Newbie: Which Dist?

[RadeonDude]

Hello, I'm totally new to linux and this cool fourm...

In a few hours of a few replies or tomorrow I'm going to reformat my system cause I want to install Win98se,Win2000, and Linux on my system. I have one problem...I dont know anything about LINUX! Ok, I know some stuff...not enough tough to help me chose a distribution. Some here comes my questions... Which dist. do I choose, for a person thats used to easy installs like Windows? Also that is free, and full of goodies... Where can I download it? I'm hoping to download, burn the ISO, then reformat. THANKS!

[Jeepsta]

Search the boards and look over the NHF's to find out info about Distro's. You can browse over to www.linuxiso.org (http://www.linuxiso.org) to check out their selection of ISO's for different distributions. Its basically up to you what distro you want. Hope that helped some.

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Its a jeep thing... You wouldn't understand.

[rod]

Both of these have fairly easy installs: Stormix-->Debian based or Mandrake-->Rehat based.

Regards,
Rod

[RadeonDude]

What is used more... and liked more?

Also where can I find faster servers?

[RadeonDude]

I leaning towards DEBIAN...

[TaeShadow]

If you're looking for goodies, Mandrake is the way to go. It's got over 2 gigs of extra software. I prefer Slackware, but I started off with Mandrake and I do love it.

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by RadeonDude:
I leaning towards DEBIAN...

do you want it easy or challenging

do you like command line or gui?

are you going to do regular desktop stuff (like winders) or setup servers from the command line?

[RadeonDude]

I like GUI...Window stuff...I'm mainly going to use it to learn linux and use build web-sites and 3D stuff.

I want to make it an easy install.

[This message has been edited by RadeonDude (edited 05 January 2001).]

[demian]

Personally I'd recommend SuSE to get into Linux. The install is amazingly easy but then I think any of the major distros will do it for you. It all comes down to personal taste (yes, I know we had that sentence countless times..) Maybe Slackware and Debian are not such a good choice. While I'm using Debian myself and just love it, it seems more suited if you have a little experience. The same applies to Slackware.

Oh, and welcome on board :-) and please let us know when you blast away you Win partitions to make more room for Linux ;-)

Cheers, Demian

[Signum]

Im really new to linux and I started with mandrake. It has a really easy install and seems to be good for newbies. It also comes with most progs that you will need for starters, and a lot more. Also, what kind of modem/isp do you have? I had trouble installing mine (cable, @home). Works now though.

[zippohippo]

If you're looking for the smoothest Windows --> Linux transition, Corel (even though it's not really welcome in the community, as you are bound to find out later) is a good start. It's based on Debian, so you know it's made from good stock. Corel did a nice job of keeping things simple (too simple for some tastes). Caldera is another route you might choose. I use Mandrake 7.2 personally, though it does border on shovelware with all the crap you get (believe me, some of it is crap). 'Drake is easy to install, and has a nice set of set-up tools, to make your life easy. Welcome to the party.

PS: Learning Linux is almost like learning computers all over again. If you keep using Windows as a reference, you're going to really mess yourself up. The best way I can reccomend learning is to throw everything out, and start fresh.

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"Quiet brain, or I'll stab you with a Q-Tip!"
-Homer J. Simpson, Sector 7G

[KT]

Okay here is my 2 cents

I started out on Linux Mandrake. Had it up and running the first time. No problem whatsoever. I recommend you start with it.
However there is a downside, mandrake autodetects and configures so much, you might get 'used' to it, and not really know how the insides work.

I broke free by setting up another partition and installing Debian. I love it. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif Thats ALL I'm going to say.

[pcorbett]

I am in the same position myself - deciding which distro to go for next. I did have Red Hat 7 installed but had many probs with it. Apparently it is still full of bugs so to learn it you don't know wether it is you that has screwed up or it is one of the bugs.
RH6.2 is the one to go for if you like RH.

I personally am going for Debian. Mainly because i am downloading it and not buying it. You only need a few files to get yourself working and then you can pick and chose what you want after that.

