Kernel Wanted

Started by Legobricks February 18th, 2009 8:30 AM
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  • 8 replies
Seen September 18th, 2020
Posted February 18th, 2018
7,741 posts
16.6 Years
See, I've got this old laptop, 32Mb RAM, 2GB HDD space (Compaq Armada 1590DT if it helps to know).
I'd like to get some sort of Linux OS old enough that said laptop would be able to run it, but don't know where to look.

Edit: My laptop does not have a CD drive, so I'll need an OS that can be put on 3in floppies or something. It does actually, lol, I must've missed it when I first looked at it. xD

X-626

Age 33
Male
Seen July 17th, 2012
Posted July 7th, 2012
1,325 posts
14.3 Years
Well, there are two that I can think of off the top of my head. They are meant for old computers.
Here they are:
Damn Small Linux: http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/
Puppy Linux: http://www.puppylinux.org/

Honestly, I prefer Puppy. They can be run from a flash drive, CD, or about any other bootable media. I haven't used either in a while, but I'm sure they will work fine.
Age 31
Male
Seen November 9th, 2021
Posted March 17th, 2015
3,517 posts
18.2 Years
http://lubi.sourceforge.net/unetbootin.html

Gives you a list of Linux distros to choose from, download, and then installs on your computer as a partition ( make sure you choose a live CD ), after selecting the option to install on your C drive instead of a USB drive, it will add the linux distro of your choice as a partition, allowing you to boot it and then do a normal install to system through the distro itself, wiping off the previous OS.

Honestly, easiest way to do it without CD's or Floppys
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Seen September 18th, 2020
Posted February 18th, 2018
7,741 posts
16.6 Years
after selecting the option to install on your C drive instead of a USB drive, it will add the linux distro of your choice as a partition,
Does that mean it creates a new partition to put the OS in? 'Cause I want to keep the drive with only one. :E

Seems good though, assuming it won't split my hard drive up I'll get the Puppy one.
Age 31
Male
Seen November 9th, 2021
Posted March 17th, 2015
3,517 posts
18.2 Years
Well, if you know what you're doing, you can erase the other partition from the new one.

Or, you could just use the floppy disc option that you were planning to use, it'll work just as well.

( I do suggest Damn Small Linux )
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Melody

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Seen March 4th, 2018
Posted March 2nd, 2018
6,459 posts
18.6 Years
Generally you need to configure CD booting via the BIOS menu. Usually when you boot the computer up, for the first few seconds it shows a logo and mentions a key you should press to enter 'Setup' mode

Go into the BIOS Setup and look for a BOOT menu, and move the CD drive above the Hard Drive in boot order. then save and exit, pop in the disk and continue on.

I believe for your particular computer, the magic key to press is F10...
If that doesnt work try F1, F2, Delete or Insert

Here's the user guide to your particular machine.
http://bizsupport.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00139858/c00139858.pdf

Have a gander at that file, it should mention something about a certain key to press at boot up...

Raven-NAR-32450

The Great and Powerful RAVEN

Age 32
Male
My Secret Lab
Seen April 15th, 2022
Posted October 8th, 2011
122 posts
14.4 Years
I'd go with Puppy Linux, just as personal choice because i've used DSL and its mostly command line style, and unless youre familiar with Linux commads, you could try it, but if youre not, then something bad could happen

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Age 30
Male
Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA
Seen April 3rd, 2023
Posted March 17th, 2018
803 posts
15.8 Years
I recommend using something like Damn Small, but you should run it as a live CD due to lack of space. And yes, a CD would drain the laptop battery too much, so here's an alternative (assuming your computer BIOS can boot from USB flash drives):
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/all-in-one-usb-dsl/
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