[TriLUG] Linux on Compaq Presario Laptop...

[Roy Vestal]

I'm partial to Red Hat and variants so I'd recommend the Fedora Core 
family. I've had no problems with it, other than the bizarre stuff I do 
(like running VGA AND DVI-D via docking stations). They just work.

I have a desktop with similar specs (More RAM) and it's running FC5. 
It's a Digital Audio Workstation and I'm using fairly common video/audio 
hardware. It was able to load what modules/drivers I needed no problem, 
no special builds.

CentOS would work fine, but for a laptop, I would think it is probably 
not the right choice as you might want more "bleeding edge" hardware 
support and software than you would get in CentOS. It's designed to be a 
very stable, robust, but "slow-to-transition" OS needed in an Enterprise 
situation.

The specs you listed will work pretty much with any "modern" distro you 
put on it. I'd recommend trying a few live distros and see which finds 
your hardware and which one you like best. Then either install it or a 
fresh copy of it or it's parent.

CentOS has a livecd (but it's not installable at this point)

FedoraUnity is a Fedora Core based livecd  (called Spins or Re-Spins)

Ubuntu is a Debian based livecd.

Slax is a Slackware based livecd.

Just my $0.02

Jason S. Evans wrote:
> 
> 
>   Mike,
> 
>   I recently picked up an HP ZE4200 with similar specs and I installed 
> KUbunutu 6.10 and I am happy to say that it works very well.  I've tried 
> three different wifi cards and the OS found them immediately with no 
> driver fuss and the speed is pretty decent also.  Especially if you 
> install XFCE.  You can also download the Radeon drivers to have at least 
> some 3D acceleration.
> 
> --Best Regards,
> Jason Evans
> http://geekspaces.net
> 
> Quoting mike shlitz <mshlitz at yahoo.com>:
> 
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I recently inherited a fairly new Compaq Presario
>> V2000 Laptop (V2606CU).  It came to me with MSW Home
>> on it and I'd like to switch it over to FC, CentOS, or
>> Ubuntu.  (Any suggestions or caveats welcome).
>>
>> CPU is a Mobile AMD Sempron Processor 3000+  (787 MHz)
>>
>> Current RAM = 256 MB (I know...)  of which 32 MB is
>> shared by the ATI Radeon Express 200M.  (system is
>> capable of 2GB, and user can then set video RAM up to
>> 128MB.)
>>
>> 40 GB HDD
>> Matsushita UJDA 770 DVD/CDRW drive
>> RealTek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC
>> Broadcom 802.11 b/g WLAN
>> Conexant AC-Link Audio
>> AC 97 Data/FAX Soft modem w Smart CP
>>
>> (Also has a 7+ GB FAT 32 partition loaded with HP's
>> usual extras.)
>>
>>
>> Mike
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________________________________ 
>>
>> Never miss an email again!
>> Yahoo! Toolbar alerts you the instant new Mail arrives.
>> http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/
>> -- 
>> TriLUG mailing list        : 
>> http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
>> TriLUG Organizational FAQ  : http://trilug.org/faq/
>> TriLUG Member Services FAQ : http://members.trilug.org/services_faq/
>>
> 
> 
> --TriLUG mailing list        : 
> http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> TriLUG Organizational FAQ  : http://trilug.org/faq/
> TriLUG Member Services FAQ : http://members.trilug.org/services_faq/
>