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What's a good Linux OS for beginners?

grrl

grrl

Diamond Member
Which Linux version/flavor would you recommend for a beginner? I know essentially nothing about the whole system, but have no problem dealing with the learning curve. I know Mandrake has a GUI, which is attractive to me, yet I don't know if that is the best choice.

Any suggestions?

Also, do some Linux OSs work on top? below Windows?
 
There are a variety of Linux flavors that can run on/in/along Windows. DemoLinux comes to mind, but I haven't been keeping track lately. Sometimes that kind of setup brings along its own compatibility problems, though. If you're worried about messing up your current machine, it would be easier just to buy a used hard drive to devote to Linux. All you need to get started is a few GB's, so you should be able to find something super cheap.

As far as distros, Mandrake and RedHat are both decent choices for beginners. Mandrake is supposedly a bit friendly, though RedHat has a larger installed base if you're looking for info on unusual problems. Both are pretty obnoxious as far as really learning the OS goes, but they're a good place to start before heading to Slackware or Debian.
 
couldnt have said it much better...i started off with redhat, used it for a while, learned and got somewhat comfortable, then i installed debian and i'm much happier with it. i wouldnt really recommend debian to a beginner though.
 
i started on debian because my linux guru for a friend forced me to do it. i remember what a pain in the arse it was to install for a newbie like myself. but i've learned a lot from debian. i think if you have enough time to devote to it and you're the type of person that learns quickly it is good. otherwise mandrake or red hat would be a better choice. i mean, once you master one of them you can always move up to something else.
 
I installed Mandrake 8.2 this week, so I'm new to this
world too.

I found the installation pretty easy and all my devices
were detected so I was happy. I'll learn Linux with the
help of the Mandrake distribution but I'll move to Debian
when I'll feel more comfortable with Linux. (Maybe I'll
make a distribution myself 😛 hahaha)

Anyway, as a newbie I may be not the best reference but I
can say that Mandrake IS easy to use. Give it a try! Or
maybe Red Hat but then again I haven't use it so...

Good luck!
 
You want easy? You want painless? You want foolproof? Purchase vmware and install Mandrake or RedHat or whatever into that. Yes it will cost you money but you wont risk a Windows installation. Any distro should be fine, but some will be more gui oriented than others. SuSE has a live evaluation that should also keep your Windows install from being at risk since it runs off of cdrom. Not an ideal situation, but should be nice to try it out.
 
Unless you're an idiot and will do something stupid, there's no risk to your Winblows partition. Purchasing VMware really isn't necessary.

If you want to "test drive" Linux, then the SuSE live eval is not a bad idea. It simply boots up SuSE Linux from CD-ROM, which you can test out without installation.

Mandrake and SuSE are reportedly two of the easiest to use.
 


<< Unless you're an idiot and will do something stupid, there's no risk to your Winblows partition. Purchasing VMware really isn't necessary. >>



I guess that makes me an idiot.
 
I just repartisioned the hard drive, wiped everything out after backing up...feels good to clean out hte system every year or so....

I put Red Hat 6.2 on, got it working, then obtained SuSE pro 7.0. SuSE pro had an awesome install, but I couldn;t get some things running as well, and seemed slow - perhaps I selected too many apps. Plus, I got some excellent books dealing with RedHat...

Anyway, I'm back to Red Hat for now.... Planning to move to Debian after I get the basics down.

NOTE: Windows98 running nothing (and with nothing else installed) but MSN is slower and more likely to crash than RedHat 6.2 with MP3 player, MSN connection, Netscape, and a desktop game running at the same time.... I LOVE IT!!!!

 
MSN connection

What is the program foe MSN??? I just installed Mandrake and the only thing I'm missing is my friends on MSN Messenger 😉
 


<<

<< Unless you're an idiot and will do something stupid, there's no risk to your Winblows partition. Purchasing VMware really isn't necessary. >>



I guess that makes me an idiot. >>



Heheh, nah we both know better than that.

I just don't want any newbies to walk away thinking that Linux or BSD are inherently dangerous to install onto a "working" Windows system. What is required is understanding of partitioning (or a blank drive to install to). I'm not saying mistakes don't happen, but that they usually happen to users who aren't adequately prepared.

Besides, if you have any important data on any filesystem, that should be backed up anyway. I know this still leaves the door open to reconstructing the existing OS (if it becomes corrupted), but again there's nothing inherently dangerous about dual-booting.

VMware is great stuff, but it isn't exactly targetted to the newbie Windows user to wants to sample an alternative OS, esp. at $300 a pop.
 


<<

<<

<< Unless you're an idiot and will do something stupid, there's no risk to your Winblows partition. Purchasing VMware really isn't necessary. >>



I guess that makes me an idiot. >>



Heheh, nah we both know better than that.

I just don't want any newbies to walk away thinking that Linux or BSD are inherently dangerous to install onto a "working" Windows system. What is required is understanding of partitioning (or a blank drive to install to). I'm not saying mistakes don't happen, but that they usually happen to users who aren't adequately prepared.

Besides, if you have any important data on any filesystem, that should be backed up anyway. I know this still leaves the door open to reconstructing the existing OS (if it becomes corrupted), but again there's nothing inherently dangerous about dual-booting. >>



I agree with the backups. But mistakes do happen, and there are always going to be bugs. While there may be nothing inherently dangerous about dualbooting each and every user should be aware that it can break, you can (and will screw up), and it may involve a reinstall. I personally think the dualbooting idea is a bad one, which is why I offered alternatives like vmware and the suse eval cd. More newbie friendly in my opinion 😉



<< VMware is great stuff, but it isn't exactly targetted to the newbie Windows user to wants to sample an alternative OS, esp. at $300 a pop. >>



I wasnt aware that it cost that much (never purchased it or looked into purchasing it), but that is definitely a downside to it. Maybe the SuSE live eval would be a better solution for the budget minded.
 
I'm not worried about screwing up Windows. I currently have 3 OSs on my machine, my plan is to make a 4th partition for the Linux system. I use Partition Magic and BootMagic for that and booting. I assume that should suffice. Am I missing something here?

I also have images of clean installs, so if anything does go wrong, it shouldn't be catastrophic.
 
Maybe the SuSE live eval would be a better solution for the budget minded.

Heck, Even the retail boxed full version of SuSE 7.3 personal is only $39 at ChumpUsa🙂

I personally have learned the most and fastest from using SuSE 7.3..I like it so far.
 
consider lycoris linux. I installed it at work for fun. My first thought after logging in for the first time was "my mom can do this" and EVERYTHING works out of the box!
 
Relating to this post, can someone reccomend a good book to help a newbie learn his way through Linux? Preferably mandrake or Red Hat.
 
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