I am planning on installing Caldera OpenLinux on a laptop. I have installed Linux on a desktop with Win98 already on. I want to make the laptop a dedicated linux box so i want to install it without a OS prevoiusly being on there.
I was wondering whether anyone had any recomendations or things to look out for when choosing and installing on a laptop. I have not bought the laptop yet but the chances are it will be a cheap second hand one, as my budget is tight (poor student :)) and i won't want to spend weeks just trying to get it installed!!
FWIW, I just spent a month (on and off, working a few hours here and there) bringing up Linux on a Athlon 900 MHZ processor (ASUS K7V MB) with a new Slackware kernel. Sometimes patience is the key. If you don't have the time to take is step-by-step, it is easy to get into trouble.
The new PNP features and jumperless MBs can be pretty tricky at times. BIOs are getting more complex to configure, etc. So, my recommendation for things to watch out for is 'impatience'.