Anyone have advice about distros appropriate for these specific computers?

[csolomon]

I'm looking to install Linux on two of my home computers. Here they are, with a brief description of what they will be used for.

Rig #1:
main desktop: Dell Dimension, P4 3.0GHz, 2GB Ram, 128MB PCIe Video Card
Currently, I have WinXP Pro installed and it is my main workhorse computer.

I would like to have a fairly full featured distro that I can test drive as an alternative to WinXP (which I use mostly for web browsing and mp3s and games... I know I may be out of luck with getting many of my games working on linux, but I can live with that). The only other caveat with this machine is that it has to work using a USB wireless network adapter. The wireless router is nearly inaccessible and too far away to plug into. And there are no wired ports in the house.


Rig #2:
old computer: Celeron 850, 512MB Ram, 30GB HD, 64MB AGP Video card
My really old computer that has just been sitting around collecting dust.

I would like to install a fairly lightweight distro (for obvious reasons) to play around with. Maybe get some experience using linux from an admin perspective, like installing/compiling packages, running servers, etc...


I have already tried to install Linux Mint and Xubuntu on my main desktop. While both installed without any errors, neither of them was able to boot into linux. Presumably because of this bug:

bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/403408

Which seems to be a problem with Grub/Ubuntu. So I'd like to stay away from Ubuntu.

So what are some distros that you guys would recommend for these two rigs, given my potential uses/limitations?

[jayd512]

Hello and Welcome!

Rig #1 will run any modern distro you want to throw at it. The only speed-bump might be your wireless adapter, but there should be some drivers available.
If you can boot up to a LiveCD, post the output of lsusb.

For Rig #2, check out this poll for some opinions about older hardware.

[Jonathan183]

You could install Ubuntu 8.04 the long term support version, that will use grub legacy rather than grub2. You should also be able to install grub legacy with the latest Ubuntu ... similar should apply to Mint

You could try Debian which you should be able to get running on both systems without too much trouble, and you install the packages you want after that.

For the desktop openSuSE or Fedora might work for you ...

[handydan918]

Burn a live cd of the Mepis distro. Mepis 8 is based on Debian Stable, and has excellent hardware detection and support, along with several Mepis exclusive GUI programs for configuring wireless/networking, etc. I have run it for years, and often on less than 512 megs of ram. Let me know how it goes...
wwwDOTmepisDOTorg/mirrors

[rokytnji]

I wasn't gonna post till I saw handydans post. I burned a Mepis 8.5 rc2 earlier today. It booted up just fine. Connected up my Wireless on my Motorcycle Shop IBM Desktop with a raylink chipset using rt61 driver. While running Live.

Worked on my dual core IBM M57 Desktop also. It uses a land Line since it is in the house.

Worked also on my IBM T23 Laptop wirelessly also.

So +1 for the new Mepis with the new 2.6.32 kernel tweaked by Warren.


Edit: My Lightweight Distro choice is AntIX and Puppy with all of its Puplets.

[csolomon]

Hello and Welcome!

Rig #1 will run any modern distro you want to throw at it. The only speed-bump might be your wireless adapter, but there should be some drivers available.
If you can boot up to a LiveCD, post the output of lsusb.

Thanks for the great replies.

I installed Fedora on my rig #1 from a live CD. Can't get wireless working. Here is the output of lsusb:

---------

[root@fedorabox ~]# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0846:9001 NetGear, Inc. WN111(v2) RangeMax Next Wireless [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0409:0058 NEC Corp. HighSpeed Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 046d:c505 Logitech, Inc. Cordless Mouse+Keyboard Receiver
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

----------

It sees my wireless card at least...

Anyway, I may try to install a different distro there. Maybe PCLinuxOS or Mepis. I burned an iso of Mepis for my rig #2. Will try installing it tonight.