Looking for linux suggestions for older computer

Hi!

With the end of XP looming, I'm trying to figure out a plan for dealing. I'm crazy, but I love my current XP box and don't want to mess with it. But I do want to protect it as it runs a bunch of my favorite programs very well.

I'm thinking about setting up an old XC cube EZ482 with linux. I was thinking about using something lightweight that utilizes the RAM like Puppy but would welcome any suggestions. The XC motherboards were pretty nonstandard. Does anybody know in advance if there are driver issues with them in Linux?

Thanks in advance. JJ

 

Don't know about any driver issues with that board, but I have used both Ubuntu and Mint on an old PIII 1GHZ computer with 512mb of RAM, and both seemed to work very well on it and I had zero driver issues with it.

I'm fairly new to Mint, but it's edging out Ubuntu so far.

I was worried about the end of support for XP also, as my old "main" computer is running XP Pro . . . but I broke down and bought 7 for it. It meets the requirements, and in fact scores pretty well using MS's "Experience Index" feature. I have nothing against Linux based OS's, but most of the programs and games I use on a regular basis simply won't run well enough or at all on Linux, even with the Windows emulators like Wine, etc.

 

You weren't exaggerating about being "non-standard", if what you really meant was "not very popular." I had a hard time googling this board, but discovered that some folks installed Debian on this board circa 2004-2005. Once hardware is supported, it's usually good to go.

All that said, motherboards aren't typically a problem with Linux, it's the OTHER hardware. Pay close attention to graphics card/chip (GPU) and wireless; they're the ones that'll cause issues.

I'd typically recommend something lightweight like LXDE desktops (Lubuntu, LXLE, Zorin Lite) or XFCE desktops (Xubuntu). LXDE is the lightest specced, but Plodr swears Xubuntu runs better than LXDE on her machine. Who's to say she is wrong?! Try both and go with what you prefer!

 

Thanks for your responses. I will probably just go for a dual-boot with mint or Ubuntu. Your responses were very helpful.

 

One great thing about any of the 'flavors' you examine - you'll know quickly if your XC hardware is supported or not. If you've got a modem, LAN card, whatever video card you have, or anything else - you'll find out within a few hours of additional program-setups and introductions if everything's working. None of this silly "a week later, I discovered-!" nonsense.

You might even want to push it beyond original "lightweight" goals to see how another flavor or two react. Most of these offer a "Live CD no-install-necessary" testbed, too.

 

Dual-boot is a great idea for that machine, FWIW. Both Mint & Ubuntu are excellent choices, but I have doubts about how THOSE particular distros will run on your machine. I'm an Ubuntu guy, and I've got no axes to grind, but I'll readily admit that those distros MAY run quite sluggishly on your machine. Then again, they just might out-perform the WinXP you are used to.

Not trying to talk you INTO or OUT OF anything...just making you aware those 2 distros might not the best choices for your particular machine, but that there are plenty of other options if that is the case. Christine's advice is excellent...burn LiveCDs and give them a go; you'll "know" if you want a permanent installation on your puter!

IF Mint or Ubuntu just don't suit you (whether for hardware or personal preference), try the other "lighter" distros. As long as your hardware is compatible, I'm certain there will be a distro that is EXACTLY what you hoped for! Good luck JJ!

 

I haven't dug around Ubuntu archives, but I use some AGP-board PCs (circa 2000, 1998, 2002) as Linux boxes and we have dozens of Live-CD and Install-CDs from Days Of Yesteryear.

IF a new distro didn't work with your box, it's probably because those older drivers were jettisoned simply due to space requirements - "We'll support 800 video chipsets, but not 8,000..." Something like that.

At that point, an experimenter might be well-served by sniffing around Linux Distro Archives to see if they can find 2008 distro's, or something other than Today's Latest & Greatest.

I'd probably have in-mind a few Critical Products I'd like to use, too, so I can test functionality. (I wonder how a modern LibreOffice 3 or 4 would react to a 2008 Linux rig? The answer's simple: install it and see! It's pretty nice to be able to have one complex application to install after OS installation. If it blows up, then only a minimal amount of time has been wasted... er, spent. It's all research-!)

 

Our 'techie' at the time was a little bugger, he was. rolleyes The thing is the computer equivalent to the Edsel. The board is on the bottom of the cabinet and is neither easy to get at or cool. It has been no stranger to driver issues.

But they look great and can hook up to your TV.:-D

I'm just hoping to stay in touch with the internet for a few months while I save up. I'm thinking of buying a kit of some kind and try my hand at construction.

Thanks!

 

I'm open-minded. I've had a couple of friends who have been steering me this way, I'm really thinking I need something that can utilize the RAM (I have 1.5 G, but can up it to 2 pretty cheaply) and not require a lot out of the hard disc.

 

If you are going to use an ethernet connection, you could try one of the already mentioned distros, but with the RAZOR-QT desktop environment. It is LIGHT & FAST. Haven't tried the latest release, but the last one gave me some issues when connected by wi-fi. Ethernet, no problems.

 

I'll check that out, ethernet is no problem.
Thanks!

 

Checking into that, thanks!

 

Well, I just tried xubuntu, it ran beautifully but I had no sound. Would that likely be fixed in a different version? the soundcard is realtek880

 

Check your sound card settings first.

 

Probably not. GNU/Linux will not always configure everything for you automatically.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/fedora-35/how-i-got-realtek-alc880-to-work-with-alsa-448503/

 

First thing I did was to make sure the sound card was detected and nothing muted. It all appears that it should be on, but there is no sound.

