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Stand Alone Linux system
Absolutely new to Linux. I have WD ide hard drives coming out my ears. How do I go about finding info to install a version of Linux on a bare hard drive. I have many more questions but please let us start here. I have been using microsoft xp pro since is came out and after looking at vista.......ugh enough Bill Gates I am looking for a new computer life.
Thanks |
Welcome to Linux, and you've come to the right place for help.
Why not head over into the distro review section and see which distributions you'd like to try, based on your level of expertise and comfort level with working with software? Some distributions are much easier to use than others. Probably want to start with a distro that takes you by the hand at first (and then go from there once you get your sea legs). Then compare system requirements within the distros you're looking at with what you have for hardware. Then download, burn your iso images, set your BIOS to boot from CD,put Disk 1 in your CD drive, and reboot using one of those fresh drives. |
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I think an all around, very easy to install/setup version of Linux, is Ubuntu. An excellent package mgr, which makes software very easy to install. Lots of community support(look at the Ubuntu Forum here on LQ). Ubuntu 6.10 gets my vote, but a search will give you a ton of answers. That's the route I'd go.. http://www.ubuntu.com http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Edgy |
linux install
Well, this is pretty easy assuming you have installed windows a few times, although it can get more complicated if you have strange hardware or are dual booting.
1: choose your linux distro. I have found ubuntu to be easy to install, and it's free (www.ubuntu.com) ^they will even mail you cds 2: a: if you are not going to dual boot, boot off the ubuntu cd, follow the instructions. It's prety step by step and easy to follow. b: If you are going to dual boot with windows, make sure windows is installed first, then back up everything thats important to you. Decide which drive and how much space you want to allocate to linux. Boot off the cd, follow the instructs, make sure you tell it the right answer when it gets to the part about the windows partition, not to erase it. c:boot into you new linux system and find out if all your hardware works properly (most people will find that one or two pieces didn't autodetect exactly as expected, and you may have to tweak some drivers or settings) d: Anything that doesn't work, check the wiki for your distro online, and try posting here. It should be easier than you think. NOTE: If you want 3d acceleration you will probably have to install invidia or ATI drivers after you install linux, these can be tricky at times, post back here if you need help. |
Well installing Linux is easy, of course it depends on which distribution you use but I'd recommend something easy such as Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, SuSE etc..The installations are pretty straight forward and they format your drives for you.
If you want to dual-boot along side Windows then you'd want to partition your drives first. You can do this either by using the integrated Partitioner in Ubuntu, or download GParted (A liveCD which is solely used for partitioning) or you can do this via Windows itself with something like Partition Magic, which costs money...You will have to create an ext2/3 or reiser or xfs filesystem on which your Linux distribution will run. and 256 ~ 512MB swap partition which is your "Page File/Virtual memory" for Linux. When you install Linux either GRUB or LILO bootloaders will give you the option to either boot Windows or Linux ;) :twocents: |
If you have "WD Drives coming out your ears", I'd dedicate one of those drives completely to Ubuntu. That way, if by chance you have trouble, you haven't ran the risk of hosing your windows install. It doesn't happen to often, but people have hosed their main OS by trying to partition the drive.
IGF |
try the Ubuntu. for testing purpose, you dont need to install it into HD. it boots from CD and runs on RAM. If you feel you like it, then you can install it by only a few clicks.
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It really does depend what you are going to use it for, but also take a look at the links below. They may appeal to you:
The debian "stable" distro for disk-installable (relatively small download and the installation is straight forward from CD). Good for desktop and server. The new "Etch" version should be released as "stable" shortly. www.debian.org/CD/netinst/ Puppy linux for linux with a really really small footprint (even smaller download and easier installation). Often used for embedded systems. www.puppylinux.org Knoppix for linux that runs from CD with more pre-installed utilities than you can poke a stick at. www.knoppix.org |
Welcome To The Good Life...
Thanks for coming around my friend. Here's the deal, since you are just getting started, I would recommend something in the area of Fedora, Mandriva, or Ubuntu. Typically these distros are highly admirable when it comes to being user friendly, and I find that their hardware support is near the top. I wouldn't want you to start with SUSE, because I hate everything that has Novell attached to it. You might also check out Debian-based systems. MEPIS is what I am toying around with, and it's backed with superb hardware support, pretty light on resources, and it's only one CD. Plus, the CD is actually live so you can mess around to see if you like it before installing, but I'm just glad to see you here.
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IGF |
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Really ? Wow, I've got Mandriva 2007 running at home, and it does pretty well I think, but who knows why these things happen. I do agree with you about Fedora, although I would recommend going with 5 instead of 6 due to the fact that there are still tons of bugs to be worked out. I think they were a little too hasty with this one, and I was shocked to find out that 7 is coming out in April. Furthermore, I find that Debian-based systems like Ubuntu and MEPIS have superb package systems, compared to EVERYTHING out there, but that could just be me. |
Debian has the easiest package management I have ever seen. Granted, the only thing I've ever messed with is Windows. But it's amazing how much software is just an "apt-get" away.
Nobody threw in this caveat yet that I can see: Sarge is old and tired. If you are going to install a new Debian system, go with Etch. That way you don't have to deal with the Xfree86 -> Xorg upgrade. Plus, you get updates with Etch. Sarge is pretty well unchanging. |
I agree Debian has the best package management out there, but it is relatively difficult to install. It was the first distro I tried to install which turned out to be a mistake. I failed horribly at it the first 3 times i tried to install before finally turning to FC6, but after hearing all the great stuff everybody had to say about Ubuntu, I decided to try that. I absolutely loved it, all except for the fact that I hate GNOME, so I installed Kubuntu and used it for a few months before my hard drive crashed, after which I finally got a working Debian installation to work which I've been using for about 3 months and counting.
Final word: I would suggest Kubuntu for anybody just starting out with Linux because it's hard to believe how user friendly it is, not to mention the fact that they'll give you enough free CDs to give a few to your friends who are just as tired of M$ as we are ;). |
Thanks everyone for the help. I finally wiped a hard drive clean and installed Ubuntu 6.10 from a dvd source and I want to tell you that it was the smoothest installation I have ever done (about 150 installs of MS) after the up dates were installed I cannot find a single issue and love the hell out of linux so far. I tossed the windows xp drive in the bottom drawer and said good night. Thanks again
jrduffis |
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