linux installation

Solaris, RedHat, FreeBSD and the like
Post Reply
Message
Author
frewman
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2007 3:26 pm
Location: glasgow scotland

linux installation

#1 Post by frewman » Sun Mar 18, 2007 4:31 pm

Hi forum, I have a thinkpad 600e with a wireless broadband connection and a new blank 40gb harddrive and 255mb memory. I would like to install linux as the operating system. Is there a basic but easy to install version of linux for the thinkpad? I will only be using it for email and websurfing

Kyocera
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 4826
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2005 8:00 pm
Location: North Carolina, ...in my mind I'm going to Carolina.....
Contact:

#2 Post by Kyocera » Sun Mar 18, 2007 4:44 pm

I like Xandros, some like ubuntu. You may be able to download an ISO from a torrent site, takes a while but it's free.

carbon_unit
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 2988
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2004 9:10 pm
Location: South Central Iowa, USA

#3 Post by carbon_unit » Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:07 pm

Are you looking to download something or buy a cd?
If you want to download something try this: http://www.puppyos.com/index.html it will run the fastest but may be a little clunky.
This: http://www.ubuntu.com/products/WhatIsUbuntu/xubuntu may be a bit cleaner but will run slower and is a bigger download.
I don't think you will be happy with the big distro's (Ubuntu, suse, fedora, mandriva) as they require more hardware than you have. They will run but fairly slowly.
I like Xandros too but they don't have a free edition right now, they do have a 30 day trial available: http://www.xandros.com/about/downloads.html
Maybe you can foind a torrent of the Version 3 OCE (Open Circulation Edition=Free).
T60 2623-D7U, 3 GB Ram.
Dual boot XP and Linux Mint.
Registered linux user #160145

syedj
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 712
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 8:54 am
Location: Nashua, New Hampshire

#4 Post by syedj » Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:32 pm

You can also give Peanut Linux a try. Its a very well polished mini-distro for older equipment with almost all modern applications or at least their less resource hungry alternatives.
“Long you live and high you'll fly and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry and all you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be.”

Kyocera
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 4826
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2005 8:00 pm
Location: North Carolina, ...in my mind I'm going to Carolina.....
Contact:

#5 Post by Kyocera » Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:38 pm

carbon unit wrote:I like Xandros too but they don't have a free edition right now, they do have a 30 day trial available
Ahhhhh :shock: no more free lunch for Xandros? Major bummer.

ryengineer
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 4393
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:29 pm
Location: L.A. (home town) CA, Toronto ON.

Re: linux installation

#6 Post by ryengineer » Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:48 pm

frewman wrote: I will only be using it for email and websurfing
Check Freespire, it looks and feels like Windows and most of all is perfect for rookies.
"I've come a long, long way," she said, "and I will go as far,
With the man who takes me from my horse, and leads me to a bar."
The man who took her off her steed, and stood her to a beer,
Were a bleary-eyed Surveyor and a DRUNKEN ENGINEER.

Leikeze Ajnin
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: Connecticut, USA

#7 Post by Leikeze Ajnin » Sun Mar 18, 2007 6:10 pm

PC Linux OS, despite it's unoriginal name, is another good Linux for people who like full GUI, although it only has 32-bit releases right now. Also, at the time of this post, the web site appears to be down. Like (k)Ubuntu, the installation media is also a live demo CD. The site, when it goes back up, had some good wiki instructions for new users on setting up things such as proprietary ATI drivers.
- Tim Healey

carbon_unit
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 2988
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2004 9:10 pm
Location: South Central Iowa, USA

#8 Post by carbon_unit » Sun Mar 18, 2007 7:30 pm

Xandros is working on a new release of the free version but it is not available yet.
While Freespire and PC LinuxOS are fine distros they will not run well on a 600e as it does not or just barely meets the system requirements.
T60 2623-D7U, 3 GB Ram.
Dual boot XP and Linux Mint.
Registered linux user #160145

kingman99
Sophomore Member
Posts: 228
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:02 pm
Location: Morganville, New Jersey

#9 Post by kingman99 » Sun Mar 18, 2007 9:19 pm

Hi

Being that l have the 600x (650) can l run Linux and should l buy a cd on ebay for under $10. All that l need it for is surfing and Aol?

Thanks

Alan

carbon_unit
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 2988
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2004 9:10 pm
Location: South Central Iowa, USA

#10 Post by carbon_unit » Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:37 am

Any Thinkpad can run Linux. Which distro you can run depends on your CPU speed and amount of ram. There are different distros with different hardware requirements.
T60 2623-D7U, 3 GB Ram.
Dual boot XP and Linux Mint.
Registered linux user #160145

Jedacite
Freshman Member
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:24 am
Location: Vancouver BC, Canada

#11 Post by Jedacite » Mon Mar 19, 2007 11:39 am

kingman99 wrote:Hi

Being that l have the 600x (650) can l run Linux and should l buy a cd on ebay for under $10. All that l need it for is surfing and Aol?
Alan
You can buy the CD on ebay, or in most cases you can download it and burn it directly. If you are on dialup you may find it easier to buy it online.

I always recommend one of the Ubuntu Distros for people that are new to Linux as I feel they are the easiest to use. I would give Xubuntu a try if you are really worried about speed as it is a variant of Ubuntu that is supposed to run on lighter hardware. Although this is really just a matter of personal preference.

I find that 850Mhz is more than enough for Ubuntu, I've never used less so I'm not sure at what point it would be good to switch over to Xubuntu.

carbon_unit
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 2988
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2004 9:10 pm
Location: South Central Iowa, USA

#12 Post by carbon_unit » Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:05 pm

The 256 ram is the main limiting point.
T60 2623-D7U, 3 GB Ram.
Dual boot XP and Linux Mint.
Registered linux user #160145

syedj
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 712
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 8:54 am
Location: Nashua, New Hampshire

#13 Post by syedj » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:32 pm

There are a lot of so called mini-distros that will run on machines similar to this laptop. These distros don't use resource hungry graphical desktop managers (KDE, GNOME and XFCE) but instead use either blackbox, fluxbox or etc. Even the web browsers, email clients, office productivity applications included in these distros are also lean and thin.

I am personally familiar with Peanut Linux, [censored] Small Linux (my favorite) and Vector Linux. Take a look at http://www.linuxlinks.com/Distributions ... ributions/ for yourself.

I am not sure what kind of support AOL provides for Linux since they rely on their own closed source proprietary client. Other dial-up ISPs (mostly through phone companies) are compatible with Linux dial-in PPP clients.
“Long you live and high you'll fly and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry and all you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be.”

frewman
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2007 3:26 pm
Location: glasgow scotland

#14 Post by frewman » Wed Mar 21, 2007 3:10 pm

Thanks everyone for your advice, think I will give puppy linux a go. I have just been on their homepage and they have good assist for beginners.

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Linux Questions”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests