Installing Ubuntu on a REALLY old computer
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From: Richard Steiner on 12 Jul 2006 00:00 Here in alt.os.linux, "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa(a)gmail.com> spake unto us, saying: >> In the days of Windows 95, very few systems could boot from CD, > >Thats overstating it, quite a few could. In 1995-1996, bootable CD support in the BIOS was quite rare. I don't think I started seeing that kind of support in mainstream x86 machines until 1997 or so. -- -Rich Steiner >>>---> http://www.visi.com/~rsteiner >>>---> Mableton, GA USA Mainframe/Unix bit twiddler by day, OS/2+Linux+DOS hobbyist by night. WARNING: I've seen FIELDATA FORTRAN V and I know how to use it! The Theorem Theorem: If If, Then Then.
From: Rod Speed on 12 Jul 2006 01:46 Richard Steiner <rsteiner(a)visi.com> wrote > Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa(a)gmail.com> wrote >>> In the days of Windows 95, very few systems could boot from CD, >> Thats overstating it, quite a few could. > In 1995-1996, bootable CD support in the BIOS was quite rare. That particular Pavillion can tho and THATS what matters. > I don't think I started seeing that kind of support > in mainstream x86 machines until 1997 or so.
From: magnate on 12 Jul 2006 10:37 Rod Speed wrote: > >> Nope, now try accessing NTFS formatted partitions on that. All Linux distros can read NTFS out of the box ... > Its currently dropped the ball on completely transparent > support for FAT32 and NTFS partitions. FAT32 support is completely transparent ... > Its not as if its actually difficult to do either, knoppix does that > fine, tho its support for write access to NTFS partitions is pathetic. .... but NTFS *write* access has never been implemented, because M$ will not release the structural details. It all had to be reverse-engineered, and writing to NTFS is still unsafe. > Thats essential when so many XP systems have nothing but NTFS. That's fine, you can read all your NTFS data, and write your new stuff to your new Linux partition. That's why you're testing Linux, right? > BUT thats useless for many who need a decent dual > boot at least, because linux will never be able to be > all things to everyone with personal desktop systems. It is no less likely to become "all things to everyone" than Windows. Rather more likely, in fact, because it embraces what people actually want rather than what M$ tells them they want. Unless of course you were referring to M$'s monopolistic practices of, what's it called, embrace extend extinguish - undermining open standards and locking users into proprietary ones instead. That may well succeed in preventing Linux becoming "all things to everyone" - it's the only way they'll win. > And even when a particular user has decided that linux has > arrived and has decided that they wont be wanting to use > XP again, it still hasnt arrived until its got a decent bulletproof > system for converting the file system if it doesnt have completely > bulletproof NTFS support. Hardly any of the level of user that > ubuntu is aimed at will be able to or even want to do that > file system conversion manually via DVDs. Reading files across from an NTFS partition to a Linux one is not too hard. Once copied, you just nuke the NTFS and lo, you've switched to Linux. CC
From: Rod Speed on 12 Jul 2006 14:20 magnate <chrisc(a)dbass.demon.co.uk> wrote > Rod Speed wrote >> Dan N <dan(a)localhost.localdomain> wrote >>> Rod Speed wrote >>>> Dan N <dan(a)localhost.localdomain> wrote >>>>> Rod Speed wrote >>>>>> bbbl67 <yjkhan(a)gmail.com> wrote >>>>>>> I just upgraded my brother's computer from Win XP to >>>>>>> Ubuntu 5.10. It was an unbelievable success! It surprised >>>>>>> even me how smoothly it went -- didn't need to go into the >>>>>>> command-line even once. Linux has arrived, it seems. >>>> Nope, now try accessing NTFS formatted partitions on that. > All Linux distros can read NTFS out of the box ... Separate matter entirely to his comment about not needing to use the command line. >> Its currently dropped the ball on completely transparent >> support for FAT32 and NTFS partitions. > FAT32 support is completely transparent ... Not with ubuntu 6.06 it aint. >> Its not as if its actually difficult to do either, knoppix does that >> fine, tho its support for write access to NTFS partitions is pathetic. > ... but NTFS *write* access has never been implemented, Wrong. > because M$ will not release the structural details. It all had > to be reverse-engineered, and writing to NTFS is still unsafe. But has been implemented. >> Thats essential when so many XP systems have nothing but NTFS. > That's fine, you can read all your NTFS data, and > write your new stuff to your new Linux partition. Not that easy for that level of user. > That's why you're testing Linux, right? Yes, but it would be much more convenient if it could write NTFS too. Until that happens, its hard to say its actually arrived. >> BUT thats useless for many who need a decent dual >> boot at least, because linux will never be able to be >> all things to everyone with personal desktop systems. > It is no less likely to become "all things to everyone" than Windows. Wrong. Virtually everyone develops for Win, because its by far the dominant personal desktop OS. > Rather more likely, in fact, because it embraces what people > actually want rather than what M$ tells them they want. There's a lot more than what MS tells anyone they want. > Unless of course you were referring to M$'s monopolistic practices > of, what's it called, embrace extend extinguish - undermining open > standards and locking users into proprietary ones instead. Nope, wasnt making any comment about that conspiracy theory. > That may well succeed in preventing Linux becoming > "all things to everyone" - it's the only way they'll win. Nope, they won the personal desktop LONG ago. >> And even when a particular user has decided that linux has >> arrived and has decided that they wont be wanting to use >> XP again, it still hasnt arrived until its got a decent bulletproof >> system for converting the file system if it doesnt have completely >> bulletproof NTFS support. Hardly any of the level of user that >> ubuntu is aimed at will be able to or even want to do that >> file system conversion manually via DVDs. > Reading files across from an NTFS partition to a Linux one is not too hard. Yes, but few of those users will have any free space for a linux partition so that process needs to be bulletproof before its actually arrived. > Once copied, you just nuke the NTFS and lo, you've switched to Linux. You still need a completely bulletproof expansion of the linux partition to use that new free space if you go that route for that level of user. And since few will be installing it on a half full system, your approach really isnt that viable, so a decent completely bulletproof file system conversion is the only approach that is that viable.
From: Yousuf Khan on 12 Jul 2006 15:45
Rod Speed wrote: > Should be easy to test that possibility by trying to boot a Win distribution CD. Well, we did try to boot from a burned Win XP CD for kicks, and it didn't boot off of that either. Don't have any other copies of Win 95 or Win 98 lying around here anymore to try out. Yousuf Khan |