ok guys, First time Linux installer.....

[heavygrubs]

Guys, i have been hearing SO much about Linux latley that i just wanna try it out, hoping to be addicted and stay with linux,

I downloaded Slackware and NOW have the CD, (i burned it)

I need to format my 4.1 GB HDD so i can install Slackware on that, but i cant seem to be able to format it using Windows, and once i have it Formatted how can i install Slackware onto it? is there a floppy boot disk? or can i just use the CD? PLEASE HELP!!

[Hayl]

usually people say that slackware isn't really a good distro to start with but if you feel confident go for it.

here is a link to the slackware doc on how to partition.

http://www.slackware.org/install/partitions.php

[copeja]

If you burned the cd it should be bootable
Boot the cd and then partion and format with slackware make sure it is the proper drive as all data will be lost. then go on to the install program.

[heavygrubs]

What do you think is a good Distro to start with then? i want a user friendly Linux OS, i want one that is stable and good, i just want linux on my PC!!! im desperate.....i dont care WHAT i have to download, (i got a 1.5mb/s connection) i just wanna USE linux and still have windows on the same comp....

[Hayl]

Originally posted by heavygrubs
What do you think is a good Distro to start with then? i want a user friendly Linux OS, i want one that is stable and good, i just want linux on my PC!!! im desperate.....i dont care WHAT i have to download, (i got a 1.5mb/s connection) i just wanna USE linux and still have windows on the same comp....

lol

most people start with the RPM-based distros: Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSE, etc. i personally think that all RPMs are evil and should be abolished but i will agree that those are the easiest distros to get working if you know nothing about linux.

if you go for one of the 3 i named then you will get a graphical installer similar to installing Windows.

the OS / Interface is the same for all flavours of Linux. that is: you can run KDE or Gnome desktop environments on any of them and the commercial distros come set up with one of the 2 big name Desktop Environments by default. the only thing that varies by distro is the packaging system / package management apps, some graphical front ends to setting up system settings, etc. in addition, each distro usually has their own custom patches to the vanilla linux kernel. you can also run any of the minimal window mangers if you don't want a full Desktop Environment. As beginner you will feel more comfortable in Gnome or KDE.

ps: any computer running linux will be more stable than one running a microsoft OS.

[heavygrubs]

OK!! i installed Slackware!! (im 1337!)

but now... how the hell do i get it started? -_-

after installation it said to reboot and what not, i did then it started me back to windows XP....... wtf?! i did EVERything correctly, i made a partition for Slackware and everything.... but how do i get it started?

[heavygrubs]

I just hope this is all worth it....i accidentally Deleted the wrong partition AND ALL MY MUSIC WAS ON IT!! v_v

all my beutiful music is gone....gone forever....never to return........ all this for Slackware..... WHY!? v_v

plz help me guys....im felling ****ty enuf as it is......

[endoalpha]

I am sure you made a backup before messing with partitions and installing a new OS....

[heavygrubs]

no, i didnt....i was too much in a hurry to install slackware and have a Dual OS comp..... but now my Precious music went to the Jukebox in the sky....

please tell me how to start linux.....please.....

[heavygrubs]

plz help.... im desperate...

[quaad]

Originally posted by heavygrubs
I just hope this is all worth it....i accidentally Deleted the wrong partition AND ALL MY MUSIC WAS ON IT!! v_v

all my beutiful music is gone....gone forever....never to return........ all this for Slackware..... WHY!? v_v

plz help me guys....im felling ****ty enuf as it is......


What kind of music was it?

[heavygrubs]

it was ALL kinds of music i have been downloading since i was a wee lad j/k no, it was music that loved, very hard to find (mostly J-pop and J-Rock) and a bunch of other music that too me three million years to find.....

plz just help.... what do i do to start linux?.......plz help....

[endoalpha]

What bootloader are you using? My guess is you didnt install one. In short, you have to boot with your install cd in some rescue mode, or use a linux boot floppy that I am sure you made while installing linux, and properly install grub or lilo.

[heavygrubs]

where can i get grub or lilo?

[Ryochan7]

Originally posted by heavygrubs
no, i didnt....i was too much in a hurry to install slackware and have a Dual OS comp..... but now my Precious music went to the Jukebox in the sky....

please tell me how to start linux.....please.....

