shell account for programming

[spx2]

hi
i have a big problem
im on windows,dont have enough ram to run a vm,
tried putting up ubuntu and almost lost all my
data in a week because of fsck.
i need a linux system to test a perl network application
im working on and thread in c++ , examples from a book
im reading and a chat application in c++,
i seem to be regarded with reticence amongst all who
i ask for a shell account for this purpose.
ive tried endless lists of "Free" shell accounts on
google.of all , grex.cyberspace.org seemed promising
altough it works very very very slow but it was
ok for at least i had one. about a week ago cyberspace
didnt wanted to work any more(at least for me).
ive tried also cygwin but it has emulated linux
behaviour and will not cope with my needs.
im a student and have no money at all.
what can i do ?

[je_fro]

Approach one of your teachers about access to a linux box? Any university will have one...and if you're in high school, they should have a CS teacher who can get you one.
You realize, of course, that nobody's going to trust you over the internet...it has to be from someone you meet face to face.

[spx2]

no luck whatsoever, just tried today to speak with the admins at
my university.
i am benvolent,i do not mean any harm to noone.
there is no "security threat" or "trusting issues" as i'm really just a newbie
with c++ threading and perl,i really wish i get an account just for coding
and nothing else.
what can i do to proove it ?

[ph34r]

Find an old computer and put linux on it.

Heck, if you'll pay actual shipping from zip 32643 to whever you are, I've got a old Pentium that I'll load up with ram (64mb or more) and install Debian for ya on it and send it out.

[hotcold]

Hi.

I have these tucked away. Perhaps they are still providing service ... cheers, hotcold

http://www.ductape.net/~mitja/freeunix.shtml

http://sdf.lonestar.org/index.cgi

[cybertron]

Could you run it on a LiveCD? Then your data is perfectly safe but you've got a full-fledged Linux system right at your fingertips. I'm not sure how good most of them are for development, but I know I managed to compile things like MPlayer and one of the Doom ports under Knoppix at one point.