Linux on old laptop - still trying...

[Tech Writer]

Well.. to my surprise, I WAS able to boot from the CD.  I started up the 
Ubunu install, but it got caught up at:
  ACPI: Unable to locate RSDP

If I did my googling right, that means it can't find a "Root System 
Description Pointer" for the "Advanced Configuration & Power Interface"... 
which I'm guessing this system is too old to know about.  I found some 
reference to turning this off via a kernel parameter, but since I'm not yet 
installed, I can't figure out how to do that.  Unless someone has a 
suggestion on how to get past this, I think I'll try DSL next.

Peg

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Ricker" <bill.n1vux at gmail.com>
To: "Tech Writer" <TechWtr at handspun.com>
Cc: "GNHLUG User Group" <gnhlug-discuss at mail.gnhlug.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 04, 2006 9:57 PM
Subject: Re: Linux on old laptop in two stages


> Ubuntu is a great desktop Linux distro, but I'd suspect it's not going
> to perform nicely on an older laptop like that.  There's a new
> "Xubuntu" derivative that is using Xfce windowing for older hardware,
> will supposedly give you the best of both worlds -- light weight
> distro with the Ubuntu elan and bug-fixes, but optimized for (and
> packages selected for) Win95/Win98 era hardware. If and when I reclaim
> an old Win98 box here, I'll try Xubuntu and "Damn Small Linux",
> Vector, Puppy.
>
> A review of other distros for old hardware was recently posted
> http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=06/02/13/1854251
> and you can get more information on the individual distros at
>  http://distrowatch.com/
>
> The installation steps vary depending just HOW old your hardware is.
> Most Gnu/Linux Distros install from a bootable CDrom. If you can set
> the BIOS to boot from the CDrom, you can install straight from the CD.
> (When booting, there's probably a message that flashes by early on
> that says something about hit some F-key (possibly in combination) to
> adjust/edit BIOS or CMOS or boot options. Just be sure the CD is
> before the hard-drive in boot order. And follow instructions on how to
> save before exiting setup. And don't change anything you don't need
> to.)
>
> If your old laptop can't boot from CDrom, you'll need either a
> runs-from-DOS installer or a boot-CD mini-installer, same as for
> Windows-98.  Some distros have one, some the other, some may not
> support either.
>
> Good luck,
>
> -- 
> Bill
> n1vux at arrl.net bill.n1vux at gmail.com