On 13 Jun 99, at 18:30, Jeremy W. wrote: > 1: How easy is it to install, and where can I find complete installation > instructions?
I've installed three distributions, and I think the Debian install is the most logical. It's fairly simple (doesn't take you through much of any system configuration, just install options). I didn't find it very difficult, and the included fdisk program is MUCH better than that Disk Druid thing (which refused to even look at my hard drive), though the install isn't as clear on some options, such as where to install LILO, as some of the other distros. The install program does let you select modules to load, which is very handy. The install guide can be found on any Debian FTP site in the debian/dists/slink/main/disks-i386 directory, called install.txt. > 2: Is KDE available for the Debian distribution? I've seen it, and it looks > like a very smooth transition from a Win32 environment. Yeppers. ANYTHING is available for the Debian distribution (a lot of stuff these days has been put in .deb format, Debian can do RPMs & other types of package files, and if the software you want isn't in package form at all, you can always install it yourself), but KDE is easy to acquire & install using apt-get after simply adding one line to your sources.list file. > 3: Is there an included boot manager (gotta have win for my games :-)? Comes with LILO (I haven't seen any dist that DOESN'T come with LILO), but the install program doesn't offer much in the way of LILO configuration, so you'll probably have to configure it after installation. > 4: Is this (below) hardware supported, or where can I find a list that will > tell me if it is? > > Dell Dimension: Pentium III 500 mhz - Good TNT2 Vid Card - I believe I recall reading in some of the X documentation that the TNT2 driver isn't ready yet, but the documentation I was reading was fairly old. There's a card list somewhere at http://www.xfree86.com/, check it for details. You will be able to use it with the regular SVGA server, though. Voodoo2 3d accelerator - A TNT2 and a Voodoo2? Niccce... anyway, it has been done, but I don't know any details... you'll have to read some documentation, I'm sure. Soundblaster Live 512V - It will work as a basic sound card; I don't know if there are any programs yet that support things like Environmental Audio, etc. Altec Lansing ACS-495 Speakers - just fine MS Intellimouse - Will work as a basic mouse without any extra effort, and I've seen software for making the little wheel do stuff. Everything should work just fine, though you will need to do a bit of research & configuration work to use non-basic hardware features such as environmental audio & the little mouse wheel. Good luck!
