Reinstalling linux

[andyav]

Hi would you be so kind as to give me some advice?

I am running linux and windows xp on my computer. I took it to a computer shop for the two operating systems to be installed and they are run by dual booting.

Recently linux has packed up and I have been advised that it needs reinstalling. I asked a friend who is highly computer literate for his advice. He said that I couldn't just wipe linux and reinstall it. But, that I would have to wipe the whole hard drive and reinstall windows and linux.

Is this correct?

thanks in advance for your help

[kilgoretrout]

He's wrong. Just do a fresh install to the partition(s) where linux is currently installed. State which distro you are using and I can be more specific.

[ZeratulsAvenger]

Ya... just delete the Linux partitions(Swap and / being the main two) and reinstall over the now free space. Make sure to reinstall LILO or Grub or else you will have some trouble bootin up and all

[andyav]

I am currently using Redhat 9, but I would like to try another distribution.

My friend said that because I didn't know which programme had been used to partition my harddrive, I would have to wipe the whole drive and start again. So this is wrong?

thanks for the help

[ZeratulsAvenger]

Assuming you installed Lilo or Grub in the MBR then it shouldn't matter, since you can just delete those linux partitions durring the setup of another distro, then repartition for your new linux and reinstall Lilo or Grub to the MBR. That is how I understand it... could be wrong I suppose, but I am pretty sure your friend is wrong.

[andyav]

Thanks for the reply. What are lilo and grub? Also what does MBR stand for?

I have downloaded an ISO file of suse to replace red hat. I know I need to burn it onto cd, but then how do I initialise/start the installation?

many thanks

[ZeratulsAvenger]

LILO and GRUB are boot managers that allow you to select either Windows or Linux or what have you to boot. They are generally installed into the MBR(Master Boot Record). This overwriting something written by Windows, so there is always a chance that your computer could fail to boot to windows after such an installation, but you can fix that by restoring the MBR using either a DOS bootdisk or the XP CD.

You should just burn it, stick CD 1(if more then two) into the drive and boot from the CD and go from there(stick cd in in windows, reboot computer). There should be instructions for what to do next told to you. If the CD doesnt boot you have to go into the BIOS and change the boot order so that your CD drive is above the HD. Hope it all works out well

[Karnevil9]

Make sure you burn the CD as an image disk and not a data disk. Chanage the boot order in the computer bios to boot from CD first. Since you have a linux partition already on the hard drive, Linux should find that and install to it.
What Flavor of Linux are you switching to?

[andyav]

Thanks for the help

I think from what i've read that Suse is likely to be the best option for me.

On the one hand I don't want a distribution that is too complex.

However, on the other I'm just starting a masters degree that requires a fair bit of programming and all the machines we use at university run unix. So I don't want something too basic that's completely unrepresentative of the majority of linux distros.

Another distro I'm considering is Debian.

Anyone have an opinion as to which would be best? or would you recommend something different?

[kilgoretrout]

Try mandrake 10.0. Suse has a somewhat idiomatic filesystem layout that you might find confusing if your going from unix to linux. Mandrake's filesystem layout is very similar to Rh's but it has nicer gui config utilities and better multimedia support. Mandrake and Rh have the most rpms available on the internet if your going to be installing software not on the cds.
However, the most unix like linux distro is slackware. Slack is a wonderful distro but I wouldn't recommend it to someone new to linux. Most of the configuration in slack is done by editing text config files. The text config files are excellently commented, the best I've seen in any linux distro, but if your not familiar with editing linux or unix text config files, your likely to get lost.
Debian is also an excellent distro but historically the big downside has been the installation was a real bear. It's biggest selling point is the excellent package management system, apt, and the availablity of a ton of software through the apt system as wellas the apt packages maintainance being second to none. The stable branches of debian also tend to be very conservative which turns a lot of people off. Also, the configuration of debian and debian based distros is a significant departure from rpm based ditros like, mandrake or Rh and is not as unix like as either of the foregoing.

[andyav]

Thanks I'll give mandrake a try then.

I've just looked at downloading it and there are 3 versions:
community,
discovery,
and powerpack+

I can see that powerpack+ is for servers and isn't for me. But, which of the other two is the right one for me to download?

[aym]

http://www.linuxiso.org/distro.php?distro=29

10.0 official is the latest stable release.

10.1 contains newer versions of software, but it's still beta.

[Karnevil9]

See my thread on Ubuntu Linux, in this forum. It is Debian based. It is new and it is free, and according to the maker will always remain free. It may not serve your purpose because it is not proven yet. Libranet is a corprorate Linux, but they have a free version. They are debian based also, but ith an easier install. I have tried them in the past and liked them.

[andyav]

so what is the difference between a stable release and a beta release?

[kilgoretrout]

Like any other software, the beta release will have more bugs. Mdk10.1-CE(Community Edition) is for bug hunters familiar with linux. In the next month or two mdk10.1-OE(Official Edition) will be released and will be much more stable. Stick with the Discovery release which is mdk10-OE.