which Linux?

[Burnman]

I am running XP home and have recently installed a second HD so I would like to try running dual boot with Linux but as a noobie to this OS I do not know which version to install as there seem to be a few. Can anyone point me in the direction of some info regarding the pros and cons of the various versions.

Thanks

[catacon]

Probably the best one to start out with is Ubuntu. I started with SuSE, but I quickly moved to Fedora Core, Debian, and finally Ubuntu. I liked Debian and Ubuntu the best (Ubuntu is derived from Debian), but it is always good to keep trying new distros and find one that you like.

Here is an article on installing Ubuntu: http://www.pcmech.com/show/os/903/

Some popular distros:
Debian - http://www.debian.org
Ubuntu - http://www.ubuntu.com
Fedora Core - http://www.fedora.redhat.com
Slackware - http://www.slackware.com (not a beginner installation)
SuSE - http://www.novell.com/products/linuxenterpriseserver/

[kilgoretrout]

There's more than a few; theres a whole lot to choose from. The two major desktop environments(DE) on linux are gnome and kde and the various flavors of linux tend to be oriented to one or the other DE. The DE determines how your gui looks and acts. Most newbies coming from windows seem to prefer kde to gnome. kde has a more windows like feel while gnome has a more pre-OSX Mac feel. Of the gnome types, ubuntu is currently very popular as is fedora. Of the kde types, suse, mandriva, mepis, kanotix and pclos are very popular. Suse and mandriva include gnome as well as the kde DE but I still think they are primarily kde oriented. Ubuntu has the most complete and polished implementation of gnome IHMO.

As to my recommendations, get some bootable linux livecds and see what you like. Ubuntu has one as does PCLOS and kanotix for kde. It's a great way to test drive a linux distro and see if there are any hardware issues with the distro. All three can easily be installed directly from the livecd version.
For someone new, I generally recommend PCLOS:

http://on-disk.com/product_info.php/products_id/69

It's a free download for this installable livecd, it's kde based, and it comes with a lot of stuff generally not included in most linux distros like java and flash as well as having seperate versions for ati and nvidia graphics cards that have the proprietary linux drivers bundled in. All this stuff can be subsequently installed on any linux distro with more or less effort but it can be a little daunting for someone new.

[jlee031]

so iam really excited about changin my cpu to linux but iam constantly fighting with my dad because i cant explain to him good enough that he can use his microsoft word or excell docs. from work on this linux also we were readin one of the other links on this thread said there are no viruses or spy ware plese tell me why this is or how i could explain it better to my dad

[glc]

If "your" computer has to be used by the entire family, I'd advise you to leave it alone unless you want to put the hard drive in a removable tray, and have a second drive in a tray with *your* toys on it. This is the safest way. I've been to too many customers' homes to fix computers that the kids have done things to - and some of the stuff I've seen is almost unbelievable. Would you believe a Gateway Pentium MMX 233 with 64mb ram and a 3gb hard drive - that "someone" installed a cracked copy of XP Pro on? Mom was wondering why it took 15 minutes to boot up and get Word open, and why it was complaining about insufficient space to resave the document.

[jlee031]

any os that doesnt come from the source might give you troubles

[DieselTech]

jlee031 - I think the point is that "shared" computers get "abused", by which I mean that different users add different "stuff" to the system, and you never know what kind of garbage you will find. My own computer has suffered this fate from my 3 children that insist on putting garbage on it - crap like AIM, for instance, or 5 different toolbars on the browser, or spyware from some stupid site there friends told them to check out, etc.

Let's face it - there are ALOT of computer-illiterate people out there with computers.......they only know how to turn them on and click on what they want; they really don't know what they are doing, and they don't "maintain" thier system. It's alot like the idiot drivers out there - they can't drive, and they don't take care of thier car either - they just turn the key and go - "point and shoot", so to speak.

[faulkner132]

If you want to play around with Linux, try using a live CD. It touch anything on your home computer, so it is safe.
Knoppix or Ubuntu are a good choice for this.

[GuitarHero]

I just installed ubuntu and I like it a lot. Be ready to learn though, while ubuntu is very user friendly it is not windows. Luckily the ubuntu community is very help in fixing anything. I havnt had it for long, but I know how to use it. Im still not too comfortable with the command line but that will come in time. Also if you like ubuntu but want a KDE desktop try Kubuntu, basically ubuntu with kde.

http://ubuntu.com/
http://kubuntu.com/

Both have live cds, so try em out and see which you like.

[2GNUBY]

I've been running MEPIS Debian GNU Linux since Dec 2004 and am convinced it's one of the best. MEPIS recently merged into a partnership with Ubuntu and there is now a MEPIS/Ubuntu 6.0 Beta available for download and testing. Those testing the new distro have been giving excellent reviews. Personally I recommend the version number 3.4.3 as it is the last (all Debian) MEPIS distro and it flat rocks...If you haven't guessed I am dedicated to the Debian and GNU philosophy and prefer pure debian repositories to upgrade from but there are benefits to the new merger as well. You can get MEPIS from www.mepis.org ...just go to the site and follow the references/links to downloads and pick a mirror to download from. (Ibiblio is a good choice). From the downloaded ISO image you can burn a live cd to test run and if you like it it has option to install. If you want to get the inside come visit our forum at www.mepislovers.org. Take care, 2GNUBY