Installing over Windows ME

[Johnnyone]

Ok after your laughter has calmed down - Windows ME, I kNOW! - could anyone advise me how and what version of Ubuntu to install on a Windows ME laptop?

It's an old machine taking up space in a cupboard but if I could get it to run some basic tasks in Linux it would be great.

Many thanks in advance!

John

[mörgæs]

Welcome aboard.

Best is to burn a CD with 10.04 and try a live boot first. This will indicate whether or not a particular version likes your hardware.

It this works well, and if your machine has 512 MB memory or more, just install directly from the live CD. Remember to have wired internet access while doing so.

You don't have to remove Windows manually. Just let Ubuntu use all space available on the hard drive.

[Johnnyone]

Many thanks for that quick reply! Unfortunately it's an ancient machine and i seem to remember it only has 128 MB RAM max... would an earlier version have more chance of working do you think?
(http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=939075)

[Calash]

You will probably want to go for a lighter version of Ubuntu. Lookup Xubuntu or Lubuntu. Xubuntu may be a bit more familiar if you are coming from Windows but both are similar and easy to learn. Best of all they are both light and should run well on your hardware.

If they are too much you may have to look at different distros. Puppy and DSL both are designed to run with very few resources.

[mörgæs]

Don't install unsupported versions of Ubuntu (7.10 and earlier) in order to get something light. It is a safety breach.

Damn Small Linux (DSL) is not a good option, since the project seems to have stalled. Puppy, Slitaz and Peppermint are better alternatives.

If you want to stay in the Ubuntu family, this is the way to go:
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal

[Johnnyone]

Thanks morgaes and Calash - I'll check this out and keep you posted! If all goes well I'll definitely consider it for my main computer