Linux newb looking for help.

[ASCI Blue]

Age old question of which Distro to run. I've been warned about using a second hdd for running Linux, just wondering now about the sizes of the distros. Mandrake is 1 gig, how about RH, does Debian come with or can a GUI be added? How cranky are the linux os's in supporting strange hardware? I've got 2 NICs, one Aopen and one LinkSys Phoneline they're detected by Windoze ME as Broadcom and Realtek. I've also seen that the new Xfree supports Radeon which makes me want to take the plunge as well. Thank everyone in advance for their suggestions and information.

[Whipping Boy]

http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/cool.gifSlackware http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/cool.gif

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Kurt Weber
Shell scripts? Shell scripts? We don't NEED no stinkin' shell scripts!
White, heterosexual, middle-class, and proud!
I've never understood why Bill Gates would name his company after his penis

[i8degrees]

Hmm, I would choose Mandrake if you are a newbie to Linux and because Mandrake sets up the hardware the easiest. I would go out and buy the packaged version (for the documentation) and see how you like it. The size of the distro is according to what you install http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif How big of a hard disc can you get? With hard disc prices so low here in the US, a 4gb is about $60.

[ASCI Blue]

I was thinking of picking up a 2 giger but 4 would make more sense.

[i8degrees]

Now, Linux distros can definitely fit on 2gb easily, but you need some experience on selecting which packages you need and which ones you don't. I would go with 4gb if it isn't too much more money. 4gb will be all you need for a long time probably. Hell, I couldn't hardly find a way of filling up 8gb for Linux partitions, and now I have a 45gb hard disc!

[ASCI Blue]

Hrm..seems we're getting a bit off track :P Now that we've decided on a 4+ gig drive which distro I've got one Slack and one for Drake. What about RedHat or Debian. I've tried the shell replacement Lite Step for winblows and had no luck getting it to work. Damn I want transparent windows. :P

[chrisB1]

Go with Mandrake, probably easier to start with.

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Gravity sucks

[Whipping Boy]

http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/cool.gifSlackware http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/cool.gif will teach you a hell of a lot more.

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Kurt Weber
Shell scripts? Shell scripts? We don't NEED no stinkin' shell scripts!
White, heterosexual, middle-class, and proud!
I've never understood why Bill Gates would name his company after his penis

[Harry Potter]

If I were you, I would start with Mandrake, which is very hardware friendly. Then, when you have learned what you can from Mandrake, you can always move on to another distro. Also, for what purposes will you be using your Linux box? Will you be downloading many files, lots of MP3's for instance? If so, go with a bigger hard drive... whatever you can afford. In the event that you should choose a larger hard drive for a dual-boot situation, Mandrake's GRUB is great for handling the big gig hard drives.

[This message has been edited by Harry Potter (edited 28 January 2001).]

[DJ-dOoK]

It all depends on whether you are prepared to get things done for you and have everything work first time. If you want to ensure that everything works without having to worry about how to set it up, go with Mandrake. However, if you want to jump in and get your hands dirty, I would go with Debian, as it teaches you a lot but also gives you a very powerful packaging system.

It is up to you and how much work you are prepared to put into it.

Good Luck!

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One day, the DJ declared! Let this OS be taken to the world, and Linux was introduced to many frustrated windows users!

[paully1]

Originally posted by ASCI Blue:
Age old question of which Distro to run. I've been warned about using a second hdd for running Linux, just wondering now about the sizes of the distros. Mandrake is 1 gig, how about RH, does Debian come with or can a GUI be added? How cranky are the linux os's in supporting strange hardware? I've got 2 NICs, one Aopen and one LinkSys Phoneline they're detected by Windoze ME as Broadcom and Realtek. I've also seen that the new Xfree supports Radeon which makes me want to take the plunge as well. Thank everyone in advance for their suggestions and information.
I'm curious as too what warning you received about running linux on a second hard drive. That's how I have it set up and I love. I've been running slackware like this for a few months now and previously ran redhat in the same fashion. It seems like it would be safer than putting lilo or something in the mbr wouldnt it? I dontknow.


paully

[ASCI Blue]

My primary use would most likely be for internet based use, IRC, ICQ, AIM, etc. I intend on dual booting with WinME for games.
As for what I heard about dual hard disks it was suggested to me that I use a second hard drive because a misinstall of Linux can repartition/reformat drives. On it's own drive it won't hurt anything, on a drive with another OS all hell could break loose.

[ASCI Blue]

Another question reguarding compilation, I've got a copy of RH 5 on CD which I recently discovered. Is there any way to make that 5.x 7.x? New kernels or something? atm I'd like to save time and money as I don't have much and will be moving soon nor do I want to spend days downloading 'drake. Is upgradeing an older distro a resonable idea to get into Linux?