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Windows 98SE VS. Linux
Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 9:07 pm
by Straterra
I am currently running three webservers and a ftp server off of a 150mhz Pentium with 16mb RAM and a 17.2 GB HDD on Windows 98SE. I was wondering..would it be better to switch over to Linux, or stay with what works..which is Win98..Also, I have a Linksys wireless PCI in it...
Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 10:10 pm
by infolock
have you ever used linux before? if not, i wouldn't just uninstall windows and put linux up right away.. linux is known for it's security, but in order to use that vital bit of linux to it's fullest, you are gonna have to do some researching.. much like you would with php when you start out.
if you know linux, the answer should be self evident. yeah, switch, for your father's sake! lol, i myself don't know linux, but i encourage it's usage... kinda wierd i guess, but don't get me wrong. i'm slowly learning what i need in order to maintain a server, and will eventually say "goodbye" to windows, and "hello dolly" to linux.
Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 10:21 pm
by Straterra
Yeah, I have used Linux, but I have downloaded like distros of it where the Lilo was messed up...and I had to format my HD completely, loosing all server data. That's why I am a bit hesitant..Also, I could NEVER get the sound card to work..but..It's a server, so who cares? Also, I don't know if the Wireless Linksys PCI Card is supported by Linux.
Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 10:55 pm
by Pyrite
Which Wireless PCI card is it?
Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 12:11 am
by m3mn0n
I'm guessing 802.11b, but what does it matter?
Anyway regarding linux; I would free up a few gigs of room if you can and turn your server into a dual booting machine. This way you can test out linux yourself, instead of putting so much trust within articles and recommendations. If you don't like, simply erase the partition and readd the space to Windows. Otherwise you can do migrate everything from Windows to Linux and erase the Win98 partition.
Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 12:46 am
by Pyrite
It matters.
90% of Linksys's wireless gear is NOT supported in Linux.
Like if he has the Linksys WMP11 PCI, it's not supported. Any of the Linksys Wireless cards that use the Broadcom chipset are not supported.
Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 2:04 pm
by AVATAr
a teacher form my Univ said: "Windows 98 is not a OS"!
i've some problems with my wireless orinoco 802.11a/b/g wireless card on suse 8.2 but im working on it..

Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 5:08 pm
by Pyrite
What problems?
And you're right, Win98 is a shell for DOS.
Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 9:06 pm
by m3rajk
winblows is a horrid os.
winblows/dos ... well as a sys admin i know put it "a computer should never have to be rebooted--unless it's windows, but that's another matter entirely"
that was in regaurds to an issue caused by "peoplesoft" but the "that's another matter entirely" referrs to the fact windows/dos is the ONLY os that has memory leaks in itself.
if you're comfortable enough with linux and the cards are supported it's not a "should i move?" it's a "why didn't you move yet?"
at least imho
my server is linux. my personal comp ha d a crash and i need to partition this to have linux back in but i'm debating about 7.1 (what i had on my pc) aor jumping to 9 or fedora... looking at those and using winblows me for compatability in the mean time....and hating it and thinking of "upgrading" to win xp pro....
Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2004 9:36 am
by Straterra
It took a while, but I found out my PCI card is a Linksys Instant Wireless PCI Card V2.7
Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2004 4:50 pm
by Pyrite
And see like version 2 and above uses the Broadcom chipset which isn't natively supported. Earlier versions of that card had Prism II chipsets which are supported. But not the latest ones. You aren't completely SOL though. There is two other options which involve using the Windows NDIS drivers for that card in Linux.
1). Through Linuxant (
http://www.linuxant.com/driverloader/ )
2). Through another driver loader that is pretty new as well called NDISWrapper
(
http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/ )
GL!
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 7:30 am
by exile
Can a good linux distro run on a computer with those specs? I have been told so, but i dont know witch ones.
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 7:52 am
by Straterra
Yeah, any distro can run on that computer. You just only compile what you need, since it is a server. No games, prolly not even a graphical desktop (GNOME, KDE)....
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 7:55 am
by exile
Well ya. I got mandrake to run without a gui. It ran great. But, i wanted to install linux with gui.
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 8:28 am
by Straterra
GUI's aren't THAT big...well, my server has a 17gb harddrive, so storage isn't a problem