Maximum PC

I have a Dell latitude c640, 1.6g proc, 1g ram that had W 2000 pro. I tried to upgrade to XP pro and ran into problems. I figured this would be a good opportunity to learn Linux. I have disks for Suse 8 some where that I used to dual boot a few years ago and that puter crashed due to a bad power supply. What flavor would be good for this machine and some one just learning?

More info, The computer will not boot due to the problems with the attempted upgrade so I made cds of Knoppix 6 and Linux Defender Live. they get me onto the computer and LDL has the ability to write to ntfs. I still am not sure what to do to get some form of operating system on the machine. I have been reading the Debian site and see that there are a number of ways to get it. Would it be better to install something else?

Ubuntu (or possibly xubuntu if you find that it runs a bit sluggish) would be a pretty good choice. I've been using it for the past couple years and its worked well for my needs save for a few minor issues.

http://www.ubuntu.com/
http://www.xubuntu.org/

I'd use the knoppix cd you have now and back up any important stuff you want to save (pictures, music, etc) to an external harddrive.

I've never used Suse much but if you feel comfortable using it then feel free to use it again. Though Suse 8 is a bit out of date now, you might want to use a current version of it.

Pretty straight forward, just remember to back up anything you need before you start as this will format your harddrive to the file system that Ubuntu uses.
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installing

So you've been using knoppix, what aren't you liking about that? You can install that on the HD.

That dam frozen bubble game, but seriously it can be used to mess with windows and works even though the windows op sys. is borked. I am still exploring the Knopppix and Linux Defender live cds I made and finding many more programs included than windows had. Discovery is fun, I like new stuff. How do they get all that on a cd?

I too would go with Ubuntu. It should be the easiest transition from Windows too. I'm definitely not an expert in Linux, but I use Linux for everyday tasks plenty on my laptop, since the battery lasts a few minutes longer when I use Linux. Ubuntu is the easiest to just pick up and go with I've found.

I'll admit Ubuntu is nice. I use it as my main OS. However, everything is either automatic or it's mere clicks away. Things like dirty codecs (the ones for MP3 and DVD playback), 3rd party drivers, Flash Player, Java, etc.

If you really want to learn Linux, jump in head first with Gentoo or Slackware. If you want to have a functional OS while still getting your hands a little dirty, I suggest Debian or CentOS. These won't take an expert to install but will require a basic understanding of the command line or just a helluva lot of Google searches. Ubuntu is very automatic and is great if you need it to just work with minimal hassle but you'll have to dig in a bit if you want to actually learn any real Linux usage.

Right now I just want to get the lap top running. I have a couple of other older machines sitting around waiting for new adventures.

FWIW, I tend to beleive that the core features of everything is all about the same across the board. Personally, I feel that OpenSuse, Fedora, Mandriva, and Ubuntu/Kubuntu are going to have your best support base for anything you do and would probably stick with those to begin with. I suppose brosing their support areas and seeing what's comfortable for you would be a decent start.

I agree with what TLG is saying about Gentoo and Slack, but it's probably not something I'd recommend to someone who hasn't had a taste besides a livecd...and I don't mean this as a shot at you, but since you're asking this question, I would believe that either of those two would be a high challenge and result in numerous fails before getting them up.

Burned an ubuntu disk and getting ready to do the install. Nice to have some interest while I ease into this. One step at a time.

oh boy I have just finished up messing with my dad's Dell inspiron 26xx laptop (dated 2002) with just 128MB or ram.

I tried all the "little" distros from A to Z. For a day I fell in love with Acorn but it looked ugly and since I'm more comfortable with Mandriva and PCLinuxOS and Mint..

to make story short .. check out these 2 ....

PCLinuxOS 2009 ZEN Mini edition
PCLinuxOS 2009 LXDE edition

Just today, I installed the 2 above but I'm totally loving the PCLinuxOS 2009 ZEN Mini edition because it runs really fast and all the menus and layout are fantastic ! I've been running this ZEN MINI for about 10 hours now and I would like you to try it !

They have many flavors ( kde4, kde3xx, gnome xx, etc) but for your laptop, i highly recommend ZEN mini

get it from..
http://pclinuxos.com/?page_id=10

click on GNOME ZEN MINI and watch the promo video

good luck

Have been figuring out the Insert -Inside Security rescue toolkit live CD based on knoppix that came in one of the MPC mags a few years ago. Trying to format and partition the HD and that CD is one of the only two that will boot up at this point. The other is Cute Partition Manager. Insert has a lot of possible settings for the partitions and figuring out the right ones is interesting to say the least. I keep getting "invalid partition table" on boot.

Bought a new 160 g HD at Micro Center and installed Ubuntu. Posting from the lap top now.

Congrats! How's 'buntu treating you so far?

yeap, please enlighten us on your linux experience

Taking some getting used to, I have a Dell true mobile card and the disk for it and am figuring out how to install. Am on ATT DSL and they give free wireless at hot spots so I am hoping to use it when I am out. May go for the wireless plan as they have specials. Is there a tut to put XP on after getting Ubuntu working? Lots of reading to do.

Linux is definitely a lot of reading. However, once you understand how it works, you may find that it makes more sense. Most Linux users I know actually have a good sense about what is going on behind the scenes. With Windows, most of us know the problrms and potential solutions but few actually understand how it all works.

As for dual-booting XP on the side, you'll simply make a new HDD partition, install XP on that, and reinstall the GRUB Boot loader. Then you'l be able to choose which OS you want to work with at boot time.