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Topic: newbie questions

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groeswenphil Offline

Group: Members
Posts: 12
Joined: Oct. 2005

Posted: Oct. 16 2005,19:58

Hi,
Two questions before I start experimenting with this OS.
1) I've had 3 hard drive crashes recently. Once, I lost some really important stuff. There was nothing physically wrong with the hard-drives, it was just Windows crashing. As a result, the computer was dead...

If I got DSL, I suppose I could boot up in Linux if this happened again, and make sure that I'd backed up anything precious.

2) I've got an old laptop runing Windows 3.1
Would it run DSL and if so, how can I get 50Mb into it as it hasn't got a CD drive or USB ports, just a floppy drive....it can take a network card though.

Phil

dbg2950

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Posts: 11
Joined: Oct. 2005

Posted: Oct. 16 2005,21:29

perhaps you could run it off a zip disk with a paralell zip drive.
what are the specs of your laptop? perhaps a differant version of linux woul be better for you with such an old computer

groeswenphil Offline

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Joined: Oct. 2005

Posted: Oct. 16 2005,21:42

Now there's a thought.........I've got an old zip disk somewhere.

Thanks.
Phil

motokitn

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Joined: Oct. 2005

Posted: Oct. 17 2005,03:11

"If I got DSL, I suppose I could boot up in Linux if this happened again, and make sure that I'd backed up anything precious."
I cannot tell you how many times I have rescued data from winblows this way.
"perhaps a differant version of linux woul be better..."
In my opinion there is no better distro for a low resource machine, just know that you need at least 16 Mb of RAM for X- bare squeaking minimum. That is why my old clunker laptop is still running win3.11.
There is always the terminal-only approach, but if you are new to *nix systems it is like going back to DOS- a very, very powerful DOS with a completely alien command set. If you would like to check your options though, Google the following:
Tom's Root Boot - A highly tuned boot disk, terminal only
1-disk X Linux - The absolute most stripped down GUI linux in existence!
Grey Cat Linux - A 13-Mb distro downloadable via floppy images. A little out of date, but I've run this thing on clunkers you wouldn't believe!

SaidinUnleashed Offline

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Posts: 1428
Joined: Mar. 2004

Posted: Oct. 17 2005,03:30

Also try, for very low resource boxen...

Xwoaf - X Windows on a Floppy
BL3 - Basic Linux 3
mu Linux
Debian (use the Floppies of Doom, minimal cd, or netinst cd and a 2.4 kernel)
Gentoo
Slackware
Crux
DeLi Linux
or "roll your own"

There is no box with 6mb of ram out there that cannot have X windows.

-J.P.

--------------
They say if you play a Microsoft CD backwards, you hear satanic messages. That's nothing, cause if you play it forwards, it installs Windows.

Unleash the power of the TILDE~~~

5 replies since Oct. 16 2005,19:58

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