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mac001
06-04-2007, 01:32 PM
One of pc is is an old pentium 3 800Mhz, 512 ram and is mostly used as a media server to my xboxs with xbmc.

It currently runs XP Pro fine but slow when trying to use it with two or more programs running at the same time.

So I keep thinking would linux far any better and if so which one would be best for my old pc and give media server capabilities.

Anyone with some ideas?

Collider
07-04-2007, 04:18 PM
You could try this site,lets you make a bootable live cd so you can run it from boot without installing the OS and get an idea on what its like ;)

Lots of linux distros

The LiveCD List (http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php)

EthanV2
08-04-2007, 01:35 AM
I don't have much experiiance with linux, but in my opinion, Ubuntu is the most user firendly

They also ship the distro on cd for free

Ubuntu Home Page | Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/)

wayne_clancy
17-05-2007, 10:12 PM
I'll second the Ubuntu route. Its installer is pretty much fool proof, hardware support is spot on and all of the GUI tools pretty much come pre-configured out the box.

Play around with the liveCD to see if Linux is for you, as it will be running from the CD it will be quite a bit slower at firing up apps as the CD read speed is a whole lot slower than from the HD.

Good luck and hope you enjoy it. It may seem a little bit strange to begin with but stick with it.

WeeFatBob
20-05-2007, 04:40 PM
hey,

I agree with wayne_clancy play about with the live disks first and try and get a feel for the system. I had loadsa of greif when I first started playing with linux and my old pentium 3 machine loads of drivers were not available for my hardware serves me right suppose for buying generic crap back then. Ubuntu has pretty good drivers built in off the bat but hope you have fun in your testing. good luck

Bob

y2krog2000
20-05-2007, 04:47 PM
I tried a few of them and found ubuntu 6.10 to be very easy to use but my wireless didnt work properly so will be trying ubuntu ultimate next time as its supposed to be better for using wireless. I thought that ubuntu was just as good as xp after getting used to it.

nwa2
10-06-2007, 07:15 PM
i guys i my self use linux over windows i use mandriva but there are some very easy ones like linspire kubuntu buntu puppy pclinuxos they all run form a live cd or you can install them in vmware or VirtualBox OSE so you can test and play a round with them with out doing any damage to your system

Timmaa
14-06-2007, 07:42 AM
As has been already stated, Ubuntu seems to be LINUX flavour of the month at the moment and there's a good reason for that.

I would add that, if you're interested in using a LINUX flavour that is popular in industry, Fedora Core (Red Hat) would be a good choice. That is the LINUX standard in the industry I work in.

zerofool2005
14-06-2007, 04:17 PM
YOu just start on a basic distro like Ubuntu. Thats uber user friendly. Then you start working your way up with distros that require a bit more debugging. And the installer isnt a gui. etc etc. Just installing from source can be a pain on some apps.

Hackmo
18-06-2007, 12:44 AM
YOu just start on a basic distro like Ubuntu. Thats uber user friendly. Then you start working your way up with distros that require a bit more debugging. And the installer isnt a gui. etc etc. Just installing from source can be a pain on some apps.

What?

Mac001, Ubuntu really IS the best Linux distro out there at the moment, generally in terms of ease of use. However, that doesn't mean that it's still not a powerful distro. I've used Ubuntu on all my servers in recent years and suggest it to anyone else that's thinking of doing the same.

I was reading something today that looks like it's just what you're wanting. There are a lot of media server options available with linux but so far i've found this one to be the best(i'm hoping to build a home automation system/home cinema using this) It's called Linux MCE(media center edition) It runs on Ubuntu which as you would be able to tell from all the previous posts(including mine) is a very popular distro.

LinuxMCE (http://linuxmce.com/)

I don't know how well, if at all, it will work with your xbox though, i'm in the same boat as wanting something other than windows mc to work with my 360 so if I find anything i'll let you know. :)

zerofool2005
18-06-2007, 09:03 AM
I run debian on my servers. I like it because of the apt-get instead of installing from source. Ubuntu is more of a user Linux than a performence Linux. I never install a gui on a server.

Just control it all via SSH

chris1983
04-07-2007, 10:38 PM
If you are interested in using your PC as a PVR then you should look into using the linux app Myth TV, apparently it works well with Ubuntu.

MythTV (http://www.mythtv.org/index.php)

kick07
04-08-2007, 07:01 PM
you should give a try to knoppix.. its one of my favourites

117
19-08-2007, 03:54 PM
As a few others have mentioned, Ubuntu is a great way for beginners to get into linux, it's as simple as downloading the CD, booting to it and having a play, once you get used to it and you like it, click the Install button and you're away!

Someone else mentioned MythTV - this link: MythTV Ubuntu Installation Guide (http://parker1.co.uk/mythtv_ubuntu.php) has some handy info for setting up a MythTV media centre on Ubuntu

Ve33iE
10-10-2007, 09:25 PM
ubuntu.... number 1 for linix, easy to install and update linux programs, fast as well.... and there is a good forum for ubuntu as well to help noobies xD

nwa2
27-12-2007, 05:08 PM
hi try mythbuntu 7.10 very good and supports most remotes controls