tiny linux

[Digital Pimp]

hello everyone, i'm very new to linux but i was wondering if there was a really small version of linux, a freind recently gave me a monster hard drive, it's huge but only holds 84 mb

so as space is limited, just wondering if i would be able to install linux on it. it'll be running on a 486/66 w/16mb ram if that helps.

Thanks, Digital

 

[Wa11y]

Welcome aboard, matey! We've all got something to learn here.

I've heard of Coyote Linux. It can run off a floppy disk. Dunno how useful that would be, except maybe as a firewall.

Why such a small drive? You should be able to find something bigger.

 

[Digital Pimp]

Welcome aboard, matey! We've all got something to learn here.

I've heard of Coyote Linux. It can run off a floppy disk. Dunno how useful that would be, except maybe as a firewall.

Why such a small drive? You should be able to find something bigger.

i have a "real" computer but i got a hard drive from a freind, and wanted to know if there was a small version of linux i would put on it... to see how it is. i tried Corel Linux 1.0 in the past but couldent really do much with it. but ready to try again, if it works out i'll get a larger version to use on a much faster computer.

basically just want to try it out on a 84mb garbage drive before i move it up to a larger system.

Thanks, Digital

 

[Wa11y]

i have a "real" computer but i got a hard drive from a freind, and wanted to know if there was a small version of linux i would put on it... to see how it is. i tried Corel Linux 1.0 in the past but couldent really do much with it. but ready to try again, if it works out i'll get a larger version to use on a much faster computer.

basically just want to try it out on a 84mb garbage drive before i move it up to a larger system.

Thanks, Digital

To me, that's kinda like saying, "I wanna try out this new Dodge Viper with an old lawnmower engine in it, just to see if I like the feel of it, before I drop a real engine in it." You're going to be sorely disappointed. My advice, get a hard drive with some real space on it, and install whichever distro you want to become proficient with. No sense in starting with a crappy system, and wondering why you don't like Linux.

That's why I've currently abandoned my Linux project. I need a few more hardware parts before I can have a rig comparable to my main system to run Linux on. I figure if I want to be serious about learning Linux, I have to put it on a system that I can actually run programs that I'm going to use on.

 

[David]

You may be able to get a very basic set up on an 84MB drive, but you will get little more than the kernel and a few commandline programs.

Linux nowadays has grown into much more than a command line - you really need at least 1.5GB to fully experience modern day linux.

 

[Visidex]

Linux nowadays has grown into much more than a command line - you really need at least 1.5GB to fully experience modern day linux.

Isn't that bigger than Windows XP? And isn't WinXP supposed to be the king of bloatware...

But regardless, for beginners the more space the better. With Linux you have so many choices for just about every piece of software. Once you've spent some time on the system you can cut down the required space easily by more than half.

 

[XWRed1]

1.5gb is a gross exageration, but if you put linux on an 84mb drive, and decide that is sucks, make sure you think very carefully about it so that the lack of space isn't whats making it suck for you.

 

[Digital Pimp]

hey guys, i mainly want to use it as a test, i dont plan on doing much with it. at most setting up a proxy server and very light browsing

just wanted to know if there is a distro. that will fit onto the drive

i have a 500mb drive that i could also use if that helps any... but i think it would be cool to have it running on the 84mb drive

Thanks, Digital

 

[XWRed1]

You could probably throw enough away from a Slackware installation to make it fit, and still be able to browse and run a proxy.

 

[David]

Isn't that bigger than Windows XP? And isn't WinXP supposed to be the king of bloatware...

But regardless, for beginners the more space the better. With Linux you have so many choices for just about every piece of software. Once you've spent some time on the system you can cut down the required space easily by more than half.

XP takes up 2Gig on my PC - and thats just the OS. 1.5GB for linux includes the basic stuff, X, GNOME, KDE and loads of useful programs.

1.5GB is an exaggeration - but is about right for a default install.

 

[Wa11y]

Isn't that bigger than Windows XP? And isn't WinXP supposed to be the king of bloatware...

HAHA! You wish! I had 98 and all my programs installed on a 5GB partiton, and had somewhere around 2GB free. Did an upgrade to XP, and I had 500MB free. XP am a piggy.

 

[XWRed1]

Well, if you turn off the system recovery feature in XP, then it uses up an amount of hd space about like Win2k Pro.

 

[foshdawg]

you'll only need a gig or more if you install a ton of GUI programs or do a full install of RH or Mandrake. most distros can be scaled down so much that they'll fit onto a floppy and run from that (and you'll be able to do about nothing with it but it IS doable).