Please keep in mind that to keep suprises to a minimum, please bring as much of your computing system as possible. The monitor, computer, keyboard, printer, mouse, etc. The works.

• BACK UP YOUR DATA. We cannot stress this enough. The Vancouver Linux User group will not be responsible for any data loss that may occur. We will try and prevent this (chances are it won't happen), but if it does, your loss. There will be a waiver that you will have to sign before our installers do anything with your computer. This is to protect ourselves legally, and to protect you in case of damage.
• Make as complete a list of hardware inside the computer as possible. This includes any motherboard documentation if you have it, information on video cards, sound cards, scsi cards, network cards, etc (see detailed list below)
• Mail this information to: info@linux.bc.ca or use this handy form.

• CPU, the processor in your system(Intel, AMD, Cyrix, PPC, Alpha, Sparc, etc). The minimum for x86 machines would be a 386 sx16 (but not recommended.. It'll run, but oh so slowly :)
• RAM, the total amount of RAM memory in your system. The minimum requirement for Intel based architectures is 8MB, suggested 16-32 for GUI use.
• Hard drive space, and hard drive space that you want to dedicate to Linux. While Linux can co-exist on the same filesystem as MS-DOS and Windows, the performance is terrible. It is generally suggested that you create a partition for Linux. There will be software at the Installfest to non-destructively resize your partitions if you do not wish "slash and burn".
• Hard Drive: SCSI or IDE? Generally you'll know if you're using SCSI
• Modem make, model and configuration: If you have ISDN, the brand name and model number, and if you have an analog modem, the brand name and model. Keep in mind that the USR WinModem and other "Windows Modem" types will not work, and may never work, with Linux.
• Printer make and model: Not all printers are supported by Linux, some are Windows only. Postscript printers will work however, so will a great deal of Canon's, HP, etc. If you printer is advertised as being a "WinGDI" or a "GDI" printer, it will probably not work with Linux.
• CDROM type. Most modern PCs use a standard IDE or SCSI cdrom drive, however, older computers may use a proprietary interface which may or may not be supported by Linux. If your particular brand isn't supported, we will have CDROM drives on hand to install Linux, however, you might need to purchase a new drive to use CD's. This is not due to a problem with Linux but is because some hardware manufacturers are unwilling to give out the specifications to the hardware in order to allow Linux to access them. This is either a sign of very advanced hardware (not usually the case with CDROM drives), or rather poor hardware that they don't want other people to know just how bad it is.
• Video card and monitor: We will need to know this information to set the X Window System so that you can access the graphical system that is availiable. Keep in mind that some cards aren't supported, the Intel i740 is a good example that will require third party commercial software. Some combinations just may not work at all at this time. The Matrox Millenium G200 works fine though ;) As for your monitor, see if you still have the documentation around.
• Multimedia devices: 3D acceleration cards, your sound card, along with hardware addresses(if you know where to find them). Of the 3D accelerators, currently only the 3dfx chipset is supported under Linux.
• Any other hardware: Scanners, digital art pads, etc. Anything I've missed.

• Operating systems installed: If you're running Microsoft Windows, IBM OS/2, Solaris, FreeBSD, etc.
• File system types: If you're running Windows NT, check to make sure that you are either using NTFS or FAT. For Windows 95/98 users, you may be using Fat32. None of this will cause complications, it just helps us to be prepared.
• Prefered Distribution: If you've experimented with Linux before, or have done some research, tell us which distribution you would like installed. On some architectures, you don't have a choice, it's RedHat (this would be anything other than Intel x86 based machines). Otherwise, your choices include Debian GNU/Linux, Caldera OpenLinux, Stampede Linux, and many more.
• Preferred Language: If your language of choice is something other than english, let us know, we may be able to setup a distribution for you. A collection of non-enlish distributions can be found here.
• Purpose of the machine: If its a workstation, software development, , internet/network router/bridge, webserver, firewall, ftp server, Windows domain service, etc, let us know!
• Internet connection: Do you have an internet connection? If so, what kind? Dialup PPP? Ethernet? ADSL? @Home/wave? All we need is the right information. If its a dialup connection, make sure you have your login and password, and ISP tech support number. If its Ethernet/ADSL/cablemodem, make sure you bring along the information you were given by your network service provider.
• Special requests: If you need a ride, or other information.
• I can't think of anything else to stick on here. If you can think of something, mail Vincent Janelle with additions.

• Installfest.org
• The Linux hardware howto
• VA Research builds Linux complete Linux workstations from the ground up. If you're looking for upgrades, compare what they use in their offerings.