Linux help

[knhellesky]

Here's for all you linux users in this forum...

I've NEVER used Linux before and would like to download one and install it (dual boot) on my laptop currently running XP. I'm not going to run any special programs or games. I just want to play around and get to know this type of OS.

Here's the $20 question....

Which Flavor/ISO/Version/Type/ would be best for a novice like me?

Note:
A co-worker was highly recommending Mandrake/Mandriva. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

[krygny]

Start here ...
http://www.linuxiso.org/index.php

Burn yourself a copy of the latest version of Knoppix. It boots from the CD so there's no installation on your computer. No risk at all. Play with it and see how you like it. But you have to be able boot your computer from the CD and to do that you'll probably have to change the boot order in the BIOS.

I'm personally partial to SuSE. On the plus side, they offer a live CD demo that you can boot from thje CD and see exactly how the distro will work with your computer right out of the box. In most cases, it works pretty damn well, if not flawlessly.

On the down side, it's just a demo - you can't save anything to your hard drive. Also, SuSE is one of the few distros that doesn't offer ISOs for free download. You'll have to either (1) download all the packages and make your own installation CDs, (2) install directly from the ftp site, or (3) buy the boxed distro.

[fireflock]

Ditto on Knoppix. It runs off a CD and does nothing to your harddrive. The up side is that you can fool around without changing anything. The down side is runs off the CD so is slower and it makes your CD drive sound like a jet engine

For a full install, I would consider Xandros (they have a free download version) or Fedora (every version is a free download).

Have Fun!

[knhellesky]

Thanks! I'll try those live CD's and mess around with them.

[krygny]

If you're going dual boot, one thing you might want to consider is slapping in a second hard drive and loading Linux on that. You certainly don't have to, but they're cheap enough and it adds a layer of hardware redundancy. This approach saved my bacon once. My primary drive started crapping out and I couldn't boot into Windows. But I was able to boot into Linux, mirror my entire primary drive over (well, what wasn't corrupt), replace the drive, and reload Windows.

[john802]

All my pc and laptop are dual boot w/ windows 2000 sp4 pro/linux or XP pro sp2/linux. I agree w/ krygny & fireflock, get a copy of knoppix and play w/ it.

[knhellesky]

Thanks for all the advice.

I friend of mine just gave me a live copy of Ubuntu. I tried it last night and I was really impressed.

I'm gonna take krygny's advice and get an extra HD for me to install the linux OS (which ever flavor I decide to install).

Thanks for all the input!

[cwa107]

Originally posted by knhellesky
Thanks for all the advice.

I friend of mine just gave me a live copy of Ubuntu. I tried it last night and I was really impressed.

I'm gonna take krygny's advice and get an extra HD for me to install the linux OS (which ever flavor I decide to install).

Thanks for all the input!

I'm also a noob to Linux. I managed to get a good deal on a gently used Latitude C400 on eBay and I've been using it to run Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake) for a few weeks now. It took awhile to get comfortable in the CLI and get used to installing and compiling applications (although most people will likely find everything they need using the included Synaptic Package Manager), but now that I've "forced" myself to use Linux, I have to say it's really restored a lot of my enthusiasm for PCs that was lost when I started to work as a Windows network admin.

My point is, if you want to learn Linux, I strongly recommend that you seperate yourself from Windows forcibly for a few weeks. Otherwise, when the going gets tough, you'll abandon it and go right back to Windows. Look into a cheap, used laptop on eBay and use it specifically for Linux. I've found that working through some of the challenges I've had with Ubuntu has dramatically increased my understanding of Linux.

At this point, I'm looking at abandoning Windows altogether (at least at home) prior to the release of Vista as I have no intention of "upgrading" to an operating system that limits my capabilities (which the DRM components of Vista most certainly will do). I've also had about enough of Microsoft's code bloat. You know it's bad when they recommend 1GB of RAM... jeesh.

If you decide to take the leap and actually install Ubuntu (I've also tried Mandriva, Fedore Core 5 and Suse - I like Ubuntu best), I've found the following forums very helpful:

http://www.linuxquestions.org
http://www.ubuntuforums.org

... I also recommend subscribing to TUX magazine:

http://www.tuxmagazine.com

Good luck! I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I have.

[whizmo]

I was in the same boat a year ago and ended up loading up Debian. Everything went well and I learned a lot, but wow, the river runs wide and deep in Linux land and I'm not sure I have the time to keep up to speed on several OS's, no matter how interesting and cool.

The best book overall I've found is "Running Linux" by Dalheimer and Welsh. There are distro-specific books, but I've found this covers 98% of my questions and then I can go to the net for the other 2%.

- Mark

[cwa107]

Originally posted by whizmo
I was in the same boat a year ago and ended up loading up Debian. Everything went well and I learned a lot, but wow, the river runs wide and deep in Linux land and I'm not sure I have the time to keep up to speed on several OS's, no matter how interesting and cool.

The best book overall I've found is "Running Linux" by Dalheimer and Welsh. There are distro-specific books, but I've found this covers 98% of my questions and then I can go to the net for the other 2%.

- Mark

I've been using "Linux for Windows NT/2000 Administrators: The Secret Decoder Ring". The name sounds a little gimmicky and it is a bit "old" by Linux standards, but it's excellent for those of us that have a ton of Windows experience working against us in Linux.

You're right though, the river does indeed run wide and deep. There's more distros even variations on distros (I'm fooling around with kubuntu at the moment) to really make your head spin.