How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[Don Saklad]

a. How would you put together a home computer with GNU/Linux ?...


b. What manufacturers components would you look to in assembling a
   computer with GNU/Linux ?...


I've heard that the best is knoppix.

Re: How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[Dan Anderson]

> a. How would you put together a home computer with GNU/Linux ?...

There are computer manufacturers who create computers specifically
designed to support Linux, like:
http://www.emperorlinux.com

Basically you want to google for "Component Linux" for every component
you put in the computer to see if there are drivers for it and/or it's
supported.

> b. What manufacturers components would you look to in assembling a
>    computer with GNU/Linux ?...

Generally speaking, the bigger the manufacturer the more likely they are
to support it (or it will be supported by the community).  NVidia
supports their Video cards directly, as does Intel (Think Ethernet card)
and sound blasters are supported.  IDE Drives are standard -- so not
really much needed.  That's your basic workstation right there.

> I've heard that the best is knoppix.

Knoppix is a distribution of Linux that is no longer in production due
to the European patents SNAFU.  Distributions have pro's and cons.  For
instance, Knoppix is run off of the CD so every time you reboot your
computer you have to recreate your settings (not entirely true -- but
you can't install a program without remastering the CD!)

If you want to use Knoppix because of ease of use and ease of
configuration you might want to check out Mandrake Linux
http://www.mandrakelinux.com, RedHat, or SuSe.  If you don't want any
hand holding you might want something like Slackware or Debian.

-Dan

Re: How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[Bruce Hoult]

In article <y444qxagswa.fsf@nestle.ai.mit.edu>,
 Don Saklad <dsaklad@nestle.ai.mit.edu> wrote:

> a. How would you put together a home computer with GNU/Linux ?...
> 
> 
> b. What manufacturers components would you look to in assembling a
>    computer with GNU/Linux ?...

Get an AMD processor and an Abit/Asus/Gigabit ATX motherboard and you're 
away.


> I've heard that the best is knoppix.

Who?

-- Bruce

Re: How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[Dan Anderson]

I made a typo in my last e-mail.  The following:
> supports their Video cards directly, as does Intel (Think Ethernet card)
> and sound blasters are supported.  

Should not imply that Intel's video cards are good under Linux.  I meant
that their Ethernet cards are good under Linux.

Also, I have been informed Knoppix does release a non CD based Distro. 
It's about time.  :-D

Later,

-Dan

Re: How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[Jock Cooper]

Don Saklad <dsaklad@nestle.ai.mit.edu> writes:

> a. How would you put together a home computer with GNU/Linux ?...
> 
> 
> b. What manufacturers components would you look to in assembling a
>    computer with GNU/Linux ?...
> 
> 
> I've heard that the best is knoppix.

If you want to put it together yourself you need a :
1 case
1a power supply (if not included with case)
1b case fan (I think 80mm is the usual size)
2 motherboard (ATX is the usual type; refers to the form factor)
3 CPU 
3a CPU fan (sometimes included)
4 memory 
(you can often buy 4-6 bundled)
5 hard drive, floppy drive, cdrom
5a cables for these are usually included
6 video card
7 sound card (often on motherboard nowadays)
8 network card ( "        "           "   )
9 keyboard/mouse/monitor

pricewatch.com is a good way to find cheap prices;  also it's
a good way to find websites that sell computers and parts in general.

If you don't want to build it from scratch, most of the parts
sellers will preassemble and test one for you.. usually a good
deal and much less trouble.

When the computer is ready, boot a Linux CD and go from there.
You can either buy a Linux CD or download an ISO image and burn
the disk yourself..  I have used Red Hat 7 and debian, of those
I prefer debian Linux.  (Knoppix is a bootable linux CD that lets
you get into Linux without actually doing a HD install.  Which
may or may not be all that useful.)

If you want to dual boot the machine (so it can boot both Linux
and Windows) you may want something like Partition Manager to 
handle setting up the disk partitions to support this.

