Linux users, some advice please.

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

I'm considering setting up my PC in a dual-boot configuration, where I can select from Windows XP and Linux when I boot.

I would like some advice as to which Linux distro I should go for. Obviously, I'm fairly new to Linux, and would like to be able to use as much as possible of the hardware I currently have.

Main tasks I use my PC for are accessing the internet, video editing, photo editing, web page editing and DVD burning.

My PCs specs:
AMD XP3200+ CPU
ASUS A7N8X-X mobo
512Mb RAM
128Mb AGP Gigabyte Radeon 9600
LG GSA-4102B DVD-RW drive
Seagate and Western Digital ATA Hard disks (total of nearly 200Gb space)
Leadtek WinFast DV2000 TV+1394 PCI card
USB IR adapter
Printing to a HP OfficeJet 4110 over the LAN
Connected to ADSL Internet via DHCP over the LAN.

If anyone can suggest a good distro for me to try, I would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

[XA-Coupe]

To give it a bash, I might suggest downloading knoppix and run it off a CD. That way you can give it a try and not have to change anything.

IMO, a good one to start off with is Fedora. I run Core2 on a few things but set up a proxy server at work wirh FC4 and it has some very nifty features.

PS: you will find everyone has an opinion about Linux distros .. in the end, find one that looks good to you and just do it

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by XA Coupe

To give it a bash, I might suggest downloading knoppix and run it off a CD. That way you can give it a try and not have to change anything.

IMO, a good one to start off with is Fedora. I run Core2 on a few things but set up a proxy server at work wirh FC4 and it has some very nifty features.

PS: you will find everyone has an opinion about Linux distros .. in the end, find one that looks good to you and just do it

Hehehe, good point about Linux distros, that's why I provided so much information about my system as well as what I mainly use it for, in the hope that it might rule out some distros that might not be suitable for a beginner to Linux with those needs and hardware.

I'll try knoppix, I think I might have an older version of that on CD from a cover CD somewhere, and if that boots ok, I'll try downloading the latest version and see how that goes.

Fedora, unless I'm mistaken, that's the free version of what used to be Red Hat isn't it? Easy enough to use for a beginner like me, keeping in mind I have hardly used a command line since the DOS/Win 3.1 days?

[parawolf]

Originally Posted by The MaDDeSTMaN

Hehehe, good point about Linux distros, that's why I provided so much information about my system as well as what I mainly use it for, in the hope that it might rule out some distros that might not be suitable for a beginner to Linux with those needs and hardware.

I'll try knoppix, I think I might have an older version of that on CD from a cover CD somewhere, and if that boots ok, I'll try downloading the latest version and see how that goes.

Fedora, unless I'm mistaken, that's the free version of what used to be Red Hat isn't it? Easy enough to use for a beginner like me, keeping in mind I have hardly used a command line since the DOS/Win 3.1 days?

Use the Knoppix cd's to get 'familar' and get your toes wet. Fedora is nice, SuSe is also good.

Pick one and use it. Don't get caught up in the evangelism.

My favourite for linux is Debian, but when I want to use linux I want it cut down and only install want I want - no fluff as it is going to be a utility server. I'd learning to use OpenBSD to do the same thing too.

Just pick one of the name brands and go for your life....

[Rodp]

If you can get a copy of VMWare for, uhm, evaluation purposes, even better. Can run a linux box on your XP desktop to see which one you like and actually run both OS's concurrently.

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by Rodp

If you can get a copy of VMWare for, uhm, evaluation purposes, even better. Can run a linux box on your XP desktop to see which one you like and actually run both OS's concurrently.

That's not a bad idea, however one of my worries is hardware support, I don't expect any trouble with the mobo, gfx or CPU, however I am worried about support for the TV card and for printing on the HP over the LAN (the Officejet is actually connected to another PC which is running XP).

But it's a great idea for working out which distro I like the most. I like the idea of being able to kiss Windows XP goodbye, seeing as most of the time, what I use the PC for, I should be able to do under Linux...

[paul7v7]

i would have to agree with what XA COUPE had suggested. A knoppix disc is the perfect start. In some cases it might be what you are after, you are able to save any configurations you have to USB or disc. What is your current disk config on winxp? is it NTFS?
I run both Gentoo and Debian (for 64 bit). Gentoo is awesome for support. They have a good forum for help and their doco is spot on. Debian is good too but they run older packages and their experimental stuff (which I am running) doesn't have much support.

I noticed you are running ATi graphics card, at one stage (i am not sure it still is the issue) there wasn't much good support for linux drivers.

As you have an ADSL connection a distro like gentoo or debian or any other one that has an online package manager is perfect for you. You can install it with the bare essentials and cusomise it later witht he packages you want. But the negative point to doing that is it could take a while to download and compile all the packages.

You'll find somethings only Windows will run that Linux can't unfortuantly thats a fact of life but most will. Give the program Wine a go. Anyways I have rambled on crap for too long now so good luck with it

[parawolf]

The problem with debian and gentoo for the start up linux user is that it is overly complex. First time users don't want to compile, get and manage dependancies and deal with installation paths (i haven't actually used gentoo - my last experience with a linux like this though that compiled from scratch was Slackware back in '96).

