I wanna try linux

[Maximilian]

So. What one should i get? Where can i get it? What do i do to install it as there is no CD? I just wonder what its like and since im going back home ASAP as ive ran out of food/clean dishes and its near christmas, i figured i could try it on my dual pIII soon to be dual opteron rig. Please advise me on what to do, ive never even seen linux before, well i seen a screenshot of somthing called red hat 5 a while ago but thats all.

I know itll never replace windows, but i wanna give it a try anyways. As long as it dosent install over my copy of XP PRO, or screw around with its files.

PS: Will i have to partition my hard drive for a dual boot? If i do have to, then does it need to be formatted?

 

[drag]

Well Ubuntu has a good community around it. Getting into a local linux user group or a IRC channel online can be very helpfull also. Ubuntu has some ubuntu specific forums.

It's very different from Windows.

Goto ubuntu.org and check out their 'wiki'. It's got documentation and you can read through that and see how much sense that makes. People that would help you out expect that you spend your time learning and do research on your own first. If it's covered in documentation or a simple google search then they might get upset and start calling you names or something like that.

The easiest way to try out Linux is to use something like Knoppix.

Knoppix is a live cdrom, that is the OS runs directly from your cdrom and does not require you to install anything on your harddrive.

Knoppix and other linux things like install cdroms distribute their cds in the form of ISO files. These are images of cdroms and you have to burn them to a cd as a iso image (as opposed to simply copying them to a cdrom).

knoppix.net has ftp sites as well as bittorrent links. It's a German project so be sure to get the -EN images for english. (also they offer DVD images so be sure to pick which version you need, dvd or cdrom)


Ubuntu also has a live cdrom for a demo.. but generally to use it you install it in the conventional manner,

Ubuntu also distributes install cdroms as iso images. They also offer to mail you a install cdrom free of charge if you want that instead of burning it yourself. Check out their website.

Generally you'd install off of the cdrom and download most of your software through the package management software. Read the wiki and docs for details on how to setup all of that.

 

[networkman]

I just installed Ubuntu successfully the other day with nearly zero knowledge of Linux before-hand, so it's a fair bet you can handle it.

By "nearly" I mean that I did know the command "ls", but that's about it.

 

[Robor]

I instaled Ubuntu on a spare hard drive last Monday/Tuesday and messed around with it. Out of the box my hardware was all supported. We use Fedora Core for some things at work so I put that on another spare hard drive on Wednesday and I've been using it since. And believe it or not, it actually can replace Windows with a little effort.

 

[sigs3gv]

For a beginner, I recommend Ubuntu.

Being a Slackware user, I gave Ubuntu a try this past weekend and I recommend it. It's extremely easy to install packages.
It detected all my desktop hardware and everything works well.

 

[LokeanSon]

I recommend Suse 10. But honestly, I don't think you could go wrong with either, based on what I've read of Ubuntu.

 

[sourceninja]

I would also recomend ubuntu. Suse is also very good and worth the time to try. Those are my top two recomendations for people who want to try linux. If you are not sure, try a live CD. The ubuntu liveCD is very good for showing you what the default ubuntu desktop is.

 

[KoolDrew]

Ubuntu.

 

[The Linuxator]

A vote for Fedora Core

 

[sgleo87]

I also want to try a linux distro. Which has the best hardware support out of the three (Suse, Ubuntu, Fedora Core) and which one has the easiest GUI and installation?

 

[Robor]

I'm new to Linux and haven't tried Suse so I can't comment there. I installed Ubuntu last Monday and Fedora Core on Wednesday. On my IBM T42 Ubuntu supported everything. Fedora Core supported everything except the wireless adapter. Both of them use Gnome as the GUI and both were very simple to install. I'm probably sticking with Fedora just because we use it for some things here at work.

 

[Maximilian]

Aite, ubuntu sounds good. Ill give that a shot when my upgrades arrive for this old computer.

 

[Nithin]

ubuntu

 

[MBrown]

Simply Mepis is absolutely the best. I love it.