Richard wrote: > Hi, sorry if this appears to be OT. I've been lurking a while. I > would like your help, if possible... > > > > I have a spare PC, with Win 98 on it. I would like to replace this > with Linux, but it's only got 850mb HDD. It's a Pentium with 96mb RAM > and an NVidia TNT2 32mb video card. I have also in my possession > Caldera OpenLinux and RedHat 7.1 Which would be best? And would it > fit onto the HDD I have. I do have some Linux experience, plus a > hefty tome to help.... Heck, we're using Unix at work! Just command > line stuff... mental! > > > > I would like it to run a basic network with my other PC's and my > Ericsson Handheld EPOC device. > > They are : > > Desktop - P4 1.8ghz, 768mb RAM, NVidia Geforce 4 64mb card, 2 CDROM, 2 > Floppy, Win 98 > > Laptop - P166 mmx, 24mb ram, Win 95, 2.1gb HDD, FDD, no CDROM > > Ericsson MC218 EPOC R5 Handheld computer. 16mb ram > > > > > > Can this be done? Am I asking too much? > > Please reply offlist if you want. > > > > Thanks > > Richard > > > > > Well, it would be nice if you did not transmit the question in html.
Caldera is little-used these days and it has some oddities and some closed-source software, and my experience with their phone support put them in a different universe from me. Red Hat 7.1 uses an early kernel 2.4 and would be a drudge on your Pentium system. The virtual memory of the early 2.4 kernels is very time-consuming. I am uncertain whether RH 7.1 still offered a choice of installing a 2.2 kernel. There is still a download edition of Mandrake 7.2 on some mirrors, and it should work pretty well. 8.2 download edition also should have no problems... Tyere are some caveats: Linux has many many desktops. You do not want more than two with your limited disk space. KDE and IceWM should be adequate. If your primary concern is internet sharing, Mandrake has a wonderful product called SNF. You install it and let it run, and configure it from one of your other machines with a web browser. It can lock off domains or IPs and map popups into single transparent pixels, as well as restricting access in and out. If you want some protection for your winboxes, then 8.2 with a fairly minimal setup would work, and you should have room for a mailserver and mail scanner which would prevent the most prevalent form of intrustion into your windows machines. With a new mutation of CodeBlue/Nimda tearing up about 1/3 of the worlds bandwidth right now, it might be advisable. Civileme
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
