Which distro of linux should I learn on

[Jera1]

I have no idea about linux except for one thing. I want to use it. By saying that I want you to understand I dont want a wimpy gui version where everything is done for me so I am not learning to use linux. I want a version where I will be in the command line. That is the way to learn how to become one with your os. I realize it will take time but I am willing and able to do the work. Please give me your suggestions along with a link to get the iso etc.

P.S. I want to start out slow, I dont want to use a server version, I want a workstation so that I can learn from the ground up aka from user (workstation) to admin (server).



Thanks,

Jera1

[The Whizzard]

First off, Linux is inherently a server OS but during install you can chose not to install the server related packages.

That being said, I would suggest Debian or Slackware. Both require to be installed from the CLI and requires a good amount of manual configuration.

Red Hat, Fedora, Mandrake and SuSE pretty much does most of the configuration for you, so I'd stay away from those for now.

After you get some experience, you can try Gentoo or LFS. Both are good for intermediate to advanced users who wish to learn a great deal about Linux. Both require compiling the entire system. I'm don't remember about Gentoo, but LFS also requires you to create all the startup and configuration files by hand.

[Jera1]

Not quite sure if I could do an entire install through the command line because I have never used an OS besides winblows before. Thank you for the input tho.



Thanks,

Jera1

[Pain]

You always have the option of doing everything from the command line in most any distro. I started off with Mandrake not knowing anything about Linux. The nice thing about it is that it got all my hardware working automatically on the install and lets me do pretty much everything I used to do in Windows while I work my way thru a book that teaches me how to do the same thing manually with the console. Some things like installing 3D drivers or installing a 3rd party program still needs to be done using the console, so your still going to learn it.

If you start off with something that does not even work out of the box like say your on board NIC, then your going to have to keep going back into Windows to check your email or to even ask a question. Other things like getting stuck in 320x640 and 16 colors while your trying to figure everthing out is just too annoying and your going to get discouraged before you even give Linux a chance.

[ShieldWolf]

You're asking for an AWFULLY steep learning curve there. I would STRONGLY suggest that you start with a "Newbie Friendly" distro like Mandrake/RedHat/Suse, so that you don't get discouraged and ed up going back to that other OS because you can't figure out something basic, likehow to connect to the internet from the command line.

Once you have a working system that will let you do all of the day-to-day tasks that you now do in Windows, you'll be able to concentrate on learning the CLI, because you'll have a GUI to fall back on. Kind of a safety net, if you will.

I still use Mandrake, and I've been using linux since 1999. I don't always use the GUI, but It's nice to have. Especially for surfing the 'net, watching movies, and working with photos.

If you're still determined to go with a CLI only, try Debian, and don't install X.

[Jera1]

Thanks I think I will go with mandrake because I have a cd with version 8 on it.

[EDIT] P.S. not sure where this would get posted (although I did post it somewhere but not sure where) but I cant see the writing in the web browser because the text is too small or that is what I am assuming. I looked at the help files at the top in the browser but no mention of this. Can I please get a bit of help on this.
[EDIT (again)] AHA I found the magnification thing at the top and that makes it so I can see what I am typing and reading. Can I set it so that it is always this size? If so how?

Thanks,

Jera1

[gehidore]

try pressing/holding ctrl then use your scroll wheel up and down to change text size

[duncanbojangles]

Nein! Look, you want CLI, but you'd still like to be able to fall back on windows if you FUBAR something? Try FLOPPIX (http://www.floppix.com) . It is a two *floppy* disk linux distro based on Debian (bleh), but it is fairly full featrued and their website has a good list of tutorials to get you started. It doesn't allow you to write anything to your hard drive, so you can't mess anything up. Read and print the tutorials, make the two disks, stick 'em in your computer and reboot. Just like that, linux. When you feel like you've got the hang of it (or you start wondering why you can't do certain things), I'd suggest Slackware (http://www.slackware.com). I've heard that Gentoo (http://www.gentoo.org) is good too, but I haven't tried it so I can't tell you whether or not to use it. Floppix == good to learn basics, Slackware == good to learn advanced, LFS or stage 4 Gentoo == Godlike abilities. Hope this helps. Oh yeah, no GUI in floppix. :)

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Jera1
Not quite sure if I could do an entire install through the command line because I have never used an OS besides winblows before. Thank you for the input tho.



Thanks,

Jera1
To clarify a bit...Slackware is not strictly a commandline install...it's done with ncurses....which is a type of text-based graphical application.

[hard candy]

Which distro of linux should I learn on
The free one.

[XiaoKJ]

Ok, for the perfect learning curve for everyone, I would recommend the newbie friendly ones first, just to learn the most important ones in this community like how to mount the floppy.

After learning these, go on with gentoo. Learn how to set up gentoo. That is all gentoo is all about -- to set up a fully customizable distro for all computers.

Then you can move on to the debian type distros that, although easy to setup, but are essentially hard to maintain. These I mean that it has the minimal components of easier machines, like having only vi.

Finally, you can move to the hardy linuxes that comprise mostly of the kernel.

All along, RTFM and these forums. It helps to see the problems faced by others and learn from them. Millions of minds and computers can meet up with all the problems. Then try to build a LFS.

[IsaacKuo]

I've just started messing with Knoppix, a Debian type distribution. It's awesome, I can experiment around with a full featured office desktop right off of the CD, without messing with the hard drive unless I want to. Already, it's my number one choice for emergency system recovery disc, replacing all of my previous utility CDs in one fell swoop--plus giving me full GUI OS/software functionality I never enjoyed before in a mere "recovery CD".

It amazes me how quickly and completely Knoppix autodetects all of my hardware on bootup. It doesn't get much more newbie-friendly than this!

[Uranus]

I immediately started with Gentoo (several weeks ago:)), and I love it - it forces you to learn a lot from the beginning. I'd guess LFS makes you learn even more, but I wouldn't dare without any experience (maybe I'll try it in the near future).
Good luck and don't get discouraged, cause there's little as much fun as linux ;)

Sam