Alot of newb questions...
 

Hey, I'm planning on buying a new pc in the next month or so... and I want to install around 2-4 linux distros and maybe a windows.. what specs of a pc should I get to run this well enough... and I've been wondering about intel versus amd... how do you even install multiple os's anyways:Pengy: Oh yea.. and can linux run games like mw3 and unreal tournament? or must i have windows... and does other progs like ares, msn, and norton (do you even need anti-virus? I read that you didnt..) work? well thanks for any help I might recieve...

Google is your friend. You might even try a Linux specific search at www.google.com/linux

Hi!

1. Linux can run on really old hardware. But I think at least 1GHz should be enough to boot several Linux distros plus Windows
2. When you install a Linux distribution you also install a bootloader. When installing the bootloader, just add the entries you need and that's it!
3. You can play Windows games under Linux with a program called Wine, but it's far from fully functional yet
4. Linux can run without any antivirus. I have runned Linux for some years now and NEVER got a virus! I got some hacking attempts, but they didn't come into my system. I think you're perfectly safe without antivius on Linux.

Any more questions? Come back here!

Wish you good luck with Linux!

wow that was fast lol. well I found a pc to buy on ebay a few days ago... its pretty cheap and im not planning to do anything really crazy with it. http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...69719&tc=photo
There is the exact same one with an intel processor instead of amd on their website... so what should I go for if i was to have... red hat, SuSE, mandrake, and maybe windows me or 98.. maybe.
and also... does ares and msn work, because msn is owned by microsoft so it might not... not really sure. thanks again.

If this is a new computer (i.e., no data to back up), why bother with a dual boot at first? Install a Linux distro, try it out, then install another distro, try it out, then install another distro...

If you find a distro you like (that also likes your hardware), and you still need Windows, then worry about the dual-boot. Good luck!

Hi!

You can use MSN on Linux with Kopete which comes preinstalled with KDE or GAIM which comes preinstalled with GNOME.

i disagree a little. if you're a linux noob, you probably want to have windows to at least fall back on while you get used to linux. and since windows generally needs to be installed first, it would be better to just install it and get it over with, imho. that way at least it's there if you ever need it, and if you don't, well, it's still there anyway, in case you do. :p

amd vs. intel doesn't matter. both work fine. :)

the key thing you need to learn about is partitioning. you will need *at least* 1 partition for windows, 1 for each linux distro, and 1 for linux swap. but that's just a bare minimum. with 80GB hard drive and planning multiple distros, i would probably do it something like this, roughly:

10GB for windoze
10-20GB (or to preference) for windows FAT partition for installing programs and storing files
5-10GB for each linux distro, depending on which ones and how much sf you want to install
10-20GB (or more or less depending on need) for /home
1GB for swap

(as just an outline, adjust accordingly, etc.)

that way: 1) windose is on its own partition in case it gets effed up and you have to reinstall it, 2) anything you save on the windows FAT partition will be accessible when you're in linux, 3) you can share the /home directory with all your linux distros to have access to all your saved programs and user files. iow, you have maximum flexibility, possibly with even ~10GB left over in case you ever need more space for data, or another distro, or whatever. :cool:

Since discs are pretty cheap these days, I'd recommend having a few spares. That way, if you find a distro you like, you can swap its disc out and fit another one to try a different distro, and restore the original one easily by swapping the discs back.

But if the Linux newbie really screws up, the dual-boot may be screwed up too. I can't tell you how many times I've read about people trying to get a dual-boot and then not being able to boot into either OS because they screwed up Grub or screwed up the MBR.

Installing one OS at a time is much safer. People don't want to screw up existing Windows installations--usually because apps are configured, and there's a lot of data (pictures, documents, music)--but if a Linux distro just doesn't seem to be working, why not install another? And if none of them work, why not install Windows?

This is a fresh computer, as I understand it. A dual-boot is easy for me, but for newbies, hitting "express install" or "erase entire hard drive and auto-partition" is far easier.

it might be, it might not be. if it is, it's usually easily fixable with a boot floppy or CD. :)

otoh, it's not too much fun having a nice, working linux install and have to trash it because you want to install windows. if there's even the remote chance the person will want to use windows, installing it first makes the most sense.

cheers :)

I just thought of something.... can I just install linux on this pc (windows me) to try it out... and when i get my new pc in a month or 2 ill just uninstall it... would that work?...

you can if you have a spare partition. if you don't but you have extra disk space, you can resize what you have with various programs. i have only used non-free partition magic in windows to do that, so i can't comment on the free software resizers (gnu parted, etc.) they all seemed pretty unintuitive to me when i briefly looked them over, so i was afraid to try them just to test. :p maybe you are braver, though.

another option would be to get a copy of the knoppix or slax CD which you can run from your cdrom without installing anything. that would give you an idea of linux at least, even though it's a bit slower than running from HD.

Personally, I find it good to have "one computer to work with, and another one to screw-around with." :) If you want to experiment with Linux, by all means do so, but start with a computer that you can afford to trash. You can literally find very suitable computers at Goodwill stores, or in the garbage heap.

Also, it is not true that "Linux is immune to viruses." Linux can be penetrated like any other system. The major difference in practice is that usually [i]Linux[/u] users are not "Administrators by default," while Windows users usually are. (Windows' security usually either does not exist, or is turned-off. Don't ask me why.) You should keep your system "scrupulously up-to-date."

If you are accustomed to using Windows, in an environment where there is no other operating-system around, then you can easily screw things up simply by rashly assuming that "nothing can go wrong." You do need to proceed carefully, and knowledgeably. If you don't know in advance quite what will happen, try to do the research first. If you're trying something that might render the system unbootable, have a recovery disk ready first, and actually try using it first.