Linux newbe

[Briab Guy]

I am thinking about getting started on learning linux.
I have some experience in PC's. Couple yrs school, build my own etc...
But when it comes to this... I don't know the diff between Mandrake and Red Hat.
Is there a better one to learn on, and is there some sites to learn at? I saw the post for Distrowatch and some others, actualy a lot of em. But I was hoping someone could narrow it down a little, like which is better to learn on etc,,,
thanks for any help, its appreciated
B

[OOPS!]

Hi,

Well, there really isn't a lot of difference between any distro. They all use the Linux kernel. And all programs will run on any distro. The only real difference is a few tools that each distro may develop for their users.

The best way to learn is to just pick one and try it. If you have broad band, then you can simply download your choice and try it. If you don't like it, try another. I'd recommend Mandrake for newbies. It offers good hardware detection and easy administration via GUI. Or you can edit config files by hand to your hearts content if you so desire as you get more comfortable.

OOPS!

[cypher1919]

Knoppix is another good one... It runs straight from a cd and you don't have to worry about installation or the fact, if you don't like it,going through the trouble of taking it off a harddrive. Sometimes that can be a hassle, too.

[LocoCoyote]

SuSE offers a Live _eval CD...smae thing as Koppix, no need to install anything.

[Karnevil9]

Mandrake and Redhat (now called for Fedora for home use) are noted to be about the easiest free versions for the new user. SuSe is another but they only offer an evaluation CD free, other than that you have to buy it. Knoppix and is a full version on a single CD, that allows you to try it without installing on the hardrive, but has the option to install if you want. Knoppix has very good hardware recognition. Libranet ( a Debian based commercial distro) offers a free downloadable version that I think is alomst as simple to use as redhat and mandrake. Just know what your partitions are called.

[Dangermouse1]

I have used RedHat and now Mandrake both are easy to use. If you want to download and burn your own discs go here this site has all the info you need. If you do not want to download linux yourself (Mandrake is 3 discs and they took 3 hours per disc to download with my broadband connection) I have found many pc mags and all Linux mags have one or more versions of Linux free on the cover cd.

[Karnevil9]

If you want a Redhat 9 CD set or it's new incarnation Fedora, I have one of each that I no longer need. They are both downloads. The Fedora is the severn version which was the last test version before they released the final version called core 1, but there was no difference that I could see. PM me with an address I can send it to, and I'll mail whcih ever one you want.

[onearmpprhngr]

I just installed Libranet, without any hassles at all. This is based on the Debian distro. Go here for more detailed info on any version:

http://www.linuxiso.org/

This site has most distos available for download, plus loads of help and FAQ's.

[mikeL]

Mandrake and Fedora are good distros to start with, I just upgraded to SuSE 9.0 pro very nice but not free. Although I've never tried it Knoppix sounds like a good way to see what linux is like, without having to actually install it.

[Karnevil9]

Libranet is a very good Debian based OS. It has a really easy update system. You can also download the free version of Libranet from their website. I have been using it for awhile, But I think i am going to change to Knoppix on my laptop and experiment with Debian Woody on my desktop, just to learn more.

[Briab Guy]

Wow Thank you very much,
I didnt even know that you could run a OS from a CD?
Could someone just give me a little idea of how that works?
This is gonna sound stupid, but, do I need a certain OS already running, ie XP or 2000.... DOS ?
Or do I need a formated partition?
Does it run over top the OS that you already have? Like an emulation?

Which brings me to another question-- I multi boot my PC's, so Does Linux need to be in any order on the HD?
Thank for the help, I really appreciate it.
Brian

[Karnevil9]

Not sure if you need to have a formatted hd or operating system to run Knoppix. I already had winodws and another Linux OS on my computer when I tried it. You just reboot the computer with CD set as your first boot device and Knoppix in the player and it comes up by itself. It runs just like any other OS except when you exit it is removed, nothing is left unless you want to install it.

On the question of where Linux has to be on the harddrive. Windows needs to be fiirst and installed first. Linux second. My understanding is that Lilo writes it's boot program to the windows master boot record. You can select either as the default OS, but lilo will automatically put the linux system first.

[Karnevil9]

Just read a post from www.linuxquestions.org forums, where someone said that they ran knoppix on a computer that had no hardrive at all. So it was runs completely from the CD like a video game does, no OS and no formatting required.

[Briab Guy]

I guess it keeps everthing in memory and virtual mem.
mabe makes a TMP folder.
Thanks a lot for the help. This makes it much easier then I thought it would be.

[cypher1919]

Another good full version is whitebox... I got tired of how slow redhat, mandrake were. whitebox runs alot faster and is easier to find things on.