Linux newbie, what Distro to choose?

[afisoldier]

Since the computer I am forced to use while my regular rig is down is extremely slow, I figured trying out linux might give a little bit of a boost in the performance through regular surfing and chatting.

I am a complete noob, but have plenty of time to spend. So, which Distro is optomized for regular internet use, connected through a LAN, and some AIM chatting?

Also, can someone give me a quick run-through on how to get started chatting or surfing? If I can gain access to the net, via forums or such, I will be able to trouble shoot problems I run across while attempting to get more linux aware.

Any help is appreaceated, and if this is the wrong section, please forgive me since I am new to this forum, and this question didn't seem to fall in any other category.

[CptKrf]

Just a little more info please and I am sure that you are going to get all the advice you can read.

Is your primary purpose to USE a Linux system in place of what you have now or...

To LEARN Linux?

I have some happy users of Linux but they can't really change anything besides what is already set up since they are not and don't want to be techies.

And some guys and gals (including me) who are continually trying to learn the ins and outs for present and future career use.

Important difference.

CptKrf

[JayMan8081]

I would recommend Mandrake or Suse as two easy to setup and run distributions. They both have plenty of automatic configuration tools and GUI tools for setting up an internet connection. They also include a lot of software that will allow you to do AIM chatting, IRC, web, and email.

[JamminJoeyB]

I'll point you in the direction of the which distro thread on here. You can read about everyone's favorite distro on there.

Do a search for which distro

All linux distros will do what you want pretty much out of the box.

I'm almost certain this thread will be merged with that one.

[afisoldier]

I plan to use AND learn linux on this rig, then in the future when my main rig that is being mutulated and then re-animated is up and running, I might be able to boot up with Linux and have a blazing computer from the start.

Since there is nothing to lose, this will be my learning rig, I plan on having a spare harddrive with Windoze 2000 pro installed and ready for this rig, just incase I run into serious issues and can't contact anyone to troubleshoot it.

I would like to be able to change things to optomize this system so it can be as fast as it possibly can, because I know a 733mhz processor and 64mb of ram is capable of more than I think, and I guess I just want to prove this to myself.

Also, with a linux OS, nobody in the family or of my friends will even be ABLE to use it more than likely, so I wont have the problem of them messing anything up like I have had happen in the past.

I want to make the switch to linux, and I guess I am asking you guys/gals to help me do this in the least painful way possible.

[afisoldier]

Added thought:

I would like to be able to customize things more deeply in the future, but have things simple enough at the start to get going with relative ease and have a few basic optomization options avaliable for the noob, like me, to figure out. So in short, I want to be able to customize and optomize my machine, but not be required to go indepth at first so that my inital install and use is the easiest as possible so that I can get into the swing of things first.

[infiniphunk]

It all boils down to how you learn; what are the circumstances around you and what your situation is. There is this whole "use LINUX vs. LEARN linux" thing that I think gets many people from the get go. If you have the time to spend many nights staying up late and plunging into the depths of an OS to learn its inner workings, then by all means try out some of the "more advanced" distros such as slackware or gentoo, where you get to configure and tweak every last minute detail of your system. I have a strong feeling though that most new users are not ready for that amount of work, and prefer to see a working and configured desktop after installation.
To be truthful, most of us need a little bit of familiar territory when learning something new; its nice to have that intuitive GUI when we're learning the basics. If you just want to test linux out a bit just to get an initial feel for it, download one of the many free live CD's and test that out(Mepis, Knoppix, Kanotix...etc) . If you like how these work you have the option of actually doing an installation with the discs to your HD, and then you would have Debian on your comp, a truly amazing OS!
Myself I use Mandrake10.0 official and I think its great for what I use it. Like, when I started using linux back in February I was a computer moron compared to what I know now; back then I didn't even know what eth0 and eth1 were. Since that time I have learned many things that have blown my mind, time and time again. Where windows is an OS that consistently frustrates and mystifies, Linux is constantly surprizing you and impressing you with its workings and abilities. You gradually begin to break free of the "point and click" stupor and rediscover the joy of learning.
Basically though, you'll learn best when your productive and having fun, and I think using a "newbie" distro that auto-configures all your hardware for you at first is gonna get you learing linux at a fun, comfortable pace. But that's just my 2 cents:)

[PeteTheNotSoGr8]

I recommend the Live CD MEPIS.
There are currently plenty of help topics around for it because the guys just helped me do it. It auto-configured my LAN and the internet (I use DHCP, if you don't you may have some more work to do). I have also found that they have a nice balance of exploration with ease of use.

