Ubuntu and Win98 on an old computer

So I have a really old computer from '95 or '96. I'll list the parts later.

The computer had Windows 95 on it but the HDD got corrupted by some kind (propably because I put it in a new computer with wrong jumper settings) and the OS was lost. However I managed to get everything worth something onto another HD. But this isn't a problem.

I formatted the HD and noticed that it's already split into two 1,5Gb slices so that would be ideal for two OSs.

My question #1 is that is Ubuntu easy enough to use and install that a Windows-only user would do it easily?
Question #2: I notice that the computer is way too slow to run the normal Ubuntu so will Xubuntu (a lighter verion of Ubuntu) do the job?
Question #3: Should I install Win98SE on the other half of the HD as I'd like to dual boot?

OK the specs are here:
CPU: Pentium (1), not sure what clock freq.
MoBo: Some kinda AT board...
Graphics card: Propably going to use a Diamond S3 Virge (!) with 8Mb of mem (!!)
Memory: Some kinda AT memory, not sure what amount...
HDD: 3Gb, split into two 1,5Gb halves (if you know, please tell me how to change the size of the "splits")
EDIT: look for a post below for updates

And please don't suggest me to throw away this or buy a new computer...

Thanks in advance!


EDIT: Are there any drivers for Linux and old hardware?

 

I find that Linux usually has better drivers the older the hardware. How much RAM does that computer have? Its going to be slow whatever you run on it, although some stripped-down versions of Linux might work well.

Ubuntu needs a fair amount of RAM to work well, and I find its no faster than Windows XP. Maybe you could try DSL (Damn Small Linux).

 

I've heard that DSL is hard to use... I'm not that experienced with Linux at all.

I don't know how much RAM the computer does have but can I see it in the BIOS? It would be possible to run the computer so I can look around in the BIOS.

I have another computer (AMD K6, 64Mb RAM, Riva TNT2) which I could install the OS with and then put the HD to the computer with the Pentium, as I read from the Ubuntu site that it needs more memory in the install than in the running itself.

 

99% of old hardware is supported. It's at the new side that things are lagging behind.

An Windows user will do just fine on Ubuntu, however, I'd recommend something like XUbuntu or Fluxbuntu because of the lower requirements.

 

Thanks for the fast replies.
Great that old hardware is supported.
Yes, as I said in the first post, I'll propably be using Xubuntu.

 

But I haven't got an answer to all of my questions yet.
Answers & tips would be really appreciated.

 

I had a look at the BIOS of the mobo just.

I see it has 128Mb of RAM and then something shocking: It doesn't have a Pentium CPU as the case sticker says but an AMD K6-2! I didn't manage to check the clock frequency as the CPU heatsink was getting a bit warm on the touch with no fans (I don't have any spare fans to test with). (BTW, Wikipedia says that the clock freqs range from 266 to 550 Mhz)

But I got all the info I (and maybe you) need (or if I didn't, just mention it and I'll have a look again).

Now when the computer's specs are in the minimum of Xubuntu's recommendation, will I be able to install and run it? (I'll install from a so-called alternate install CD so it needs a bit less memory.)

 

I would suggest Fluxbuntu over Xubuntu with your specs. Or even something even more lightweight, but then the learning curve will get a lot steeper.

 

Is Fluxbuntu as easy to use as Xubuntu or normal Ubuntu or much like them? And if you could list / post a link to the system requirements, it'd be really good.

EDIT: I found a new Ubuntu based low-spec OS: Ubuntulite. It's in beta stage (0.7).
So which would you prefer/suggest? Xubuntu, Fluxbuntu or Ubuntulite?

Ahh, so confusing with all the Linux distros...

 

Well Fluxbuntu only uses 32-46MiB of RAM, so you should be fine. And it claims that it is easier to use than Ubuntu. I haven’t used Ubuntulite, so I can’t comment on it.

 

-So Xubuntu recommends 128Mb RAM (the computer's amount). I've also already downloaded it and it's an official distribution. -1 +2
-Fluxbuntu needs only less than the half of the computer memory amount. +1
-Nobody has commented on Ubuntulite. It's in beta stage. It seems to be difficult to use according to their site. -2

 

How do you judge “official”?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ubuntu-based_distributions

There you can see "Official distributions" and "Unofficial distributions". However, I don't know if it matters that much...