Linux realy old computer.

ok so i have this 133Mhz P1 with 128mb ram sitting here what should i do with it? I was thinking of a realy useless server of some sort to just learn on i have a spare 80GB hdd so space is not a problem.

so do you guys have any idea what i should do with it. and dont say get rid of it and get a better computer.

 

Get rid of it and mail it to me I'm searching for old(er) pc's...

But no, seriously, a PI 133 isn't useless... It just isn't suited for graphic stuff. You could make a (slow) MySQL server on it. Or a webserver, a fileserver,... A IP cop box Actually, most servers will run on that hardware, one a bit better (faster) then the other, but all will work.

 

im not looking for graphics or anything like that. what about a remote torrent computer i have been looking at bittornado. any ideas of what distro to install
my god i just remembered how much i hate floppy disks.

 

The number one linux question... What distro? If you're new to Linux and want a server, I'd say Debian. It is still very close to the Linux/GNU standard, which is good for learning. If you are willing to play around a bit, invest (some) efford, I'd also recommend Gentoo.

Some say Ubuntu is also good for servers (the server install), but since Ubuntu is Debian based, why not go for Debian instead? Ubuntu is about my least favourite distro TBH, it never worked for me, but there are lots of people where it did feel good for... Like I said, personal preference.

But it all boils down to personal preference...

 

one of the problems i have is that i dont knwo what to install and what to not install.
i dont want all this useless crap using up memory and the cpu.

 

I have a p1 133 laptop running quite nicely on a fluxbox install and as long as you avoid firerfox it runs sweetly its only got about 32mb ram so FF is a bit heavy. It sits silently all day running as a web terminal for when i'm gaming and the misses wants the web. Or you could play with LTSP and set it up as a sient terminal for a better machine similar to what i'm working on here but it would also work with the p1 as i've recently set said laptop to connect that way for when i want to use firefox.

 

If you don't want "useless crap", then avoid Ubuntu. Even the server install installs too much to my likings. Debian gives you a working system, nothing more nothing less after install, and it sports a great package manager to install the desired packages. So, if I were you, I'd go Debian.

EDIT: About not knowing what to install and what not, the package manager (apt in Debian) will install all dependencies for you, so you don't have to worry about that.

 

seconded

 

ok il go deban.
is there a boot floppy aviable for it? this computer has a problem with booting from cd.

 

don't suppose its got a usb port? If so try this usb install
There are also instruction just below for a floppy disk install which once it loads nic drivers connects to the debian servers and installs it that way.

 

nah no usb. i dont think it could boot from usb even if added a pci card.
im dowloading the 3.1 iso disk 1 now that shoud be done in about an hour.
so in that time i should find a way to boot from a floppy. aww i hate floppies

 

no but you can use the floppy to boot and then kick of the usb from there... academic really since you don't have one.

Have a read of this and follow some of the links it should give you an idea of what to do. Its an install guide and will give you some instructions for booting from a floppy then switching to the cd rom

 

i should be able to install from the cd fter it has booted from the floppy but who knows with this old computer. its has all kinds of ways to tick me off.

ive been reading this http://www.aboutdebian.com/install31.htm which looks like its going to very helpful.

 

The Debian manual explains everything you need to know. Here you find how to boot from floppies and continue the install from cd...

 

Hm, that computer isn't that old

You could install a small Linux-Distribution or NetBSD as it is really small and uses not that much memory. You can then set up a "intelligent terminal" or a standalone workstation for writing emails, wordprocessing (using LaTeX or something similar) and other stuff. For email and wordprocessing you don't even need X.

I have an IBM PS/2 Model 90 (16MB RAM, 33Mhz 80486, 1GB SCSI HDD) running with Debian 3.0 - it's really fast (I use CLI only) and can still be used productive.
My other box in that power range is an IBM PC 330-450DX2 (80486 DX2 @ 50MHz, 32 MB RAM, 2x1.5GB IDE HDDs). It runs NetBSD 2.0.2 (I should update that box...) quite fast with CLI only. I haven't tested X on that box yet, but it should work with some basic windowmanager.

HTH

 

It's like you read my mind.
I've tried Ubuntu for a server once (on some still pretty good hardware (Athlon XP M)) and it's still as slow as i'd have expected it to be.
I installed Gentoo on the same hardware is it was much faster (depite being much more high effort).

 

+1 for debian

gentoo is faster, but on this kind of computer the instalation a a stage 2 will take 2 month of compiling

 

Who said something about a stage 2 install? Even the Gentoo developers do NOT recommend a stage 2 install, allways a stage 3...

 

its installing debian now. i think i will try to get ssh running on it then it wont take up all the room in my tiny bedroom, il just put it somewhere out of the way.

and whats all this about he different kinds of gentoo installs ??

edit:AWWWW grub error 18. looks like i will have to do the install again

 

no, just grub and make a new menu.lst/grub.conf