🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi there, I'm hoping some nice people out there can help me out with some
answers to some linux questions/problems of mine.

I'm not a linux newbie.. I'm certainly no one's idea of a guru but I know my
way around fairly well on a day today basis and have installed linux systems
before and haven't had any huge problems with any of that.

Anyway I was happily running linux on my 486 with 8 meg which was fine
except that it ran like a dead slug.

So I recently went to upgrade and this is what I got:
AMD K5 133 CPU
Generic VX motherboard (I started with an A-bit SM5 but that died in a
matter of days so I replaced it)
32 megs of Sd-ram
ET6000 with 2 megs

anyway I plugged all this up to my old harddrives etc (no cdrom :P)

and discovered that while ms dos was fine linux wasn't.. wouldn't even let
me get into at as root.. anyway I had an onld kernal anyway so I decided to
reinstall.

** here's the problem **
debian (latest install disks, 30/5/97 ) install keep dying halfway through,
generally around the init/activate swap or linux partition area.
after repeated attempts and by ignoring the recommended next step I
eventually got what seemed to be the starting system up (base system).

now as I use it and add more packages it is unbelievably buggy, wierd errors
all over the place, core dumps, even complete lockups, (had to actually
hardware reset leaving me with lots of clean up fscking to do) X11 lasts for
about 3 seconds and that barely.

now since I've installed debian before with no problems I can only assume it
is the AMD K5 chip (or perhaps the memory??)

Has ANYONE else had horrible problems like this? 
Can Anyone help me please? this is most distressing (esp after having spent
hard earned money to upgrade it all).

anyone?

hopefully,
Ben
ps Mail me or post it here.. either is fine..
(or do both :)