Sites you may find helpful:
www.tomshardware.com
www.motherboards.org
www.extremetech.com
www.linux.org
www.debian.org

Re: How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[Kin Cho]

Jock Cooper <jockc@mail.com> writes:

> Don Saklad <dsaklad@nestle.ai.mit.edu> writes:
> 
> > a. How would you put together a home computer with GNU/Linux ?...
> > 
> > 
> > b. What manufacturers components would you look to in assembling a
> >    computer with GNU/Linux ?...
> > 
> > 
> > I've heard that the best is knoppix.
> 
> If you want to put it together yourself you need a :
> 1 case
> 1a power supply (if not included with case)
> 1b case fan (I think 80mm is the usual size)
> 2 motherboard (ATX is the usual type; refers to the form factor)

If you're looking to buy a new motherboard, first check the
motherboard manufacturer's website for the availability of
chipset drivers -- look for pci bridge, ide, sound, ethernet,
etc...  Often RH is the only vendor supported unless they also
provide source code (rare).

Older motherboards chipsets are often supported by the newer
kernels.

-kin

> 3 CPU 
> 3a CPU fan (sometimes included)
> 4 memory 
> (you can often buy 4-6 bundled)
> 5 hard drive, floppy drive, cdrom
> 5a cables for these are usually included
> 6 video card
> 7 sound card (often on motherboard nowadays)
> 8 network card ( "        "           "   )
> 9 keyboard/mouse/monitor
> 
> pricewatch.com is a good way to find cheap prices;  also it's
> a good way to find websites that sell computers and parts in general.
> 
> If you don't want to build it from scratch, most of the parts
> sellers will preassemble and test one for you.. usually a good
> deal and much less trouble.
> 
> When the computer is ready, boot a Linux CD and go from there.
> You can either buy a Linux CD or download an ISO image and burn
> the disk yourself..  I have used Red Hat 7 and debian, of those
> I prefer debian Linux.  (Knoppix is a bootable linux CD that lets
> you get into Linux without actually doing a HD install.  Which
> may or may not be all that useful.)
> 
> If you want to dual boot the machine (so it can boot both Linux
> and Windows) you may want something like Partition Manager to 
> handle setting up the disk partitions to support this.
> 
> Sites you may find helpful:
> www.tomshardware.com
> www.motherboards.org
> www.extremetech.com
> www.linux.org
> www.debian.org

Re: How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[Frank A. Adrian]

Jock Cooper wrote:

> Knoppix is a bootable linux CD that lets
> you get into Linux without actually doing a HD install.  Which
> may or may not be all that useful.

A quick FYI.  Once booted into Knoppix there is a command that will install
it to your hard drive (and no, I don't remember what it is - I tend to use
Knoppix as a rescue disk :-).

faa

Re: How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[lin8080]

Don Saklad schrieb:

> I've heard that the best is knoppix.

Knoppix is Debian unstable (:o
You can also look for Aurox  ;-)

stefan

Re: How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[Bud Rogers]

lin8080 wrote:


> Don Saklad schrieb:
> 
>> I've heard that the best is knoppix.
> 
> Knoppix is Debian unstable (:o

More testing than unstable.

-- 
Bud Rogers      <budr@netride.net>       KD5SZ

Re: How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[Dan Anderson]

On Wed, 2003-11-12 at 20:44, Bud Rogers wrote:
> lin8080 wrote:
> 
> 
> > Don Saklad schrieb:
> > 
> >> I've heard that the best is knoppix.
> > 
> > Knoppix is Debian unstable (:o
> 
> More testing than unstable.

Debian Stable is still on kernel 2.2 -- and 2.6 is coming out soon. 
Nothing wrong with a little instability.  :-D

-Dan

Re: How to put together a home computer with GNU/Linux

[Rayiner Hashem]

> 
> > I've heard that the best is knoppix.
> 
> Who?
> 
> -- Bruce
Its a Debian-based live-CD with some custom tools. It installs a
normal Debian system to your hard drive.