my junk computer experiments

[yarraman]

OK. I am a beginner at Puppy and Linux in general. I write this on a dual booted WinXP/Kubuntu 9.04 computer.

I have read some of the beginner threads. There is excellent stuff there. Yet I still feel a need to describe my situation and what I am trying to do.

Last week I was given a computer by a relative. I thought "here's a chance to experiment on a junk computer" and booted it up. [I learnt the hard way last year not to do these things with my main computer; I tried to dual boot it and ate the Windows XP and lost my docs]. The junk PC's specs:

Packard Bell Club 533 C
64 MB SDRAM
Running Windows 98 second edn.
10 GB HDD.
Totally offline [I doubt if it could be used for broadband internet and I will not try.]
533 MHZ Celeron processor.
Full Defrag yesterday and passed all disk checks.
Virus etc state unknown so it is considered quarantined; any device put in it is isolated from other computers.

I want to get rid of the Windows 98 completely and replace it with Linux. Performance will be poor/average with the poor RAM. That's fine. This is an experiment to see what I can do with a low-end old computer.

First thing I had to work out was how to get the Linux CD that I burnt to be recognised at all. I mean, Windows booted up and the isolinux files etc were there but so what? What then? I nutted out that the CMOS had to change to boot from CDROM. So I changed it and Damn Small Linux booted up ok. Then I tried Puppy and it blew me away! Puppy recognised that I had low RAM and offered to make a 200 MB swap file and a partition for it. I said yes. Then it did some "layering" to make the next boot up faster. WOW! That is so good! The intelligence behind it is so cool!

So that's my lot. I have found Gparted on Puppy. I could use that to get rid of Windows as I want to do and have all Puppy Linux? Or I could use that one point installer in the beginner's thread?

I would welcome any advice on where to go from here. BTW the documents are worthless on the Windows98. My realtive doesn't want them. Windows 98 begone. I want my puppy

[rjbrewer]

I would recommend this:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 782#201565

[T_Hobbit]

If it boots from CD, that specs are OK for Puppy.
For sure you can watch movies. For sure you can go online!
And you can try PULP that seems to work with only 32Mb.

[yarraman]

Thanks to you both! I will have a go at the tutorial for G Parted tomorrow!

[yarraman]

My point about net access wasn't so much about Puppy. With the hardware specs the internal Modem was built for dial up internet only. So I doubt if I could use an external Modem [such as the one for broadband on this PC] to get BBroadband. I may be wrong but that's it as I understand it.

[mikeb]

You should have no issues with broadband..I had the same machine on it and sharing it to others a while ago....was fast.

A full install will make best use of your ram as long as swap is a partition not a file.

regards

mike

[T_Hobbit]

I connect my broadband modem thru the ethernet port.
Also possible thru USB port but I seems more unstable to me.

[yarraman]

OK. I tried to use GParted. But the "new" partition button doesn't seem to work. There is a lock symbol on the partition in the GUI; is this normal and does it stop me? What do I do?

[rjbrewer]

At the boot splash, type....puppy pfix=ram

Which version of puppy are you trying to install?

What does the locked partition say in gparted?

[yarraman]

OK. I managed to get GpARTED and I followed the tutorial linked to earlier. Since I already had windows 98 and wanted to banish it I nuked that first [I thibk that I used the cdisk or whatever it was called.

All went well! Grub created as expected. I have rebooted without CD in and Puppy works fine.

Success!

Just one smallish thing. When I am in the boot up screen at the start I still get a windows entry ala if I had a dual boot situation [which I do not want; I am trying to have puppy on the PC only]. I suppose that's not a problem - just not what I intended as an outcome. Apart from that it went exactly as the tutorial said it would.

Puppy is a masterpiece - no doubt about it. To install and work on my 64MB RAM computer and have so many programs ...wow.

EDIT: wHEN i choose the windows entry it says "drive doesn't exist" and goes back to Linux! Woohoo! That's fine by me!

SUCCESS! tHANKS TO everyone who helped me get to this outcome! Puppy is awesome! I am a puppy fan!

[yarraman]

Puppy rulessssssssssssss!

[raffy]

OK. I managed to get GpARTED and I followed the tutorial linked to earlier. Since I already had windows 98 and wanted to banish it I nuked that first...

