Hello, I am a very new investigator of Linux. Meaning that I have never used it before and I am just now looking into loading the Linux operating system onto my new computer system. I am not a programmer, nor a developer ( yet! )but I am interested in loading the Debian GNU/Linux OS because I think that it would be nice to be a part of this group of people working together for a common good. I am trying to stay away from the more commercialized Lixus releases that I see at the computer stores.
My main concern is that my computer system has an ATA66 Hard Drive that uses the HPT366 Device Drivers, and from what I have read so far this might cause me some problems unless I can get a patch for Linux Kernel 2.2.10. I have thought about using the hard drive with an ATA33 device driver and trying to load Debian's GNU/Linux with my hardware in this configuration and then trying to get a newer Kernel. Does anyone have any thoughts on my prospects for getting GNU/Linux on my machine? I realize that there may be many more hardware issues that will concern me, but for starters I would like to hear what people think about this ATA66 issue. Thank you for your help! Sincerely, Robert Oneto
