well toolesk i see what type of distro you want or would want i guess . well for most people an i love fedora i love fedora but like you said it does not need any thing complacated then i thought about it an i found you a answer well a distro that is friendly has music games( all linux distro does) an internet surfing well i would go for you is Ubuntu 7.10 that is the newest realse well because ubuntu is a really simple linux distro so go to this link www.ubuntu.com an download he iso of ubuntu 7.10 or you can request for a free cd which is what i do i request cds an i get um but i run fedora 8 but anyway i think ubuntu if you need help from me more then tell me your msn aim or yahoo of you want so you can get help form me.

I would have to say ubuntu as well. It is probably by far the most user- and newbiefriendly distro out there today that actually does a good job. I havent played with it very much myself, but what I have tried hasnt been bad.
Plus, as Ubuntu is a BIG distro, there is always a good source of support. Most questions already has been asked by someone else on their forums, so its always a good place to go looking for answers, even if you are using some other distro.

Read the megathread for the same suggestions you will get here ... I've reported this thread to join it.

Linux for Home File/Print Server
 

I have an older system (6 yo?) that I recently retired from every day use. It's been sitting on the floor, gathering dust as I have tried to decide what to do with it. After some thought and discussion, I thought I'd use it to make a home file/print server and to play around with Linux.

The system:

• Seagate 40GB HDD (probably will add another)
• AMD Athlon XP 1400 (1.2 GHz)
• 512MB RAM
• MSI K7T Turbo2 motherboard

Planned uses:

• file backup for 2 Windows machines (1 XP Home, 1 Vista Home Premium)
• print server
• media server(?)

I'm comfortable using command lines, once I learn the commands, so a GUI isn't necessary.

So, now for the question: Which distro for my system/intended uses?

Thanks!

You could probably use something like Debian, CentOS or Slackware

Moved: This thread is more suitable in <Distributions> so it can be merged with the megathread ...

Please recommend me a distribution
 

hello LQ org

please recommend me a distribution!! I would like a distribution that will allow me to dual boot and choose between windows and linux, and the distribution that supports the resolution my laptop which is 1280x800, and the distribution that lets me graphically choose between the variety of desktop environments such as KDE, Gnome and Enlightenment when I start linux

I just installed slackware 12.0 and I noticed the following:

1. it does not support 1280x800
2. I have to type startx every time I want to use a desktop environment
3. it only comes with KDE
4. its LILO is not exactly the best looking LILO. I have seen better looking LILO interface before. However, the LILO did its job with my slackware and windows.

or at least that is what I noticed. But I am still at the stage of learning and I might be wrong.

thanks again, wonderful LQ

in Christ,

Robert

Cross Linux from Scratch

Reported for inclusion in the The Utterly Improbably Huge "Which Distro" SuperMegaThread.

Give Centos 5 a try - its RHEL5 clone. I use it on my inspiron 9300 without any problems at all.

Just about any of the mainstream distros will do what you want. Anything in the top 5-10 on the Distrowatch "hit list".

For me PCLOS has been the best on my laptop--especially with the wireless.

Ubuntu is nice.

Slackware should be able to do all that, but its not easy to configure.
You should have no problem with Ubuntu... Fedora or PClinuxOS shouldn't be a bad choice either. I see no compelling reason why you would want to use CentOS - and I suppose the Linux-from-scratch comment was a joke :) you never know around here!

I use Centos as it is dependable and rock solid, as are the fedora/redhat distros. However, with Centos it has a long shelf life and the updates are few and far between.

I'd recommend Ubuntu 7.10

LFS does this all, depending on how much work you're willing to put in it.

EDIT: if you didn't catch my idea, visit the other "recommend me a distro/what's the best distro for me/what distro should I use/..." threads.

Alright, thats a good argument... however I would still recommend Ubuntu Dapper if you want a home system with long release cycles. The problem with CentOS is that it has few developers (alright, there's not much to develop for them) and a much smaller User base. Granted, most things that go for Fedora and RHEL also go for CentOS, but for some specific problems you are on your own. And there are still quite a few fedora users who still use Fedora6. You don't have to upgrade if everything works, right?

Slackware 12, to answer a couple of your questions.
2. edit /etc/inittab, change default run level from 3 to 4.
3. it comes with a choiceof several desktop environments.

Moved to distros for a merge with the mind-bogglingly huge
"Which distro" thread ....

Getting a bit chaotic, running out of control, isn't it?
:eek: :D

Well, he wanted access to all Desktop Environments from boot, and the only distros that I know of that do this off of the install are OpenSUSE and Fedora.

Ubuntu you have to apt-get install xubuntu-desktop kubuntu-desktop, or apt-get install kde-core xfce4 etc.
I'm not even sure if PCLOS has access to xfce and Gnome from the repos.
Debian defaults to Gnome.

