Want to make a Linux machine

[ToledoSteel]

I would like to make a machine for linux operating systems. I am new to linux so I don't want to mess with dual booting. How fast of a machine will i need to run different versions of linux? I don't want to game or anything really, just lear how to use it. Would a 500mhz machine due?

 

[Chief_Wiggum]

Linux will run on just about anything. 500MHz would be plenty. Just be sure you have enough HD space for a full blown GUI install if that's what you want.

 

[ObnoxiousFrog]

My "Educational" machine is a k62 that was found on the side of the road in the trash, right now I have it under-clocked to 350mhz because It isn't in the air conditioning. I've had Mandrake 7.1 running on a P133 with 64 mb ram. I think it would work just fine with 500mhz

 

[rogerdugans]

The biggest resource hogs in linux are the guis- gnome and kde being the two most popular, most user friendly and biggest resource hogs.

A 500mhz machine is far more than enough to run linux with any gui, but performance will take a hit with kde or gnome. It'll work, just don't expect instant reponsiveness when opening stuff up.

As you get used to linux, you may want to try some of the less "bloated" user interfaces:
fluxbox and twm are the two that pop into my head right now, but there are more.

 

[ObnoxiousFrog]

As you get used to linux, you may want to try some of the less "bloated" user interfaces:
fluxbox and twm are the two that pop into my head right now, but there are more.

blackbox has always been my favorite.

 

[ToledoSteel]

Is there any versions that are better to start learning with than others?

 

[Christoph]

Gentoo sends you diving in head first. You'll learn a lot, but it won't be easy. There's excellent documentation.
Debian is a little less severe, but can still be difficult. Installing stuff is faster than Gentoo, but the documentation isn't as nice.
Mandrake, FC2, etc are really easy, but don't force you to learn anything. They don't really need end-user documentation.

Where to start depends where you want to end up and how fast you want to get there.

 

[Tatuya]

I really have to agree with Christoph on this. Although it may be the most involved and longest install of all the distros I have tried, Gentoo is definetly a learning tool. I failed on my first try somewhere and just deleted the install; however, I will be trying again. Some people would disagree with me and tell you that it doesn't teach you anything but once you use certain commands you remember them from then on in. Mandrake, Fedora Core2, and SUSE are REALLY easy installs but they are all pretty frustratingin the end with dependency problems in Mandrake, way too much usuage of YAST in SUSE and so on. Go Gentoo and you'll learn a lot. I must say though, your system barely meets requirements though (486+ is what gentoo.org and the handbook recommend).

 

[Christoph]

I failed on my first try somewhere and just deleted the install...

If you ask around, I think you'll find that most Gentoo users had to try more than once. The ones that didn't were smart enough to read and reread the documentation before they started.

 

[wquiles]

Christoph,

I was fortunate enough to have been one of those which installed Gentoo and got it running on the first try. However, just like you said so well, I printed and read the Gentoo install manual cover to cover a full week BEFORE I started doing a backup of my Xandros OS and DATA drives. Then I followed each step as described in the manual, and double check my spelling before I hit enter on each command. If I did not understood something (which happened a lot), I simply stopped, jumped on my other PC and either Googled for information or went to the Gentoo forums' search feature to learn how others have coped with similar questions/issues. Thus, to do it right the first time, it takes time before and during the install - never mind that some packages/steps take hours to compile

I am most certainly not an expert in Linux - quite the opposite is the case. Getting Gentoo running is not "hard", more so that it takes time before, during, and after the base install to get running. It is most definitely NOT the distro to use for the first time - way too many things will not make sense unless one had some exposure to Linux.

 

[Stupid Boy]

I recommend that you do not start with an easy distro and later chang to a harder one after you understand something.

I recommend that you do this:

Choose Slackware, Debian or Gentoo. Install one of those.

Use your Windoze machine to learn about getting internet set up.

Then, do as much as you can on Linux.

Use any window manager other than GNOME or KDE. (You'll have a choice at login.)

Add as much RAM as necessary to the machine. SDRAM is cheap if you look in the right places.

 

[injinj]

USER       PID %CPU %MEM   VSZ  RSS TTY      STAT START   TIME COMMAND

root      2312  0.4  4.4 218156 45132 ?      S    Jul13  50:29 X :0
injinj    26981 0.0  5.0 326392 51492 ?      S    Jul15   2:32 evolution
injinj    11972 0.0  7.4 309156 76520 ?      S    Jul17   4:06 /usr/lib64/mozill

Who's your daddy?

 

[snafumaster]

I have OpenBSD running on a P 200MHz with 128 MB ram. No GUI, but it is plenty fast. On line pages load as fast as some of my other machines. The pictures are as cool to look at though. You can download them, just not view them. Point is, depends on what you want to use it for.