Knut:
on Thu, Nov 20, 2003 at 10:42:31AM +0100, Knut Willy ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote: > I am a novice at Linux. Never used it, but want to teach myself. > > 1. Have a Windows-98 PC, which has internet connection. > Do not intend to use Linux on this one. > Afraid of having two operating systems on same machine. It's possible to do this, though somewhat impractical as you will have to boot one or the other OS. Most GNU/Linux users I know leave their systems on for months at a time -- the system doesn't crash (barring power outages), and there's little or no reason to log out. You simply set your screensaver to lock the terminal after a few minutes of idle time. Rather than risking your existing HD by repartitioning, I'd recommend buying a new disk and installing GNU/Linux onto it. Of the various options open to you, this is likely your easiest, least expensive, and most feasible option. Note that you'll probably want to keep the HD < 40 GiB (small by current standards) due to BIOS restrictions on older hardware. I _think_ GNU/Linux can bypass these with ease, but you should research the issue first. > 2. Have a portable Compaq PC, (Windows-95) on which I intend to > install Linux. This Compaq has no internet connection, no CD > station. Only a A: station for 1,44 mb diskettes. Define "no internet connection". Do you mean no network interface? If the system supports PCMCIA, which it probably does, you can buy a PCMCIA NIC for ~$30-$50 US. Note that for a system of this age, you'll likely need a 16 bit, rather than the newer 32 bit PCMCIA cards. Avoid Belkin (flakey cards, poor support). This will make a number of things much more practical. Your local internet connectivity is likely either: - Diaulup through the Win98 box directly. - Broadband via a DSL or cable "router" with multiple ports. In the first case, you'll need to get an additional network card for the legacy MS Windows box ($9 US and up), in the second, you'd be able to plug the GNU/Linux box directly into the DSL or cable router. I go through this because you're *not* going to be happy doing floppy-based file transfers to the GNU/Linux box. There are other possibilities, including setting up PLIP or SLIP connections -- networking over serial or parallel ports. This will work in a pinch, but it's pretty infeasible for serious use. Note too that it makes a heck of a lot more sense to describe a system in terms of its hardware capabilities than its installed OS. Though I can ballpark the age of this system by Win95 -- it's probably a pretty clunky 486 or very early Pentium laptop, with 200 MiB to 1 GiB of disk, and 16 - 64 MiB RAM. No onboard modem. No onboard NIC. Very likely PCMCIA support. No USB. One or two serial ports, parallel port, video, PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports. Confirmation/specification on your part would be helpful. > 3. My intention is to do all downloading on the Win-98 PC, and then > copy everything over to the Compaq, using diskettes. A current full Debian install spans about 7 CDROMs. At 650 MiB per cdrom, this is 3,159.7222 floppy disks worth of data. Even using a one-disk installation is going to require 451.3888 floppy transfers. I doubt very much you'll find this reasonable. For an absolutely minimal base system install of a prior Debian release I sometimes use to "bootstrap" an installation, I still need to floppy over about 15 disks worth of material...then add additional packages over time. > 4. I read somewhere that Debian Linux is the best choice for a novice > learner. Really? We could use the cite. More often you'll hear that Debian's not the easiest GNU/Linux to get started on, but it *is* the easiest to use and maintain over time. Ease-of-installation is improving over time, I've used it and loved it since 1999, having used most other mainstream Linuxes both before and since. > And also that one does not need to install EVERYTHING from > Linux. Just a small starter package will do. A minimum package. Debian supports this principle very well. I've got systems ranging from 150 MiB to 80 GiB+ at the moment, on hardware ranging from 486 to P-4. > 5. Is it possible to go ahead as I have mentioned above? Yes. GNU/Linux and Debian in particular make pretty damned near anything _possible_. Given sufficient pain. And for what you're describing, that's lots. Is it practical? No. Buy, at the very least, sufficient networking hardware to allow you to link the intended GNU/Linux system to your existing legacy MS Windows box. Working out how to use your 'Doze box as an Internet gateway would also be useful. Alternatively, hunt around for a deal on a PC with 2-4 years on it, but still serviceable. Say, a PIII-500 MHz or better system. You'll get far, far faster hardware, much more space, will pay ~$50-$100 US for the privilege (about the same as a PCMCIA NIC), and will be able to install directly via CDROM rather than hassling with network connections (though you'll almost certainly want these as well). Peace. -- Karsten M. Self <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://kmself.home.netcom.com/ What Part of "Gestalt" don't you understand? True love is the greatest thing in the world. Except for a nice MLT... mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich - Princess Bride
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