A little advice needed.
 

Im looking to dual boot win/linux and i want to get the most out of my system at the same time. I plan on using windows for media and games and linux for office and work tools and who knows, i may just kick windows to the curb eventually! So basically im asking which combo is best for dual Boot that causes the less problems possible but also i am looking for a good linux that can be as easy as windows but will also give me a chance to learn the basics or more of the Linux side. ( i plan on running a few servers for the hell of it as well). I am looking into Slackware v13.0 seems to have a nice interface but will it let me use all commands as well and the GUI ? I got very little experience from Linux Mint in the past but only had it for a week. This is my rig if it helps my options out.

-CPU: Intel Q9550
-MEM: 4gb DDR2 1066 G-Skill
-Video: ATI Radeon HD 5770 (new edition)
-MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P (rev. 1.6)
-PSU: 850 Watt OCZ GameXtream

I want to run both OS in 64-bit, and i plan on upgrading my ram to 8 gigs soon. i might also get another one of my video card for xfire so also is there gonna be a problem with linux and my Xfire setup ? Anyways i don't want to sound like someone who wants everything done by other's so i just want a little advice on which OS's to Dual Boot best with. or point me to a good distro referance faq. Thanks for any help.

I've seen people who're looking to do that start with Ubuntu and really like it but if you've got your eye set on slackware that's a great choice as well. After you're more comfortable and switching to Linux more you might like to look into virtual solutions as well but again just play.

Regards,

Alunduil

Slackware is great for learning Linux. If you don't mind reading a little when you are getting setup, then Slackware would be a fine option. If you are looking to set something up and not have to worry about anything, then Ubuntu might be a better choice, at least while you get your feet wet.

If you do decide Slackware, I suggest checking out the Slackbook. It is a bit out dated but most of it still applies. Also to get some of the software you'll want, check out SlackBuilds. Slackware does have a learning curve, but it also has great documentation, that can help you through any task.

Learn Ubuntu and you'll know Ubuntu... Learn Slackware and you'll know Linux ;)

I've never used Slackware, but as I understand it, it's not for newbies although, as others have said, it's a great way for learning Linux. In my experience, Ubuntu seems to be the distro of choice for new Linux users being very easy (in a Windows way) to use but also allowing you to dig under the surface if you so choose. I personally am not a great fan of Ubuntu as it seems to do some things a little differently to "traditional" Linux (disabling the root account by default for one) but YMMV.

I like Fedora for a good mix of traditional Linux usability and hardware support, but that's a personal preference - which is probably all the advice you can expect really :)

Personally, being quite fresh to Linux myself I can only offer some basic advice, but I will try to help =)

If you look at the 2009 Polls, Ubuntu came out as the top desktop distro for last year. I have personally installed it and enjoy it's look, but you have to remember that Linux is what you want it to be. You can choose from a variety of desktop environments, KDE and GNOME are just two that I am familiar with. If you have looked into Slackware and like what it has to offer, then that may be your flavor. The other nice thing about Linux is since it is "free", you can install as many versions of it as you like again and again until you find one that you like.

You say you want to run a server, well any distro can do that but I chose Debian for the rock-solid releases and stable performance. There is also a large community of Debian users for server and desktop application use.

If you want to learn linux, I would suggest reading up on as much as you can before you install anything - a good place to start (also where I started) is http://www.linux.org/lessons/beginner/l1/lesson1a.html.

As far as the gaming is concerned, you can run windows virtually on you Linux machine, then load the games that way. And for the upgrades you plan on doing - I wouldn't wait to try linux! Install it after you do your reading and then you will see how it brings older hardware back to life like it did my 5 year old gaming rig =) Then I chose to build a new Linux server because I fell in love with it so much, I wanted to learn it and share it with everyone I know. So as of right now, I am in the process of tweaking my Debian server and although it can be hectic trying to comprehend and tweak, the communities are usually more than willing to steer you in the right direction. (Anyone feeling the same should check out the problems I have and posted over the past two days, maybe you can help me! =)

But anyway, Linux distros have environments they usually thrive in, but if your looking for a desktop distro, there is plenty to choose from!

I don't understand this whole disabling root account thing, I personally have never had any issue accessing it on ubuntu, its just you can't do
to access it, you need to do
As far as I remember its remote root logins that were blocked, via ssh at least.

Then again, that was a version back; I suppose its possible they changed it.

If you want Slackware , go for it, but I wanted to say that it is much more difficult to install software on Slackware than other distros because you have to manually figure out dependencies.

I've got Ubuntu 9.10 installed on my second desktop (mostly used as a media player, truth be told) and while you could well be right, I remember having to do something funky to get the root account working, but this was a while ago and once I'd done it, I plain forgot about it. It irked me somewhat though, having to use sudo all the time and using my user account password to do administrative tasks. I'm all for being corrected, though :D Anyway, I still don't like Ubuntu very much. Hell, I'd rather use Slackware...

Haha, yeah, you and me both ;)

What do you mean manually figure out dependencies ? And also i think there was a software that listed all/some of the needed software available for Linux and you could basicly just click on it and it would install... Again that was on Linux Mint i beleve. but hey the many kinks i may run in will just make me understand Linux better right ? Also i was looking into Slackware and downloaded the DVD image, but im interested in Ubuntu the more i look into it. i figure i might just download a bunch of distros that i find look fun to play with and try them out. is there a good site that has all distros info ? also, can any distro be run from a USB stick and install it later when i find a distro i want ?

Manually figure out dependencies as in try to install software that requires a version of a shared library that may not be installed. If you want to look at lots of different distributions, check out: - http://distrowatch.com

In Linux, programs depend on other programs and libraries being installed. You probably never noticed this because Mint does this automatically.

Debian-based (including Mint and Ubuntu) distros use apt-get.
RedHat-based distros use yum.
Arch Linux uses pacman.

All of the above have the abitity to automatically resolve, download, and install other programs that the program you want depends on.

Also when you uninstall a package, they automatically remove dependency packages that aren't needed any more.

In Slackware you have to manually install and uninstall every one.

I still think you should try Arch because it is even more minimalist and DIY than Slackware, and it has a great package manager and build system.

Slackware doesn't have dependency checking. Meaning you can't just type apt-get install randompackage. You have to install all the requirements for that package. Most Slackers find this as a benefit, because we know exactly what is being installed. Slackbuilds are the way that most 3rd-party software is installed, which is a script that builds a binary package. A lot of people talk about 'dependency hell', however the only hell I've been through is getting stuff broken in Ubuntu because apt tries to install multiple versions of the same thing.

There are a few distros designed to run as 'livecds' so you could install them on a USB and run them. You can use something like Unetbootin to 'burn' ISOs to a USB key.

I suggest trying quite a few distros, at least the major ones (Fedora, Ubuntu, Slackware, OpenSUSE, Mandriva, etc etc), and see what you like. Something like VirtualBox or VMWare can be great for this.

Distrowatch is where you can find information for about every single Distro out there.

pacman has much more features than apt-get or yum, that let you easily se what dependencies you have installed, what versions, what unneeded dependencies you have, or install a package without automatically getting dependencies.

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pacman