[NiteHaawk]

...as a newby to Linux get a book called "Moving to Linux - Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye" By Marcel Gagne'. It's a good book for beginners, and helps you relate things in Linux to windows. It also comes with a copy of Knoppix (Bootable CD Distro) to help get your feet wet.

I would also recommend getting a Linux+ book. This will give you more detailed things to get to know.

As for a distro to load on your HD I like Suse Linux Professional. The instore copy is about $90 bucks US but worth it (Has a double-sided DVD, 5 CDs, plus detailed manuals). This thing has everything including the kitchen sink. So you have scaleability (Make a server, or a desktop, or a hybred of the two). Worth the investment. Or you can download it for free, you just don't get all the helpful documentation, and then you are stuck with how fast or slow your internet connection is. But buying it the 1st time is what I recommend to new Linux users.

Me best to you.

[afisoldier]

I want to learn, I have almost unlimited time to learn it, I would like to have it setup for internet use in about 10 hours of use or less so I can atleast chat with people while I learn more and start to customize.

So, I think I will start with something simpler at first, SuSE? And then pick up gentoo or slackware. Problem is, I have no CD burner, so where can one of those Distros be found that can be bought for cheap, or downloaded to boot/load from floppies?

[vbp6us]

While I would usually recommend SuSE, I'm going to say Mepis or Knoppix this time. Don't get me wrong, SuSE is nice and full of great apps but I would rather have a light OS.

Mepis does a great job so far. I will try Knoppix next and let you know. I have 3 extra cdroms and 1 52x CDRW and NON of them work. What luck I have. :mad:

[NiteHaawk]

Originally posted by afisoldier
I want to learn, I have almost unlimited time to learn it, I would like to have it setup for internet use in about 10 hours of use or less so I can atleast chat with people while I learn more and start to customize.

So, I think I will start with something simpler at first, SuSE? And then pick up gentoo or slackware. Problem is, I have no CD burner, so where can one of those Distros be found that can be bought for cheap, or downloaded to boot/load from floppies?

Well if you have an extra CD-R (preferably a smaller one 50MB credit card size to a 210MB mini size) and a friend with a CD-Burner, you can have that friend burn the boot ISO (ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/9.1/boot/boot.iso) to the CD and you can boot off of that (make sure your BIOS is set to boot from CD). If you have a DSL connection or broadband it will go faster in DLing the OS. The catch is this, you need to know your hardware, particularly your NIC (ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/9.1/docu/HOWTOs/Ethernet-HOWTO). It will be a great way to learn.
(ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/9.1/docu/HOWTOs/)...This is the directory that has all the info you need to know to download Suse off the net.

Other option is of course shelling out the $90 bucks or cheaper (check online) and you will have all the CDs and DVDs discussed earleir.

Hope the ideas and links help.

[afisoldier]

Why are you saying "no" to SuSE? Do you think it is a too challenging or is it a less challenging distro for a newbie?

I want something that will be worthwhile, If it takes me a few days to get running, I wont complain too much. If it wont give me an increase, a noticable increase, in preformance on this comp, then I want to stay away from it.

[vbp6us]

I'm not saying DON'T use SuSE. I'm saying check out the little guys (no pun intended) first. They have a complete package minus the bloat which in your case (and in mine) is a good thing.

I'm hooked on Mepis and can't wait to try Knoppix. I think this will lead me to Debian somehow. :D

[ehawk]

I believe MEPIS requires a minimum of 128 MB RAM. Last time I checked, knoppix could run with 64 MB RAM. With that processor speed, you should really get your RAM up to a minimum of 128 MB....didn't note whether or not your "rig" was a laptop. For desktop computers, RAM is dirt cheap.

