Noob linux q\'s
 

Ok so I heard the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. My problem is I'm an idiot and have no idea how linux works. So I figure maybe I can partition my hard drive to run it and try and figure this bitch out. I ask a guy in my class and he recommends "free Fedora 9 Linux distribution".
I do a little searching and all I can come up with is Fedora 7. Downloaded it from facebook's mirror.

If my hardrive already has a partition can I add another one? If so how can I make sure none of my XP files will get written over? How can I do this?

How can I install the second one down?
link

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can just create a new partition from within windows. Google will help you out on that.

How fast is your computer? A better option is probably to try Linux in a virtual machine first. I run Ubuntu on my XP desktop using the free VMWare server edition. It works great and doesn't require you to reboot every time you want to switch OS's. http://www.vmware.com/products/server/

I've used a couple of different Linux distro's and by far my favourite is Ubuntu and definitely what I would suggest for someone who just wants to get a small taste of linux. It is the "easiest" linux distribution I've worked with. You should be able to go here www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/ if you want to download it.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

Why don't you try it out with a Live CD first? Don't start with Fedora, start with something user-friedly like ubuntu.com

Download their live CD and you can boot right off that into linux to play around

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

I'm going to echo the Ubuntu over Fedora sentiment, too. Fedora is sort of a testbed for stuff that's going to be later included into Red Hat, while on the other hand, Ubuntu is much more stable.

AFAIK, the Ubuntu Live CD has a fairly nice installation utility that will allow you to partition correctly should you choose to install it.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

Cardinal rule of partitioning.

- Back your [censored] up before you mess with partitions.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

I've been using SUSE for a few years and I like it. I started with 9.0 and I am currently running 10.0. I've heard mostly good things about Ubuntu but I have no personal experience with it. SUSE's installer will resize partitions and will set up dual booting for you.

Trying a live CD is a good suggestion. There are also two alternatives to dual booting to consider: Virtual machine software, or putting Linux on an old PC networked to your Windows box. Both of these options will allow you to run both Windows and Linux software without rebooting.

I have worked with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (similar to Fedora, but you have to buy a support contract to get it) on a web server at work, and I like SUSE a lot better. The GUI configuration tools in the Red Hat are mostly inferior to those in SUSE. Of course, real linux geeks just edit the config files in vi anyway.

If you got the repartition and dual boot route, be sure to do a complete backup first. If something goes wrong, you will be glad you did.

If you dual boot, create a 1 or 2 GB FAT32 partition. Both Windows and Linux can write to this.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

[ QUOTE ]
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can just create a new partition from within windows. Google will help you out on that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not without Partition Magic or other third party software, unless you have unallocated space on the drive (usually you don't). The Windows disk manager (in XP anyway) doesn't have the ability to do a non-destructive resize. The installers for a lot of Linux distributions can do the non-destructive resize, though. I don't think Fedora's can, though.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

[ QUOTE ]
Why don't you try it out with a Live CD first? Don't start with Fedora, start with something user-friedly like ubuntu.com

Download their live CD and you can boot right off that into linux to play around

[/ QUOTE ]
Ok sounds like ubuntu is the way to go for a noob. Do I need to write the file to a CD and then boot off of it to install?

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why don't you try it out with a Live CD first? Don't start with Fedora, start with something user-friedly like ubuntu.com

Download their live CD and you can boot right off that into linux to play around

[/ QUOTE ]
Ok sounds like ubuntu is the way to go for a noob. Do I need to write the file to a CD and then boot off of it to install?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes.

And a LIVE cd means that you'll actually be running linux that you boot off the CD, so you can test it out to get a feel for it before you install.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

Thanks for the help guys. I'm going to start the install as soon as I get home. What is the best way to back up my windows OS so if i screw it up I can reinstall without having to pay for it.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

You should not have to pay to reinstall windows. All you really need is the CD-KEY, which will likely be stickied to the side of your computer tower.

EDIT for content: Norton Ghost is an excellent product for backing up an entire hard drive.... probably the only Norton product I am happy to have paid for [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

[noob]
how can I install XP with no CD's? Can I download the iso files and write those to a CD for installing like linux?
[/noob]

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

OK I jacked it all up and now its trying to boot from the partition with no windows OS. How do you guys chose which you want to boot from? I'm handicapped so cut me a break.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

[ QUOTE ]
Why don't you try it out with a Live CD first? Don't start with Fedora, start with something user-friedly like ubuntu.com

Download their live CD and you can boot right off that into linux to play around

[/ QUOTE ]

What's unfriendly about fedora?

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm going to echo the Ubuntu over Fedora sentiment, too. Fedora is sort of a testbed for stuff that's going to be later included into Red Hat, while on the other hand, Ubuntu is much more stable.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a myth (the stability part).

Fedora gets bug fixes. Ubuntu doesn't (inbetween releases, that is).

Ubuntu includes binary-only drivers from ATI and NVidia which are notoriously unstable. Fedora includes only the open-source drivers, which are much more stable (no open source developers can fix them since they're closed). You can always add the binary-only drivers if you really want to.

Fedora is not a "test bed". That's what Rawhide is.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

My thoughts -

Fedora often does things different then common distros... ie storing files in different places

BACKUP YOUR FILES FIRST JUST IN CASE

UBUNTU is really easy to install and be sure to run
"apt-get update" after you install completely (compare this to windows updates but updates all your files

There is one distro that has a windows .exe for an installer quite nice and easy to set up

might be this? http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/09/07/...ux-in-windows/ (quick google search for wubi)


IRULEYOUHARD - You should have recieved a cd from the place you got the computer. You may be SOL in that regards short of borrowing one from a friend (legal if you use the correct cd key I believe)

If you really want to dual boot, ALWAYS INSTALL XP first then linux.

XP ALWAYS rewrites the entire master boot record and linux is flexible and asks where to install.


Also the best way to learn this type of stuff is total emergence... (I dual booted for 6 months and never learned anything since if something didnt work in linux I just fired up windows).. not sure about Poker software in linux.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

I just wiki'ed linux, went to there .org.

What confounding mess. My brain is fried after ten minutes.

What is going on exactly? I take it you start with a base (ubuntu, red hat, fedora, etc). You can build your own, or build from other's by adding on. I like how it is all highly specialized, but it its weird.

You could just take a kernel and make your own OS as well? Make a simple desktop, add mozilla and open office, and....

I have heard of linux, but this stuff blows my mind.

Re: Noob linux q\'s
 

[ QUOTE ]
this stuff blows my mind.

[/ QUOTE ]
2nd...but its pretty cool how everything is open source [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I can understand about 1/4th of it though.