The build up from the ground distros are good too, such as Arch and LFS.

That's the whole point ;}

Trying to discourage those kinds of discussion because
it is really *quite* pointless....

Actually, these questions are pretty much THE most important questions a newbie needs answered. By dismissing them out of hand, you leave a bad impression on someone thinking about making the jump into Linux.

And my distro question:
What do you guys think of Arch? I'm thinking of giving it a test run, but I'm kind of leery about the initial set-up. The way the wiki reads, I'm not sure I want to even try it unless I have someone pretty experienced with linux at my shoulder.

Well, yes. But they're not diverse enough to warrant a huge
discussion every single time. There are guidelines available,
and even on-line tools to GUIDE through the process. Or reading
threads after having searched. It's getting very tiresome.


Cheers,
Tink

Arch is fantastic. The initial setup really isn't that bad. If you run across something you don't know, just read up on it. Plus it really teaches you the under the hood stuff, plus you'll have a lightning fast system containing only what software you want.

Arch was the 3rd distro I've ever installed, and I didn't read up on it ahead of time. I didn't have a whole lot of linux experience under my belt, and I didn't even realize the installation was supposed to be difficult. It really wasn't that hard. The config files you edit at install actually have a lot of instructions tagged in, so it's pretty guided.

I can't tell anybody what food they will prefer, and the same goes for Linux distros. Just try as many as you want.

Yet Another Distro Q...

I've been using Linux off and on since around 99'. I've tried Mandrake (hated), Lindows (abhorred), Red Hat (lated), Slackware (liked), and gentoo (liked), PCLinuxOS (ambivalent), Xubuntu(don't know enough, but looks ok), Sabayon (too gentoo).

I used Slackware on my laptop for about 4 years along w/ win2k, using both about equally. I used Gentoo on my primary desktop exclusively for almost 2 years. I'm not a complete noob, but I don't claim to be an expert either.

Here's what I want:

- FVWM. I have come to hate KDE and despise Gnome. I'm open to trying something else, but I've got some good fvwm conf files, and i like the flexibility to customize a lot or a little. (of course I will need QT and GTK for apps, though)

- Decent binaries. I like to be able to compile, but I want the choice, at least for apps used by 75% of the linux community.

- Dependency checking. I loved this about Gentoo portage, but I'd like something that would figure out dependencies while allowing me to go w/ binaries for large packages...

- Overall, I want a system that helps me to learn more about linux in general, but is very usable as a desktop machine. I want Firefox, Thunderbird, Latex, Gimp, and xmms or such. I want something that doesn't destroy my ipod or other hardware. Yet I want something that will let me get in and learn linux primarily--not, for instance, a large system unique to a particular distro (e.g. portage). I don't mind working from a base system up. I'd rather not go the microscopic Gentoo stage 1 route, but I would like to be able to pick my packages and leave out bloat (w/ KDE etc). At the same time I want something that's easy to maintain--maybe the only way to that is to learn more as I build my system. I guess I want to have my cake and eat it too...

Preferably, I don't want to have to download 9+ disks, but I will if I have to.

Any ideas?

I would suggest Debian in your case, it pretty much fits the bill

Thanks a lot. I'm downloading Debian-netinst now.

However, I'm also looking at other distros w/ a mini install, especially the Debian-netinst and OpenSUSE mini. The problem is that I only have internet connection through a usb wireless adapter (linksys, wusb54gc). It didn't seem there was any way to configure my wireless in the OpenSUSE-KDE text install.

I need an install where I can at least install the base system (all but gui/media/etcetera) without direct connection to the internet. Once the base system is installed, I should be able to apt-get or whatever since I was able to use ndiswrapper to get the wireless working on Sabayon the last few days. I'll need to be able to specify encryption since turning it off temporarily is not an option in my case.

I CAN get things from the internet to this computer, pretty much manually via direct ethernet w/ XP machine.

What mini/net install distros are there that would allow for this?

Arch fits the bill too. As far as window managers go, if you hate KDE and Gnome, then maybe Fluxbox, IceWM, or WindowMaker are for you.

Best distro for small business
 

I would like opinions on what might be the best distro for a client's small business. It consists of 2 servers (1 internet facing) and 6 workstations. All of the systems are fairly new (within the past 18 months). Two of those workstations must be dual boot, one with XP Business and one with Vista business. It doesn't have to be the same distro on all systems, but that would be good.

The basic requirements are:

1) Stability - This is a production environment. Bleeding edge and cool software are not needed

2) Long term support - After installation, these systems need to be maintained by whatever automated security/update process is available for at least 18-24 months. IOW, no reinstalling every 6 months, or having to learn of, search out and install version 2.x of a program because version 1.x came with the distro and the creator of the program is no longer supporting 1.x.

