Hi folks,

I'm fixing to chuck XP into the trashcan.

Trying to figure out which Distro I'm gonna go with.. I was going to go with Redhat 9 but then I started hearing about Fedora. I am of the impression that this is the direction to go in for a RH distro if you can't afford to pay for a shrinkwrapped product from Redhat.

Am I right in this?

I'm not a complete newbie -- I have been around Linux for some years, but this is my first time really giving Windoze the boot and switching fully to Linux.

(I have done the research on all the apps I need and whatnot, my only worry now is choosing wisely the best distrobution)

Thanks!

FC is a good place for newbs... i find it a bit slow, but it will be a good start

go with FC2

I like FC. I'm not a noobie and I think it's good. I think it's good for noobs too. But FC 2 is not out yet. There is a beta version (test 1) of it, but a noobie shouldn't really touch a beta version. Fedora Core 2 should be out May 10th (unless it gets pushed back like it probably will).

Thanks guys

What is the difference between the Fedora Core 1 and the Redhat 9 iso's? Is one more feature-rich, prettier, or more fun to use than the other?

Thanks again

Redhat 9 is more complete and more stable.

I use Fedora core 1, and depending on what you want to do...lets say check for upgrades through the up2date utility...you have to fix it first!

Fedora Core 1 is not quite newbie ready, unless you want to learn the best way there is, trial and error! I learned most of my basic Linux knowledge trying to get wireless networking working with the atmel based card I had. I would never have learned so quickly any other way...but if you need to use Linux right away and no dual boot...then Fedora is still not ready...come back in month or two.

For those of you about to criticize me for putting down Fedora...I don't make this stuff up, I've help a lot of people, and often times the solution is to use RedHat 9 to get hardware and software working.

And I also speak with a somewhat Newbie-Novice experience. Also I don't have much time to spend on figuring out linux problems so that also is reflected in this post, as time is often an issue in whether or not someone sticks with a distro.

Well I think it sounds just challenging and bleeding edge enough for me to get into it. I think I shall!

I am excited to be for real trashing XP

No dual boot pussiness for me

No sir

Sick of WIndows' Bullsh*t

Linux is kind of a proletariat sort of thing too.. I've been looking forward for some years to jumping onboard!

(So you can expect to see me here for a little bit asking dumb newbie questions but I'll get things squared away pretty quickly and not be such a pest, I promise )

I take it you threw your copy of windows away Meowatilla?
I find Fedora 1 easy and ready for newbies along as they don't need ntfs support. I install everything off the cd 5.3GBs.

What's this about NTFS? I thought NTFS was supported fine in Linux for some time now.. Yes, I would like some NTFS support to get at my data partitions, at least temporarily while I get things re-organized on my hd's..

Pray, tell what do I need to be concerned about with NTFS support?

Or a more apt question would be:
Does Redhat 9 support NTFS (or have better NTFS support) than Fedora core 1?

Neither one have NTFS support by default. You have to add it in to there by going here: http://linux-ntfs.sourceforge.net/rpm/index.html and adding it in or by recompiling your kernel (not really recommended to a noob). At any rate there is no dependable write support for any kind of Linux for NTFS. THere is very limited support but by no means is it full support. You can only read NTFS in Linux for now.

I had a copy of Windows XP running for three years without TOO many problems. Recently all sorts of dlls got corrupted one by one and no fix would get it straightened out. Meanwhile my other computer running Fedora Core 1 was running like a top. I didn't feel like rebuilding my XP box, but I wanted to move all of my files. I had made the big dumb move to NTFS! I pulled my drive out of my broken windows box and slapped it into my fedora box. I booted my fedora box using my trusty Knoppix 3.2 live CD and got to work. I had a few problems but eventually worked them out. One suggestion: Don't wipe out your old windows partition/drive until you are sure you got all of your files and make sure they all work.

Well I think it sounds just challenging and bleeding edge enough for me to get into it. I think I shall!


How amusing. Fedora bleeding edge? Do not make me laugh. All Fedora is is testing grounds for Red Hat. My opinion? Get slackware, or even peanut linux. Both I am running. They are very nice, and easy for a noobie. Froget the people who say slack is too hard for a noob, I had no problems installing at all.

FC1 is safe for noobs, but there are more noob friendly ones out there. To suggest one, mandrake. I dont like it, I had it for a bit and got rid of it. But it is noob friendly, in my opinion.

It is natural for everyone to tell you that their distribution is newbie friendly (no matter what it is) and is the distribution that everyone should be using . FC 1 does comes with current packages. I think the multimedia and the GL support is a bit down, but it is great otherwise-and getting better all the time.

It contains everything that Mandrake or SUSE does- but without some of the more bleeding edge stuff. I recommend it (but then I use it everyday) .

It is a GNOME heavy system, but KDE is included for those that want it. KDE heavy systems are SuSE, Mandrake, ALT, turbolinux, etc.


Best wishes with your new system

d00d You got core spelt wrong in your disto thing under your name

I was considering changing distros myself, and after looking at all the info I could find, I believe I was wrong in cutting down FC1 for newbies...because just the graphical installation alone is enough to make a newbie smile.

There are problems...many of which were not present in RedHat 9 if you can get a copy of that...that would be optimal until the next version of Fedora is released.

Here are a few suggestions if you go with Fedora/Red Hat 9

Go for Gnome...and don't install KDE, or you will possibly have system instability. I found out the hard way and I remember reading that there are definite problems with having both on the computer at the same time.

Install at least as Workstation, and ensure that you select the Kernel Development package!!! Installing everything can cause a slower system.

Find out about setting up the DMA settings on your hard drives too, otherwise you may have a slow computer.

Install video drivers from the manufacturer if possible...otherwise certain programs are useless (Eg. Tux Racer). NVidia is great for linux support.

Don't upgrade the kernel, though do try to update everything else...up2date (the update finding/installing app) does not work in Fedora, at least not for me, so you may not be able to update so easily.

Find a good manual (book or electronic) and learn some basics that way.

Be prepared to install a few times, and don't be affraid to experiment a little (just beware when doing hardware associated things, such as changing DMA settings...these can cause hardware damage)



Many of these things will also be handy to know in other distros, and don't forget...no question is to stupid/simple for Linuxquestions.org . How do you think I got Linux working?

PS. Always expect problems! Software often requires other files/software, many of which are not in which ever distro you use...and it is not fun to track down these things, but is often worth the effort.

Some software to look into:
Xine - a great media player
XMMS with MP3 support included...or just the MP3 support patch.
Mozilla Firefox 0.8 - an easy to use web browser, that I prefer over standard Mozilla.

Goodluck, Linux is worth the effort.
Problems can almost always be solved within a few minutes to a few days, especially with the help of this wonderful web site.
Just watch out with wireless network adapters...when I started with Redhat 7.2 it took me until RedHat 8.0 to get that working...a few months, but I am a university student that can only work on linux a few days of every month. I still need Windows because of school.

Sorry about the long post...I have a tendancy to do that. I just hope you I could help you or others in making a decision.

I don't know about other folks, but I have operated KDE with pretty good functionality. Since it is 3.1.4-4, it does have a few bugs, but they are all resolved now through CVS and the KDE bug system.

I couldn't recommend KDE on Fedora enough. I think the developers have done a very nice job indeed. Best wishes