Very Computer

by **BriWill** » Sun, 19 Jan 1997 04:00:00

Hello all,
I have some questions that have probably been addressed in earlier
postings but I can't seem to find them or answers that I'm looking for, so
here goes. The questions may seem a bit trivial but I want to know the
answers before I start getting into LINUX.

1.) I'm new to LINUX, but I have worked with Sun computers running Sun
Os/Solirus(sp?). Will the operating system be similar? What about a/the
GUI? I've used OpenWindows and X. Do GUIs normally come with LINUX??

2.) Will I be able to run LINUX with a system described below?
If so, what version and from who, Red Hat, Slackware?

Here's my system in a nutshell. I know...ancient, but it works.

((hardware))
AST 486DX33 (with an Intel OverDrive making it a DX2/66)
340 meg HD (planning of getting a 1.6 gig soon)
24 megs of RAM
4X CDROM (not sure what manufacturer)
Mach32 video (built into my motherboard) with 2 megs.
3 1/2" floppy
Sound Blaster 16 bit sound card
Zoom 14.4 modem (RPI+)

((operating system and software))
DOS 6.22
Win 3.1 (I'm also using PC Tools 2.0 with Windows)
the normal WIndows based programs: AmiPro, AOL, Netscape, etc...

3.) How much space on the hard drive does LINUX need? Can I use two
separate hard drives or should I but LINUX on the same drive as Win 3.1?
Would putting LINUX on my 340 meg hard drive be enough, if I only use
"LINUX" programs on that drive (ie perl, a GUI, etc)? I really only plan
on fooling around with LINUX (in order to learn perl). I'm too much of a
novice to get seriously into LINUX, yet.

4.) If there is a version of LINUX out there for my system, can I get
it on the Internet or is it better to go into a book store and purchase it
off the shelf?

5.) What is LILO? I have seen a lot of people talking about. I assume
it is a program that asks which OS you want to boot up in. Is this a
program that I would need to get?

time. Have a good day.

Brian Willis
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| | - me |
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by **Jurgen Exne** » Sun, 19 Jan 1997 04:00:00

Quote:> Hello all,
> I have some questions that have probably been addressed in earlier
> postings but I can't seem to find them or answers that I'm looking for,
so
> here goes. The questions may seem a bit trivial but I want to know the
> answers before I start getting into LINUX.

> 1.) I'm new to LINUX, but I have worked with Sun computers running Sun
> Os/Solirus(sp?). Will the operating system be similar? What about a/the
> GUI? I've used OpenWindows and X. Do GUIs normally come with LINUX??

Any of the standard distribution comes with XFree86, which is 100%
compatible with X11R6.
From a users point of view there will be nearly no difference between
Solaris and Linux, maybe several of the Gnu commands (that are used with
linux) are a bit more powerful than the Solaris commands.
The major difference will be, that you will be your own sysadmin now which
can be a challenging task.

Quote:> 2.) Will I be able to run LINUX with a system described below?
> If so, what version and from who, Red Hat, Slackware?

The distribution is only a matter of taste. I'm still very happy with my
slackware whereas other swear on RedHat.

Quote:> Here's my system in a nutshell. I know...ancient, but it works.

> ((hardware))
> AST 486DX33 (with an Intel OverDrive making it a DX2/66)
> 340 meg HD (planning of getting a 1.6 gig soon)
> 24 megs of RAM
> 4X CDROM (not sure what manufacturer)
> Mach32 video (built into my motherboard) with 2 megs.
> 3 1/2" floppy
> Sound Blaster 16 bit sound card
> Zoom 14.4 modem (RPI+)

As far as I can see everything will be supported by Linux even without any
alpha-drivers or * programs.
Any recent distribution should do the job. Be sure to get at least the
kernel with version 2.0.X (not 2.1.X, they are development) and a system
based on ELF instead of a.out.
Otherwise you might want to upgrade soon. Upgrading just a few kernel
versions ahead (e.g. from 2.0.1 to 2.0.28) is pretty simple, but from an
ancient like 1.0.9 is a nightmare, because you will have to update tons of
utilities as well.

Quote:> ((operating system and software))
> DOS 6.22
> Win 3.1 (I'm also using PC Tools 2.0 with Windows)
> the normal WIndows based programs: AmiPro, AOL, Netscape, etc...

> 3.) How much space on the hard drive does LINUX need? Can I use two
> separate hard drives or should I but LINUX on the same drive as Win 3.1?

Feel free to configure your system just as YOU like. Linux imposes no
restrictions.

Quote:> Would putting LINUX on my 340 meg hard drive be enough, if I only use
> "LINUX" programs on that drive (ie perl, a GUI, etc)? I really only plan
> on fooling around with LINUX (in order to learn perl). I'm too much of a
> novice to get seriously into LINUX, yet.

Although it's quite easy to fill a 9GB drive with software for linux
(anything that you can get in the academic area will most probably run on
linux as well) you will be fine with 340 MB for your kind of application.
This should even work with much less (50 -80 MB) but as you know, space is
always short.

Quote:> 4.) If there is a version of LINUX out there for my system, can I get
> it on the Internet or is it better to go into a book store and purchase
it
> off the shelf?

I recommend to by a CDROM. It contains all the HOWTOs, all the
documentation, all sources and tons of utilities.
And with 40$ for 6 CDs they are really worth the money. Also with the right
set of disks you get all the major distributions i one pack and you can
choose, which to install.

Quote:> 5.) What is LILO? I have seen a lot of people talking about. I
assume
> it is a program that asks which OS you want to boot up in. Is this a
> program that I would need to get?

LILO is the bootloader and one of the three standard methods to start
Linux. It allows you to choose between different OS and different kernel
verions for LInux.
The others are booting DOS and then running loadlin or booting with from
floppy.

jue
--
The opinions expressed in this message are my own personal views
and do not reflect the official views of Microsoft Corporation

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