Im fed up with M$ and their intrusive policies, so Im going to switch to a Linux Distro. Any suggestions as to which one I should install would be GREATLY appreciated

Here is my config...

P4 2.10 Ghz
Via 4X266 Mobo
AC97 onboard Sound
365MB 2100 DDR Ram
80GB Maxtor HD
40GB Maxtor HD
Nvidia GEforce 200MMX
Sony 18' LCD Flat Monitor
LITE-On LTR 1610 CD-RW

TIA

Q. Tews

Have you even looked for suggestions before asking?
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...threadid=46220
check distrowatch.com for other opinions as well as searching this site

Hi Chris...

Yes, I have. However What I know about Linux could be placed in a thimble... Thats why I came here. Im smart enough to know what I dont know.. Many of the boards that I have been to seem to be a "..my OS is better than yours..", entertaining to read but no real information. Again, any suggestions are welcome.

Q. Tews

go to DistroWatch and read up on anything that look interesting. then choose for yourself.
it is impossible for us to decide for you do to the fact that everyone has their own needs/wants.
as far as suggestions here is a list of all of the ones that i have tried.
Red Hat 8.0<=didn't like
Red Hat 7.3<=didn't like
Mandrake 9<=liked and still use
Peanut<====liked but not as much (only one WM)
Lunar<=====didn't get it to install correctly
Evil Entity<==liked very much but no real server side. too multimedia for me
Slackware<==couldn't install well
Debian<====I'm too noobie
Gentoo<====I'm too noobie
Suse<=====hated Yast too difficult to install from ftp
Libranet<== just didn't feel right
Vector<====don't remember trying this but i got the cd
Lycoris<====haven't tried but looks interesting
some others that i have forgotten. don't let my personal opinion's hinder you in any way.
try them out and see for yourself. do some research

For your first steps my advice is Mandrake 9.1, try some others as soon as you've read more about the basics of Linux-distro's.
Wipe windows off your disks, this will force you to learn faster !

Bruno

If still undecided, I would recomend Mandrake Linux 9.1 for a newcomer, although I prefer Gentoo. Take some time to break in the command line interface in one of the user-friendly distributions, so after that you can build the operating system on your own. Welcome.



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Q.Tews, there are many distros and many opinions.

Before you look at them, save yourself time and effort by buying a good book on Linux. It's not easy to know where to start and a book is a good roadmap.

You can find everything you need to know on the web, but you have to know what to look for.

I recommend O'Reilly Learning Redhat Linux. Yes, it's got a free redhat CD but it's not particularly distribution specific as far as I'm currently aware.

I'm a total newbie to Linux-based OS's but I wanted to give it a try and went through the distrowatch/forums/irc/- route to ask opinions on which ones would be good starters for beginners. Chose Mandrake 9.1 (just out) ,I am so far happy like anything with it, kicked out $MS Windose completely and after few good advices from this forum, got the system running to my likening..
Installation was a breeze, and hardware was detected nicely too.. Well at least I am satisfied now.. And after some serious trying and err/learn manouvres, I'll probably try out other distros too..
HP Omnibook XE3l, intel Celeron II 952Mhz, 20Gb HD.

Well done !

Bruno

I'd second all the Mandrake responses, I started with Mandrake about 9 months ago, and have now also installed TinyLinux (Slack derivative), Slackware, and Debian.

I prefer Debian, but am still not using it on my main box, where I still have Mandrake.

I did the dual boot thing for a short while ( I guess one week), then took the plunge and was finally rid of Windows, and haven't looked back.

Good luck, you may find you have a bit of a learning curve, but it is well worth it.



Steve

Consider what type of user you are (or would like to be ). The general consensus is that Mandrake and Red Hat are preferred for people who want to get things up and running with a minimum of fuss, which Debian and Slackware are for people who like to fiddle and don't mind taking some time with manual configurations to get everything working. These are generalizations, and they're not entirely accurate.

If you've got the time and the bandwidth, why not download a few and see which you like best for yourself? You won't harm your computer with a few reinstalls, and you'll probably learn more about Linux that way than by just sticking with one.

Here is my opinion on the matter from another thread:

LQ thread on distros

Update!!

Okay, based on all of your helpful replies, I downloaded the 3 Mandrake ISO's, ran the MD5 checksums ( all ok ). However, when attempting to install it, my pewter freezes up with 16 minutes to go. I have tried to do this six times and the frustration is off the meter, so I am now downloading Slackware and Debian. We'll see what happens with those.

Keep the suggestions coming!!

Q. Tews

Here is my 2 cents (plus some).....

Debian is actually pretty easy to manage once you have it installed, because of its package management system. For a newbie the installation can be a bit much. After the initial installation you will get to the point where you can install package groups. My suggestion is to only install the X Window System and C/C++ Development packages. This will give you a good base system to build on top of.

Slackware is rock solid, but the maintenance can be somewhat difficult.

As much as I hate to say it, Mandrake and RedHat (7 series) are probably your best bet to get started with. The RH 7.3 install is pretty much automated (click next). If you add the software package called apt (from freshrpms.net) it will eliminate a lot of the package managment headaches.

joesbox, does make a good point about checking out http://www.distrowatch.com .

I've got Red Hat 8.0 and I am quite happy with it I haven't had any major problems and have everything working like a charm took a while but I am extremely happy with Red Hat 8.0. But like everybody has mentioned up above try out a few distributions see which one you prefer. If you try Slackware read up about it on the Slackware site they have a book you can use but you need a network connection or lots of paper.

Good Luck