I have only been a Linux user for a couple of weeks even though I have tried to install different distros and have been researching Linux for the last few months, so I know how you feel. I lost a previous Windows install just because I accidentally deleted the Windows partition. That's was a hellish experience that still affects me to this day. I wouldn't recommend Slackware unless you want to put a lot of time into getting your hardware working properly. Slackware 9 couldn't detect my Radeon 9000 or my USB mouse properly. The wheel wouldn't work on my USB mouse and I had to use Generic SVGA card drivers because Slackware didn't have the drivers for my card. Also, you have to mount all your drives manually. Personally, I, like many, just want to use Linux and not learn the whole OS inside out. I'm a disgrace to the Linux community. I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy.

Right now, I am using Mandrake 9.1 and it is fairly simple. Practically everything is done with the Mandrake wizards, even Dual Booting with Lilo Boot Manager and NTFS partition resizing. All my hardware works and my windows partition is accessable from startup. There is not much to really worry about learning, expect for program-related issues that aren't really that hard to overcome. I kind of like the way the RPM distros come with practically all the programs and libraries that compilers need so you don't have to worry about dependency hell.

I'm sure you can find plenty of information on installing Mandrake, in case you decide to use it. No matter what problems you run into, there is always someone who has been there before, and there is information on how to fix a problem.

You can't have my two cents though. I be poor. Later.

[endoalpha]

your install cd

[marcogor]

I would tend to agree. Run the installation disk in rescue mode and see if you can set up either grub or lilo.

I fried my boot partition a couple of days ago and could only boot up in Windows XP. After thinking that all 18GB of linux was lost to another reinstall I remembered that I had made a GRUB boot diskette and booted it up in grub.

Another few minutes of playing around looking for the kernel and ramdisk images and I was able to boot it up then run grub-install and rescue the grub partition and was away laughing again.

Learn up on the GRUB options as well as lilo.

[heavygrubs]

Could you give me a link to find Mandrake? (i need the ftp)
plz....

[Ryochan7]

Originally posted by heavygrubs
Could you give me a link to find Mandrake? (i need the ftp)
plz....

You can always go to http://www.linuxiso.org and go to the Mandrake section there to download it. It has several different places where you can download, so if one server is busy, you can switch to another.

[endoalpha]

http://www.google.com/search?q=mandrake%20download&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

gives about 450,000 results. I can't believe you asked that question.

[heavygrubs]

I meant to say: whats the fastest place to D/l it from? (cause none of these places max out...., they all get like 10kb/s....

[barneyt]

Hey Heavygrubs,

Don't get discouraged. Mandrake 9.1 is excellent and probably what you should start with (or Red Hat.... I personally like Mandrake though). The install is simple and not complicated for newbies.

Take your time though. It sounds like you are in a rush and you will make mistakes if you do not take your time and learn slowly. Post your results for us to see........

Barney :cool:

[Ryochan7]

All the mirrors on Linux ISOs are really fast. The one I like the best is ftp://ftp.surfnet.nl on the mirror list. I usually get an average download speed around 350kb/s from that mirror. I have done a lot of distro swapping, trying to figure out which distro was best for me, and that mirror has always given me the fastest downloads. The slowest download I have ever gotten from any of the mirrors on Linux ISOs would be around 130kb/s, so you should be fine no matter which mirror in the Mandrake section you decide to use.

[Fryguy8]

allright, I'm going to shout:

PLEASE READ THE INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE DIVING HEADFIRST INTO AN INSTALL, ESPECIALLY AN INSTALL OF A DISTRO KNOWN TO BE HARD, AND _ESPECIALLY_ WHEN YOU LACK COMMON KNOWLEDGE SUCH AS BOOTLOADERS ETC.

oh and one more thing:


IF YOU HAVE STUFF YOU CARE ABOUT, BACK IT UP, WHETHER YOU ARE INSTALLING AN OS OR NOT.

With that said, if you don't even know what a bootloader is, nor have any idea where to look for one, I highly recommend moving AWAY from slackware to an easier distro. If you struggle with a bootloader now, you'll struggle with network later, with X11 later, etc. Go grab mandrake 9.1 and start there, then when you learn more try a harder distro.

[arun3]

dude, just go to tuxcds.com and buy the distro you want, it's really cheap, i got Slackware for $3.75 and you can get Mandrake for just under $10. That way everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.

Then once you're familiar w/ everything, download what you want. I personally reccomend using Mandrake until you get sick of it (about 3 weeks for me) and then switch to Slack.