[jyl]

Thanks.

I've been doing some research. There seem to be some weird quirks for Linux on this machine, although plenty of people have done it.
1. the FDD uses the PCMCIA slot but runs off the BIOS, so apparently it doesn't work under Linux. Maybe someone has written a Linux driver.
2. the video chip isn't supported under earlier Linux distributions.
3. the CD-ROM uses the PCMCIA slot too, and you can't boot off it.

I'm thinking the easiest thing might be to partition my hard drive, copy the Linux CD(s) onto the HDD, and install from there. So I'd have a dual-boot Win98/Linux machine.

Ah well, more fun with computers. I think this is why I'm using Macs more and more.