Hello all, i've never used Linux before, and after watching a video about SimplyMEPIS on youtube, I decided I want to try it myself.

I wanted to try it on my old, spare computer. Here are the specs:

CPU: AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
RAM: 128 MB RAM
Chipset: SiS 530, 100 Mhz system bus
HD: 10 GB

I downloaded and burned an ISO for SimplyMEPIS 7.0 32 Bit. When I tried it in Microsoft Virtual PC (This is on my not-spare PC with Windows XP) it installed and worked fine, so I know the CD is good.

When I stuck the CD in the spare computers CD drive and rebooted, the Mepis boot screen came up. I chose "Default (For most computers)"

The screen then went black, showing the boot messages, then everything stopped, and I get the error "PANIC: CPU too old for kernel".

The Mepis website has absolutly no information on this problem, and nothing comes up on google. The help page on the SimplyMEPIS install CD says it will work on any CPU higher than the original Intel 80486, which a K6-2 definatly is.

Does SimplyMEPIS 7.0 really not support the AMD K6-2, or could it be another problem? If it doesn't support it, what's the latest version of SimplyMEPIS that does?

Thanks in advance,

-Trent

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002

AMD Sempron 2500+ @ 1.74 Ghz

512 MB RAM

Might need to change the loader. I forget which is for older machines. Syslinux or isolinux.

Also older machines CD drive's from about that time do not fully support CD-R and CD-RW's. Might have to burn on a CD-R that is supported.

Might need to select an older kernel at boot time. Might have a switch for linux24 instead of linux26

See also http://www.mepis.org/docs/en/index....

"Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, are in my top 10

I installed SimplyMEPIS 3.4 (KDE 3.4). It works great!

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002

AMD Sempron 2500+ @ 1.74 Ghz

512 MB RAM

I ran into the same problem recently when trying to install Myah OS on a K6-2 system. From what I read in the Myah OS forum, the latest Linux kernel has a problem with K6-2's so you'll have to run a version based on an earlier kernel (which is what you did).

EDIT: just wanna clarify that a little if I can. Apparently Myah OS 3.0 was compiled for i686, which is why the K6-2 won't work.

I suggest you download & burn several different distros & try running them directly from the CD. They won't perform as well as an actual HDD install, but you'll get a chance to take a "test drive" & it won't affect the OS you currently have installed.

http://distrowatch.com/

Cool.

A newbie question: is there any website that provides updates or bug fixes, sort of like Windows update for Microsoft Windows?

Sometime soon I would like to try Ubuntu or Damn Small Linux. The problem is, I don't think the Compaq is powerful enough to run even an early version of Ubuntu.

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002

AMD Sempron 2500+ @ 1.74 Ghz

512 MB RAM

One last question, I want to dual boot Mepis and DSL.

1. Is it possible?
2. If so, do I install Mepis or DSL first?

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002

AMD Sempron 2500+ @ 1.74 Ghz

512 MB RAM

Almost all distros have some way of updating...either automatically or manually.

I've never tried a dual boot with Linux so I'll have to leave that for someone else to answer. Why not run off the CD like I suggested?

I run DSL embedded at work but I'm not a huge fan. Have a look at Puppy:

http://puppylinux.org/home/screenshots

I'm curious why you didn't try Mepis Lite?

http://www.mepis.org/node/10197

Vector is another possibility but it may be a little difficult to install for a newb. The Standard Edition only needs 200MHz/96MB...the Light Edition needs just 166MHz/64MB.

http://vectorlinux.com/

"I don't think the Compaq is powerful enough to run even an early version of Ubuntu"

That's why there's Xubuntu ;-)

I want to try MepisLite, but it says they are still testing the latest version, so I don't want to download it yet, but I can't find a download for an older version.

Oh yeah, I read that the ext2 file system is slightly faster than ext3 because it is not journaled. Is this true?

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002

AMD Sempron 2500+ @ 1.74 Ghz

512 MB RAM

You have to stick with a linux24 kernel.

