for DSL filesystem image, backups/extensions and 20MB swap file that can be resized to free up more space in the future if needed.

However, for very old computers, it is preferrable to do a full hard drive install like J.P. said.

Posted by mcurtiss on Aug. 26 2005,01:24

Thanks for the replies. I prolly can get enuf space on my hd for the install, if I decide to use this rather than tiny linux which requires less resources, and maybe should be called REALLY damn small linux. Also there is even a smaller distro "small linux" that can run on 4MB of ram. However, I haven't seen any comparisons as to resource use vs what you get. Even the 4MB distro has an x-windows package.

Is the .iso file for burning to a cd? I don't have a burn cd on the laptop, but could prolly use anothers computer for burning if necessary. How does the .iso file differ from the .zip files in the d/l directory. Can I just open the zip to a directory on my hardrive and install from there? I still am confused as to exactly how to get the live cd from download from this site-which file to use. Usually on a d/l site there is a readme file or description of the files contents, but I found no such file in the dl directory.

Also to whoever set up this site. You're not going to get any personal data on me from having users connect to ssl paypal ssl in order to log into the site. As you know, I'm using a public computer that has no identifying info on it. Maybe I should also ask if there is spyware in the DSL package? Sorry, but I really resent sites that require this kind of stuff to use.

Posted by mikshaw on Aug. 26 2005,02:13

You're being paranoid. Please don't throw accusations when you don't know what you're talking about.

Posted by adssse on Aug. 26 2005,04:07

I have never had a privacy problem, nor do I have anything negative to say about those here at dsl. From those who work so hard on coding and testing, to those who answer questions on the forums, I believe this is a top rate development team and community in general.

Posted by green on Aug. 26 2005,04:56

Where is this stuff coming from? You DO NOT have to log into paypal to access the DSL site, or download .iso's or, whatever.

DSL is a top notch distro and community, they have no need to be sneaky or otherwise unprofessional.

Posted by k9wkj on Aug. 26 2005,14:25

sounds like you have some malware running on your computer
there is no identity required here
i would suggest that you take a good hard look at you system
as you have some app phishing for your personal data

just another reason not run windows