anything i should know before begining a new install by a n00b?

is it possible that i got this error because i was using a re-writable cd to boot from?

now downloading the 32 bit version.

also, the version that i downloaded first was labeled with amd in the name. the computer that i am downloading on and am typing this from is an amd, but the target machine is a celeron (obviously intel).

Yes it's better with the 32 bit version.

As far as your machine has a little space on the CD for Ubuntu and the processor is 800 MHz only won't you consider installing a light version of Ubntu, to say Xubuntu? Or even some another light Linux OS?

Dear Vihar:

thanks for responding!

i have now d/l'd the 32 bit version and am burning to re-writable cd.

as far as space, i could add some disk space if that would help. i just figured i'd use the smaller stuff i have laying around first. also, i am really only buiolding this box for some specific networking issues. i will be manipulating some devices that want to "see the whole net" to function the way i need to get them to. using the box to do some configuration on networking equipment. so, it is pretty much a single use system. i think i'll start by trying ubuntu and if that is too big, maybe go to Xubuntu.

does that sound smart?

thanks again.

Regards, wysiwyg111

Well 384Mb Ram is the "Recommended minimum requirements" for the previous release of Ubuntu and 5Gb is only just above the "Bare Minimum requirements" which requires an in-depth knowledge of linux. There are articles out there to help you do a bare minimum install but that involves taking out almost everything that makes Ubuntu what it is.

For this type of machine i would seriously recommend using Debian, which is the head of the family that Ubuntu is in
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=debian
as it is very much faster than *buntu on lower spec machines. I'm not even sure that i would suggest using Xubuntu as even Xubuntu is going to be quite slow on this. If you really want a good first distro to learn linux with on this type of machine then i would really recommend Wolvix, preferably their "Hunter" Edition
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=wolvix

But if you are trying to get this machine to act as a firewall device, router or server or something like that then there are a whole range of distros carefully tailored to those types of functions that would be much faster at throughput. Perhaps best to start with something a bit more user/noob-friendly like Wolvix Hunter and then move on to one of these later.

However if you are a typical Windows user then you'll ignore the advice and when Ubuntu doesn't work without any hassle just walk off in a huff. If you are (as i suspect you are) a true linux power-user that just hasn't explored linux yet, then you'll ignore all advice and struggle on to squeeze Ubuntu onto your system and learn a lot but take ages to get something workable on your system Lol

Whichever way, good luck and regards from
Tom :)

Ummm, i tend to find the best cds for this are the cheapest "write once" type cds that you can only buy in packs of 10 or more - the more expensive a cd the less likely it is to work well for this type of thing, rewritables and even worse dvds are just hopeless unless you happen to be lucky ;)

Dear Tom:

well, i am laughing quite a bit from the later parts of your reply. :-)

first, ok. so debian sounds like it might be better. i am not really looking to "learn linux" per se. quite a bit of *nix background as i'm something of an "old timer" compared to most of the folks on the sites i frequent. played with the earliest home machines (atari, apple, trs-80, pet, commodore, et alia) when they first came out and i was in jr/high school. and got quite a bit of "real" *nix experience all along the way as well.

this particular application is, as i said earlier, for a pretty specific purpose. like i said, building a box to tweak with specific networking hardware and "surround" it with a "simulated net" (server configured to act in certain ways to get specific results out of the hardware). so, sounds like debian. wondering where to get that, but will probably not have a problem finding it.
(and, like a dumbass, i had not yet looked back at your suggestions; i just looked above and you have already kindly pointed me there. :-)

as for the cd's. yeah, it seems like that might be correct. the cd i just created, a no-brand re-writable, seems to be unhappy in the install. i was wondering if it might be the drive, but it kind of does seem like the disk.

>However if you are a typical Windows user then you'll ignore the advice and when Ubuntu
>doesn't work without any hassle just walk off in a huff. If you are (as i suspect you are) a true
>linux power-user that just hasn't explored linux yet, then you'll ignore all advice and struggle
>on to squeeze Ubuntu onto your system and learn a lot but take ages to get something
>workable on your system Lol

heh heh. well, i don't think i am a "typical (insert operating system here) power user", so, i'll take your advice and try debian. :-) BUT, i WOULD like to think that i am a "power user" of some sort, perhaps the flexible kind, and am off to find a new cd to download.

thanks for the tips. will report back here in a little while with more info.

regards, wysiwyg111

Dear Tom:

so, i ended up at debian.org and am d/ling the netinst version of the boot cd which ends up being debian-502-i386-netinst.iso

does that sound smart?

thanks for answering.

regards, wysiwyg111

I think so. I've not used Debian and it has a reputation for being slightly less noob-friendly but if you have *nix experience and are happy engaging with their community forums then you should be fine. I gather that with Debian you have lots of choices about which download to aim for. Stable branch is usually quiet old but you should be able to force ultra new(ish) apps into it - development branch is quite a lot more stable than it implies and does have quite a few advantages.

The i386 sounds like it should work on the machine you've built there :) I think netinst is going to want to boot the machine over the network so you might need to adjust the boot order in the bios to allow that. I think that might even avoid the need for burning to cd at all :)

Thanks, good luck and regards from
Tom :)

> anything a n00b to linux should know

Regarding system specs I'd recommend,
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation
##includes everything you need to know about system requirements, minimal installation

Others:
DSL (damn_small_linux) or Puppy_Linux
http://distrowatch.com/index.php?language=EN

Your choice
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php?select_lang=true&LDC=9e9c5e07dde519e0b657227f1486d14a