I think the main thing for a beginner (is for me) is how easy it is to install programs and upgrades. Red Hat use the RPM method. I personally couldn't get to grips with it. Too much messing about with dependancies an' all that. That is why I am about to try debian's 'get-apt'. Not tried it yet but from what I've read it is brill.

I have windows on my machine as well in dual boot. Which is why I never use the GUI - get enough of it with windows. - It's nice to go back in time and get your hands dirty again.

There is a NHF describing some of the distros here.

Which ever one you choose - try to have fun.
And before you decide to give up - try another distro. You will find many people on here have probably tried them all and some will have two or three installed together.

Enough of this.....have fun

[RadeonDude]

Thanks Guys for all your help!

I have Bellsouth ADSL... its a 3com PCI modem
any problems?

[berb]

trassh the nic.. I spent days trying to get my DSL up and running just to find out that, while my system said it had the driver, said it was installed - it still wouldn't work properly. I went out and got the oldest, cheapest nic I could fins (SMC $12) and it has been working like gangbusters since.
As for the ADSL - checkout this RoaringPenguin site (http://www.roaringpenguin.com/pppoe/) for a good PPPoe client.

Hope this helps.


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I've got a special dispensation from original sin.

[RadeonDude]

Its not a NIC its the ADSL modem that I have in the PCI...I use PPoA...some ATM thinghy.

[Lend273]

I am relatively new to Linux but I have tried 4 ditros so far. I started with RedHat 7.0 but didn't like using RPM. I then installed Libranet Debian which I really like and still use alot. I tried installing Slackware 7.1 but I'm having a really hard time configuring X properly. I recently installed SuSe 7.0 and I like it alot also. So I'll probably end up keeping Debian and Suse on my machine.
Linux rocks! ( along with Linuxnewbie.org)

Len

[DrDrake]

The PPPoA internal card will not work with linux ( I had a 3060 ). The upside to this is since it is internal, even windows has driver problems with it. If you call up your ISP for about a week, and each day tell them the modem just uninstalled itself and you need a external they will provide. I know for a fact that ameritech no longer installs internal adsl modems anymore due to this. When they get you a external modem (either a westell or acatel), they will also switch you to pppoe.

DrDrake

[Dru Lee Parsec]

A perfectly good Distro with lots of cool applications that's easy to install, run, and learn for a newbie is Mandrake 7.2

My suggestion is to go to www.cheapbytes.com (http://www.cheapbytes.com) and order their Mandrake 7.2 CD's for $3.99 I did that and I had no problems at all. I would, however, suggest that you set up your network and printers after teh installation instead of inside the installation. I did have quite a few problems with that in the 7.2 Beta 3 release.

This will give you a LInux distro with KDE and Gnome with several window managers to run under GNome (I'm using the default Sawfish). You also get lots of applications, games, and utilities.

If you're a Java Programmer then DO NOT select the Java installation under "Development Tools" 7.2 installs an old version of Java directly into /usr/local instead of installing a recent version into a friendly location like /usr/local/java

Debian, Slackware, etc are all good distros. But from a newbie point of view Mandrake is an excellent starting point. And the cheapbytes CD's are the right price.

[TC]

The best dist for newbies would be a Debian release. The easiest to install would therefore be Stormix (Debian based). You can find Stormix or Storm Linux at:
http://www.stormix.com/products/download/download_html

You can send for the dist, download the ISO and burn it to CD, or you can do an FTP install. See their homepage for details.

If you would prefer a Redhat based dist, then use Mandrake which can be found at:

http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/

TC

PS - We use both Stormix and Mandrake at the university I work at. I prefer Stormix!!

[henri]

I installed an oldie (Yggdrasil), something always existing Red Hat (4.x), SuSE and Mandrake my preferred are Mandrake First then SuSE.
Mandrake's (KDE) menus are much more clean, sorted and selected than SuSE' ones.
Both are as easy to install than each other.
And Mandrake's (france) people are very kind to answer questions on linux would it be a SuSE Distro (questions which weren't answered by SuSE's people : to late after registering!)

