"'It all' began when I was given a pair of PCs and one monitor.
The larger computer, an Aptiva, had a P133 CPU, a 2GB hard drive, a
CD-ROM drive, and no RAM at all. The second computer was an HP
Vectra 486/33N with a 170MB hard drive, Windows 3.1, and 8MB of RAM
(no CD). Both systems had mice, but no keyboards. A trip to
Wal-Mart and $10(US) later, and I had a PS/2-compatible keyboard.
Since the two computers both used 72-pin SIMMs, the first thing I
did was to swap the RAM into the Aptiva and see if anything useful
was on that big hard drive.
"I learned something valuable. I learned what Window 98 chokes
on insufficient RAM, ungraciously.
"I didn't happen to have any extra RAM lying around. So I put
the RAM back in the Vectra and dug up the RedHat 4.0 disks I had...
oops, they're CDs and this Vectra doesn't have a CD (and no slots
in the case to mount one). Obviously, I needed another
strategy..."
