[Wylug-help] Which Version of Linux?

[david powell]

> Do _not_ partition any drive with an existing OS on it until you're
> really confident about your understanding of low-level drive formatting.
this is explained in the instalation manual that comes with suse and is easy 
to follow 
>
> Stick to your original plan of using a separate Linux hard drive.
yes better idea and if you use a boot floppy to boot linux then you dont have 
to touch the windows boot sector 
 
>
> All the mainstream distro installers will allow you to choose which
> drive to install Linux onto and will offer to install a bootloader for
> you in a sensible default configuration.
>
> The only vaguely 'tricky' decisions you have to make are:
>
>   1. Which bootloader to install.
>
>      Go for Grub.  It's more complex/powerful than LILO, but you don't
>      need to know anything about the complexity. The installer will
>      handle that for you with simple defaults.
ok grub if its on hard disk but if you want to create a boot floppy for linux 
and not touch the mbr or boot sector then lilo will fit on a floppy 
>

>   2. Which drive to install Grub on to.
>
>      The simplest option is to install it into the Windows drive's
>      Master Boot Record (MBR).  The distro installer should offer you
> sensible defaults, i.e. you boot directly into Grub and grub provides a
> menu where you can choose Windows or Linux.
if windows has a full drive allocated then dont try installing a boot loader 
on it in any way , windows xp decides that its got the full drive so dosent 
stick to the normal partition methods and uses part of the boot loader space 
for other uses , so you get problems once you install grub on it  

>
>      In the old days beginners preferred to put Grub on the secondary
>      (Linux) drive, because they were scared of rendering the whole
>      machine unbootable if they messed up the MBR on the primary
>      (windows) drive.
not that old realy  still happens 
>
>      There is very little risk of this happening with a good modern
>      installer, it avoids all sorts of hassles with chaining Grub to the
>      crappy Windows bootloader, and even if things do go wrong it is
>      usually fairly straight forward to recover from. Just ask a mate or
>      on this list.
>
> Many people experiment with several distros before finally settling on
> the one that suits their particular needs, but I would endorse Smylers's
> view that beginners should choose the one that (level-headed and
> helpful) mates use.
tend to agree with this , be shure to try out the diferent window managers
kde and gnome , thay both have good points , and both look and feel diferent 
you may like one over the other , as your used to windows think you will feel 
more at home with kde but you may like gnome also , or some of th minimalist 
ones like blackbox (good if you have a slow machine with little ram )
>
> If you are on your own, I'd recommend Ubuntu (or Kubuntu, the KDE
> desktop version).
>
> It provides a good balance between easy desktop installation (the
> Ubuntu-specific bits) and easy long term adminstration with a large
> package base (the underlying Debian bits).
>
one of the points i recommend suse for is the auto configuration on 
installation 
it seems to find and configure everything ok first time 
network , internet , printer , sound , video , mouse etc , 
as well as having printed manuals that you wont get with a downloaded version 
makes it ideal for a beginner 
 
> Do not be put off by the reputation that Debian has for being a scary
> hackers' distro.  It's been a while since the reputation was fully
> justified and any remaining rough edges are pretty well hidden beneath
> the smooth surface of Ubuntu.
most distros are basicaly the same , same apps same core components 
its down to the installers , update mechanisem's and other little tweeks 

redhat seemed to be biased towardes gnome and some others to kde
suse provides both , whever distro you go for the applications will be the 
same , and if its not then you should be able to download that application 
from somewhare on the net 

realy and i know you will find this in most places asking what is the best 
distro usualy results in distro war where each prefers one over the other 
but in the end its up to you 
and the only way you will know is to try them all , i know thats not possible 
but listen to the advice , any of the main distros should do , thay all have 
pros and cons but if you start with one then you can try another later 
you will then ether prefer the one you had or the new one 

i recomend buying one in the first instance for one main reason it should have 
a printed manual that will help you install it and set it up , and in the 
case of suse in the manuals it also shows you some of the applications 
remeber later it is possible to download some of the distros in full over the 
net  so you can try and use them at no extra cost 

and the cost of a linux distro in a box with manuals is about the same as a 
good book on linux ,and there are lots (most of them biased towards a cut 
down version of a linux distro that thay include with the book) but seldom 
give install details in a genaral form that covers all distros 

and its realy helpfull having the install info in a book infront of you rather 
than needing a second machine to view online docs while installing 

Dave