[LordBug]

I just wish this forum had been around 4 years ago, when I first started tinkering http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif

I started off with Slackware (3.x if I remember right). After 2 botched installs and a week of figuring things out (RTFM took on a whole new level of importance at that time), I got it up and running. Learned quite a lot with it.

Linux went away for a while though (various reasons), so my second "tinkering period" was done with RedHat 6.2. I liked the RPM system (cuz I'm lazy), and got everything running much faster than the first try (except X, but that's another story...)

That box got buried until last week, when I decided to try and leave it up constantly and really learn some things. I woulda kept using RH 6.2, but I forgot my root password (DOH!). So I tried RH 7.0 (*shudder*) and couldn't even get the boot disks to boot. So I tried out Suse 7.0. Nice, simple install. Did the "just install everything damnit" version (and later removed what I didn't need (since Suse uses RPM, it was a simple matter)). I am liking Suse a lot and I find Yast a nice tool for quick configuring. Not much more to say about now, as I am still re-building the hardware (still need a CDROM and mouse) and haven't had time to dig into Suse.

From my own personal experiences, I would recommend you at least consider Suse 7.0 as one of your choices.

[Kalten]

Hi all,
I am also new to Linux. On a recomendation froma friend I downloaded Mandrake 7.2 and burnt the CDs.
Now before I install it I wanted to know a few things:
First - I currently run Windows ME on my system and don't want to get rid of it so will Mandrake duel boot well with it?

Second - Why is there so much apathy for Windows? I feel that without Windows and it's associated problems...err...programs there wouldn't even be a Linux! Please remember that Microsoft created Xenix - part of the version of Unix that Linux was developed from (very basicaly!). We all owe Bill Gates a lot for the good things his companny have done for us all. (rant over!) http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif

Third - I keep reading about the get -apt command from Debien, is this command not available for other dists? If not why - shouldn't it just be a simple case of moving the app into something like Mandrake?

Please remember that I'm REALLY new to Linux and just need advice and pointing in the right direction.

Cheers.

[Harvey]

Mandrake is super easy!
Compared to other distros I have tried anyway

[milanuk]

Originally posted by Kalten:
Hi all,
I am also new to Linux. On a recomendation froma friend I downloaded Mandrake 7.2 and burnt the CDs.
Now before I install it I wanted to know a few things:
First - I currently run Windows ME on my system and don't want to get rid of it so will Mandrake duel boot well with it?

Second - Why is there so much apathy for Windows? I feel that without Windows and it's associated problems...err...programs there wouldn't even be a Linux! Please remember that Microsoft created Xenix - part of the version of Unix that Linux was developed from (very basicaly!).


A) I'm not positive, but I think Microsoft didn't have a lot more to do with Xenix, than most *nix companies did back then... Mainly variations of BSD packaged wtih some proprietary tools... kinda like the RedHat/Mandrake thing (ok, Mandrake started splitting off on their own around 7.0, but you get the idea)
B) Linux was evolved from Minix, not Xenix
We all owe Bill Gates a lot for the good things his companny have done for us all. (rant over!) http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif


yep. BG has gone a long ways towards making Linux more popular. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/wink.gif

Third - I keep reading about the get -apt command from Debien, is this command not available for other dists? If not why - shouldn't it just be a simple case of moving the app into something like Mandrake?

The command is apt-get, and the reason it isn't currently used by anyone but Debian and their get, is that it was designed around the Debian packaging system using *.debs. Redhat, SuSE, Mandrake, etc. all use *.rpms. Basically there are some fundamental differences btwn dpkg (the core tool used to manage *.debs) and rpm (core tool for managing *.rpms) There are somethings that each does a bit better than the other, but the overall edge goes to dpkg, especially for allowing tools like apt-get to resolve package dependencies i.e. I want to install this package, which means this one will also have to be installed, but that conflicts w/ this other one, which will have to be removed, but another package depends on that one... It can get to be a very hairy mess, and apt-get is pretty good at doing what computers do best... handle the small details.

