[C0aster]

I've heard great things about LINUX, and want to give it a whirl. I was wondering if there's anyone here who's experienced with LINUX, and could give me some insiders!

I'm also wondering how I could... Divide my harddrive so I could get some space for LINUX--I don't know how to do this. I've partitioned my HD into two, 20G counterparts, but they're both as WINXP--Winxp did this automatically while formatting.

I'm so confused!

Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance,
Me.

[MowermanEd]

Go to: http://www.ubuntulinux.org/ and download a copy of their live CD. It's an iso file that you can burn with Nero into a bootable CD that you can test/play with linux. Once burnt, just insert it into you cd drive and reboot and Unbuntu linux will load without making any changes whatsoever to your system.

[JohnWill]

How about we move you over to the Linux/Unix forum where those guys hang out?

[saikee]

MowermanEd's suggestion is to start with Linux Live CD with which you can have a full blown operaing system runs on a CD without being installed into a hard disk. This is good for exploring what Linux is all about.

To put a Linux into your PC you need the following

(1) Hard disk unallocated space squeezed out of XP. This has to be done by Windows software like Partition Magic. Some Linux distros may offer to do it during installation but it is risky to a newcomer as one wrong step can render both systems unbootable.

(2) The first Linux needs two partitions. One about 5 to 10 Gb for the Linux and a Swap partition twice the size of the PC memory. You can create these two partition with a Live CD.

(3) Choose a Linux and install into it. A distro comes in one CD should be able to go into a 5Gb partition but multi-CD distros or in DVD may need a 10Gb partition for residence.

(4) It is customary in the installation of a Linux your XP will be dual-booted by the Linux's boot loader.

Seek help from the forum whever you have a need

[bigbear]

Can Linux be installed on a clean hard drive? or does windows have to be installed to load drivers etc for the motherboard?

[phillip1891]

Linux can be installed on a computer with ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER OS INSTALLED. Linux is completely independent of ms-windows. It can read windows partitions though and even run windows programs with wine (http://www.winehq.org).
For a permanent linux installation for beginners, I recommend Mandrake (www.mandrakelinux.com)

[saikee]

The correct interpretation I prefer to use is an operating system must reside inside it own partition. One can have as many operating systems as one like, suject to the limitations of the hard drives, and they can all operating independently, one at a time. To operating more than one at a time one needs to go with VMware or similar.

The fundamental issue of having more than one operating system in a box is how to boot them. In this respect Linux has the best boot loaders in the business. You can pile any number of systems and the Linux boot loaders can boot all of them.

When one wishes to work across more than one platflorm, say Windows and Linux, then Linux has a lot more tools and abilities. Windows does not support Linux and provides no official support to work with Linux, except its NT versions of Windows boot loader NTldr can multi-boot Linux too. NTldr is not in the same league as the Linux boot loader Lilo or Grub.

It is a misconception that Linux needs drivers provided by Windows. Linux has excellent generic drivers which are adequate for the general applications. As an example, I have installed over 100 distros and used 3 different PCs and have not had to bother with a driver yet.

[bigbear]

The reason I asked was have I lots of old bits of computers enough to build another computer and I want to try Linux separate from windows.
As I understand it I go to the website in the link, download and copy linux to a cd and then load onto a clean hard drive the sameway as windows correct? all the generic drivers for the motherboard are built into linux correct?

[CouchMaster]

Originally Posted by bigbear

The reason I asked was have I lots of old bits of computers enough to build another computer and I want to try Linux separate from windows.
As I understand it I go to the website in the link, download and copy linux to a cd and then load onto a clean hard drive the sameway as windows correct? all the generic drivers for the motherboard are built into linux correct?

You will DL a Linux ISO which must be burned to a CDR as an image file. If you just copy it to a CD it will not work. Set the computer to boot from the CD drive first in the BIOs - Linux will do the rest, just follow the on-screen instructions.

[saikee]

Pretty much so. The 3 computers I mentioned were self-assembled. Linux's thrives on older components but still does pretty well with new components in my opinion.

There are two camps in Linux users. One camp the users will only feed Linux with obsolete equipment that they can't run on Windows. The other camp feed Linux with the latest CPU, video cards and newest components expecting Linux can take off and complain bitterly if it doesn't. The latter group gives Linux a bad name.

Linux isn't one operating system but has hundreds of versions to suit different needs. One should be able to have better use of the old equipment in Linux as some versions are tailored specially for low level of resources.

The best way to go about it is to download a Live CD, burn it into a CD and see for yourself how comprehensive a system can be running purely on a CD without being installed into a hard disk. See if you can use it to see all your photos, work on your documents, play your MP3 musice while surfing the Internet. Visit web sites like Distrowatch as there is a popularity chart showing the most popular distros available for download.

Linux can co-exist with any system and act as a super utility to it because Linux can reach parts in the PC many other systems can't. There is no need to give up your Windows for it at all. You can have both available as choices and compare them yourself.

Windows do not support Linux and would not mount its partitions. Current Linux can mount WIndows partitions, read but not write on NTFS partitions. Thus it is pretty safe and damn difficult to have one damging the other.

Many users may not realise that Linux is a people's system jointly developed all over the world. Th last time I counted the distros in my box they were work from 27 countries. Many excellent work came from Europe.

Newcomers will be shocked to find out how mature and capable Linux is even ignoring it is a free system.

[bigbear]

Ok thats great guys I will give it a try, could you recommend a website and which one to try first just to get the hang of it
Thanks Again

[saikee]

This forum is it.

For a starter you can also read the forum library and tutorial materials in other forums like "JustLinux" and "LinuxQuestion.org".

The "Distrowatch" also has plenty useful information