Setting Up Linux On My Old Computer

[OMars]

I have an old Sony Vaio from 2001. It has a Pentium 4 processor and 256MB of RAM. I think that would be suitable for installing Ubuntu. I mainly want this for emulation and ant-virus purposes along with a little word processing and internet surfing. I understand that there aren't many (possibly no ?) viruses on the Linux OS. So, this would be perfect.

I have been having problems setting things up. I have downloaded and burned the iso for both Ubuntu 7.04 and 6.06 LTS. I executed both of them on the computer, and they both say to reboot the computer to start the Ubuntu demo. Now, when I reboot the PC just starts normally, there is no Ubuntu demo. I was wondering what I had done wrong.

I want to completely get rid of windows on this computer because of all the bugs and viruses that I had to deal with the time that I owned it. It was actually boxed in my basement, practically useless to me because Windows Explorer would not work on that computer. I got a new explorer now, but I still want to get rid of windows.

One more question - Is it easy to set up a wireless network between a Windows XP computer and an Ubuntu Linux computer?

I would love to get this questions answered quick. So, thanks in advance for people willing to help!

 

[charlieb]

when I reboot the PC just starts normally, there is no Ubuntu demo.

What is probably happening is that your bios is set to boot off the hard disk first and ignore the CD. You need to get into the bios and change it so it tries the CD first then boots off the hard disk.
There is usually a message on the screen when the machine first powers up that tells you what key to push to get into the bios.

Good luck and enjoy Ubuntu

charlieb

 

[OMars]

when I reboot the PC just starts normally, there is no Ubuntu demo.

What is probably happening is that your bios is set to boot off the hard disk first and ignore the CD. You need to get into the bios and change it so it tries the CD first then boots off the hard disk.
There is usually a message on the screen when the machine first powers up that tells you what key to push to get into the bios.

Good luck and enjoy Ubuntu

charlieb

Wow, you are quick! :blink: :blink:

I actually do see a window on startup that resembles that of a command prompt, but it disappears pretty quickly. Is there any way to change the settings so that it checks the CD first, or is that my only option?

 

[charlieb]

I actually do see a window on startup that resembles that of a command prompt, but it disappears pretty quickly. Is there any way to change the settings so that it checks the CD first, or is that my only option?

According to the interweb you have to hit F2 when you see the sony logo to get into the bios, then you should disable plug and play and make your boot order CD,HDD,FDD or something like that.

 

[OMars]

I actually do see a window on startup that resembles that of a command prompt, but it disappears pretty quickly. Is there any way to change the settings so that it checks the CD first, or is that my only option?

According to the interweb you have to hit F2 when you see the sony logo to get into the bios, then you should disable plug and play and make your boot order CD,HDD,FDD or something like that.

Thanks! I'll check if this works.

 

[charlieb]

I actually do see a window on startup that resembles that of a command prompt, but it disappears pretty quickly. Is there any way to change the settings so that it checks the CD first, or is that my only option?

According to the interweb you have to hit F2 when you see the sony logo to get into the bios, then you should disable plug and play and make your boot order CD,HDD,FDD or something like that.

Thanks! I'll check if this works.

Good luck!

 

[OMars]

I've tried it twice and neither of those attempts worked. Is there any other way?

 

[charlieb]

I've tried it twice and neither of those attempts worked. Is there any other way?

Other likely candidates are F3, F8, left shift.

 

[clarky2o2o]

f 10 and f12 usually or delete work sometimes too.


Oh and good luck I recently made the change to ubuntu 7.04 from windows xp (and vista as my beta expired) I dont regret it (too much)

 

[OMars]

I've tried every single key mentioned in this thread when the Sony logo comes up. It has not done a thing. Is there a simple installer? I don't care what distribution it is anymore, I just want to get it running. <_<

 

[Moparx]

I've tried every single key mentioned in this thread when the Sony logo comes up. It has not done a thing. Is there a simple installer? I don't care what distribution it is anymore, I just want to get it running. <_<

Make a bootable floppy. Since you were planning on using Ubuntu I dug up this link for you
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SmartBootManagerHowto

 

[trooper]

Try pressing the F1, F2 or DEL key repeatedly (2 or 3 times a second) before you see the sony logo appear, See where that gets you.

Trooper

 

[clarky2o2o]

if he has a copy of windows 98 or a boot floppy with cd drivers would that work?

bootdisk.com

Edit:now that i think about it most unlikely

 

[b._.o._.b]

Try Puppy Linux! Never failed me once, wifi is a piece of cake to set up. And if you've got problems with booting from HD due to grub or lillo problems Puppy CD will search the puppy_save file and start automatically.
If you need Linux and you need it fast, you want Puppy.

Damn.. looks like a commercial

BTW. Also try to solve your bios problem, you will need to get into your bios one day. Some computers are very picky about timing. If you press the button too soon or too late it can fail.

 

[charlieb]

Try Puppy Linux!
<snip>
BTW. Also try to solve your bios problem, you will need to get into your bios one day. Some computers are very picky about timing. If you press the button too soon or too late it can fail.

Well, I don't want to start a holy war or anything but Ubuntu is the current golden boy of linux so I'd go with it before I switch to another distro.
As for the bios I normally pick a key and hammer on it continuously until I see either the bios or a windows boot screen (not that I would *ever* see one on those on *my* computers )

C

 

[b._.o._.b]

Well, I don't want to start a holy war or anything but Ubuntu is the current golden boy of linux so I'd go with it before I switch to another distro.

Couldn't disagree more
It's better for Linux newbies to download a distro that is functioning as complete as possible out of the box.
If you use Ubuntu you need to:
- install mp3 support
- codecs
- streamsupport
- flash
In Puppy that's already taken care of. Its a 93 Mb download and works like a charm. Puppy is up and running within 20 minutes (he wanted Linux asap). And because he has some issues getting into his bios, puppy doesn't need grub to start.
He can even install puppy on his ntfs windows drive.

If I install Ubuntu it takes more than an hour to get everything running (including upgrades etc), and I know what I'm doing.

Puppy has got some problems if you want to install programs later. Ubuntu has a much bigger repository of programs. You can install most programs with Puppy, but it can be more difficult if you want more obscure programs or games.

There is another alternative if you want everything working easy and a big repository:
http://shiftbackspace.com/2007/06/13/pclin...-2007-a-review/
Still a lot more work than Puppy though and not so fast.

Anyway, every Linux newb should try at least 3 distros. Just see what feels best for you.

 

[charlieb]

Anyway, every Linux newb should try at least 3 distros. Just see what feels best for you.

Agreed, you gotta work up to slackware, debian or gentoo

There are a lot of "live CD" distros maybe he should try a bunch of them even before installing to see which feels nicest to him.

C

 

[b._.o._.b]

There are a lot of "live CD" distros maybe he should try a bunch of them even before installing to see which feels nicest to him.

C

Almost every major distro has got one nowadays, so he can have a lot of fun

 

[fishybawb]

Not if he can't boot off CD

F2 is definitely the right key to press when you see the Sony logo... You sure your keyboard works properly?

 

[clarky2o2o]

I hate to agree with B.o.B but hes right I have ubuntu installed but when my ubuntu refused to boot i loaded up puppy linux (just to clear the error) it is very easy