Noob's question about linux on an old laptop

[slugg]

Hey i hope this isnt too basic of a question...

So here's the story. I've only used linux like once in my life. Its cool, but dual booting is just a hassle for me, so i took it off my main PC. I got a crappy old laptop that works fine, but its running win98 and its got viruses and what not. I dont have any other licenses for any other copies of windows, so I'm gonna have to go linux. That's a good thing though, because I really wanna get into linux! Question is, will I have any problems installing linux on an old laptop? I mean, i've had problems installing WINDOWS on old laptops just cuz I cant find drivers. I'm not sure what model it is, but its an old Compaq with a 300 mhz K6 2. I plan on using it just for AIM and web surfing. I've been using a USB->Ethernet dongle with windows. Can I use this without any problems in linux? Also, what distros would you guys recommend for my application?

I dont need any fancy crap. All I need is a basic gui (doesnt need to be some crazy looking theme, so something that consumes little resources... KDE?), a web browser (firefox prolly... i love the windows version at least), and an AIM client (gaim is fine).

If you need to ask me something, go for it you wont offend me! LOL i hope this thread doesnt annoy the linux gurus lol

Hey, im trying here!

 

[bersl2]

Drivers should be fine, since most kernel drivers support many revisions of hardware. A P-II can use an up-to-date version of a distro if you go with a lightweight distro. I've always recommended Damn Small Linux for that. It's a live CD by default, but it is installable to the HD. If the CD-ROM drive isn't bootable, there's a floppy bootdisk.

 

[slugg]

ok cool... i made a mistake, its actually a 300mhz K6 2. I have 256 mb ram, which is alright i guess... Still recommend DSL?

oh and is DSL noob friendly?

edit: hmm well i burned it and booted from it. Says I got a 360 mhz k6 2, what a surprise Anyways, when it tries to show a GUI after booting, the screen is all white, bright green, and yellow.. you can still make out SOME stuff but not really. Not useable at all. Any ideas on how to remedy the situation?

edit 2: got it... needed to do some frame buffering crap. lol. This is really cool! thanks a lot!