There is a port of apt-get to rpm, but it is still kinda beta, though Connectiva (brazilian red-hat based linux) uses it. It could make things _much_ better for users of the rpm based distros

Please remember that I'm REALLY new to Linux and just need advice and pointing in the right direction.

Cheers.



[This message has been edited by milanuk (edited 08 January 2001).]

[pointreyes]

Based on your handle, wait for a Mandrake version that supports the Radeon. That means it will need XFree86 4.0.2 on the distro.

I finally got my 64Meg Radeon VIVO DDR card working in Slackware 7.1 with XFree86 4.0.2 package. I had some extra steps though:
http://www.cusl2.com/UltraBoard/UltraBoard.cgi?action=Read&BID=29&TID=43&SID=1510

The installation of XFree86 4.0.2 was harder in Mandrake than in Slack for me. More good news about the Radeon, there are individuals already working on making the Radeon work in 3D in Linux, currently you are limited to 2D.

[James Bond]

This is just a side note from my experience. I have been using Red Hat 6.1 for a little over a year now. At first the rpm's were great. But, now, they are just getting on my nerves.

-JB

[Parmenion]

Hello all

I have just started using linux about a month ago, and although at first I found it a bit a daunting, it does get easier with each format : - )

I downloaded mandrake 8.2 isos, burned them and installed them, using lilo to dual boot between Windows XP and linux.

The thing with linux is that, OK, its hard to configure for a newbie, but thats where real learning comes into it. I had to completely relearn a lot of new commands and tings in order to get mandrake running ok (and my computer has a geforce Ti4 card, which is not supported under the mandrake 8.2 installation either). It must have taken me 3 weeks to get my monitor running at 1024x768 at 85 hz!

It was great after I finally fixed it through, and very rewarding it is to. You won't get this problem with later releases I reckon.

I have also tried Redhat 7.3, which is actually a lot better LOOKING than mandrake, but the problem I found with it is that it did not automatically mount my fat32 and ntfs partitions under the mnt/ directory, which mandrake did. Redhat has support for my conexant accessrunner ADSL modem as well, which mandrake doesn't, so I have to try to get redhat working instead.

Another problem I had with redhat was that it did'nt configure lilo properly. I have to into linux after the installation and alter the lilo config file to include the partition to windows. I found this by doing a search os the forums. So whats better?

As a newbie myself I found mandrake easier to install, compared to redhat, although red was definetly better presented

[chris_i386]

I tried RH 6.2 on one of my older boxes, but I don't recommend it unless you have a very old computer, because it's pretty outdated.
I don't thing the major Linux companies want their distros to be too easy to upgrade, because then nobody would buy new versions.
I have an old version of SuSE (6.1) lying around, where YAST handles RPM dependancies perfectly, very similar to apt-get / dselect.
But all these old distros lack decent web browsers and free office suites.
How is software management handled in YAST2?

[sharth]

thats really not true. It depends on the nic. Just go down to best buy or your nearest computer store, find out what they have in stock and then ask down here or check the google monster to see what the stance on these nics are.

[CrashTestDummy9]

Mandrake 9.0 release candidate 2 is out now . It has the most recent stable kernel 2.4.19, KDE3.0.3 . GNome 2 . Its the closest thing to windows you can get if you use KDE , and still be Linux .

[Parmenion]

Thanks for the info
I think I'll wait for the oficial release to come out before I install it though, in case the're still some bugs left over from the beta stages.

[mdwatts]

Parmenion...

You would have been better off starting your own thread instead of bringing back a thread that is nearly 2 years old.

Just in case you hadn't noticed. :)

[chris_i386]

Oooops,
didn't notice either...
That just happens if you SAR!
SAR == search and reply

[CrashTestDummy9]

I didnt notice either . DOH!

[Parmenion]

whoops!

My mistake

I was at work, and bored, and found it through a search