What distro for Compaq Armada 1750?

[Brightico]

I have a Compag Armada 1750 laptop.
Specs are as follows:

333MHz Pentium II
64MB Ram (144pin SO-DIMM upgradeable)
5GB HDD (IBM Think pad Model)
ATI Rage LT Pro Mobility/TV Out (4MB of SGRAM)
14.1" TFT active-matrix LCD (will do 1024x76
1 USB
1 24x CD Drive
1 Floppy Drive
2 Type II PCMCIA Slots (Pretty sure they work, but untested)
Slot for Modem/Nic (No modem installed)

Now before you say "get a new laptop" or "add more ram" let it be known I paid $100 total for this little baby. It came with Windows 98 and it runs the software O.K. but I want something more up to date with more speed.

I'm new at Linux, I do run a website and have a Linux server, but I'm new in the sense of using Linux for stuff other than that. I have been a Windows user for a long time, I started out with DOS and Windows 3.11; although, my first computer was a Vic-20.

I just want a version of Linux with a windows like interface that can do some basic things like word processing and web surfing. It would be extra nice if it could play media files too.

I'm thinking of Vector Linux Standard, but I've also looked at Deli-Linux, MuLinux, and many others that are listed here:
http://www.linuxlinks.com/Distributi...ns/index.shtml

I guess I'm just asking, based on this laptop's specs what would some of you recommend?

Oh yeah, and I only have 56k where I live so I can't download 10 different distro's and try them all out.

[borromini]

64 MB RAM will be very tight if you want to have a GUI. Even with the lightest distro. I would upgrade to the double, and then install a distro using Xfce (VectorLinux or Zenwalk, both Slackware-based).

Good luck!

[Brightico]

64 MB RAM will be very tight if you want to have a GUI. Even with the lightest distro. I would upgrade to the double, and then install a distro using Xfce (VectorLinux or Zenwalk, both Slackware-based).

Good luck!

Thanks.

That Zenwalk looks cool.
I see they are about to release 1.3, so maybe I'll download Vector and try it out then get Zenwalk once they release the new 1.3 distro.

[borromini]

The new 1.3 will sport the same kernel as 1.2, because there seem to be (non-Zenwalk specific) problems with the 2.6.13 series. As for the other packages, you can easily upgrade via the online repository.

[Brightico]

The new 1.3 will sport the same kernel as 1.2, because there seem to be (non-Zenwalk specific) problems with the 2.6.13 series. As for the other packages, you can easily upgrade via the online repository.

Cool, I think I'll download the Zenwalk Linux and give it a shot.

Just ordered a 128MB stick of ram for $20 as well.
If I can find me another battery, and get a NIC card that works for cheap, I should have one nice little Linux box for under $200.

I don't need another battery, but I will rarely use the floppy drive slot which just happens to also serve as a spare battery compartment.

[davebardsley]

I'm running Debian Sarge on my Armada 1750, 366 MHz and 128Mb and amd pleased with the results. The installer runs smoothly and device autodetection/configuration is impressive. At first I was only running the cli, buton a whim a installed X and found that is also runs well. As expected it is a bit sluggish by comparison to more potent processors, but as you said it makes a nice machine for under two hundred dollars.

[borromini]

Any basic NIC will do. Espescially one with a realtek 8139 chip - they are cheap (10 euros and less) and widespread. And good .

[Brightico]

I'm running Debian Sarge on my Armada 1750, 366 MHz and 128Mb and amd pleased with the results. The installer runs smoothly and device autodetection/configuration is impressive. At first I was only running the cli, buton a whim a installed X and found that is also runs well. As expected it is a bit sluggish by comparison to more potent processors, but as you said it makes a nice machine for under two hundred dollars.

How did you get your sound to work?
Everything installed and is running good, and I'm still waiting on the ram upgrade. But, I can't seem to get the sound to work.

I think I have the ESS 1869 sound chip.

Even without sound I'm highly impressed. Zenwalk is sweet.
I found a battery for $20 and a NIC for about $10, so in total I've spent a whopping $150 for a very slick little laptop.

[borromini]

Are you running Zenwalk? If yes, just post your question on our forum, then we'll see what we can do for you .

Edit: http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc...le=es18xx#modp seems to be a good link for starting out .

But first you should try # modprobe snd-18xx. Then run alsa to configure: $ alsamixer

Then test your sound. If it works, do # alsactl store, and uncomment

If not, try modprobing extra drivers:# modprobe snd-pcm-oss snd-mixer-oss snd-seq-oss (if this doesn't work do it one by one).

All the necessary drivers should be uncommented in /etc/rc.d/rc.modules

[Brightico]

Are you running Zenwalk? If yes, just post your question on our forum, then we'll see what we can do for you .

Edit: http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc...le=es18xx#modp seems to be a good link for starting out .

But first you should try # modprobe snd-18xx. Then run alsa to configure: $ alsamixer

Then test your sound. If it works, do # alsactl store, and uncomment

If not, try modprobing extra drivers:# modprobe snd-pcm-oss snd-mixer-oss snd-seq-oss (if this doesn't work do it one by one).

All the necessary drivers should be uncommented in /etc/rc.d/rc.modules

Ok I'll give all that stuff a go.

And yes, I'm running Zenwalk and loving it already.