Will Puppy run on 32MB Compaq LTE 5300?

Message

shakushinnen · #1 Post by **shakushinnen** » Tue 27 Jun 2006, 03:05

Hi,
I was given this machine with windows 98se, but it's very slow. It's a pentium I, 133mhz, 32mb ram. I want to put Linux on it, but have no idea how to do it. Please assume that I know nothing about Linux.
Thanks,
John

Ian · #2 Post by **Ian** » Tue 27 Jun 2006, 03:40

You will need either more ram or a swap file/partition to run Puppy Linux on your machine.

Read the ' Index of resources for Beginners Help forum ' and
' How to Puppy ' at the beginning of this section.

If you go to the main site:

http://www.puppylinux.com/

and read the download page you will find some info there, also go to the Wiki, you can do that from the main site page and read the sections for beginners.

shakushinnen · #3 Post by **shakushinnen** » Tue 27 Jun 2006, 15:48

Hi Ian,
Is Puppy a good choice for this system, i.e. will the computer - 2.1gigs, 32mbs ram, 133mhz cpu, handle this OS
John

#4 Post by MU » Tue 27 Jun 2006, 15:58

It will work with some tweaks, but it will be not much fun.
A Linux-desktop should use 64 MB as minimum to use smaller applications fast, and 128 MB to use larger ones like mozilla.
Opera might be ok with 64 MB.

With 32 MB it really depends on what you want to do with it.
If you want to use it as a comfortable jukebox, it is ok.

I used a P133 with 64 MB very long, and could do basically "all" with a optimized system somewhat comparable to Puppy.

But I spent lots of time with tuning and looking for faster webbrowsers.
Though Puppy is really greatly preconfigured in this concern, I wish I had such a Desktop at that time.
Might be worth a try, but if you get the opportunity to add some Ram, you should not hesitate.

Mark

shakushinnen · #5 Post by **shakushinnen** » Tue 27 Jun 2006, 23:26

Thanks Mu,
Would you recommend any versions of Linux for this system. Windows 98 is really slow, and windows 3.1 is, well, not very user friendly

jason.b.c · #6 Post by **jason.b.c** » Wed 28 Jun 2006, 05:13

And what do puppy's like to chase..??

http://www.icewalkers.com/Linux/Softwar ... Linux.html

Requirements : 386 & 8 meg RAM

Ian · #7 Post by **Ian** » Wed 28 Jun 2006, 09:48

Jason, I had a look at this and found it very confusing, I have no doubt that it works but I would have to spend more time trying to follow the links.

I think this is a weekend project for me but I will try to follow it up.

Thanks for the suggestion.

shakushinnen · #8 Post by **shakushinnen** » Wed 28 Jun 2006, 14:03

Hi Jason,
What about DSL?
John

#9 Post by MU » Wed 28 Jun 2006, 20:49

I think Puppy is the best solution.
There is a system called micro-linux (mulinux), but that is "hard-core". 16 color-grafics, just very few applications.
But it runs even with 8 MB as far as I know.
Nice gimmick, but not for serious usage.

Puppy has the best collection and optimization for old machines, at least Pentium-computers.

Other systems with better performance than Puppy would be Geos or IBM Os2/warp, but they are not free, and out of date.
Os/2 works even on 386-computers, but without the disadvantages of Win 3.1.

It also might be worth a try to use free GEM.
This old Atari-system is available for i386-computers, too.
But this would mean to learn many things from new, and googling on enthusiasts-sites for software.
I have no overview of the current status.

Mark

cthisbear · #10 Post by **cthisbear** » Thu 29 Jun 2006, 00:57

Dear John,
I hope that I can help you and others with some of this::::

If you still want Windows98 to run as well as trying Puppy please try this.

98 Lite from Shane Brooks. The original Aussie killer program that took Internet Explorer out of Windows.
First install Firefox so that it picks up your Favourites/Bookmarks.

Then download the free 98lite Preview

Speed up Windows98 by dis-integrating the internet from the desktop.

http://www.litepc.com/preview.html

If you have an original Windows 95 disc it uses (3 files?) from this and gives you 98 with the speed of 95.
Configure your desktop in three different ways that suit you.
SLEEK - a blisteringly fast incarnation of the Windows 95 Explorer
CHUBBY - a faster Windows98 Explorer without the web integration
OVERWEIGHT - the fully featured Windows98 Explorer complete with web-view and active desktop

Then get rid of Nortons Antivirus - bound to be on there and replace
with AVG Free Edition or Avast Free Home Edition or similar.