Puppy, DSL, Vector(maybe), and some other light distro's may work.

Well, any command line will work. GUI's will kill that machine.

Dual boots work in linux fine. You may have to learn grub and lilo or even older loaders. Kind of depends on the distro. If they use lilo then you can put the linux loader (lilo) on the mbr or on the partition and chain load it. All sorts of ways. Even boot floppies/CD's.

Not worth your time. Just wipe the system and put a new OS on.

"Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, are in my top 10

I installed DSL and then Mepis, and there was no option to boot to mepis in DSL's GRUB. Same thing when Mepis was installed first.

I'm interested in only KDE and Gnome, since they are the most popular desktop environments.

Is MepisLite or Xubuntu based on the Linux24 kernel?

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
SimpyMEPIS 3.4

Almost all distro's offer an older version. The problem is all sorts of old errors are in them.

Since your computer is so old you should try lighter window managers. The gui is what is taking all your resources. KDE and Gnome are the biggest hogs because they are the most advanced in terms of style.

As a beginner you may wish to stick with distro's made for that machine. Changing kernels may be more of an advanced topic than you need to play with.

See distrowatch or other sites that may have a search for distro's for older hardware.

"Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, are in my top 10

OK, but now i've run into a new problem.

After messing up the Desktop theme and style, I decided to just delete and remake my account.

I logged on to root, and deleted my account in Mepis OS Center. When I tried to remake the account, it said "Failed to add user."

That tells me a lot...

I logged off and logged back on to root. I tried again. Same thing. I rebooted, logged on to root and tried again. Still nothing. I tried a different user name and password. Same thing "Failed to add user."

Anyone know why it's doing this. Maybe the simplest solution is to reinstall Mepis, since I have nothing to lose.

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
SimpyMEPIS 3.4

"Maybe the simplest solutution is to reinstall Mepis"

I like Mepis but there are other distros that are better suited to your specs. As jefro said, "KDE and Gnome are the biggest hogs". You should be looking into distros that use Xfce, Fluxbox or another lightweight desktop environment. I suggest you experiment until you find something you like that runs well.

SimplyMepis runs well, programs take a few seconds to load, but it works fine, and I'm happy with it.

I just purchased 2 sticks of 128 MB of RAM off eBay, so once I get and install them, the Compaq will have 384 MB of RAM. Now, if only I could find an AMD K6-2+, K6-III or K6-III+, and a PCI video card... (I want to try PlanetPenguin Racer, but I get about 1 frame every 2-3 seconds on the SiS 530, which SimplyMepis recognizes as an SIS 630. If i'm correct, the only difference between the 530, 620 and 630 is the 620 and 630 have higher GPU clock speeds.)

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
SimpyMEPIS 3.4

"You have to stick with a linux24 kernel."

I just thought, is it actually called Linux24, or did you mean Linux2.4? I'm very new to linux, so I don't know half of the technical terms.

According to the Mepis boot loader, i'm running kernel version "2.6.15-1-586tsc". Does this mean anything?

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
SimpyMEPIS 3.4

Tech time.

The kernel version is only part of the story. You or I could get kernel sources and compile it along with other services and tools that we might wish to have. Some server kernels are very finely tuned for server duty. Other kernels are tuned for general multiuse machines. Each distro uses or makes their own kernel no matter the version. If you say you can in-fact boot to a version 2.6 kernel then continue. Some people have noted that many older processors were left out of distros with 2.6. Almost all of the fast small distro's still stay with the 2.4 kernel just for the technical issues with older machines.

If you really want the fastest linux then build a Gentoo system. You build it from sources, each part at a time just for your system. I did that many many years ago with BSD systems. I would have to phone California on a 2400baud modem and get on a board that offered sources. Then download them overnight. I might have gotten 1 meg overnight if I was lucky.

Kernel 2.4.x.x.x or such. Many boot time options use the term linux24 is how you select at boot time the kernel choice. That is why I said that. You could boot a knoppix disk that is default kernel version 2.6.x.x.x and force it to load the 2.4 version and run a more modern distro that way.

"Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, are in my top 10

OK, thanks!

I first heard about Linux a couple of years ago (watching "Dotto Tech" on TV) and when I did some reasearch, I wanted to try it, but I didn't have access to a CD burner, never heard of Microsoft virtual PC, and my Windows XP computer was running like crap.

Mepis was the first Linux I heard of, and when I think now, I thought the website said Mepis was good for older hardware, but I guess my memory has failed me.

The old Compaq just barely meets system requirements for even lighter Linux distros. As far as I know, Damn Small is the only Linux distro that the Compaq completely meets the requirements of. Once I get my RAM, the Compaq will meet the RAM requirements of even the newest distros. The CPU is still too old for the newer kernels.

I've researched, but I can't find any "true" system requirements for certain distros.

What is oldest Intel Pentium CPU that current versions of Mepis and Ubuntu support. (Pentium II? Pentium III?)

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
SimpyMEPIS 3.4

"As far as I know, Damn Small is the only Linux distro that the Compaq completely meets the requirements of"

I suggested several others.

"SimplyMepis runs well, programs take a few seconds to load, but it works fine"

I've used Mepis in the past & I liked it, but I doubt it runs "well" on your system

That's what I meant. Even the "light" distros that you suggested need a CPU a little better than the K6-2 and LOTS more RAM than the Compaq can currently provide. It will meet most RAM requirements once I get my RAM I bought off eBay.

I'm currently trying out Xubuntu on Virual PC. I downloaded 8.04 for the i386, but when it's boot screen came up in VPC, it asks me to choose an option. When I do and press enter, it does nothing.

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
SimpyMEPIS 3.4

I think puppy is the best distro for your machine. I installed puupy on a presario, with a amd 450 & 128mb of ram, and had no problem, I believe the sound even worked. From puppy's site:

Very low minimum system requirements, runs happily on old Pentiums with as little as 32Mb RAM.

that being said, I would make the 1st partition, a 512mb swap partition.

http://www.puppylinux.org/home/over...

larry

As I wrote in response #6, Vector Linux Standard Edition only needs 200MHz/96MB, the Light Edition needs just 166MHz/64MB. And there are others out there as well. I suggest you search them out & experiment.

Got it, i'll look into it soon.

I tested puppy, and it works good in virtual PC, although it didn't pick up the trackpad on my father's Windows Vista Laptop.

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
SimpyMEPIS 3.4

"I tested puppy, and it works good in virtual PC"

Of course it will (or should) work good on a new machine but IMO, you're wasting your time testing with VPC. You need to test on the PC that will be running it. I'm sure your dad's "Vista Laptop" far exceeds 450MHz/128MB RAM plus you still have the K6-2 problem to contend with.

What ever happened to the 98lite idea?

I just test it in VPC to make sure I got a good ISO. Not something with corrupted files that might not work.

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
SimpyMEPIS 3.4

I love the 98lite option, especially the one that installs without IE, but we do not know if the poster has a 95 cd. I did not have any problem with puppy on the compaq, with a k6-2, I installed it on. I would dual boot 98lite & puppy.

larry

As you will find at the bottom of my signature, I finally found a working, bootable, Windows 2000 Pro ISO with CD key, which I have installed on the Compaq. So for the time being, I will not install any Linux distros, but I will continue to try them via Live CD. (Once I get my RAM from eBay.)

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
Windows 2000 Professional

Arrgh! I thought of being able to use VPC to test out Linux distros, but VPC 2007 doesn't support Win2K, and when I downloaded and installed VPC 2004 (a 30 min proccess) it says "Physical CPU not supported."

Do any other free IBM compatible emulators support Win2K or the AMD K6-2? If so, how easy is that particular one to use? Thanks!

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
Windows 2000 Professional

I don't think you understand how a virtual setup works, at least in terms of memory requirements.

Host OS requirement + Guest OS requirement = total RAM requirement.

