Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Well...first tell us what you want your system to be for: what kind of apps do you have? Are you looking for a distro which brings loads of packages (like Debian - slightly complicated), or one which is "complete" but fits on one CD, like Kanotix.
Personally, though many people may say SUSE, Fedora Core, Mandrake, etc... I would recommend you go for either Ubuntu or Kubuntu. If you take a closer look, the only large difference between them is the window manager, and of course, some of the apps (because Kubuntu brings KDE installed, and Ubuntu brings GNOME installed). Take a look at both and see what you like more - GNOME or KDE. I'm guessing you'll go for KDE, but may I make a subtle suggestion that Ubuntu is slightly better than Kubuntu. Both have amazing hardware detection, apt-get (Synaptic Package Manager is the front-end) makes downloading and installing packages a breeze, and they both look great! What more could you want?
J_K9
P.S You may also want to check out Distrowatch - reviews of more than 100 distros out there!
There are already plenty of threads on this board with the exact same question.
FWIW though my favourite is Mandrivalinux (www.mandrivalinux.com) (used to be Mandrake) and I think it'd be pretty nice for newbies. You may also want to look at Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS (both can be booted as livecds to try them out) as well as Suse, Fedora, SimplyMEPIS, Linspire (costs $), Xandros (costs $ I think). Gentoo, Linux From Scratch and Slackware are probably not for you unless you want to dive in at the deep end and learn stuff the hard way at first.
Originally posted by J_K9 Well...first tell us what you want your system to be for: what kind of apps do you have? Are you looking for a distro which brings loads of packages (like Debian - slightly complicated), or one which is "complete" but fits on one CD, like Kanotix.
Personally, though many people may say SUSE, Fedora Core, Mandrake, etc... I would recommend you go for either Ubuntu or Kubuntu. If you take a closer look, the only large difference between them is the window manager, and of course, some of the apps (because Kubuntu brings KDE installed, and Ubuntu brings GNOME installed). Take a look at both and see what you like more - GNOME or KDE. I'm guessing you'll go for KDE, but may I make a subtle suggestion that Ubuntu is slightly better than Kubuntu. Both have amazing hardware detection, apt-get (Synaptic Package Manager is the front-end) makes downloading and installing packages a breeze, and they both look great! What more could you want?
J_K9
P.S You may also want to check out Distrowatch - reviews of more than 100 distros out there!
Lol - yup have fun with those! Use the live CDs (if they are available) first to check if the distro is fully compatible with all your hardware and that you like its look and feel. If you need any help on the installation, then just post back!
J_K9
P.S Ubuntu's also quite good because it has a text-based installation (like Debian, which it's based on), and I'm not trying to scare you, but it will greatly increase your learning curve. You'll learn about what size your swap partition should be and other good stuff, like configuring GRUB. With graphical installations you don't learn jack!
edit: and hey - doesn't windows also have a text-based installation? Therefore nothing to worry about
Please do not post the same thread in more than one forum. Picking the most relevant forum and posting it once there makes it easier for other members to help you and keeps the discussion all in one place.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.
