Best version for PIII PC w/SCSI, CD Rom & USB 1 & Soundblaster w/Joystick for Wine

[Harry Kuhman]

Not sure which games you want to run. I'm guessing you want to run Windows games under Wine, as DOS games would be best simply run under DOS. If running Windows games you should be able to use a USB joystick and other soundcards, as the drivers should save you from needing actual SB hardware and an analog JS port. I can't say anything good about the Logitech USB joysticks though, they are poorly made and not durable. Maybe you can find something more suitable.

With PCI you could get an inexpensive SATA adapter and go that route, but it is a very old system to throw more money at.

Not sure why Debian would have any more of a resource load than Knoppix, particularly since Knoppix is made from Debian. Also not sure why you want to move beyond 7.2 CD. It isn't like someone with a PIII needs the latest software. Are you seeing more resource use under wine on Debian than under wine on Knoppix? It might just be that wine under Linux doesn't have the performance that you need on a PIII.

Klaus has always been upfront that Knoppix is intended as a Live CD (or DVD). The install is a compromise. I would advocate, if you want a hard disk install, Debian or other distros intended for hard disk install. You might like the 32 bit version of LinuxMint (although I think it is a 1 gig + ISO), or even Ubintu (rumored to be an African word meaning "I can't figure out how to install Debian").

Good Luck.

[thriftee]

The main game I'm trying to get to work is a Windows 95/98 game called Star Wars Episode I Racer.

There is no such thing as a durable joystick, I don't think. The real device I like to use is a Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheel and Pedals, which I have, but for compatibility purposes, I'm trying to get the game working with the Logitech Joystick, which I picked up for $2, first, just to get things working before attempting the Sidewinder.

I was thinking my odds will be better with the newest Wine I can get. I did find someone with the game working with 1.7.x wine, but other than that Arch Linux was used, I don't know the details of the configuration.

I have installed Ubuntu before and it was not to my liking, being pretty locked down compared to debian, IMO

I don't think a SATA adapter will fix anything

[superman]

..., or even Ubintu (rumored to be an African word meaning "I can't figure out how to install Debian").

LOL...

The main game I'm trying to get to work is a Windows 95/98 game called Star Wars Episode I Racer.

If the game is able to run on WinNT-based OS and a bit better CPU utilisation preferred, it may be worth to try out the virtualisation route (VBox or alike). The biggest challenge I can imagine is to get the joystick working in the virtualisation environment.

[thriftee]

You make a good point because I haven't gotten any Windows games to work under Wine, so don't know what to expect in terms of performance.

Under Win/98 this was my fastest machine, and that was only using one of the processors and with only 1 gb of memory. Hopefully it will work. I wish I had one windows game that worked to use as a benchmark.