If you wanna work backwards, take the total amount of installed RAM, subtract the minimum requirement of the host OS & you're left with the memory amount for the guest OS.

You have 128MB in your Compaq & the minimum recommended memory requirement for Win2k is 64MB. In other words, 128MB (total) - 64MB (W2K host) = 64MB (guest).

If you insist on trying the virtual approach, try VirtualBox:

http://www.virtualbox.org/

I know how it works. Once I get my RAM, i'll be good to go.

I have virtual memory enabled, so If a virtual machine tried to take more RAM than what was currently available, it would most likely move Windows 2000 to the page file. It would be slow, but it would work.

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
Windows 2000 Professional

"I have virtual memory enabled"

You're supposed to have it enabled...what does that have to do with anything?

BTW, you didn't answer my question about 98lite. Did you ever try it?

You are better off with live cd's. Even QEMU would be required to bypass the ram issue. It would let you use virtual ram. It would just be too slow.

To check the download, be sure to use md5 or shal or other means.

For the price of ram you might have been able to get a better NEW box for a few dollars more. They have them for cheap.

"Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, are in my top 10

2 sticks of 128 MB of SDRAM (256 MB) cost me $1.38 and $7 shipping. They are like new, so even if they don't work, at least the losses aren't too much.

I just havn't bothered with 98Lite. I'm not going to for a while anyway, since I finally got Windows 2000 working the way I like it.

I know Virtual mem is enabled by default. I was just saying, a virtual machine might just push Windows 2000 into the page file if RAM started getting scarce.

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
Windows 2000 Professional

"I just havn't bothered with 98Lite"

That's too bad. We discussed it several weeks ago & I was hoping that I had you convinced. I honestly believe it would have been the best option for you. It flies on machines with lesser specs than yours...233MHz w/64MB for instance.

Since you've settled on Win2K, did you install SP4, MSCONFIG & IE6 yet?

Apparently you & I have different opinions of what "running decently" means, because I've tried 2K on systems with similar specs & it definitely doesn't run very well, especially after antivirus & other apps are installed.

I doubt you'll check it out but there's also 2000Lite. It will allow you to remove a lot of the unnecessary garbage that's slowing you down.

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

But the ideal setup for your specs is Win98 (or ME) modded with 98Lite.

If you don't have SP4 or MSCONFIG, you can find them here:

http://www.thetechguide.com/downloa...

I have SP4 and IE6 installed, and i'm still installing updates. I haven't installed MSCONFIG yet. (I thought it was a standard program in Windows?)

Windows 2000 is just as fast as Windows 98, although i'm so busy, I haven't even installed an antivirus yet! (Windows live and computing.net are the only websites I dare to visit until I get one.)

I think it downright sucks that IE 7 won't work on Windows 2000. I read on a PC World article that MS purposely configured IE 7 not to work on Windows 2000, hoping to push the sales of Windows Vista, since there is so many security issues in IE 6, and IE 5 and below don't work well in todays websites.

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
Windows 2000 Professional

"I haven't installed MSCONFIG yet. (I thought it was a standard program in Windows?)"

MSCONFIG has been standard since Win98 but for some reason, W2K wasn't included. The XP version works fine though.

"Windows 2000 is just as fast as Windows 98"

I disagree with you on that, but as I said, we obviously have differing opinions on what runs well.

Well, on this PC, it's just as fast as Win98.

I have one question: Where did the speech icon in control panel go? The narrator program works, but there is no speech icon in control panel. On other Win2K computers i've used, it's there. Kust wondering...

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
Windows 2000 Professional

Do a search for Sapi.cpl & make sure you have it on your system

Install TweakUI, open it, click the Control Panel tab & make sure the box is checked next to Sapi.cpl

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Tweak_UI_...

Cool, I love TweakUI.

There is no SAPI.CPL when doing a complete HD search. hmm...

Compaq Presario 5365
AMD K6-2 450 Mhz
128 MB RAM
Windows 2000 Professional

If you want to try a light weight version of mepis then try

http://antix.mepis.org/index.php/Ma...

Tim