What distro do you guys recomend?

jriddle512

I am looking for a distro suggestion for the motherboard and processor that came with the HP Pavilion 7935 desktop computer.

My Windows XP has recently died and funds being as they are i am looking for something of a more, free level.

I tried Ubuntu however it is not compatable with my board.

Please help me find one that will work.

Motherboard: Santa-Fe KM (manufatured by TriGem)

Processor: AMD Athlon

Chipset: VIA KM133

saqman2060

You need a kernel that has the support for your system. I recommend using the kernel 2.6.37. Look for a distro that is using this kernel. Look at this site, www.distrowatch.com

Once you find the distro, run the LiveCD, if it has one, and perform a hardware test.















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Goineasy9

If it's an old computer, there are distros like Slitaz or AntiX, that is, if memory is limited. I have Fedora running on an old P4 machine with 500Mb of memory. It runs a little slow, but it still runs. I use it for an IRC server.
If Fedora will run on old hardware like this, almost any distro will. You can always use distros with lighter window managers like LXDE, to increase speed. Istimsak had a good idea, just download some distros on Live CD's and see how you like the feel of them. Distrowatch has the top distros in the right column.

If you search the forum you can find other threads detailing the use of minimal distros on older machines. If you have any other questions, or, you can give us more info on you computer, like memory size etc., please don't hesitate, we may be able to help you more.

jriddle512

i have 128 mb or ram with another 128 on the way for the dual channel option.

Goineasy9

Check out the pages for these distros:

AntiX:
http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

Slitaz
http://www.slitaz.org/en/

These are 2 distros I know can handle the low memory you have on that machine.

saqman2060

In addition to what goineasy said, look at distros that is using the fluxbox window manager as well. Or, you can install antiX or slitaz, and install the fluxbox or another low resource window manager.

Once you have the proper distro, let us know, and we will walk you though the setup.B)

asedt

Hi,

You can compare distributions on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Linux_distributions in the last table you can sort on estimated RAM memory usage to find lightweight distributions. The choice all depend on what you plan to use the computer for and your previews Linux experience.

I also recommend that if you have a spare USB memory, check BIOS if you can boot from USB. A lot of ISO files is of the hybrid type so you can put them on a USB memory with tools like UNetbootin http://sourceforge.net/projects/unetbootin/ to save on CD's.

In addition to previews recommended you can check out Puppy Linux.

If you get 256 MB memory you can also check out:

There is also Debian ISO's with LXDE or Xfce see: http://www.debian.org/CD/live/ (The ISO-files is bigger than a CD so use USB or DVD)

Linux Mint 10 LXDE: http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1705

Good luck finding your favorite

jriddle512

ok so i downloaded the Live CD for Slitaz- 3.0 and burned it using ImgBurn.

got the comp set up and everything. this should just be like installing windows correct?

asedt

Slitaz is on of the very very lightweight options. (In my opinion you wasted a CD there, better use a USB drive if you can, or burn something bigger on a CD)

First off set to boot from the CD and boot Live, only in the RAM without installing it to see if you like it.

You can read about installing to hd here: http://doc.slitaz.org/en:handbook:installation

But I would try something not that lightweight before installing it.

Goineasy9

If your using the whole hard disk for Slitaz, it will be just like installing windows. Just follow the instructions as it goes along and if you have questions along the way just come back and ask.

saqman2060

I wouldn't say it's like installing windows, however is not difficult. See if you like first by evaluating the liveCD system. And, also tryout others, don't limit yourself to one. Then, once your ready, to a permanent install. As goineasy stated, we are here to help.

Lman

Slitaz is a very light download, but if you want a good GUI then maybe try Bohdi Linux. I have the HP Pav. MX 7940 and bohdi did amazingly well! But whatever direction you take, just make sure to post what you found out that you like best. Would like to see what you recommend and keep us posted!

LinuxPorter88

If you have a couple hours to spare and are willing to read a fairly simple guide and do a little research on some wiki pages, I suggest that since you have such an old system, I'd check out Arch Linux with Fluxbox Window Manager and the XFCE Desktop or do like I'm currently doing, running the operating system from the command line most of the time.

Unlike Ubuntu or Fedora or most other major distributions, Arch is tailored to be built from the ground up from downloaded packages and the Pacman packaging system is very user-friendly once you get it down. You will never have to download a new ISO or ever have to upgrade your entire Operating System to a new version like you would with most other Distros and you'll always be getting the latest software and bug fixes.

If you need any help with this, feel free to message me and I can walk you through the majority of the process.

http://www.archlinux.org