What's the minimum requirement for RedHat?

[robo555]

Got a 486 with 16MB RAM lying around...want to fiddle with Linux a bit. I thought Mandrake will be a bit slow to be run on a 486, and I'm pretty new and Slackware seems to be a bit hard to install. So, will the 486 run RedHat 7.1 smoothly? I probably won't be doing anything intensive on it. Maybe a FTP, Apache for personal use, browse a few sites, etc.

[mairving]

You won't be able to run X-windows with a system like that. Some distros like MAndrake & RH rely quite a bit on X-windows. Slackware would work since it has a non-graphical installer. It is a bit harder since it gives you more control over what is installed. I assume also that your hard drive is probably pretty small. The default install on a lot of these are about 1.5GB. I would vote for Slackware.

[Computer Hobbyist]

I tried the same thing a couple of weeks ago using RedHat. (24mg Pentium and 13gb hd) The Linux portion works fine, but x windows is problematic. I also ran into the old 8gb bios limitation that I am told has long since been resolved. I would suggest a newer machine.

[Statica]

Forget abt trying to run an X server on it. The kernel 2.2 might also be a dog on the 486. I'd suggest getting yourself a version of RedHat 5.1 or so, it will get u a good feel for wha the OS is capable of.

If you really want to try, put a feature poor version of Redhat 7.1, under text mode install, but that would be pushing ur luck.

Originally posted by robo555 Got a 486 with 16MB RAM lying around...want to fiddle with Linux a bit. I thought Mandrake will be a bit slow to be run on a 486, and I'm pretty new and Slackware seems to be a bit hard to install. So, will the 486 run RedHat 7.1 smoothly? I probably won't be doing anything intensive on it. Maybe a FTP, Apache for personal use, browse a few sites, etc.

[WickedLittleSlaveBoy]

don't let slackware intimidate you. it's really pretty easy to set up, but Statica is right, all the new kernels are too much, unless you recompile right off the bat and cut everything you possibly can(which is the best idea on any system, btw). an older distro is definately the best bet.


if not, I could write up an installation procedure for Slackware, if it would help you. Slackware would at least let you fdisk/mkswap/swapon before you even start the install. truthfully, you're going to have to do a text install no matter which distro you go with, so what's the point in brutalizing yourself with Red Hat 7.1?

besides, Slackware's install prepares you for that first FreeBSD install. not much can get you ready for Net/OpenBSD, though. except TFM. 8)

[robo555]

WickedLittleSlaveBoy, thank you very much, I will appreciate a lot if you could write up some sort of installation procedure for Slackware. Like what to watch out for, which boot disk to use, etc...

[mairving]

Slackware, it not hard to install, especially on a blank HD. Probably the thing that would take you the longest is how to use FDISK. It is more powerful but better. It doesn't have the pretty graphical installer that the others have but once you get past FDISK, no worries, mate.

What size HD do you have, robo555?

[robo555]

The 486 has a 850MB HD, I can add a 8GB if I want to.

[WickedLittleSlaveBoy]

no need for fdisk, if you don't want to mess with it. cfdisk is easier than dos's fdisk and in this case, I don't see why you wouldn't want to use it.

850MB should be okay, to start. 8G sounds like a waste to me, considering what you're using it for. you might install it later, if you run into space issues.

make probably a 32-48M swap partition and use the rest for /....unless you find a need for /usr, /home or /export...you won't need a /boot partition for that small of a drive, either.

boot diskettes, bare.i if you're installing on an IDE system from an IDE CDROM, if it doesn't work, read the documentation. color.gz root disk.

no gnome, enlightenment or kde...maybe windowmaker or just twm would be cool, if you're gonna try using X....

which version of Slackware, btw?

[WickedLittleSlaveBoy]

robo555,

I have a quick run through of a Slackware 7.1 installation I just finished. if you still want it, tell me how I should send it to you, or should I just put it up on the net somewhere?

[robo555]

If you could just email it to me robo555@gmx.net that would be fine, or post it here or on a webpage so everyone could have a look at it, either way's fine.

Thanks for that.

[dougk]

Originally Posted by robo555 WickedLittleSlaveBoy, thank you very much, I will appreciate a lot if you could write up some sort of installation procedure for Slackware. Like what to watch out for, which boot disk to use, etc...

Hi wickedlittleslaveboy,
It is this installation procedure that I am interested in.
I am a newbie to this forum and having looked at number of your posts, I think you are the right person to help me out of my predicament. Well, here it goes.

I have an old laptop which I want to dual boot with a linux distro. As you can tell from the specifications below, I have a very small hard drive. I am ready to use 1.5GB for linux. I want to do a text only install since I feel I am quite up to speed with linux.
Problem is, I have never dual booted before. Can I use partition magic first or can the slackware install CD repartition my hard drive without removing windows? You have hinted at this process not being as hard as people make it out to be. Could you please send me a HOWTO or direct me to one? I can't wait to have a linux partition. Thanks in advance.

laptop specifications: compaq presario 1240 266Mhz Pentium MMX 4GB win98 FAT32

By the way I plan to install slackware 10.0.

[robo555]

Here're two useful links to help you dual boot:

http://www.littlewhitedog.com/content-52.html
http://www.geocities.com/epark/linux...w2k-HOWTO.html

According to the second link, it's possible to dual boot without getting rid of existing Windows installation using PartitionMagic, but from experience it's better to start fresh if possible, 'cos it's one less thing to worry about, and doesn't matter if you screw up.

By the way, didn't think anyway was gonna bump a 3 year old thread heh.

[kilgoretrout]

Take a look at Damn small linux:

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

It's specifically tailored for older, more modest hardware. See also this link from their FAQ page where two guys got it running on two 486s with 16MB of ram:

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/486.html

[dougk]

QUOTE=robo555]Here're two useful links to help you dual boot:
By the way, didn't think anyway was gonna bump a 3 year old thread heh.[/QUOTE]

I am kind of new at this forum thing and besides I think it was the most appropriate thread. Thanks for the links to DSL linux. However, I am more interested in server technologies such as apache and bind. Can I install these and will they work with DSL linux?

[kilgoretrout]

dougk, you should be able to install slack10 assuming you have sufficient ram. That's a much better alternative than DSL. My post was more for robo and his 486 with 16MB of ram. Slack is one of the best for server stuff IMHO. Just limit your packages down and eliminate the gui stuff.
For partitioning tools, download the System Rescue CD iso here:

http://www.sysresccd.org/

and make your partitions with that. It includes qtparted, a partition magic clone, which is very easy to use and it's free. Then run the slack install and direct it to use your existing partitions.