All went well! Grub created as expected. I have rebooted without CD in and Puppy works fine.

Success!

Just one smallish thing. When I am in the boot up screen at the start I still get a windows entry ala if I had a dual boot situation [which I do not want; I am trying to have puppy on the PC only]. I suppose that's not a problem - just not what I intended as an outcome...

Puppy is a masterpiece - no doubt about it. To install and work on my 64MB RAM computer and have so many programs ...wow.

Congratulations!

Find in your Linux partition /boot (where Grub is supposed to be) and edit menu.lst. Remove the Window-ish entry and you'll see the last of it.

[Sage]

yarraman : please edit your profile to show your location. It's worth doubling your mem. on that old box. Once we know where you are you might get an offer of an extra 64Mb strip, gratis. It might come from me....

[Lobster]

Puppy rulessssssssssssss!

You speak parseltongue?
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Parseltongue

I speak fluent fly, wasp and ant
I was conversing with a spider to the right of this tree
this morning
http://twitpic.com/jl74h

I would like to blame trying to learn C++ for my insane
rambling. However there is no excuse

Great to hear Sages kind offer (hope you are in the UK).
Getting that ram up to 128MB will turn junk into a 'green machine' . . .
. . . another option might be
http://www.freecycle.org/

Good to hear of your success

[yarraman]

I put on my cork screw hat
and bat away the flies
Cricket is my religious creed
and footy tipping is my pride
I am an antipodean man
culture vultures I deride



So, as you can see, I am at the wrong end of the world to accept Sage's generous offer. Thanks all the same! Though can I still get my folks to accept it for me ROFL - all my relatives come from Yorkshire. We had a market garden in James Herriot country until the mid 70s.

I suppose that I should add that I did put on the latest version of Puppy [4.3?] .

[mikeb]

all my relatives come from Yorkshire. We had a market garden in James Herriot country until the mid 70s

may I ask where vaguely exactly ?

mike

[Sage]

Speaking our language, y. There are a number of your fellow countrymen who may be able to assist with some memory - they know who they are. If not, and it isn't too late, I could stretch a point for a Commonwealth citizen. Keep in touch.

[yarraman]

Our market garden was in Huddersfield. It was next to one of the major battles of the English Civil war [or so they folks keep telling me, in between still supporting Huddersfield Town in football.]

Come on Huddersfield. They did win the old first division title in the 1920s 3 times in a row. Been awhile between drinks eh lads?

Actually I was born in Liverpool in Fazakerley hospital because we were travelling around at that time for jobs. I probably won't get any help from Sage now...sniff...people don't like scousers.

[Sage]

Not at all. Many folks from the 'Pool have Irish ancestry and everyone knows that Ireland is Wales' oldest ally. Who helped them with their harp construction? Didn't the world's most skilled bowmen teach them their skills? Who sent them their patron saint? Who sent them correct-shaped balls for their 'football (sic). Hasn't the Swansea-Cork ferry just restarted?
So let's wait to see if the anticipated Aussie benefactors come up with the goods or PM me in a month or so.

[Sylvander]

When I did my family tree, I found my ancestors came from:
1. County Durham->Newcastle.
My fathers' father [born 1863, Newcastle] moved to East Lothian, Scotland about 1888.

2. My [Protestant] fathers' mother [and her ancestors traced back to 1600] lived in [or near] Prestonpans, Tranent Parish, East Lothian, Scotland.

3. My mothers' [Catholic?] ancestors came over from Ireland not too long before the 2nd Irish famine [1845?].

I noticed in my studies that Irish men would travel to England [e.g. Newcastle] to work during the summer [Farm labourers?], and go home for the winter.

In Scotland the Catholic religion was officially termed a "Non-Conformist Religion".
The Catholic church [with good reason] didn't trust the authorities...
Would not hand over their BMD [Birth/Marriage/Death] records...
And to this day are held separate from other records.
All records normally held in NRH [New Register House, Edinburgh].
Catholic records held in the National Archives, Edinburgh.
Irish records destroyed by a fire whilst British troops were attacking "rebels" in the records office in Dublin in the 1920's.
Serious discrimination against Catholics back in the 1800's.
How bad is it these days?
Troubles in Northern Ireland.
In Canada in the 1800's the Scots were top dogs, and the Irish struggled to break their supremacy.