I just recently decided to try out Linux again after not using it for the past 4 years now. I use to use Red Hat 9.0 on my destop dual booting with Windows XP Pro. I'm wanting to install Mandriva on my older laptop just to try it out first. The laptop is a Compaq Presario 1240, 96MB Ram, 4 Gig HHD, 266 MHz CPU. I could not find any system req for this OS so I downloaded the ISO and burned a good working copy. (I tested it out on two other PC's in my home.) The laptop is set to boot with the CD Rom first, and the BIOS has settings for Linux based OS's so I figured it would work. But when I turn on the laptop and get ready to load Mandriva, the laptop will do nothing and say "No OS Loaded". Will this OS work on my laptop? What could I be doing wrong? Any hints and tips would be useful. I just want to try it out first and at the moment not willing to wipe my desktop to try out something I might not like. And dual booting is out of the question I have my reasons. Thanks ahead of time for your help.

With the amount of ram in it, I wouldn't bother unless your going to use some other desktop other than Gnome or KDE. Gnome or KDE will drag badly on this. You'd have to use a Window Manager instead for your graphical environment.

I'd be tempted to use an older version of Linux that was around at this time though, since it would have been developed for hardware of that time, than to attempt to use something newer, which has newer hardware specs in mind.

Using the search button I was able to figure out that this new version of Linux is just not going to work on my laptop. I was able to find out that alot of people have gotten Fedora Core 1 to work on my laptop so I'm in the process of downloading the ISO's on that OS for my laptop. Thanks again for your help.

There *might* have been a buggier Linux release than Fedora Core 1 in the past, but I have to try very hard to recall...
I would try something like Vector Linux or Puppy Linux instead.

Yeah found that out the hard way. Fedora Core 1 installed no problem on my laptop. Found all the drivers and installed pretty quickly. But when I go to actually load the OS I just get a blinking cursor in the corner. So I guess either Fedora is not good for my laptop, or my laptop is just not friendly with anything BUT Win 98. Since that is the only OS i have ever gotten to work on this thing.

I'm trying out Puppy and it works. Not a big fan of running off of a live CD and using almost all of my RAM. But it beats Win 98 thanks again.

Damn Small Linux might be a good fit for that machine.