Hi Guys,

This is my 1st post on linuxquestions.org. I am so glad I found a "newB friendly forum"!

My question is as follows:

I am invested (for the 2nd time...) to realy get down and dirty learning Linux. I would rate myself as an Advanced MS user, having experience in every and all things MS related.

I am however, a NewB as can be with Linux. Like a virgin... Anyway, I have been playing around with different distro's, so I need some advice.

Here is my dilema: I am currently stuck with a work pc... Domain and all, managed on my behalf with security like crazy(eg No Admin priviledges, SafeBoot HDD encoding, install monitoring, etc). Point being, I can't install dual boot wihtout getting a diciplinary hearing(No jokes!). Short and sweeet.

I need a Linux distro's with the following carateristics:
Live CD/USB
No GUI (Not for now. I need to know how it works first!)
Full MAN pages and Info pages
Full Coreutils
Just plain BASH would be fine
The smaller the better!

I am currently testing various Live CD's in Sun VirtualBox, but they are all quite Heavy with GUI and features. I want a distro's that detects my hardware, but leaves me in BASH (with more than one TTY). I want to understand Linux the same way I understand MS. I want to be able to install devices, and troubleshoot problems. I will get to GUI later.

If I find a small linux disto (ie DSL) it doesn't have eg. Apropos... or MAN and Info pages...

Please HELP?!

PS: I want to be self-reliant. So if you could possibly also explain to me how I can check what packages are included with a distro before downloading?

Hi Argief,

To answer your question, here is my point of view:

To meat all the following criteria I would recommend "Ubuntu server edition"
Live CD/USB
No GUI (Not for now. I need to know how it works first!)
Full MAN pages and Info pages
Full Coreutils
Just plain BASH would be fine
The smaller the better!

Why?
- Ubuntu server has no GUI (although it can be install if needed)
- For the man pages it come by default of nearly all Linux distribution
- For that smaller the better, ubuntu server is not the best as you will need about 4Go of space if you want to install it.

But the main reason why I would advice you to use Ubuntu server is for the size of the community, which is probably one of the biggest.

Hopping that will help you to make your choice.
Best regards,
Angel

Thanx Angel, but 4GB is to big. I live in South Africa and data is VERY expensive here... For me to download the ISO's whould be nearly impossible. I also cannot install Linux on my system due to strict security measures. I have other PC's at home, but would like to work...um....in my "lunch time" on Linux. VirtualBox is perfect for this, but I need a proper Live CD. I'm having no luck with those I tried: Ubunto Netbook Remix, Damn Small Linux, Knopix (Not booting....), Ubunto Live is the best I got, but I only have an older version. Perhaps I should just download a never version? The problem I have is with the expensive downloads(ie Approx US$1 for 4MB...Therfore approx US$162 for a 600MB ISO) therfore I don't want to download the wrong thing...

I was thinking of perhaps building my own Gentoo? Would that be difficult?

Well by default Arch Linux has no X11, desktop enviroment or software, you have a CLI and a package manager so you only add what you need.

Read some books first. When you understand the boot sequence and can read BASH scripts nearly any distro will do.

I wonder how you match the truth of "like a virgin" and boldness of "I need a Linux distro's with the following carateristics". Taken technically, "building my own Gentoo" is also a rather strange notion. I also fail to understand why a LiveCD is necessary if you can use VirtualBox.

Thus, leaving only "realy get down and dirty learning Linux" for consideration, I would recommend the following:

Linux from scratch - everything is explained. About 200 MB mini LiveCD, about 600 MB full CD.
Slackware - the easiest to follow set of scripts for both the system and package building.
Arch - nearly as simple as Slackware, but with dependency tracking.
Gentoo - the most advanced dependency tracking.
Slitaz or Slax - the joy of layered file systems. Really small, even with GUI.

You can try ArchBang. http://www.archbang.org

Thanx Guys for all the input.

To Ager: You made some valid points... But I would rather say I know nothing, than start bragging and get lost in Linux Pro jargon. I say this with the utmost respect. I am a fast learner, and embrace a challenge. I am not sure what a "NewB" really comprises in a Linux environment, but I would assume that all things alive today have some MS experience. Perhaps a bit of background would suffice at this point: I started using a PC at age 12(1995) [MSDOS v3]. I deleted my first partition in the first week and because no-one in my family new anything about PC's it cost my parents quite a bit of cash. I read, and played and broke lots of hard/software. By 1997 I could program fluently in both Basic and Pascal. I attempted Assembler but due to my lack of math (age 14) it was just to complicated to complete. I installed Linux round-about that time and played with networking etc. When I hit Varsity, I stayed with a bunch of IT dudes. I learned Visual Basic in about 6 months and did some adhoc programming on contract. I then started an ISP for our residence(for 2 years), managed about 110+ users. - SIDE NOTE - At this point I would like to apologise to the Linux community. I used MS Server 2003. I have only read half of "Introduction to Linux" (from the LDP) and I feel nauseated by all the hoops I jumped to get Server 2003 to work... Linux/GNU would have done a much better job. - SIDE NOTE -

This whole Linux thing have gotten me exited again bout PC's. I was so board with MS and their junk. I hated the fact that everything is copyrighted. That documentation is few and far between. If you want to make MS better you feel like a hacker(pardon: you ARE a hacker!). I want to know the ins and outs of Linux. So I have decided to get by with my VirtualBox and Ubunto Live CD. (Also playing with Knoppix and Linux Linpus (on my AA1)). After learning the basics from "Introduction to Linux" I intend to start on Linux from scratch. I think building a system from the legs up will definitely improve my understanding of how the gears turn in a Linux/GNU system.


thank you very much to all who contributed!