Very new t Linux

Ronin · 06-13-2006, 11:07 PM

Im a complete newbie when it comes to Linux, I really know nothing about it.
Where can someone like me start? I would love to get some basic linux skills down and also use Linux as a secondary OS to Windows.

Where do I start? Which distribution do I use, aren't they all the same??

please help!

dr911 · 06-14-2006, 02:09 AM

Hey Ronin,

Look at this links for some info.

Free Ubuntu Linux..

Ubuntu CD's came in!

I just received my Ubuntu CD's in the mail. It took 6 weeks for them to get here. There are 2 CD's in the set. If you want "fool" around with Ubuntu.....go into your "BIO's" and switch the order of "start-up" or "booting order" from "hard drive" first to CD...1st. Before shutting down your PC...insert the "LIVE" CD. Then restart your PC. The Ubuntu will load up without putting any files on your HD. !!

firestorm · 06-14-2006, 08:20 AM

Ubuntu is a good starter. I like Fedora b/c it has more bells and whistles. Just google around on linux tutorials. If you wanna learn the roots of Linux view rute.
http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz

-fire

OulZac · 06-14-2006, 12:22 PM

if you really want to learn and play with all distros, go out and drop $29.99 on the new 2006 linux bible, can be bought at any online book store or at most book stores. It has a DVD and a CD with many many distros, and will teach you the basics, its a very good tool for beginers.

OulZac · 06-14-2006, 03:28 PM

also, check this site out, this is my buddys, totaly forgot about it, very good material on it:
http://www.freeprogrammingresources.com/linuxbooks.html

The first link you will see on his site is to this:
http://www.linuxnewbieguide.org/

hope you find them usefull

Ronin · 06-18-2006, 07:28 PM

Thank you everyone!

You say you ordered Ubuntu on CD, can I download this? I have a fast connection so would prefer to download it.

I've checked out the links you guys posted, all very helpful, I've printed out around 50 pages of inf so far!

OulZac · 06-20-2006, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronin

Thank you everyone!

You say you ordered Ubuntu on CD, can I download this? I have a fast connection so would prefer to download it.

I've checked out the links you guys posted, all very helpful, I've printed out around 50 pages of inf so far!

Glad they helped.

as for downloading:

you can get ubuntu HERE
AND
you can get kubuntu HERE

The diferrance you ask, well I am glad you asked that, its a very good question!

Ubuntu use the graphical interface of GNOME, and Kubuntu uses KDE.
Its really a personal thing persay for the choice. most people do not know about Kubuntu.
I prefer KDE so I have both installed, GNOME is okay but KDE is just for me.
You should play with both to see wich one you prefer.

jordan · 08-26-2006, 03:54 PM

I prefer Suse, you might want to check that out as well. Suse is very easy to use. Before that I used Redhat, that is a very popular linux version.

sacx13 · 09-04-2006, 06:19 AM

Kubuntu, Mandriva, Suse are good Linux's for newbies. Try one.

Regards

gurrat · 10-03-2006, 06:21 PM

Even if you are newbie I would recommend Slackware. It is real linux with unix feel and you will have to tweak it a little and that means searching on the web for information and learning. After couple of months of playing with Slackware you will know what and where to do to totally control your operating system. Wow Linux always attracted me because I wanted to feel like geek or nerd hehe which I am not

Anyway check out slax at slax.org ... it is live-cd linux distribution, that means it runs from cd. You can get overview of linux world with this. After you become a little familiar with linux go for the real thing - Slackware or Zenwalk !

Now I don't want to say other distributions are bad but with Slackware and its derivates I learned a lot really and can call myself real Linux expert today.

hitest · 11-20-2006, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gurrat

Even if you are newbie I would recommend Slackware. It is real linux with unix feel and you will have to tweak it a little and that means searching on the web for information and learning. After couple of months of playing with Slackware you will know what and where to do to totally control your operating system. Wow Linux always attracted me because I wanted to feel like geek or nerd hehe which I am not

Anyway check out slax at slax.org ... it is live-cd linux distribution, that means it runs from cd. You can get overview of linux world with this. After you become a little familiar with linux go for the real thing - Slackware or Zenwalk !

Now I don't want to say other distributions are bad but with Slackware and its derivates I learned a lot really and can call myself real Linux expert today.

Great to meet another Slackware user. Yep, Slackware is an excellent distro for learning about Linux. Another good distro is FreeBSD, you will learn a lot with Unix:-)
Slackware is a bit tough for a newbie, but, if you want to try it out it is a great learning experience.
Ubuntu just works out of the box and will even set-up a dual boot for you with winders relatively painlessly. Mandriva, Suse, Fedora are also good distros for a newcomer, with great hardware detection, and intuitive installation routines.

dr911 · 11-20-2006, 10:27 PM

Question for all you "Linux" users.....I have "Ubuntu CD's" in which I have played around with. My question is this....I'm operating 98se and can I "install Ubuntu" on along with 98se......without wiping all my information on my hard drive ?

If possiable.....could someone provide a link to this ?

OulZac · 11-20-2006, 10:36 PM

Hey dr911,

yes this is possible, I have 4 OS's on my main home PC.
if you want to read a tutorial on this, here is a good one:
http://linuxgazette.net/issue38/veselosky.html

You will need a good size space on your HDD or a second drive, and you will setup a boot-loader for dual booting, so everytime you turn on your PC, you get a menu and you can choose which OS you want to boot up.

dr911 · 11-20-2006, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OulZac

Hey dr911,

yes this is possible, I have 4 OS's on my main home PC.
if you want to read a tutorial on this, here is a good one:
http://linuxgazette.net/issue38/veselosky.html

You will need a good size space on your HDD or a second drive, and you will setup a boot-loader for dual booting, so everytime you turn on your PC, you get a menu and you can choose which OS you want to boot up.

Thanks for the "quick" responds....OulZac ! Question......where do I get a free boot-loader, remeber, I'm running 98se !!

OulZac · 11-20-2006, 11:33 PM

when you install unbuntu it will create one for you, its part of the install options.

firestorm · 11-21-2006, 09:46 PM

yup, most linux cd's(if not all) come with their own boot loader. When you put in the cd, it will give you the option of how much space you want to use. Just make sure you have a partition for it. You might wanna make a few backups before partitioning your drive.

hitest · 12-11-2006, 10:16 PM

I've just finished setting up my dual boot Slackware 11.0, FreeBSD 6.1 system.
First I re-sized my sda2 root slackware partition. I did this by booting my computer with an Ubuntu 6.06 CD then re-sizing the partition with Gparted which worked flawlessly, creating room for BSD. I then used Gparted to create another partition.
I then booted my BSD install disks and installed FreeBSD 6.1 to the newly created partition. After the install I booted into Slackware and modified my lilo conf, then ran /sbin/lilo

Here's my liloconf:

# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/sda2
label = Linux
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends
# FreeBSD
other=/dev/sda3
table=/dev/sda
label=FreeBSD

I can now boot either Slackware or BSD with lilo:-)

hitest · 12-11-2006, 10:20 PM

Note: Ubuntu will automagically re-size your windows partition for you. But, make sure the partition sizes are correct and that you have enough space for windows and Ubuntu. As others have mentioned back-up your windows stuff in case things go awry.