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Old 01-02-2007, 08:28 AM   #1
kaykav
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Registered: Jan 2007
Location: Tenn.USA
Distribution: ,ubuntu,mint,debian
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Unhappy what is the easiest distro for newbie


please tell me ; what is the easiest distro to install and use? I tried ubuntu, but could
not get online. After opening up the desktop a few times, I did not have any control . Ultimately I removed ubuntu from my partitioned disk.I lost a lot of data from windows.
Do I need to use the command line to install a distro? Im kind of lost here!
Thanks

Last edited by kaykav; 01-02-2007 at 08:30 AM.
 
Old 01-02-2007, 12:19 PM   #2
jstephens84
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Registered: Sep 2004
Location: Nashville
Distribution: Manjaro, RHEL, CentOS
Posts: 2,098

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Quote:
Originally Posted by kaykav
please tell me ; what is the easiest distro to install and use? I tried ubuntu, but could
not get online. After opening up the desktop a few times, I did not have any control . Ultimately I removed ubuntu from my partitioned disk.I lost a lot of data from windows.
Do I need to use the command line to install a distro? Im kind of lost here!
Thanks
Ubuntu is as easy as they come. You could also try Fedora Core 5 or opensuse.
 
Old 01-02-2007, 12:35 PM   #3
b0uncer
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Registered: Aug 2003
Distribution: CentOS, OS X
Posts: 5,131

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Quote:
Ubuntu is as easy as they come. You could also try Fedora Core 5 or opensuse.
I agree. Some parts of Fedora might not be as easy as on Ubuntu, though, but mostly it's pretty much the same, except that it's a whole lot bigger (5 cds against 1) and installing it takes longer. I can't compare with opensuse, but anyway I'd still say you should try to live with Ubuntu (or perhaps Kubuntu if KDE feels better desktop; it's the same system).

If you use adsl internet connection, use the pppoe tools of Ubuntu; I recall the setup was pppoe-setup from command line, and pon and poff to start and stop the connection. For modems there is a graphical PPP program. For wireless there are tools, but in addition you may need to configure drivers for your wifi card if it doesn't have native ones.

Removing Linux is pretty much the same thing no matter which distribution you use, and I can't figure out how you managed to lose data from non-Linux partitions during the process. Basically when you remove Linux completely, you first swith your bootloader back to the one you had before Linux (for example use Windows recovery console or similar tools), then just remove and/or reformat the partitions, which can be done from inside Windows too, or with Partition Magic or a live-cd Linux or any other app that can do partitioning. Maybe you should tell how you managed to lose data from a non-Linux drive during the removal, if it might help somebody? And get things straight with yourself anyway

I suggest you don't give up so easily but re-install the latest stable Ubuntu or Kubuntu (version 6.10 at the moment, Edgy Eft) and take your time to get to know it. Ask for help or hints here if you can't figure something out, there surely are people who can and will help you out it's definitely easier and more productive to sit and learn one distribution well in the beginning than jump between operating systems every three days crying for the problems that occur. Everybody faces problems, especially in the beginnin, no matter what business - but they can and should be solved.
 
Old 01-03-2007, 10:41 AM   #4
suselinuxfan
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Registered: May 2006
Distribution: OpenSuSE 10.1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kaykav
please tell me ; what is the easiest distro to install and use? I tried ubuntu, but could
not get online. After opening up the desktop a few times, I did not have any control . Ultimately I removed ubuntu from my partitioned disk.I lost a lot of data from windows.
Do I need to use the command line to install a distro? Im kind of lost here!
Thanks
For you, I would reccomend Freespire Regular Edition (Not OSS). The Regular Edition has Windows Media, Real, Quicktime, and other codecs. It also has NVIDIA and ATI drivers, wifi drivers. basically everything you need to get started. It even includes the FREE CNR Client (FREE Registration Required,Basic Version only). It is very easy to install. About,maybe 3-5 steps.
 
