So... I think I want to switch to Linux

[Johnbear007]

Ok, I think I may want to try switching to linux, with just a winxp dual boot for gaming, since gaming just isn't there yet for linux (I play alot of games right when they are new.

I figure I can do most of my linux work on my 20 GB hard drive and use my 120GB for gaming etc.

Anyway...

Heres my deal:

I am pretty hardware Savvy, and no windows well, but I don't have what you would call a 'highly technical' understanding of operating systems. I understand some basic networking principles, but i'm afraid that I don't have what it takes to really use linux.

I guess what I want is the easisest release (free) I am not going to pay for anything, im poor 😛

So, any advice would be helpful. I am sure this subject has been brought up many times before, but please pe patient

Thanks

 

[drag]

Alright good for you. Even if you end up not liking it, what you learn (if you apply yourself) will help you out with windows.

Check out Linux ISO

They have a bunch of links to a wide veriaty of sites were you can get downloads to burn the ISO's to cdroms for installs.

Mandrake is about the ultimate easy-going distro right now. Redhat would be the other one, but with the new fedora replacement for it's desktop Redhat numbered distros isnt' that mature yet and needs some work on it. SuSE is a good one, but it only has a net-install 19meg CD boot image aviable since they don't offer CD images.

Slackware and Debian are good ones, too. Generally used by more advanced users, but it's not above the level of a first timer if they don't mind reading thru documentation and dealing with a steep learning curve.

If you just want to try it out and don't want to mess around with a install so much you can download Knoppix, or SuSE's live eval disk (beta version of there current stable or next release). They run completely off of the CD (nothing to perminately install on the HD) and load what you need to use into RAM as you use it. Not the fastest thing in the world, but it's amazing what they can fit into a single CDROM. Lots of people swear by knoppix. Ocasionally I hear of a person who is suprised that after he tries it out he ended up using it for a couple days without thinking much about it.

If you realy like knoppix you can then use it to install debian on you computer. (I think)


Otherwise, just try out a bunch of different distros, anything that catches your eye. Many people just set ones up for them and there friends mostly just for fun and to say they have their own linux distro. Most people end up trying out a half dozen different things before settling on one.

 

[Johnbear007]

Ok thanks for your reply. I think ill start exploring different distros and rather than put it on my main rig build another little one

Would this do well for a linux box:

P3 800mhz
20 GB Hard Drive
256- 512 MB of SDR SDRAM
Intel integrated graphics

Is this good enough just to mess around on?

 

[Anubis]

yes your sys is fine for Linux. untill recently i had redhat 7 running on a celeron 1 400

sence your new to it i suggest RedHat or Mandrake they are prtty user friendly

 

[imported_Phil]

Strangely enough, I'm using Redhat 9 on an old Celeron 1 400 too 🙂
Ah, the days... blissfully cool and a quiet cooling fan 😀

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: DopeFiend
Strangely enough, I'm using Redhat 9 on an old Celeron 1 400 too 🙂
Ah, the days... blissfully cool and a quiet cooling fan 😀

This is OT, but if you want some silence, then you could water cool the whole rig 😛

Not that I do that though, I'm running linux on a duron 700, so I don't really have that much noise.

 

[imported_Phil]

Nah, the only noise I can hear from it at the moment is the faint whine of the hard disk. Everything else is pretty much silent 🙂

(Unlike my main rig, which "hums" waaaay too much for my liking)