Can someone please recommend a flavor/version of Linux for a home desktop PC (dual boot with Windows XP Home SP1)? My attempts to install Fedora (disk geometry error) and Ubuntu (error 17) were time consuming disasters! I'm looking to be able to install something in an hour or two.

Thanks a ton.

Ha, Ha, Ha.

Try taking the quizes in my signature.

You might try a LiveCD version that has an easy install like PCLinuxOS or Mepis where you reboot with the CD in the drive. Then if it's all working, there's a start menu option for installing to the hard drive.

arch linux.

@ PJValdez (Not picking on you because I see you doing lots of good work here), but ... I took those quizzes just to see what would happen.

#1:
Kubuntu
Ubuntu
Mandriva
Debian
Fedora
SuSE

#2:
MEPIS 9/11: 81%
Ubuntu 8/11: 72%
Mandriva 8/11: 72%
SuSe 8/11: 72%
Fedora 8/11: 72%
Knoppix 8/11: 72%
Debian 8/11: 72%
Damn Small 8/11: 72%
Gentoo 8/11: 72%

Either way, I'm glad I didn't use them to decide what distro was best for me.

Hi

The geometry errors and the error 17 you received in Ubuntu install are both related to the partitioning of your disk. How do you have it partitioned for a dual boot. If it isn't partitioned to allow another operating system, no distro will install. Post some information on how you have you disk partitioned.

Bob

rickh,

I agree that they can turn out funny for the already experienced user (not to mention the end results will be somewhat biased as your answers will come from your experience with certain distros). But most newbies (not just here on the forums) I've worked with don't like to hear "Try a few and you can always change" because they don't yet understand the flexibility and diversity that is linux. And unless they're close enough that I can work with them on Debian (my distro of choice), they haven't had much success with it... So I ended up taking a different route of recommending the choosers. For some reason it seems to make them feel more confident that they can make the switch (I'm not a psychologist to figure out why...).

But I was a newbie once and quiz 2 actually came up with Debian, which is why I tried it and haven't turned back. Before that I had worked with RH9 and Mandrake on the recommendation of friends and really didn't like linux much. So there's one success story for you...

the first test has never worked for me, telling me suse and ubuntu when i liked those probably the least of all the distros i've tried, but the second one was right on the money, slackware, 90%, debian 90% (which although i use i actually don't like as much as slack, though i like the philosophy, base install, etc.), and arch linux, 80-something percent.

but back to the OP: yeah, your disk is messed up. you're going to have to provide more info to fix it, or else just format the whole thing and start from scratch, which should fix it.

My first install was Mandrake, then I switched Redhat (v 6.0, I think it was) Stayed with Redhat thru FC4, then out of curiosity installed Debian on an extra machine I had sitting around. Took about a month of working with both to realize that there was, indeed, a right distro for me.

To the OP (who I suspect is long gone). For my recommendations on setting up a new dual-boot system with windows, see Reply #2, on this thread.

ha ha WHAT???
Something like Ubuntu installs in less than 1 hour.

Every distro i have tried installs in less than an hour (even Arch which is a right pain trying to choose packages with no conflicts or you have to start again :P), it's the configuring/updating/securing afterwards that takes the time, but that's the fun bit anyway

that's odd. i have almost 700 packages installed, and no conflicts at all. it seems like you must have been using a lot of AUR community packages? at any rate, afaik it's not normal to have conflicts within the current and extra branches. that's the point: everything is designed to work together within the distro.

Last time I did a complete install (Debian ... on a laptop), it took me about two hours to get everything up and working including the wireless card, and the peripheral programs ... java, firewall, etc ... but for a complete newbie to think he could do it in less than two days is funny ... ha, ha, ha.

I agree with pljvaldez. Why don't you try a live cd first, I recommend Knoppix since I use it myself.
If it's boots on your PC, you can install in onto your hd.
Good luck