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by **wakish** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 2:27 pm

Hi.. i'm really new to what is called "Linux".
To start my way, i want to install Linux. But i saw that there are many types (or should i say versions - i don't really know) of Linux; Red Hat, Caldera, Fedora and Debian..etc..

So i'm confused and i don't know which of these i should choose.
Please can anyone help?

Thanks!

by **Alvaro** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 2:51 pm

I would try Ubuntu. I've heard many good things about it, and it seems to be one of the easiest to set up.

I have tried Fedora, I run Red Hat 9 at home and Suse 9.3. They all seem to work just fine for what I need. Fedora is the only one of these that I have fully installed myself, and I found it very easy.

by **Jimbo** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 2:56 pm

you can always try one and if you like it change to another... the Ubuntu distro is meant for desktop computing, so you might try it... I wouldnt start with Gentoo, however. I second the vote for Fedora as well... the installation process is almost easier than Windows =P

by **wakish** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 3:08 pm

yeah Alvaro, i have browsed Ubuntu too..the site is very positive about it.
Jimbo, your idea of installing one and changing to next to experiment, seems nice!

Could anyone also suggests a good site for how to install those systems..i have browsed their sites.. but may be some of you might know some of the best guides. It would be nice if you could help in this way too.

I thank you all for your kind response and help!

by **TheKidder** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 4:05 pm

Ubuntu is very good. I have it dualed booted on both of my machines, and it works great.

Installing Ubuntu is relatively straightforward. Most of the default install options are fine. It you want to dual boot it with Windows or another OS, I recommend reading this article: http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/02/15/2023237&tid=130&tid=2&tid=91&tid=11

by **wakish** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:38 pm

ok..thanks for the nice link TheKidder!
I have just find out there is another distribution (btw does distro mean distribution? because i found that word being so much used in all Linux websites) called Mepis.
This site: http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=04/11/18/1415243 points out that it is good too.
But, can anyone discuss about Mepis?
Also what's the difference between ubuntu and Mepis..they are all Linux, are they?

by **TheKidder** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:19 pm

Distro is short for distribution. Distros are simply different packages provided by different companies and organizations, they all have different hardware support, software, looks, etc. (somebody correct me if I have this wrong). I would suggest getting a live cd for Mepic and Ubuntu and trying both out, to see which one you like the best. A live cd is a linux distro that you don't have to install to use - you simply put it in the cd tray, reboot, and it runs off the cd. They're great for testing out Linux, as they don't modify your system at all.

by **wakish** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 8:07 am

You mean the Live cd is just as downloading a software and then you just need to burn it in cd to use it right form the cd?

by **TheKidder** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:19 am

by **wakish** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 1:14 pm

wow, i did not know that.
I will give it a try!
Thanks!

by **Safari** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 4:03 pm

Knoppix would then be a good choice.

by **schloob** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 8:19 pm

i would start with gentoo (well, i did start with gentoo). you just need to find someone to help you install it if you're new.

by **MXP** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:42 am

From personal experience, I agree with Jimbo that Gentoo is not the best distro to start with. I would go with something simpler like Fedora.

by **Safari** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 4:52 am

I don't see the hard problems in installing some more "advanced" dists.
You can find mostly everything you need in the manual, so it shouldn't be any problem.

Why not try LFS? :twisted:

Joking. Why not try FreeBSD or one of the others in the BSD family?

by **wakish** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:31 am

After browsing many distros sites..I think i will go for Mandriva..

Now i have another question:

Is there any good program/software to partition and set up a hard dirve (80Gb size) to install both windows(any version) and linux.
I don't want to use something like partition magic, because it does all the work for you - it's lazy.

and besides i think you should run it from an OS. I would like a program which will allow you to know exactly what you are doing and which can be run independently. FDisk is not good, it has limitations.
Is there something similar or more better?

Thank you all for your help and advice!
Regards!

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i'm new to linux - which linux to install?

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