Got a new computer, but Ubuntu doesn't work on it.

[Newuser1111]

I got a computer from a yard sale for 50 cents(Half a dollar), it had Windows XP on it but I had to remove it because it was filled with Viruses. So I replaced the 10 GB hard drive with an 80 GB hard drive. Then I installed Windows 98 on to it.
Here's the pictures I currently have of it:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/BJK51/100_0196.jpg
http://pspdevs.co.nr.googlepages.com/100_02051.jpg

So what Linux can I put on it because I don't want to use Windows 98. And how can I tell what hardware it has?

All I know it has:
CD-RW Drive
Floppy Drive
80GB Drive(it had a 10GB)
256 MB of RAM.
Intel Celeron Processor.(The speed is somewhere around 500 or 600 MHz)(This is the first computer I've gotten that has an Intel Processor.)

[Twitch6000]

DSL or Puppy Linux will run well on that machine.

[Newuser1111]

DSL or Puppy Linux will run well on that machine.DSL Didn't work, I'll try the other one.

[OutOfReach]

Puppy, DSL. maybe Fluxbuntu or Crunchbang Linux could run on it.

[LaRoza]

You might want to try Debian as well. It can be much lighter.

PCLinuxOS might work on it. I have had PCLinuxOS work on a very old computer as a live disk where most things failed to install.

[Chilli Bob]

Hey, that's the same PC as mine, except mine has a 733 PIII and 512MB ram. If you upped the ram it would probably run Ubuntu OK (It runs fantastic on mine). If you want something faster, use Zenwalk. Puppy would fly on that thing, but you are always running as root, so it's best to use it as a live CD rather than an install.

[bobpur]

If it is operational with Win98 in it download "Belarc advisor"and install it and run it. It works on Win 98. It'll tell you what's under the hood (so to speak).

Next go to www.crucial.com and use the memory upgrade menu at the top of the screen. Find out how much memory that Compaq will hold and fill 'er up.

That's about all you'll be able to do on that machine. I don't think you got hurt for $.50. The cd player is worth that many times over.

As for an OS, it'll depend on how much memory you have or how much you can put in it. Something light like Fluxbuntu,SAM linux, Tiny Me 2008, AntiX 7 (Lightweight MEPIS), or Damn Small Linux. You can find these on www.distrowatch.com.

If it happens to be a PIII you might squeeze Xubuntu or Kubuntu into it. It's hard to tell until you find out whats in it.

Good Luck

[cardinals_fan]

Try SliTaz or SLAX.

[mips]

If it is operational with Win98 in it download "Belarc advisor"and install it and run it. It works on Win 98. It'll tell you what's under the hood (so to speak).


+1 Another good utility is PC Wizard 2008, http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php

There should be a sticker on the top, sides or rear of the pc giving you the full model number which would be usefull, http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/ProductList.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=135&prodTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=96266

[Phreaker]

Debian would be just perfect.

[CJ56]

Try Zenwalk - a Slackware derivative.

I have a Dell laptop with a very similar specification & Zenwalk runs nicely on it. Easy to install, too -

[billgoldberg]

Who the hell sells his old pc for 50 cents?

I would even pay €20 ($786 :p ) for something like that.

[LaRoza]

Who the hell sells his old pc for 50 cents?

Someone who just wants to get rid of it and thinks it is junk.



I would even pay €20 ($786 :p ) for something like that.
Your conversions are either off, or € doesn't mean "Euro". 20 euros is, as of October 3, 27.5690 US dollars.

[gn2]

Have you tried installing Xubuntu from the Alternate CD?

Or try this: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal#barebones

[I-75]

Have you tried installing Xubuntu from the Alternate CD?

Or try this: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal#barebones

I second that.

[billgoldberg]

Your conversions are either off, or € doesn't mean "Euro". 20 euros is, as of October 3, 27.5690 US dollars.

I know you know what I meant.

[rab4567]

Is there a open source equivalent to PC Wizard?

[mips]

Is there a open source equivalent to PC Wizard?

For windows or linux?
No idea but PCW2008 is free as in $$$ but not as in open source and it works well for me.

[lukjad]

Hey, that's the same PC as mine, except mine has a 733 PIII and 512MB ram. If you upped the ram it would probably run Ubuntu OK (It runs fantastic on mine). If you want something faster, use Zenwalk. Puppy would fly on that thing, but you are always running as root, so it's best to use it as a live CD rather than an install.
I'm running Ubuntu on 580 megs of RAM and a 633 Celeron. Looks like you just need more RAM.

[andras artois]

I ran Ubuntu 6.06 on a machine with 256 RAM, a 10GB and 4GB HD, a CDROM drive and a 600-800MHZ processor.

It worked fine for the whole time I used it which was about a year bearinhg in mind I had used XP on it for about 6 months before and it had worked fine then as well.

You might want to try Archlinux as well.

[Newuser1111]

Thanks for the replies!

[zmjjmz]

antiX is another good choice.

[picpak]

That's about the same specs as my old computer. Xubuntu should run decently on that machine, but Ubuntulite would be even faster.

[Newuser1111]

I decided to try removing the viruses from Windows XP.
It seemed easy at first, until 2 of them came back.

Edit:
And now it doesn't have any more viruses/trojans! The 4th scan just finished.

Edit:
And XP looks like it's getting faster!
I would still like to see if it can take 2 hard drives so it can have XP/98/Linux(Haven't chose which one yet).