Guest Editor Apostasy has decided to take a look at current distributions and how they perform and install on an older laptop. This article is the first in a series of many that will look at distributions such as Suse 10, Fedora Core 5, Mandriva, and other desktop-centric distributions.
The Hardware
- Compaq Armada E500 Laptop
- 700MHz Intel Pentium III
- 256MB PC133 SDRAM
- ATi Rage Mobility
- Intel Ethernet Pro 100
- Toshiba 10GB Hard Disk
- Netgear WG511 Wireless PCMCIA Card
Installation
I chose to use a network install via HTTP. This went quite smoothly, initially via a text interface for configuring the network and entering the address to install from, then a graphical interface for partitioning and package selection. Right from the start Fedora looks like a professional O/S, it’s not fluffy and cute, but it is very pleasant to look at. Partitioning was handled automatically by Disk Druid, no problems at this stage.
Continue reading “New Linux with an Old Laptop: Fedora Core 4”
