Customized Linux help?

[liquid_cool]

I was looking to install Linux on my machine... I have experience using Linux and Unix on school computers, but don't really have experience installing it. I kinda wanted to jump right in instead of just getting my feet wet, and was wondering if it's possible to build your own Linux system instead of using a premade distro. Since part of the reason I want to switch is to get a system that's designed specifically for my system and my needs...

I tried installing the Gentoo distro, but I kept running into trouble around the bootstrapping step. It kept telling me I ran out of room on the device. Though I'm not entirely sure I even remember telling it which device it should be writing to.

Also, if anyone has suggestions for what they consider the best alternatives for various components such as word processors, graphical desktop environments (I like the macOS look better then windowsXP and I like the look of transparent windows), etc.

Basically I'm looking for as much info as I can get, so I can get something that's streamlined and customized for my system and preferences. Thanks for any suggestions.

Oh and in case it helps, here's my current specs:

Motherboard: Asus P4P800 (with MAM (PAT equivalent on i865 chipset))
Processor: Pentium 4 2.8GHz (800 FSB)
Memory: 2x 512 MB (Dual Channel mode)
Network: Onboard 3com Gigabyte Lan
Audio: M-audio Revolution (also has onboard audio card, not used)
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 128MB
HDD: 120 GB Seagate? SATA (ST3160023AS)
Other Drives: Nec 1100A DVD +RW
Current OS: Windows XP professional

(HDD is partitioned basically in half, with Windows on 1 half, nothing on other)


Anyway, thanks for any help!

[Dangermouse1]

It sounds like Linuxfromscratch see here is what you are looking for.

[liquid_cool]

Thanks for the reply,

I came across that while I was looking for linux info online, but it seems like all the links for the stable version are broken.

ok, actually I think I just found a folder with the stable version under their archive link... I'll check it out, thanks for the suggestion.