[Paris Hilton]

I'd try Ubuntu. It is fairly new, and very newbie friendly.

It's baised on Debian too, so you get all the support, and the goodness of aptature + synaptic

www.ubuntu.com

Try the live CD (pretty much same as knoppix, boot off the cd) , and if you like it, go for it

[PH47]

I use Ubuntu as i'm a semi-noob to all this as well. I use it now 100%, no windows on my PC, and had no issues at all. Just formatted one day and gave it a go, haven't gone back since

Picked up ALL hardware perfectly, was easy as anything to install, and i'm perfectly happy with it even if it's not 'leet' as other distros :P

Plus awesome support as well.

[tickford2001]

i got thrown in the deep end with Debian at my old work...there are some great support sites around out there though, and with half an idea to start with, and some google skills you can sort yourself out usually

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by paul7v7

i would have to agree with what XA COUPE had suggested. A knoppix disc is the perfect start. In some cases it might be what you are after, you are able to save any configurations you have to USB or disc. What is your current disk config on winxp? is it NTFS?
I run both Gentoo and Debian (for 64 bit). Gentoo is awesome for support. They have a good forum for help and their doco is spot on. Debian is good too but they run older packages and their experimental stuff (which I am running) doesn't have much support.

I noticed you are running ATi graphics card, at one stage (i am not sure it still is the issue) there wasn't much good support for linux drivers.

As you have an ADSL connection a distro like gentoo or debian or any other one that has an online package manager is perfect for you. You can install it with the bare essentials and cusomise it later witht he packages you want. But the negative point to doing that is it could take a while to download and compile all the packages.

You'll find somethings only Windows will run that Linux can't unfortuantly thats a fact of life but most will. Give the program Wine a go. Anyways I have rambled on crap for too long now so good luck with it

Mainly NTFS, but I also have a FAT32 partition from way back when I used to still have 98SE.

Originally Posted by slection

I'd try Ubuntu. It is fairly new, and very newbie friendly.

It's baised on Debian too, so you get all the support, and the goodness of aptature + synaptic

www.ubuntu.com

Try the live CD (pretty much same as knoppix, boot off the cd) , and if you like it, go for it

Thanks for that! I went and had a look, and noticed they are happy to send it out to you on CD for free, as many copies as you want, so I'll try it as soon as it arrives in the mail, sounds good to me!

Thanks everyone for your sugegstions and input.

Oh yeah, I found my knoppix CD, so I tried that. Seemed to work fairly well to me, had no problems browsing sites, and it even worked flawlessly with my USB memory stick. So now I feel ready to start checking out distros, trying them under emulation to see what they offer and how they work, and choosing one, and thanks to you all, I now have some ideas which ones to try.

I'm glad we finally upgraded from dial-up to "unlimited" ADSL - I would never have considered downloading Linux distros on dial-up!

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

I just discovered, for anybody who is interested in checking out Linspire 5.0 for a short time you can get it for FREE, more information here: http://info.linspire.com/freespire/index.html

[flappist]

All of the various distro have their good and bad points. One question that hasn't been asked. Are you doing this for fun or to learn for potential employment?
If your reason is the former then go for whatever looks good, if the latter then grab a RedHat Enterprise 4 or SuSe. The reason? These are the distros that are preferred and supported by the major hardware players e.g. IBM HP/Compaq etc. and if you have specifc skills in these products you may find you are looked on more favorably during a job application.

We use RHEL4 on all our current generation servers with the older ones running RH9, RH73 & RH62. There are a total of 138 of them which is why we try to keep to a standard. Knoppix is great as a rescue/fixup system because it is fast and easy.

[RED_EL_XR8]

Originally Posted by slection

I'd try Ubuntu. It is fairly new, and very newbie friendly.

It's baised on Debian too, so you get all the support, and the goodness of aptature + synaptic

www.ubuntu.com

Try the live CD (pretty much same as knoppix, boot off the cd) , and if you like it, go for it

And contrary to popular belief ubuntu is a build, rather than the noise an over-fueled 3.9 makes post ignition.

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by flappist

All of the various distro have their good and bad points. One question that hasn't been asked. Are you doing this for fun or to learn for potential employment?
If your reason is the former then go for whatever looks good, if the latter then grab a RedHat Enterprise 4 or SuSe. The reason? These are the distros that are preferred and supported by the major hardware players e.g. IBM HP/Compaq etc. and if you have specifc skills in these products you may find you are looked on more favorably during a job application.

Actually, I'm doing it for quite a few reasons, some of which include being able to run a semi-decent web server on Linux, to learn about and gain experience with Linux for potential future employment, and yes, also for fun.

Are RedHat Enterprise 4 and SuSe commercial distros which I'd have to pay for, and if so, how different are they to 'free' distros?

[BlueRaven]

I'd deffinately recommend Ubuntu or SimplyMEPIS.

Currently im running Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE :P)