New to Linux

Hello every1.
My name is Andreas and i am from Sweden. I'm new on this forum, and i am new to Linux to.
I am relly confused about linux, i havent installed it yet, i was thinking of start using mandrake, they told me that madnrake is good for a start ?!?!?!?!?.

So i would be greatfull for every tip that i get.
Right now im using XP, and im relly sick and tierd of it, it newer works the way i want to, i have used windows for almost 8 years now.


So can someone tell me a little about linux, whats the "biggest" difference between windows and linux (mandrake)




Thanx alot for your time.
//Confused

A good starting point would be to read "Common Questions and Misconceptions" on the LQ Wiki:
http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/

Mandrake is as good a place to start as any when it comes to distributions although most people (myself included) would reccomend slackware for greater performance. This comes at the slight cost of not having lots of programs staking up space on your system but once you have some experience with linux it is definately worth it.

Sry guys, i missed the newbie forum here. Ill post there. thanx

d1ny3, please do not double post it is against our rules:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/rules.php

If you would like a post moved then please use the "Report this post to a moderator" link.

Hi there, and welcome to Linux

Mandrake is (so I have heard) OK for a starter distribution, if you find that you are having problems getting used to it all feel free to consider some or all of the following:

1) Don't be afraid to try other distributions. I started off on SuSE then switched to Red Hat and I now run Fedora.

2) Try and find a local user group. It's been my experience that everyone will help you along and also you can see other Linux systems running.

3) Linux is not windows, but when it comes to useability it's getting there. The commands are different and the directory layout is WAY different. Your big advantage with Linux is the lack of a virus threat, over the last 12 months I've watched one virus after another hit my Fedora system and just bounce off. This is a good thing <ggg>.

4) I learned lots from 'Linux For Dummies' and 'Red Hat Linux 8.0 For Dummies'. I like the easy writing style and they even come with a distribution as a cover CDROM. If there is a 'Mandrake Linux For Dummies' then do yourself a favour and grab a copy.

5) In a world without walls you don't need Windows and Gates.

Ed Almos
Budapest, Hungary

Thanx again for your help, both of you guys.
To Ed Almos, i just love your last comment with Windows/gates.
Btw im half hungarian, i speek hungarian but cannot spell :/.


take care.

If you are going to run Mandrake I have a web site dedicated to new Mandrake users. The only suggestion I have is that if you are new stay with 9.2 as 10.0 is really just still in developement. The 10.0 cumminity has over 750 MB of updates form its release of less then a month. If you want to run 10 just wait till 10.0 final.

I too, was an avid windows user. believe it or not... the BIGGEST problem I had, and still have with linux, is that all the \'s are /'s... for example windows: c:\directory.
Linux: /usr/src etc....

Notice the /'s in linux rather than \'s.

Actually, that cange was a relief to me coz I was always putting / instead of \.

I am using 10.0 on my IBM Thinkpad 560Z and when I get to the command prompt like this:

[*********@localhost ********]$

what do I type to see Linux desktop?

Thanks

Well, it seems as though you chose not to start the graphival server on bootup. You can start it with the "startx' command.

if any of you people enjoy using BitTorrent, there are at least 3 torrens at www.suprnova.org under the misc section Linux. these are red hat system administration vids, they will teach you many things, i've noticed that every da now a new part is being uploaded, there are 6 sectionsall in all with various parts, im going to get myself the whole collection, although the training is done on red hat 6.1, alt of the stuff still applies, there's lots of command line stuff, file editing etc... so if you're a noob - why not fire up bittorrent and get them?

I am using 10.0 on my IBM Thinkpad 560Z and when I get to the command prompt like this:

startx

i think when you did your install you never checked the box to start X11 when you boot.

at the prompt, I typed startx and got this message:

execve failed for /etc/X11/X (errno 13)
giving up.
xinit: No such file or directory (errno 2): unable to connect to X server
xinit: No such process (errno 3): Server error.

Then I am back to the command prompt that looks like this:

[username@localhost username]$

What do I do to make this work? Please help!

It might be a bad install. There's been a few probs like yours and the prob was a bad install. But, then againn, it could be something else, like the driver.

I uninstalled it and installed Linux Mandrake 9.1 but did not install the little red trackpoint mouse. Instead, I said "no mouse".

How do I install my laptop mouse?

IBM ThinkPad 560Z
128MB RAM
6GB HDD
Linux Mandrake 9.1