[Phillip2167]

as many of us know by now microsoft has discontinued support for windows me. whenever i use my old desktop:-( its agonizingy slow and BLOATED with software [printer/scanner ect] that if i uninstal that's when i suddenly need it:-( you can't do much with 500mhz P3 with 524mb ram [can't scan/chat/burn dvd's/do word porcessing] i have heard many things good and bad about LINUX in all its flavors,but mostly i heard it's not overloaded,and it's not a resources hog. i said to myself why scrap my old desktop for parts? why not try this thing called LINUX.

if we all thought this way,we could break the back of microsoft. the overwhelming majority of us wouldnt be held captive to bill gates and every hacker/cracker/phisher looking for a quick buck:-(

but first i have to re-invest a few dollars im my old desktop. a brand new ultra mod case with fans galore in a hot shiny black color, black dvd-rom drive,black floppy drive.

one more thing:-) some ppl dont like the sound of 7/8 fans spinning around in their pc cases.

I DO:-) Why You Ask??? because i have tinnitus [ringing/roaring in the ears] and when i boot up my newer amd athlon with the 6 fans,it sure sounds better than the screeching i hear when my room is quiet:-)

[diablo75]

Just to be fair, your system can run XP. I have a 300 mhz laptop with XP running on it. And to be honest, I think XP actually runs a bit better (performance wise) than Xubuntu on it. I've tried both. But I would definantly install Xubuntu on a 500 mhz system. I tried Ubuntu 6.10 on that laptop and it was just too slow. Maybe it didn't have enough ram. But Xubuntu seemed to run pretty nice. But old legacy hardware back in those days. still a pain is the a55 to configure (particularly the sound card, in my case...some people, with old hardware like that, get lucky).

Not doggin' on Ubuntu. I use it more than any other OS today and love it. I can't wait to see where it goes next, but I'm strapped in for a ride of brilliant development techniques in OS's, I think. Nothing new of course, but a little change in organization is sometimes a fantastic thing.

[Phillip2167]

for the record here are my specs: pentium 3 500mhz 524mb sd-ram 100mhz fsb. biostar mb aladdin 5 chipset,BIOS date 2000, 2x agp slot, 4pci and 2 isa slots. my pci cards are nividia tnt riva 32mb, adaptec aua-5100 usb2.0 card creative labs sound AND a creative labs modem card in the ISA slot!.

i am hoping it's a soft ride to get Kubuntu and my desktops organs esp modem in an isa slot to work in harmony.

i'm hoping kubuntu allows the sharing of resources between all its organs. i remember how much of a [deleted explitive] it was with windows 98se and ME and those [deleted explitive] IRQ's one couldn't share another,this one couldnt share with another. it drove me crazy!!

i think thats the only thing i can say BRAVO about WinXp is resource sharing, no more wondering if what IRQ is assigned to where

[RootbeaR]

As a newbie, I would like to recommend giving PCLinuxOS a try.
http://www.pclinuxos.com/page.php?7
I haven't got a clue as to what I am doing but I managed to download and install Google Earth just by clicking.
I have GNU/Linux on a dual boot with XP. The LiveCD has all of the tools needed for partitioning and formatting. Use grub and it will automatically detect and install windows to the boot loader.
The LiveCD also has a shortcut on the desktop explaining exactly how to set it up.

One important fact overlooked earlier(or I didn't read properly). Yes you can get a virus, but you must install it.

[vtel57]

Yup. PCLos is a great distro. However, I don't think Phil has enough RAM in that Pentium III machine (512M) to run KDE, which is what PCLos comes with. That's why I had recommended Xubuntu way back toward the beginning of this thread.

[RootbeaR]

Yes, sorry. He doesn't meet min. requirements.
But I am sure Xubuntu will fill the bill as you said.

I have a very old computer, 10+ years I believe, with 64 MB RAM, 1 GB hard drive. Can you recommend a distro for that one? Preferably to install although a LiveCD would be acceptable.
Keep in mind I am not an expert with computers and am new to Linux as well. I am not concerned with keeping 98SE on it. It will be a Linux machine that would be used for internet access.
Thanks vtel57

[vtel57]

Hi, Rootbear...

For a system that old with very limited resources, you'd probably have to go with one of the "pocket" Linux distros, like DSL --> D*mn Small Linux. However, most of those distros are very specialized and require above beginner knowledge to properly install and utilize them.

The RAM for that older machine can probably be purchased for very cheap. You should hunt around for some. You may be able to get that machine up to 512... or at least 256M. That would allow you to install some of the mainstream distros on it.

Luck!

~Eric

[RootbeaR]

Thank-you vtel, appreciate the help.

[vtel57]

Determine what type of RAM your machine uses and how many slots you have available on the motherboard. Once you know the type, you can search for 128m or 256M sticks on Froogle or eBay. You'll probably find a good deal somewhere.

Have fun with it!

~Eric