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-   -   Which Linux version is the best for a newbie?? (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/which-linux-version-is-the-best-for-a-newbie-216505/)

NoMoreWindows 08-11-2004 11:02 PM

Which Linux version is the best for a newbie??
 
This may turn out to be more detailed than I suspect, but I am willing to read every post and take it all into consideration....

I admit that I was (am) a hardcore Windows user. But Windows is really more of a bad habit than a need or dependency. I WANNA QUIT WINDOWS! My first (of many, MANY questions, I am sure), is WHICH version of Linux is best suited for a newbie who is so used to the "point-and-click" of Windows?? I would like to gradually wean myself off Windows and learn how to actually administer Linus successfully, so any hardcore Linux OS wouldn't be right for me. Any suggestions on how to gradually emerge myself into the fascinating world of Linux??

Thanks for the input.

ppuru 08-11-2004 11:22 PM

Search around in LQ for answers to similar threads.

My 2c .. get Mandrake. and yes, Welcome to LQ and Linux.

2damncommon 08-12-2004 12:06 AM

There are a lot of threads about choosing or using different distributions.
This may be a good place to start.
Basically, choose a major distribution, dual boot with Windows, check out articles here and fool with your Linux install, decide where to go from there.
Good Luck.

masand 08-12-2004 12:19 AM

hi
for a newbies i think u should be comfortable iwh xandros ,pretty much the same looks as windows and to go further that that u can try
mandrake,>-->>redhat-->>slackware------ >>debian--->suse.--->>LFS

also as a newbie u can lok into knoppix

regards

FrostBot 08-12-2004 12:50 AM

Take a look into Xandros.

minm 08-12-2004 01:53 AM

I would say SuSE, i'm a huge newbie and i'm slowly learning Linux through SuSE. Mandrake is pretty good too :)

cybrnetico 08-12-2004 01:57 AM

Your taking the jump also. IF you like knoppix live cd try Libranet because they are both debian based.

Good Luck :)

cppkid 08-12-2004 02:57 AM

I've tried many but i like Fedora. And one thing more, Don't think that you are a new user so you must go for a Window like linux distribution. Just choose anyone, all are not much same, just a little interface difference, Anyway just choose any, You will adjust yourself in a week. So just make a choice don't consider that it looks like windows or something. I think if any distribution looks like Windows, you must develope hate about that :)
Just start with any eassyly available, and i recommend you to use the distribution that your friend or nearest person use, So that if you got some problem you can get instant help. And once you get use to one distribution, You will not find it hard to switch to other.

masand 08-12-2004 03:37 AM

what i think it may take some time+frustration if a newbie straightaway jumps to some hardore linux distro

for example the problems faced could be

--mounting drives

--lilo

---installation woes

----no sound in REDHAT 8.0 and above

---network connection/internet

---installing new packages

while using Xandros for a newbie it is very easy to install,listen play music etc etc .

but this is not good for development in linux

after that he can jump to some good distro

regards

gaurav

rm6990 08-12-2004 05:19 AM

Depends what you are looking for.

If you just want a desktop OS that gets things done, no command line AT ALL....and are willing to cough up a yearly fee....go with Linspire and CNR, they make Linux easier than Windows in my opinion, although if you like to fiddle with settings and stuff u will be very bored with Linspire, I know I was, that's why i switched to fedora.

If you want a true and free Linux distribution that doesn't involve too much hand holding, stick with the major ones such as Fedora, Mandrake, SuSE, Debian and most of the Debian based distros like Xandros and Libranet are good.

mjolnir 08-12-2004 06:09 AM

As mentioned above you have a lot of options. Do searches for Live CD and
dual booting. Xandros is nice and has excellent support for winmodems.
If you have an extra windows box, lycoris is very easy to network and will
d/l and install updates (rpms) almost magically. After that consider mandrake.
As always backup anything important first.

eyasko 08-12-2004 06:20 AM

Hello, all. I have been using Red Hat 9 for 6 months now, and have found it very user-friendly after setup. And, there is a HUGE wealth of docs out there on it, too. So if you don't mind reading a bit, I think RH is very powerful and a good choice.

Eagle_Seven 08-12-2004 08:33 AM

This has been said before, but the documentation with Suse is extensive and quality. If anything, you will be able to read your way to linux administration with the suse documentation. However, Suse likes to charge for that documentation. Still, its a good platform to learn on.

Oh, and one hint:

No matter how "easy" your installation claims itself to be, you're bound to have some type of conflict/problem.

People say Suse installs extrememly easy, but not if your bios rejects the Grub MBR!!!!!

So whatever distro you go for, give yourself a day or two to install, just to get around the kinks. And if it does install flawlessly, you've got lots of time to learn.

masand 08-12-2004 08:44 AM

first of all see that the distro u r using supports all your hardware
because later on this will drive u crazy.

gkneller 08-12-2004 09:08 AM

As others have said, it depends what you want to achieve...

If you want to learn Linux 'properly' (meaning lots of command line usage!), here's what I recommend:

Go to a computer fair and buy an old, cheap computer to experiment with until you get your confidence up. You could dual boot if you want, but when I was learning the basics I always had a worry in the back of my mind that I was going to inadvertently destroy my Windows partition - a separate PC lets you experiment freely. You should be able to pick up something like a PII 400 and a KVM switch very cheaply.

Then, download rute, and install something like Vector Linux, which is a cut down version of Slackware with a simplified installation procedure (it just dumps everything on the CD to the hard drive). This won't provide any hand-holding at all, and the learning curve will be pretty steep at first, but IMO it's definitely worth it.

This is more or less what I did, and although it was tough at first I think it gave me a better idea of what Linux is all about than I would have got from a more user-friendly, GUI oriented distro.

However, if you want a drop-in replacement for Windows that you can start using productively right away, this probably isn't what you want.


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