3) Ability to not install or uninstall all unnecessary programs -
For example - There will be no wireless connections on this network, so wireless tools, drivers, etc. are unnecessary. Anything on the system not needed can be a security risk.

4) Must not be a PITA to administer - We need to be able to log on as root and do what needs to be done.

It is understood that it may not be possible to meet all the requirements and that there will be some tradeoffs. For example, one of the workstations will probably have Ubuntu on it even though it is IMO a PITA to administer. For that machine, the protections are needed.

I would like to use Fedora, since that's what we're most familiar with. But # 2 above seems to pose a problem.

So I would appreciate any suggestions, as well as the reason why that distro would be a good choice.

TIA

Bill Bernauer

Is it impossible for anyone to do research on there own?

Software compatibility
 

I installed Zenwalk 2.6 (Slack-based) a while ago (>= 1yr), because it's small, and it claimed to be fast and developer-oriented. The only problem is that several software projects don't seem to suppport it very well. I haven't been able to install either GHC or SVN, and there have been smaller problems with other code. Debian seems to be mentioned fairly often in INSTALL instructions, but that's pretty much all I know about the subject. What are some good development distros? What arguments and criteria are there for selecting a distro for programming?

Hey, new here.

Basically, I've been a heavy windows user (windows xp), and the only thing that has really kept me from ever using Linux is gaming. What would you guys think is the best for heavy gaming for games like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Half-Life 2 (mainly Orange Box), Hellgate: London, and Crysis?

My specs:

AMD64 3400+ socket 754
ATI X800 XT
2GB DDR PC3200 ram
200GB 5400 RPM hard drive

PreacherBill if you like Fedora - give Centos a try. Its a RHEL5 clone.
I use it( used it since Centos 4) and found it flawless. It has a long shelf life - search redhat for the exact dates etc.

Newbie Distro Help
 

hi,

i havent used linux long and i dont know much about it. i have tryed mandreva and some of the older versions of mandreva/mandrake. and i have tryed to install ubuntu but have faced some problems that stop my installing it. i have tryed suse but my network dosnt seem to work and i was going to try fadora because of its gnome GUI and its ubuntu just a diffrent distro i dont know what i should do or if i should try somethin like red hat as red hat is stable and has quite a few users please will some one help me out

Gee, there's a question that hasn't been asked before. :( Try Cross Linux from Scratch.

Reported for inclusion in http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...thread-589935/

Another which distro post. Why not try a source based distro like Arch, Gentoo, or Cross Linux from Scratch?

Reported for inclusion in The Utterly Improbably Huge "Which Distro" SuperMegaThread

I have merged this thread into that thread.

Lol. Thats funny. :-D

Look at that thread, and look at www.distrowatch.com's major distribution list to see if anything sound appealing.

Moved: This thread is more suitable in <Distributions> for merge with the mega-thread, and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

Which distro loads the fastest? thanks

Depends on how you configure it

Not to push, but can someone help me out? :confused:

I don't know most of these games. Chances are you won't get them running. I remember to my suprise I got Farcry to work, but usually will experience problems. Linux was not made to run windows games :)
You can however dual-boot.
The choice is rather obvious. Take one of the most popular distributions. The most popular by far right now is Ubuntu - Rightfully so in my opinion, but everyone will suggest you use their favorite distribution if you ask like that, because every distribution can more or less do the same things, just in different ways.
I suggest you keep windows for gaming. Ubuntu will give you an option to resize you windows partition to make room. You should defrag and backup important files before you do that... although its not very risky.
After that you will be asked at boot time which OS you want to start.

Which LINUX
 

Hi All;
I am a very new linux guy, am also a hardware type rather than software type. I used UNIX a little 14 years ago.
I would like to try linux and wonder which release you would recommend, from which dist.
I notice 7.1 appears to be the newest, but is it recommended for a beginner?
I can unplug my HD with XP on it and start with a clean 80G HD. I partitioned it 10G and 70G with the 10G formatted by XP, the 70G is unformatted.
I would prefer to download the source and boot from CD.

....thanks ngmillar

Try Cross Linux from Scratch

Reported for inclusion in The Utterly Improbably Huge "Which Distro" SuperMegaThread since this is a rarely asked question.

Moved: This thread is more suitable in <DISTRIBUTIONS> for merge with the mega-thread, and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

Beginning questions(warning: noob material)
 

Well I am interseted in running linux but im not sure which yet..so heres questions.. and im sorry if there noobish and stuff

1.Which one should i choose? im looking forward to playing games/online too
2.Are there any system requirements to running any certain one i choose?

i guess thats it for now but ill ask more questions as i get answers since i probably will have more..
im planing on running the linux i choose on a testdumbie pc in til im familiar with it and then im going to use it on my main pc(which i game on) if any1 wants me to be a lil more clear on anything lemme know what..
thnx guys..
oh and if any1 gots aim or msn and would like to help me lemme know