I am thinking about installing Linux on my mother's computer (currently not operating with no OS). I am trying to decide if Linux is the way to go. She has a P2 PC computer with I think at least a 20 or 40 Gig main HD. She is not computer savy and needs a easy comprehensible GUI (perferably something like Windows). She will use the computer to surf the internet, send and recieve email, word processing, and view pictures and possibly other media.

Basically if I am to install Linux I need to do it complete with all necessary features. Otherwise I'll be getting phone calls at all hours asking me to explain somethin. I definatly do not want to deal with code and mother will have no clue with such. I'd install WinXP but I know that can be a headache with all the security rigamaroo, and Win98 is no longer supported. My mom needs something simple and hassle free.

Any suggestions what I should do and how?

Thanks.

You can install a Linux distro (Fedora Core 4 or 5 for example) with the Gnome or KDE (I always go with the default) windows manager. It will boot up to a login prompt after you're all done. Once logged in she'll have a GUI desktop.

Using the Thunderbird mail client she can read her mail. You will have to set that up to point it to her ISP's mail server - no way around that.

OpenOffice will let her open most MS Office files (Word docs, Excel spreadsheets).

But if you think WinXP is too hard to setup you'll probably also think that about any Linux distro. WinXP doesn't give you a lot of choices but most Linux distros do.

hi new user did u can try to install linux suse10 or linux fedora core 5 its all free from the internet to download they have a lot of features u need for ur mother . i know u dont wanna her panic and make so much troubles for u .
it will be fine with her i guess and u 2 will be happy
download it see the HCL ( Hardware Copmtipility List ) to find wt will work i mean hardware and wt will not .
i can help u in installation too .
so go ahead dont be hesitate .
bye

Something like Mandriva or Suse would be a suitable distro for a beginner. The installation is easy and hardware detection first rate. I started Linux with Suse back at version 7.1 with few headaches and it is much improved since then.

Any major distro would come with all the packages your mother is likely to need.

Good luck!

I had exactly the same problem -

Last year Mum was 67 and her old 486 snuffed it. She bought a 2nd hand Athlon something, and we tried Windows XP but the XP look and feel was so foreign to Mum (her last contact was Win95), I was getting phonecalls every second day). A few weeks earlier I had bought a copy of "Linux for Dummies" for myself and it had Fedora Core on the accompanying DVD. I installed that and gave her the book as well. We spent the first day doing the Install - I read the book and Mum hit the keys.

Sure there's a great help facility for whatever flavour of Linux but when you are new it's hard to find what you want. Here she has the blow-by-blow text in plain english specifically written for her distro and her version.

The whole deal cost me under $50 Australian and I got the book from the bookshop at full retail. You could probably halve that by shopping at Feebay.

Mum buys and sells on e-Auctions now and called last week to ask why so much of her Hard drive was taken up by "the WinXPSP2 section of her disk thingy - Do I need it? I thought I better ask before I did anything, in case it was one of those kernel folder thingy's you said I mustn't touch."

Ignorance IS bliss!

Moved: This thread is more suitable in Linux Distributions and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

New User,

http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/. That is the Linux disto chooser, it askes you a series of questions then based on your answers comes up with your perfect Linux distro

a few personal recomendations:

Kubuntu
http://www.kubuntu.org/

Mandriva
http://frontal2.mandriva.com/en/downloads/mirrors

PCLinuxOS
http://www.pclinuxonline.com/pclos/html/download.html

This is the distro I use and recommend, Why because it works right out of the box. No need to configure Everything, everything just works. It also comes as a 1 CD install that is a live CD that you can install later if you wish.

BeatrIX
http://www.watsky.net/download.html

Blag
http://www.blagblagblag.org/download/

OPENSUSE
http://www.opensuse.org/Download

Mephis
http://www.mepis.org/

enjoy,

Jake