[afisoldier]

It's my grand-ma's computer, I just stole it so that I would have something to use while I did a little modding and upgrading to mine. I will take a peak at some sdram, but I don't have more than about $40 to spend on this rig, that is why I was trying to start learning linux, because it utulizes the most of your system.

[ehawk]

I have seen PC-133 SDRAM (2 64 MB modules) for $30 online. I was guessing that you have 2 32 MB modules currently installed. If it is a single 64 MB module, you could get another 64 MB module for $15 and make use of MEPIS or knoppix. Just google a good deal. Didn't bother to look whether this included shipping...some RAM dealers throw that in, too.

[vbp6us]

Mepis does require 128mb of RAM but seriously though, how hard or costly is it to slap some RAM on a machine? I know you've already mentioned that and I'm not arguing, just reiterating. :)

RAM deals:

512mb PC-133 Ram for $40 shipped to your door step.

http://www.smksuperstore.com/catalog/memory.asp?ID=282
http://www.portatech.com/catalog/memory.asp?ID=282
http://store.yahoo.com/digi4me/51364drpc1sd.html

All generic of course (doesn't really matter for what you're doing). Oh and for the record, 700mhz cpu is MORE than enough.

[arkaine23]

Yoper's pretty good for a noob, and just incredibly snappy. Those Knoppix-based live CD's like Overclockix, Mepis, and Kanotix are great linux demos and you can even install them.

[afisoldier]

Alright, right now I am asking one of the guys off of OC forums who will burn me a copy of distros.

Arkaine, I have a cd of overclockix, but when I tried to install it, it asked for some boot floppy, if you can tell me what that is or how to get one/by pass it, then I can go ahead and boot up with your wonderful Overclockix (saw it in action because a friend uses it, but he bought it installed on his computer).

[Gallienus]

Here are some links you might find handy.

Tux CDS (http://www.tuxcds.com) It looks like some of their distros are a version behind the latest releases but the prices are cheap and you won't have to rely on anyone burning cd's for you.

NewEgg (http://www.newegg.com) This place has reasonable prices and super fast delivery.

RUTE (http://www.icon.co.za/~psheer/book/index.html.gz) This book probably contains info on every general linux question you might have, and answers for some you haven't even thought of. Bookmark it!

I'm surprised no one's posted this link yet... The Linus Documentation Project (http:///www.tldp.org/)

A few last points. If you post any questions and get a response containing RTFM....it means "Read the F****** manual". Trust me we've all gotten such responses, it's a bit rude but good advice.

Secondly if you're serious about learning and using linux make the jump to Slackware as soon as possible. Of course that's just my opinion. I think I've learned more using Slackware and just reading the forums on this website than I ever did the whole time I was using Mandrake.

As mentioned in a previous post read the forum discussing the different virtues of each distro on this site too. It'll give you a good idea of what each has to offer. If you're like most people you'll probably end up trying a few distros before you finally settle on one you really like. In my case, and I haven't been using linux all that long, I've tried the following:
Caldera's Open Desktop
Red Hat 6.0
Mandrake 7.2, 8.1
Debian 3.0
Slackware from 8.0 to current, which is what I've seemed to have finally settled on since I haven't switched in the last six months.

It might seem like a long list but if you ask a linux veteran I'm sure their list will be even longer. Well that's all I can think of, I hope some of the info helps you now or down the road. Good luck and have fun with linux.

[arkaine23]

Originally posted by afisoldier
Alright, right now I am asking one of the guys off of OC forums who will burn me a copy of distros.

Arkaine, I have a cd of overclockix, but when I tried to install it, it asked for some boot floppy, if you can tell me what that is or how to get one/by pass it, then I can go ahead and boot up with your wonderful Overclockix (saw it in action because a friend uses it, but he bought it installed on his computer).

It should only ask if you want to install lilo to the mbr and if you want to create a boot floppy (choose yes to the first and no to the second). Also note that you've got to create an initrd image and edit lilo's configuration for the 2nd kernel if you want to use both that it comes with. Instructions for doing this are right there with the installers on the desktop....

Get a copy of Yoper! Ask chasingapple, he'll hook you up!