Actually - a lousy resolution is not something frivolous at all. And the Debian-Sarge installer is still very 'green' in this respect. I had exactly the same problem so I took the easy way out: using Kanotix or Ubuntu live-CD simply copy the XFree86conf4 file (or whatever the correct name is - I am not at my Debian machine) and edit the resolution section of the corresponding file in Debian (do NOT copy it all since there are some other things - such as mice - which might be an issue).

Then simply reboot into Debian.

Careful as Kanotix already uses Xorg and Debian-Sarge not. But the config file is still compatible.

BTW - I got the best results (by far!) with Ubuntu's config file...

Am I making sense here?

If not - tell me whether you have Ubunutu or Kanotix and post the Xfree86.conf-4 file (or whatever its called) here and then post your Debian-Sarge Xfree86.conf-4 file (or whatever its called) also and I will tell you exactly what to edit. Heck - I will even do it for you (this is really a no brainer).

Stay in touch!

VS

Your definition of "old" is quite different from mine.

I have run SuSE on MANY MANY laptops. I have a HP Omnibook Pentium ! 133 Mhz with 28 Mb ram which is still running SuSE 7.3 Pro, and has been for literally years. The screen fell off, but that's no problem.

I'd recommend SuSE, just because I've put it on many laptops, currently have it on four including one that functions as a "portable" development server, and have never had a problem.

All of the systems (with the exception of my AMD 64) are archaic (between 133 and 300 Mhz with under 128Mb ram).

I got an old 1ghz, 128mb Ram, 20gb HDD Thinkpad to run PC Linux OS, its mandriva based and has a nice control centre, comes with 1 disc of good selection mainly home / office software and has a livecd function

Try it!

I got an old 1ghz, 128mb Ram, 20gb HDD Thinkpad

That's not old!!

Look at jantman running 133 Mhz with 28 Mb ram - that is remarkable, in particular the 28MB of RAM which is unbelivable, but then it is probably 128 :-)

I did not think that SuSE could run at all, nevermind decently, on a 133 box.

jantman must be very, very good at optimizing his machine and making good choices. Congrats!

might be 32MB with 4MB shared video...

Optimizing?????

Um...yeah...

That's SuSE with an out of the box install, just an educated choice of packages. It still has the full X server and KDE... though it slows down a bit under X as opposed to CLI.

The concept that you needs gigs of RAM and a giant HDD just to run a GUI to browse the web and check your email is an invention of Microsoft and its over-bloated Windows codebase.

you are running SuSE out of the box with 28MB of RAM?!?!
no way, or it is a SuSE version of the late sixteenth century...

EDIT : I discovered the 2nd page

Yeah the copy & paste of X configs should work as said explained above .

It certainly is enough computer to compile .

Youll want to figure out via LiveCDs or so what your hardware is which you have to include in the kernel configuration ... is there a distro on it ATM ?

But first install the appropiate Debian (see below link) which might already solve lots of things .

Wireless ... ugh.. evil .. well C what happens .

BTW cayzar great signature IMO

THX

In case U are still searching etc - here is the debian longrun package link (from the gentoo lifebook article above) : http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/longrun.html

The 800 resolution should be fixed in a short time - I had the same prob wuth Vector a while ago & it was just a matter of installing the NVidia drivers or should also be fixable by adding "something" in the X configuration.

So if you havent yet - I guess - latest Debian (as far as I get it that package is included but full Debian is asfar as Ive heard HUGE .. so .... http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/ .

& choooose .


Good luck & please report back on success or further struggles .

Its should certainly still be quite possible to get a current bloated big distro down to working with 32MB if all these new services & STUFF is disabled .

Hooray for modularization & loading stuff when its needed .

Custom kernel with only the most neccessary things makes a big difference IMO

Sorry I was out sick for a bit. Yuk. Hate being sick.
Anyway. The laptop is my wifes and she, how shall I put this, wanted it back, either with linux runnign and readyto go or with windows back on it. So I put windows back on it. I am going to try and get it again and load debian back on it and then try this conf file idea from you guys (THANKS BTW) but for now she wants it back and running. I may end up having to buy a new one after all. I was just really getting into the meat of the matter and really learning some new things.
At least my theory on the transmeta issue proved correct thanks to Wini-g. However I know now that it can be made to work smoother too.
But I also learned not to mess with a 7 month pregnant woman, so I may be starting over with a new laptop. We'll see as this week progress'.
So thank you every one I was and am learnign alot.

On another note. A few years back during the day of red hat 6 a buddy of mine loaded slack (version?) via a fdd boot disk and cbl net connection onto a 66mhz, 16mg ram laptop. Very cool.

"But I also learned not to mess with a 7 month pregnant woman, so I may be starting over with a new laptop. We'll see as this week progress'."

Or you will have to wait a few months - but then the baby arrives !

Will you still have enough time then for Linux

Yeah she propably has more "important" things she wants to figure out then why the **** the laptop aint working .

I guess soon congrats to father & motherhood for you two

Fortunatly I can still wait at least five years (ATM 22) until I go & try to solve the package dependancies of a baby

You can only solve that Transmeta issue with a Transmeta processor - not buying any of those easy to use Intels or AMD's - if you go & buy a new system .

This baby is not our first. Hang on... are you ready?.... It's our seventh! No kidding.
My wife is the most loving wonderful awesome person in the world. She is my teacher and my friend. Everything I learned about love and kindness and generousity I learned from her. Aside from our children she is what is beutiful in this world. And she is still really hot er.... uh... beutiful! (Sorry honey)

So if she wants the laptop she gets it. (grudgingly because the linux edgucation was just getting good.) Anyway it was just a stupid ol' transeta anyway (tearful). I'll get an intel or preferably an AMD next.
But there is still the wireless issue....
oh well, until then.