Very new, please read/help
 

Hey, I have never used Linux or ever really seen it in action before. I will be getting a 2100 Athelon XP, 60GB HD, 256MB RAM. It comes with Windows XP Home Edition which I will be upgrading to XP Pro. Now then I want to partition and load Linux. Being a total n00b, which version of Linux is best to get started with, since i have seen so many versions, IE RedHat which I see posted here tons of times. And can I get pointed to where I could find it?

Thanks for any help!

:newbie:

please search this site for opinions on distributions. this question is asked so so many times.

to download any distro, try http://linuxiso.org

Check out the "Post a link to your screenshot" thread for some idea what Linux can look like.
Linux can be purchased in a retail box set with manuals, downloaded free online (or purchase a copy of the download version and avoid downloading yourself).
Any of the major versions you see discussed here are very good and no one knows which you will prefer.
Good Luck.

You could always download, from linuxiso.org, knoppix. It fits one cd after you burn and it boots from cd so nothing is on your hard drive and you can see what linux is like.

I suggest Mandrake :D I just started using linux just few days ago with Mandy and it's so easy :D Just don't try installing updates for gnome or anything like that when u are a newb though....

I agree with those that say there's no way to know which you like till you try, and you should experiment. that said, for a microzombie complete newbie, I'd have to recommend RedHat or Mandrake, if only for their installs. depending on hardware, their installs can require even less knowledge or user involvement than windoze.

good luck, and don't forget to make full use of the 'search' button above

:cool:

this is also a great suggestion.

Thanks for your time and rsponses guys. I'll try Redhat, since I have seen many posts about it and could get some info from there.