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Well I just made my new computer. Specs:
P4 1.6 GHz
Intel D845BG Mobo
256 MB DDR
20 gig harddrive
Radeon 8500LE Vid Card
HP CD-Writer 8290+
Samsung CD-Rom
Standard Floppy
CompUSA Brand Firewire card
Well, I don't know how to install Linux, I have the ".. For Dummies" book, but after reading up on it on the net, I'm worried about the drivers for everything. Can someone give me a few pointers, or maybe a little checklist/walkthough?
Thanks in advance!
You start with the
Linux hardware compatibility HOWTO
:cool:
any drivers you r unsure of , go to the manufacturers website as most now provide linux based drivers. Get rid of the for dummies book and use the online docs etc and get yourself a good thick linux bible of which there are loads that cove the red hat distos. if you get any probs then learn learn learn and then compile your own kernel !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lol My own kernel. I think I'll try inserting the CD first. Thanks for the link rcgreen. Many thanks :)
All Your Hardware should be commatible :)
Linux supports a very wide variety of hardware nowadays. There are three major classes of hardware that you might have trouble finding support for:
1. Really old hardware - since your system looks fairly new, you shouldn't have any problems in this category.
2. Really new hardware - a lof of companies only create drivers for windows. This is changing, and more and more companies are providing linux drivers, but very few are open source. Since the people who write the open source drivers for linux have to reverse engineer the video card / firewire adapter / whatever it takes longer for the linux driver to make it into circulation. None of the hardware you listed should be in this category.
3. Modems - Winmodems have been the scourge of linux newbies everywhere. In the past, winmodems had almost zero support in linux and if you wanted to use a modem in a linux machine, you had either had to buy an external modem or an older ISA modem that still had jumpers and everything. This isn't necessarily true anymore. More and more winmodems are being supported, and this means that your odds are better than mine were when I first starte using linux. If you want to read more about winmodems, check out this thread:
http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=229021
Good luck!
That hardware spec. *should* be supported in Linux, easily.
Depends on your modem as to whether you'll be able to get an internet connection, though.
RedHat is fairly easy to install, but if you are completely new to Linux, I'd suggest you get mandrake 8.2 and try that first. It effectively installs itself, and can more or less automatically deal with dualbooting witn Win9x, repartitions without data loss, etc. etc.
It's by far one of the easiest ways into Linux, yet also a powerful distro in its own right. After you've spent a few months with Mandrake, try Slackware for a more advanced system.
Thanks everyone..I'm planning on using DSL...I have an Intel ethernet card which is new so it should work? I can't wait :)
One more question...I use a Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical keyboard/mouse...Should Linux detect these as a standard PS2 keyboard/mouse?
Mandrake is a good option if this is your first time installing linux, but to my point of view is not a big deal the installation cuz you can always re-install again but i'll suggest start reading how to's ...
you can check http://www.linux.com for them