[tsunam]

6. Why am I getting a dos prompt instead of a linux installer?

A. You are getting this because when you went to burn the image, you clicked to make the disk bootable. Thus it created a very basic dos shell on the disk. You want to avoid clicking the make this disk bootable

[eddie5659]

merged this here, as requested

eddie

[neos1]

See, this is why I come here. I spend 10 minutes at techguy forums and 10 hours following-up on all the information and links!

[jack213]

Hello people, glad I came accross your discussion cos it's right up the street I want to go but I'm not quite sure how to go about it.

I've got a spare 60gig hdd. I want multiple o/s's on it, Linux to be one.

I have windows 95, 98, 2k, and xp o/s

(I want to install the earlier o/s's so my son (10yrs) can see and experience the progression of the o/s's. as he uses the pc more often for his schoolwork and browsing etc.- as well as my own interest in non-windows systems and browsers.)

I would like a clear choice of o/s to boot into on startup.

Specific questions:

1) Will fdisk allow me to create enough partitions to achieve all this? ( I think I'd only need small partitions for older windows o/s's - not much storage space required)

2) What should I format the hdd as - FAT 32 or NTFS?

3) I'm not sure I would like to set this hdd as a slave to this 40gig hdd. Would it be less problematic and a better idea to have it independant and connect it when we chose to?

4) I've read about this Fedora Project. I have a copy of Red Hat 7 on cd. Which would be better for an absolute beginner to set up and where do you download Fedora from and/or Red Hat 9.

5) Can I achieve all this without having to purchase expensive disk partitioning software. If so, what would I need and where could I get freeware to do this.

6) Any links to "plain english" sites that would give the basics in using + browsing with Linux

Any help greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

[subgeniusd]

Regarding #6-www.tuxmagazine.com (for the new user) and www.xandros.com (click " support " tab then forums). Xandros is designed for Windows refugees and the forums are full of basic info absent any snotty linuxgeek RTFM flames (read the f-ing manual). I am "using and browsing with Linux" at this moment-Xandros 3.0 standard. Skip the OCE freebie-the commercial versions are quite affordable and you get the XN application.(check out the Xandros Networks forum).

[webguru]

Well tsunam this is the most precise outline on linux I ever read anywhere. You covered almost all the basic information any newbiew who needs to know about linux... great job!

[guitar21]

can i use linux to scan my windows partition for windows viruses

[remaja]

great job. Now that I got information about it. I feel like going in and start on looking under the hood.

[briealeida]

guitar21: Yes, you can.
Here's a link to a little more info: http://www.patoche.org/LTT/all/00000007.html

[heiichi]

I'm also trying to learn linux, right now I installed Suse 10.1 on one of my harddrive but I'm not quite happy with its performance, program seem runs slower than my xp . Maybe because it is not configured well... (it's my first time).

Is it possible to install two different distribution in one harddrive (like Suse and Ubuntu)? So I can decide later which distribution I will stick into?

TIA.

[CrazyComputerMan]

Hey Thanks for information dude!

[guitar]

pclinuxos-2007 is what i'm downloading atm its my first look at useing linux and it is supposed to be similar to xp which i currently use is this a good choice for a linux newbie or suggestions for another thanks

[Fizz.lechat]

Hi,
Nice outline but this thread could use some updating... Linux has evolved a lot over the last 2-3 years. Since most people associate computers with "Windoze" they think that one is only possible with the other. The explanation of what Linux IS should also mention that ALL computers have an OS (operating system) such as Linux, Windoze, Unix, Mac OS-X, DOS, etc...

That original post is very good and must have taken a bit of time to put together, hat's off to Whiteskin, Tsunam and the rest of you!

In another post the question was if Windoze programs could be used in Linux? A reference was made to WINE but I myself am maybe more willing to go the distance than others but I'm still a beginner and very shy of the command line. So I would suggest to consult "The table of equivalents / replacements / analogs of Windows software in Linux." which is available at http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html

Personally, I have converted all 4 desktops in the house to Linux Ubuntu 7.10, as well as my laptop which is a dual boot (Win2k & Ubuntu 7.10). My sister live's 10 minutes from me and her desktop is dual-boot also. My 69 year old mom's laptop is dual-boot and she requires much less phone support in Linux than she did for WinXP, in fact she gave me her desktop to fix a recurring freeze up problem and then she wants Ubuntu 7.10 installed...
With a dual-boot all your Windoze data files, photos, documents are available and accessible in Linux!

Linux has come a long way, unfortunately since it's free there is no definite way of documenting exactly how many users there are. When you buy Windoze it shows one more user documented, but when 23 people install Linux from a free CD I gave them it's not documented anywhere... Even worse though is all the people I know who have purchased a new PC or laptop with the Microsoft tax (Windoze pre-installed) and they then reformat the drive and install a version of Linux.... Each one of them still counts as another Windoze license sold... OK, sorry for the rant...

There is lots of Linux info and community support out there, go for it!

BTW, anyone can try Linux without installing it on your computer. All you have to do is get a "Live-CD" from a magazine like Linux Format or download one from a website and then you'll see if all your hardware works then you can either install it on the whole disk or dual-boot with Windows... It's very easy and takes about 30 minutes to install! Just follow standard precautions, backup your data first!!!

I could go on and on....

[subgeniusd]

Originally Posted by guitar

pclinuxos-2007 is what i'm downloading atm its my first look at useing linux and it is supposed to be similar to xp which i currently use is this a good choice for a linux newbie or suggestions for another thanks

I've been using PCLOS 2007 for several months now (and at the moment). Yes it is great for newcomers with a wonderful community that includes many advanced users. Good luck Dan.

[1002richards]

Is it OK to add a post? Oh well, here goes .....!!
How about a 'newbies' guide to dual booting? Perhaps start with Ubuntu/XP on a machine with XP already installed?
Then add various other combinations?
I'm not tech savvy enough to do this!

If not a new guide written for TSG, perhaps some links to good step by step guides for beginners?

Richard