I'm going to be buying a Linux OS and I want to keep things as simple as possible. I am not knowledge about computers, to say the least. I only use my computer to search the Internet.

Assuming all other factors are roughly equal, which Linux OS do you recommend for easy of installation?

Thank you,

genyes

I'd recommend either Mandrake, or Knoppix to get you started. These two are probably the easiest to install.

Mandrake is a pretty easy install, as well as a good distro to start with. But do yourself a favor and go to there site, http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en-us/ and read there docs, just so you know what to expect.

Mandrake is easy to install and use, as is Fedora and SuSE. Knoppix would be nice to 'test drive' linux as it is a live boot cd version. A complete newbie probably wouldnt/couldnt install it to a hard disk; and I have heard the latest version (3.4) is a little unstable during hdd install. Running Knoppix from cd will not alter hdd contents at all and autodectects and configs all hardware during startup. Stay away from Debain and especically Gentoo as these distros are NOT for newbies, but are very nice indeed.

Hey HIIIII Guyz

Im a a new bie to Linux
i ve insatlled the RED HAT 9 at the first go
The installation went fine, there wasnt any problem in intallation im sure
but there is a problem, the system does not boot, it gets struck while booting
It comes to a halt and says "FINDING MODULE DEPENDENCIES" and sits there for eternity and never gets booted
i dont know watz the problem
Guyz can u help me
do it soon plzzzzz

Regards
Bharath
bchintala@eskribe.com

Hello,

I can't help putting a plea for Debian. I chose Debian-based Libranet after reading some forums and reviews. This distro is excellent for newbies, not bloated, and not spoonfeeding you. Installation and partitioning are easier and faster than with windoz, Grub does a great job, and no problem with dual booting.

As I have an old version (2.7 which is free) I can train in all sorts of things -- updating software, recompiling the kernel, upgrading -- getting to know how Linux works. Apt-get is great too and the .deb packages have a good reputation.

Anyway, read some documentation before installing.

Cheers

For ease of installation then Knoppix or summat like Xandros might be a good choice. However installing is not the whole story. If you're dual-booting and/or your disk isn't partitioned correctly then Mandrake or Suse might be worth a go as they have decent gui style 'auto' partitioners.

I do agree here.

I installed Debian and it's been great. I just LOVE apt-get !!! my favorite toy. But the resizing/partitioning my win disk was a nightmare at first, specially with my twisted setup.
I had two HD's and my Win was installed in the second drive. Long story short, I messed everything had to reinstall win in first HD, then Linux in the second. Due to noobiness ofcurse.

Well, Qucho, your misadventure is a reminder that newbies need to read quite a lot of documentation on partitioning and the like before installing Linux. That Win must be installed first and Linux second because win is stupid -- basically -- can be found in any doc on dual booting.

But I'm really amazed that Debian was easy for you. Good for you! I chose LIbranet because it's Debian but much easier.

Cheers

Yes, I know. I Don't think Debian as a distro for noobs like me. But once you get it working, all just keep working, and apt-get ... is.. is.. beautifull.

My win was installed first, but the twist is that was in the second HD, and both HD's were in NTFS, after installing linux, win was having a fit because it would not find 'C:', all PATH's were messed, and all my data was encrypted... so I found my way arround to recover the encrypted files after all, so no biggie there.

gentoo isnt that bad if you take the time to read the docs on their site. their support forums are great

I would have to say Mandrake 10 Official..

I agree with the Mandrake 10 suggestion. It has KDE 3.2 also. Other then that SUSE is a good distro