AVG Free for Windows installation files

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-free

Edit the start up ... msconfig ... and carefully untick unwanted hang on
startup programs and then run

TuneUp Utilities 2006

Download the 30 day trial version of TuneUp Utilities 2006 and start the installation by opening the downloaded file. Although you have 30 days free, uninstall after you have run the different Cleaning and Registry Scans.

http://www.tune-up.com/info/lp/tuneup-u ... s/?ap=1646

Then download and run .... RemoveIT Pro XT - SE ......
Remove many viruses that other popular antivirus software cannot discover. If you can't clean your computer from worms & viruses, adwares & spywares try with this software. Download from here

http://www.softpedia.com/catList/1,1,1,1.html

Any time that you use it hit = Continue to use free version .....

Here is a page of other Antivirus apps. Personally I keep away from Nortons and McAfee. Try F-Secure for other virus removers - good site!

http://www.f-secure.com/download-purchase/tools.shtml

Also download and run TrojanHunter from

http://www.misec.net/trojanhunter/
30 days free, run the update -
there you go, viral nasties banished along with
Bills' horrible Internet Explorer in 98 - now performance should be better.
...........................................................
I have had computers easily run with 98 Lite Preview -
Pentium 133 and less.
A wonderful underated free First Class program.

Now go to the forums - very helpful, put on your L Plates and try downloading Puppy 1.09 or Puppy 2.01 or both and burn them with
BurnCDCC from
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html

For Puppy 2.01 there is an option to copy the pup_201.sfs file from the CD
to the root of your hard drive to help with booting. I have just ran an old IBM Pentiium 11 500 computer 64 meg ram from Puppy 2.01 with that solution.
Two suggestons. Old memory is dirt cheap. Nobody likes paying out dollars, but have a look around and and see if a computer shop or even
a Puppy forum person could upgrade your memory cheaply.
Stick with Puppy - great help, fantastic program.
Regards Chris

jason.b.c · #11 Post by **jason.b.c** » Thu 29 Jun 2006, 02:51

shakushinnen wrote:Hi Jason,
What about DSL?
John

DSL would probably work great ..

Try it out..

Ian wrote:Jason, I had a look at this and found it very confusing, I have no doubt that it works but I would have to spend more time trying to follow the links.

I think this is a weekend project for me but I will try to follow it up.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Why did you find it so confusing..?? It's as simple as can be.. Although you have to download like ten (10) differant files and then put them all on floppy disks..

Ian · #12 Post by **Ian** » Thu 29 Jun 2006, 03:54

Just following the links was confusing as some took me to sites that did not have the required files plus as you said you have to download 10 files and install from floppies.

I'll have a look this weekend when I have more time.

jason.b.c · #13 Post by **jason.b.c** » Thu 29 Jun 2006, 04:05

Ian wrote:Just following the links was confusing as some took me to sites that did not have the required files plus as you said you have to download 10 files and install from floppies.

I'll have a look this weekend when I have more time.

Try this...

http://www.angelfire.com/anime/db/gcl/

or

http://www.pcpages.com/greyclinux/

Nathan F · #14 Post by **Nathan F** » Thu 29 Jun 2006, 05:36

Why not OneBone, really? I just fired it up on a K-6 with 90MB and it runs blazingly fast. Add about five or six packages and you have a working X environment, if you'd rather go that route. Any way you do Puppy I think with 32 mb a hard drive (type 2) install will run best, so try that route at some point.

DSL will be only marginally better than Puppy if at all, at 50 mb it's still too large to go into memory so will have to either run with the disk mounted or install to hd. Same boat as Puppy but with less applications.

Really there are a lot of Linux systems that might be suitable with a hd install and careful selection of applications. I'd recommend going for a distro that has good package management and will let you install just a CLI base system and add X yourself, if you know enough about what you are doing. That way gives you the chance to pick and choose which applications go in and stay within the limits of that old hardware. Probably bad advice for the beginners help forum but that's the way I'd go with that computer.

