matt40k Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 I've got a very old 5yrs + laptop, that still running ok, I've got tons of spares (3x tfts, 4x batterys etc) so I don't think I'll get rid of it anytime soon. Anyway, it's got a XP Pro license, which is great, but XP seems to blot up nowadays, once you've patched it. Also MS filesystem doesn't help either. Basically I've decided to try linux. Anyone got any ideas? Other then Centos (or any other Redhat based) or Ubuntu? Laptop is Compaq Evo N1015v, AMD Athlon XP 2000+, 512MB DDR, 20GB HDD, internal wifi (Yes, I've modded it to support internal wifi)
kmount Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 I had once of those beauts but it was the P4 model. I'd want to up the memory in it just for sake of a slicker performance. I'd consider trying maybe xubuntu (XFCE4 desktop is a lot lighter than your traditional KDE/Gnome). But if you're looking for something beyond ubuntu then maybe try PCLinuxOS which people seem to be liking at the moment with it's impressive hardware detection. Have a nose here for a nice list of distro's and associated information. I'm a gentoo user by trade but I wouldn't think it'd run well on that laptop (initially) but probably would be great once the compilation etc is all out of the way. 1
FN-GM Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 If you up the memory and a clean XP install it shouldn't be to bad. Myself i like Ubuntu & Suse, worth having a play with the Live CD's to see what distro works best for you.
kmount Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 Yep, Suse is fun these days but yast2 just upsets me on it.
matt40k Posted March 21, 2009 Author Posted March 21, 2009 Na LiveCD never give you a good enough idea, performance wise. Problem with XP is you need to defrag regularly, I never seem to have the time, the missus won't let me leave stuff on over night either Anyway, slapped in a spare hdd, installed Ubuntu, problem, Wifi doesn't work. Seems Ubuntu community hasn't quite got the networking down as OpenBSD. Sigh. Anyone fancy a Atheros 5212? PS: Does anyone know how I can get it to auto copy and paste by clicking with the mouse like on putty? Tis driving me crackers!
powdarrmonkey Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 Na LiveCD never give you a good enough idea, performance wise. Problem with XP is you need to defrag regularly, I never seem to have the time, the missus won't let me leave stuff on over night either Anyway, slapped in a spare hdd, installed Ubuntu, problem, Wifi doesn't work. Seems Ubuntu community hasn't quite got the networking down as OpenBSD. Sigh. Anyone fancy a Atheros 5212? If you have a hunt around I'm pretty sure there's an extra package for Atheros chipset support. PS: Does anyone know how I can get it to auto copy and paste by clicking with the mouse like on putty? Tis driving me crackers! Yes, use the middle button instead of the right (assuming it has set it up right, of course.)
mac_shinobi Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 you could use nlite to re make the xp disc to get rid of drivers, languages and other stuff and make a faster version of xp ? DSL information That or use it as a media center if you use the correct linux distro ?
matt40k Posted March 22, 2009 Author Posted March 22, 2009 If you have a hunt around I'm pretty sure there's an extra package for Atheros chipset support. Yes, you are indeed correct, however it either says install madwifi, which the current build doesn't complie correct, or turn off hotplug, which doesn't work as it's not a pcmcia card. Some fiddling me things, back to XP now.
StewartKnight Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 The new Knoppix distro is a work of beauty. Graphic effects that micro$haft would kill for!
superfletch Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 Anyway, slapped in a spare hdd, installed Ubuntu, problem, Wifi doesn't work. You may already know this but it is possible in recent releases of Ubuntu to use the Windows WiFi drivers for your WiFi card. With your wired ethernet fully functioning, head to the repository download manager thinggy under System | Administration | Synaptic Package Manager - you'll probably need your root password. Search for the latest packages. Download: ndisgtk Once installed open and run it, System | Administration | Windows Wireless Drivers, choose your Wireless driver for windows (inf file) and you're pretty much done. Configure the WiFi settings for your network. Bob should turn out be your mothers brother. 1
matt40k Posted March 22, 2009 Author Posted March 22, 2009 There seems to be good support for the Atheros driver on Solaris, just downloading OpenSolaris at the mom, however I might go over to: Home - Nexenta Project Wiki, it looks pretty tasty.
kmount Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 There's pretty good support for Atheros in most distro's now if not out of the box shortly after. Open Solaris is pretty; I'm running it on a server at the moment and it's working really well. (Not tried wireless though!)
matt40k Posted March 22, 2009 Author Posted March 22, 2009 Ok, so, I got Ubuntu working with Wifi. Didn't get xubuntu to even install. OpenSolaris was buggy, the livecd seems alright, it did freeze a few times, but was ok, managed to install, however unable to get it to boot, just restarted whilst still loading. Nexenta appears to be a total lie. So I have Ubuntu now right? Wrong, the missus doesn't like change... back to XP... sigh... another format me things, might low-level format the spare drive too, seeming as it appears to be 30GB. Perhaps installing SIMS .net was a bit silly. Still it worked better then some of the setups I've seen! Might try a copy of Mac OS (not on the laptop tho) and see if the missus likes it.
Midget Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 try a KDE based distro (KUbuntu, Mint KDE, Fedora) and see if she likes it. just tell her it's windows vista apparently people cant tell
TechSupp Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 Got one of those laptops for the mrs and put the max ram in it (2Gb) and it runs xp and anthing else just fine.
somabc Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 Download details: Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 2
Ric_ Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 I'm a Debian-fanboi so my vote would be for Debian with XFCE, Compiz Fusion and Avant Window Manager. This combination will give you a nice speedy system with more eye candy than a pointed stick could be shaken at with an OS X-style dock to boot.
matt40k Posted March 23, 2009 Author Posted March 23, 2009 She can... Windows Live etc won't install... and she likes the rubbish that comes with it.
TwoZeroAlpha Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 She can... Windows Live etc won't install... and she likes the rubbish that comes with it. aMSN - messenger clone for linux. aMSN - Opening your communication Might be of some interest to you. Or claim it's the "new and improved MSN messenger" for Window7
matt40k Posted March 23, 2009 Author Posted March 23, 2009 Gah, she doesn't like Firefox! Can't believe it! Got offered a Mac Mini for £200, might get it. Anyone want a (cheap) FX55 system?
Batman Posted March 24, 2009 Posted March 24, 2009 Argh KDE smells, I'm sticking with gnome. A neat trick I learned to persuade my sister in law to use ubuntu was to show her how flash my computer looked with it's translucent emerald themes and swooshy compiz animation stuff. And Tremulous... good game, good game...
rh91uk Posted March 24, 2009 Posted March 24, 2009 My weapon of choice is either Ubuntu or CentOs. Ubuntu I usually use for my desktop, and usually centos for the servers. Cent runs fine on my 6 yr old old laptop (which I use for home network diag).
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