Old 01-03-2007, 12:41 PM   #5
jstephens84
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Registered: Sep 2004
Location: Nashville
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I agree with b0uncer. I would just install Ubuntu again. Also What was the exact problem you where having with your network card? It might have been a simple task as enabling it then making sure start up has it enable.
 
Old 01-03-2007, 05:47 PM   #6
reddazz
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Location: N. E. England
Distribution: Fedora, CentOS, Debian
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Moved: This thread is more suitable in Linux Distributions and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.
 
Old 01-04-2007, 02:07 AM   #7
jacook
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Registered: Nov 2005
Location: Townsville, Australia
Distribution: PCLinuxOS .93 Junior
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Try looking at these:

Kubuntu
http://www.kubuntu.org/

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

Mephis
http://www.mepis.org/

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

PCLinuxOS .92
http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/metalab/dist...glish/preview/
ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/metalab/distr...glish/preview/

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.

if you are still at a loss to find the right distro try these distro choosers:

http://eedok.voidofmind.com/linux/chooser.html
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

Last edited by jacook; 01-04-2007 at 02:08 AM.
 
Old 01-06-2007, 02:50 PM   #8
mipia
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Registered: May 2003
Location: lake michigan
Distribution: Debian, Mint, Slackware
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I would actually go with Debian's stable branch. It's not hard to install like you might see written, that was quite a while ago. If you can install Ubuntu, you can install Sarge.
My reason is because since Edgy was released it's been a little touch and go. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. And quite honestly i noticed better over performance with Debian. Same Gnome desktop and all the applications you would need to get started. At this point in starting out you shouldn't even ben worrying about being on the bleeding edge. You should want a stable solid starting point so you can be functional without any hangups. Debian is a great starting point in my opinion.
 
Old 01-06-2007, 03:13 PM   #9
craigevil
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Registered: Apr 2005
Location: OZ
Distribution: Debian Sid/RPIOS
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Any of the top 10 distros listed on distrowatch.org would be good places to start. Granted a couple like Slackware and Gentoo may be a little harder than some of the others, but they also have great documentation. And yes a newbie can install Slack, Gentoo or Debian with very little trouble if they bother to read the install guides. I jumped right in the deep end with Debian unstable two years ago and haven't looked back.

Rank Distribution
1 Ubuntu
2 openSUSE
3 Fedora
4 MEPIS
5 Mandriva
6 PCLinuxOS
7 Debian
8 Damn Small ( i would only use DSL if you have a low end system or limited space)
9 Slackware
10 Gentoo

MEPIS, PCLinuxOS, *buntu, all have livecd versions that you can play around with then install if you like what you see.

Xandros, Freespire, PCLinuxOS are the absolute easiest to start with IMHO.
 
Old 02-08-2007, 09:19 PM   #10
RadeRad
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Registered: Sep 2006
Location: Rhode Island
Distribution: Xandros 3.0
Posts: 8

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Thumbs up Non-LINUX-head and Linux OS

Howdy,

I am a recovering Windows addict tryiog despartly to break the last shackles of WinXP before I am forced to upgrade to Vista.

I tried using SUSE 10.0, but found the OS was EXTREMLY tempramental and very convoluted. Getting my wireless cards to work was nearly impossible, and the built in wireless in my desktop was not supported.

Then on a whim, I purchased XandrOS Desktop 3.0. I LOVE THIS OS. One installation CD. Works fine on both my Thinkpad T21 and CUBE desktop. Uses the Windows drivers for the wireless cards (from NetGear) and other than keying in my WEP HEX key, did not have to do any other RPITA hacking to get online (RPITA = Royal Pain In The A$$). There are a couple of hiccoughs; some application settings don't work (like remembering window settings between sessions). But... IT AIN'T XP!!!

So far, so good. Now I am looking for parts. All the little extras. But at least both systems are VERY stable, working, wireless, online.

Rade
 
  


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