 

Assuming you've stuck with Xubuntu 12.04 LTS or newer, does this help:
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/xubuntu-users/2012-May/003859.html

 

I like the Xubuntu a lot. Very fast. The desktop seems very navigable even for a newb. The only issues seemed to be the sound and figuring out flash player. I tried to do the same 'sample' run with Ubuntu but I kept hitting an error in setup (unable to find medium containing a live file system) I think I missed something in burning the image and will have to go back.

I'll boot the thing up and try your suggestion. Thanks!!!

 

That suggestion worked. I had to go get the mixer from the plug-in site, but it when I got it up, there was a bunch of channels muted. It works now.

I think Xubuntu is a keeper! Thank you!!!!

 

Next up... get SAMBA configured so you can share (or access) files from Windows machines to this Xubuntu box, over and over. This will make the transition from Windows to Linux a lot easier.

 

Excellent! Perhaps you've found the distro for you?! Yeah, boot up the LiveCD and try the solution suggested in the link. Your audio issue doesn't seem very common; in fact, it seems limited to the Xubuntu distro. This would seem to indicate a software or config setting, NOT a hardware issue.

With respect to flash, once you have the LiveCD booted up again, open a terminal (found in menu, or ctrl-alt-t from anywhere on desktop). In terminal type 'sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer gsfonts-x11' and hit enter. This will install flash on your system and test flash behavior, but recognize it will not be persistent. You will "lose" flash on shutdown (it's a LiveCD), but you can re-install as often as it takes for you to test your system. If we can address your sound issues with the LiveCD, we will know what the default config should be once you install. The good news is, once we "set it", you can probably "forget it"!

 

IMO, I wouldn't worry too much about Samba in a Live Environment. Samba WILL work! JJ, do you have other Windows machines in the house that you want to access/share files with? If yes, the only thing you really need to know to tie your Linux and Windows machines together in a cohesive network is the Windows Workgroup name. If you have WinXP, the default workgroup is MSHOME, unless you specifically changed it. If you have Win Vista/Win7, the default workgroup is WORKGROUP, unless you specifically changed it. Find out what your Windows Workgroup is (MSHOME, WORKGROUP, or something you chose) and remember it. As long as you know that, a simple home configuration with Samba is easy! No worries with that one, IMO!

 

Well, the trial ran great but when I tried to install it on the computer it would go through the whole set up then fail on shutdown.

The text reads: (2059, 702364)kernel panic, not syncing. Attempted to kill init

then several lines of text ending with: (2059,703391) panic occurred, switching back to text console

 

(My SAMBA comment was intended AS IF the Real Install had already been completed successfully. XP HOME will use that "MSHOME" workgroup name - XP PRO will use the "WORKGROUP" name, by the way - but as Hedon said, once that's done AND IF the Final Install works properly, you'll be able to trade Favorites/Bookmarks, letters to mom, your memoirs, etc.)

 

I think the problem is the hard drive. I'm going to try the disk OS and see how that goes, but I'm beginning to see why nobody wanted to work on these. I can't get the bad drive out to try the slave HD in it's place because to do so I would have to disassemble all my cooling system. Ugh.

Thanks for your help. This computer sucks, but it has whet my appetite for xubuntu/linux.

 

Sorry for the delayed response JJ, as I've been extra busy doing inspections before this "feet" of snow is expected to arrive where I live (although now, they're backing off that prediction).

Kernel panics are almost always hardware related. Typically, faulty hard drive, graphics card, or sometimes MOBO. COULD also be a corrupted ISO (unlikely if the LiveCD is running fine) or a corrupted installation (see faulty hardware). I'd try to install a 2nd time and see if that fixes it. If you get the same message, then it's likely hardware related.

It's a shame you're having these issues with Linux right out of the gate, but I'm glad to hear it hasn't soured your opinion. It would've been nice if you popped in multiple LiveCDs, found the one you like, and installed with no issues. But then again, if it was that easy, you wouldn't be learning all of this useful information that WILL benefit you at some point! :-0

 

I'm loving it because I'm learning. At this point there's probably nothing for it but brickhood, so I'm not messing anything up by playing with the settings in the install program and motherboard/cmos. It'll put me in good stead to turn the XP into a dual boot in a week or so.

 

Well, that is ABSOLUTELY the right attitude! FWIW, you'll be fine once you dive into the deep end!

 

One last note for people who might be dealing with such things, the disc version of xubuntu 12.04(as opposed to the live/trial version) will give you a choice of drives to install on. My secondary drive was corrupted and wouldn't take the program, but others might find the choice useful.


Ta for now, JJ

 

Just popping in from a different computer running the xubuntu trial (very nicely I might add... ).

I saved myself a lot of hassle this time by installing the alsa mixer right off the bat. The same channels were muted as in the other install. This seems to be a reliable fix for the problem.

 

Amazing how much quicker, easier, & painless an installation can be once you have a little experience under your belt, huh?! Congrats! And welcome to the club!

 

Personally If I wanted a good Linux distro for a beginner, I'd choose Linux Mint.

Linux Mint comes with various desktop environments including XFCE (the same environment Xubuntu uses), personally I find no reason to use Ubuntu or any of it's spin offs.

Has more pre installed software than Xubuntu.

 

Linux Mint is a spinoff of Ubuntu.