Nathan

shakushinnen · #15 Post by **shakushinnen** » Thu 29 Jun 2006, 14:45

<<<Thank you all for your suggestions. I'm going to go with Chris' suggestion, of removing Internet explorer, and see if that increases 98se's performance. I have no interest in installing another O.S., other to increase system performance. If Chris' idea works .... good. If it doesn't ... I'll be back. Of course I will expect to take my lumps, from the hard core puppians, for being a, shall we say, infidel, but, so be it.
I'm more familar with Mozilla than Firefox. Do you think Mozilla is too large for this sysem?
<<<The other problem I had with wrt to Linux, Puppy .... is that I really could not get a handle on how to install it. I HAVE to put it on my hard drive. The CD is a 4X, and I don't have a burner anyway, and no one seemed willing, or able, to tell me EXACTLY how to do this. I don't understand most of the jargon, that the installation instructions use, and often have no clue as to what they're saying.
John

jason.b.c · #16 Post by **jason.b.c** » Fri 30 Jun 2006, 01:26

I'm going to go with Chris' suggestion, of removing Internet explorer, and see if that increases 98se's performance.

Ummm well if i'm not mistaken, That " can't " be done ..!!

I think internet explorer is an intricle part of windows and can't be uninstalled..

It wouldn't be any differant than trying to remove Explorer.exe from the registry...

Sage · #17 Post by **Sage** » Fri 30 Jun 2006, 06:41

98lite probably marked the beginning of the end for Macro$haft ? Nothing like having a witness demonstrate to the good judge after the defendants say it couldn't be done! Amazing that so few people haven't taken up the offer to turn 'doze back into a nearly acceptable OS, especially as 98lite used to be free.
Either jason is very, very young and has missed the whole grisly DoJ episode, or he has a nice line in sarcasm; we might offer him honourary citizenship. But only if he improves his spelling and grammar......

cthisbear · #18 Post by **cthisbear** » Fri 30 Jun 2006, 09:43

Thanks sage,

Shane Brooks was to Windows what Barry is for Linux...
he cut the bloat from the OS. Like Barry he did it in a different way.
98lite will definely help you shakushinnen. But also try Puppy.
No Burner? well so far you have come out a winner and good luck to you mate. So get Barry to post you the latest CD.
Send Barry $9 US and he will post out a CD to you.
I know he's obviously makng a fortune from you.
Go to the bottom of this page to find out how.

http://www.puppyos.com/download/downpage.htm#Purchase

........................
And for jason.b.c here is some reading and a history lesson.

After months of Microsoft insisting that Internet Explorer and Windows 98 are irrevocably joined at the hip and can't be separated, a fix has been found to remove IE painlessly from your system.
By a biologist.

http://www.byte.com/documents/s=146/byt ... /index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/98lite

He also brought out XP Lite, the first of its type to remove intergrated
applications from XP.

Give them both a go shakushinnen and good luck.
..............................................
The new version of XPLITE 1.8 gives you more than 160 ways to reduce the size, improve the security, and customize YOUR Windows XP or 2000 installation to suit YOU, clean installations of Windows XP in under 350MB and Windows 2000 approaching less than 200 MB (excluding paging file) with much smaller memory requirements! These sizes are obtained simply by running XPLite/2000Lite on a fresh install of windows. Enterprising developers should easily be able to strip out additional log files, INF files and unused drivers to reduce the footprint by another 50MB or so.

If your needs are for a smaller OS, then ask yourself if you really need Windows XP or Windows 2000. We can fit a Windows 9x OS into a 16MB flash chip and most solutions fit readily onto a 32MB chip. Check out Embedded Windows 9x.

shakushinnen · #19 Post by **shakushinnen** » Fri 30 Jun 2006, 12:55

Hi Jason,
You may be right. I tried 98lite last night, and it refused to allow me to run the option allowing me to remove IE. I assume though that this might be because I've upgraded this install from IE5.0 to IE5.5. Whichever, I can't remove IE from this install with 98lite.
So, now I've reformatted my drive and am starting from scratch. Is there a way of installing one of the Linux distros from floppys and then the net, or by pasteing files from another PC onto the hard drive. If so, which one would you recommend, and could you outline the proceedure. I must by dumb. I just don't seem to be able to follow the instructions I've seen for doing this.
John

Sage · #20 Post by **Sage** » Fri 30 Jun 2006, 14:02

Believe me - 98lite DOES work!
Forgot to mention it before, but if you are working with just a FDD to load files onto an HDD, there are utilities which permit you to chop up segments, copy them over and reassemble them. In DOS/'DOZE, which I guess you'd use for type1 Puppy onto a FAT system, you could use PARTIT; there are others. I think there's an equivalent Linux file somewhere - saw it recently, but didn't make a note. You can bet that MU knows all about it, though.....
Alternatively, Lob suggested a few really really small distros in another thread within the last couple of weeks (Search). Whilst these will be text-only, you could build up your system online.
I bet that OneBone could be chopped up and deployed from the HDD?

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