help with low-demand OS

rabbit_habits

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4
hey friends!
im a kinda a computer noob so please bear with me
i got a v.old computer.
its a IBM 600E, it runs on a P2 processor.
as u know, its mighty slow.
however, due to certain constrains i have with getting a new pc
id like to make use of this old lappie for as much as i can.
is there an OS(or pretty much ANY software) that will allow me to use the pc for the following demands?
1)playback videos(.avi, .wmv) from a USB HDD.
2)playback with sound
3)nothing else
if so, where do i get it from, how much, and how do i get it running from the harddisk?
thanks a million friends
 
Hi,

The only OS that I can think of is the linux OS Damn Small Linux. I can't think of many OS's that will run on 64mb of ram. That is the problem that we have. Damn Small Linux will do all of the things that you want. Have a look and see what you think.

Cheers!
 
thank you
any idea where i can learn more abt it?
and get a copy of it?
its called the "damn small linux"?
serious?
 
playback videos(.avi, .wmv) from a USB HDD.
Err - low res ones might just about work, but you're pushing it on a machine of that spec whatever OS you use.

DSL will install though, as will Debian - I've put that (albeit with a few non-standard hacks!) on an original 90Mhz Pentium with a 1GB HDD, so you've got more than enough ;)
 
ive been reading up abit on DSL and debian.
ive always been a windows user and linux systems seem pretty good
however, my understanding of linux is slim to none
so i'd like to know if DSL or debian has plug and play features?
and is able to play back .avi or .wmv?
i read the webbies, they say XMMS(i think thats the default video player) can play back .mpeg and mp3?
or does mpeg and avi use the same codecs?
also with regards to plug and play,
im using a seagate freeagent GO 500GB
and the webbies say that linux don't "intstall" hardware, it "unpacks" file for it.
since plug and play is generally installing a hardware with a buncha generic drivers for windows, does this mean i have to install/unpack files for DSL or debian?
sorry for the noob questions, im an intensly unfirmilar with linux stuff.
 
Hi,

I will try and answer all your questions for you.

so i'd like to know if DSL or debian has plug and play features?

Yes the latest version of DSL does have plug and play features. Pretty much anything that you plug in such as external hdds will work fine. Some things need a little configuring but it sounds like it is just your 500GB external.

and is able to play back .avi or .wmv?

According to the DSL wiki page for XMMS, the player will play "Mp2, Mp3, Ogg, Wave, and some video formats" There also appear to be plugins that can be installed to work with other formats. If you want a player that can play virtually every format that is out there, I would recommend VLC.

As for .avi and mpeg using the same codecs the answer is no. All the different formats use different codecs too, from what I know.

im using a seagate freeagent GO 500GB
and the webbies say that linux don't "intstall" hardware, it "unpacks" file for it.

That is sort of right, but what happens is the piece of hardware is mounted to the file system, but I don't want to get too technical right now.

I hope that this answers some of your questions, feel free to ask more if you have them. We will be more than willing to help you with them.

Cheers!
 
so here comes the hard part
how do i see the files in my HDD?
i cant them in my file manager,
are u able to get me some step by step insturctions?
thank u
 
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