Hi I need a good test distro

[mrreality13]

quick question,
is there a "generic" distro that i can use to test on diffrent pc builds,ie; old p2 amd p3's,old amd ,as well as on older p4?That i can just load on a 10 gig hd and swap the hd instaed of loadind a disc?
my current distro is ubuntu (various flavors of it)
(ive been using linux for about 2 months)

I was thinking ark or dsl ?
Thanx all

[oz]

Since most distros are free for the download, I'd say you could test about any of them and all it will cost you is some time and a few blank disks (if you choose to burn them to CD).

Take a look at DistroWatch.com for lots of choices.

[Tim_Wright]

Yup, thats a really good website. If your new to linux I would suggest Knoppix or Ubantu Live CD's to start off with. Use PowerISO or similar application to create biitable CDs!

Enjoy your Linux adventure lol,

Tim

[rasch15]

I'm somewhat of a newb, but I've been using ubuntu and kubuntu for a few weeks.

To start out, I think you should use ubuntu myself, its simpler. But that just depends on how much customization you want and what type of look you're going for. I like both gnome and KDE desktop, so i suggest you look up some screenshots of each to see which look you like better.

Here's the ubuntu/kubuntu websites:
http://www.ubuntu.com
http://www.kubuntu.org

and here's one of my favorite pages for screen shots for lots of distros:
http://shots.linuxquestions.org/

[tuxv]

You'd like to use mepis too, it's a lot easier for a nebie as it has more multimedia capabilities.

But still you sould use a lot of distros to find out the best. I've used Slackware, Vector Linux, Ubuntu, SuSE, Debian, Gentoo, Kubuntu, Mepis (this is the order I used them). Now I'm finally settled with Debian (Maybe I'll switch to another one :P there are lot of distros )

[mrreality13]

well thanx all so far ,Ive tried well here it goes,

ubuntu(all),suse,ark,PCLinuxOS( big daddy as well as latest test)DSL,Vector,linspire,mandreva,mephis,puppy,kno ppix,mint,geexbox,zenwalk..

my fav distro is in a toss up between unbuntu and PCLinuxOS for my boxes but

what im looking for is one that will let me load it on a hd and allow me to move that hd to diff comps to test the pc..

[techieMoe]

what im looking for is one that will let me load it on a hd and allow me to move that hd to diff comps to test the pc..

Pretty much any of them should do that. I've swapped SuSE and Ubuntu from one computer to the next and they re-detect everything just fine.

[mrreality13]

most of it will be older hardware(2 to 3 years at the youngest) i tried it with ubuntu and it would not run as to suse it too "complained"

[devils casper]

most of it will be older hardware(2 to 3 years at the youngest) i tried it with ubuntu and it would not run as to suse it too "complained"

there could be only one reason, Graphics Card. you can fix that easily.

[Tim_Wright]

most of it will be older hardware(2 to 3 years at the youngest) i tried it with ubuntu and it would not run as to suse it too "complained"

Did you get something like "unidentified video mode" or similar?

Tim