What the best Linux OS for my HP KAYAK XU?

[Bob_340]

What is the best Linux OS for my HP KAYAK XU?
I have a HP KAYAK XU/550X. (Tower).
Kayaks model number or System Number = D6348T
I have 68 pin 18GB SCSI dive and a 40GB IDE drive.
The system has a 128MB PC100 and 64MB memory cards.
I will buy more RAM if required.
I installed Windows XP pro on both a SCSI drive and IDE drive.
Windows XP is working great!!!

Can I have both Windows XP and Linux on the same system?

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank You
Bob Whitman
xboomerx@yahoo.com

[Ivan Ferreira · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can Windows XP and Linux on the same System. Install first XP in a partition, for example, 10 GB and leave the rest of the disk free.

Then install linux in another partition, you need at least two partitions for linux. One for the / (10GB) and one for the swap (=RAM GB). So, right now you have 3 partitions on your disk.

Create one last partition and format as vfat (fat32), so you can store data and access from both, windows and linux.

You can install any linux distro, you should consider:

Mandriva (pretty and easy to use)
Fedora (very popular)
SUSE (good for starters with YaST and nice GUI).

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom Bob,

This is a right tool for the right job.

I've fun Fedora and many versions of RedHat on that platform. They all work well.

I would suggest more memory, not for Linux but for Windows. Memory for those systems is cheap.

SEP

[Eino V]

Bob

Good luck for Linux installation! You have already got two replies.

I checked the maximum HD size for your computer. They should be:
- boots with 137 Gb IDE HD, but bios limit is 65 Gb
- boots with 181 Gb SCSI HD, but bios limit is 42 Gb

Look at:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=tis09142

Eino

[Eino V]

Hi Bob

Here some my fried recommended:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

http://www.kubuntu.org/

Kubintu is base to KDE and desktop looks looks much like Windows. These are easy to install to old computers.

http://en.opensuse.org/Download

Suse has good support for devices, scanner and so on.

Eino

[Bob_340]

I tried to install openSUSE 10.2 Linux on a 18GB SCSI drive.
This Linux install hung-up on HP KAYAK XU!!!
How do fix this problem?

Then I installed Novell SUSE LINUX 10.1 on a 18GB SCSI drive.
First I installed Windows XP on the same 18GB SCSI drive.
Both SUSE and Windows systems are working great!!!

Why does Novell SUSE LINUX 10.1 work
and openSUSE 10.2 Linux doesnot work?

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank You
Bob Whitman
xboomerx@yahoo.com

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

With every new release of Linux the CPU and memory requirements creep upward. Not as bad as windows but upward still.

Check the release notes for minimum memory and cpu requirements.

SEP

[Alpha977]

Hello Bob!

It depend of the Linux use destination.

One of Linux problem is the too much distribution number.
All are affidable and good, but some have dinstint particulars.

If you want only use like Windows, you can try Fedora 6 or Ubuntu, the first is Red hat based (i use this!) the second is Debian based. Both are free.

If you want to try "the server side" i advice Red Hat AS, but is not free.

In the past i found a problem with a scsi controller.
The kernel 2.6 not support my old scsi controller (megaraid controller of the HP LT6000r), and i must install Red Hat 9, a Linux distro with kernel 2.4.

Check first the compatible hardware with your Linux distro.

Regards.