hi!

i am getting my first copy (ies) of linux distro's through the mail and i wanted to know about a few technical dificulties i might experience with the install and possible hardware issues as well (i do not have that mutch experience at all). i will be using mandrake 9.1pp or knoppix can any one help here? oh yer i will be getting gentoo as well (may as well have a few choices!). my computer is a pentium 4 based machine with 512mb (333mhz) ram and an Nvidia BASED graphics card with the GeForce 4 chip and 128mb ddr ram. my mobo is from a newbie company called Asrock it is an X533 model also i am running a generic sound card (i can't figure this one out!). i have a cd burner 52X24X52. and a 16X DVD ROM. i have not seen this mobo in any lists but i hope it will be fine. also i want to keep windblows coz i need to keep durning music whilst i learn how to use linux properly. oh!....the hard drive is 80gig (actually 74.4 i don't know how they figured 80gig?) and i am only using hahahaaa less than 6gig! i was thinking of making the partitions @ 30-25gig for fat32 and the rest for linux. please any info on what to expect ie. errors or conflicts that i might come across. please please list anything that might make this transition easy thank you.

dam i forgot to include im running XP

the only thing i can think of telling you is just wait until you get the cd's and give it a try...when/if you get any errors at all, then come back here and post them and we'll try our damnist to resolve them....its kinda hard to predict what errors you can expect, i don't think anyone could actually do that...so like i said, if by chance you receive any errors just come back, and even though it sucks to get errors, you will learn commands and how to do stuff in the process by coming here and seeing how to get around things...so its a learning experience in itself, so i wish you luck and come back if anything goes wrong

i guess i did not make my self clear (as usual)

1. are there any known issues with my hardware?

2. will windows xp have spazams over the install if so are there any steps i should take to try to limit this?

3. which distro should i try FIRST?

4. are there any system preps or diagnostics i should run first? (on the windows side of things)


thanks heaps.

well ok...obviously as of your soundcard, there may or may not be issues...you didn't (or don't know) the name/model of the card, so i can't comment on this...your burner and cdrom etc, won't have problems...you'll just need to have scsi emulation to be able to burn...that may or may not be setup during installation, i know on my box it is....if not its no big deal and we can help you through that when the time comes...as of your video card, it will work without a hitch, but if you want 3d acceleration you'll have to download and install the drivers for it, and the steps to doing so, are in the Newbie fourm as the first post...you can dual boot windows and linux without any problems, and if you do have a problem, again like i said, come here and we'll step you through it...as of system preps or diagnostics, i don't think there is much you can do....but actually now that i think of it, go into your system properties and find out the sound card and as of distro selection, it doesn't matter....its your own choice, i see you say you are getting mandrake and knoppix, and imo i would say start off with mandrake....others will probably differ and others will agree....if its the knoppix live cd, then i suggest you pop it in and get the feel of linux....and if you don't know what a live cd is, it is basically in other words linux on a cd and you don't need to install it to your harddrive, as all you have to do is bootup your machine with cdrom support and give it a try...if its not the live cd, then you be the judge

1: Here's some links for hardware checking:

http://www.linuxcompatible.org/compatibility.html
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/hardware.php3

2: Your XP should be fine. Follow the how to link here.

http://www.justlinux.com/forum/showt...hreadid=108583


3: By all means try Mandrake 9.1 or 9.2 first. You can move to harder ones later.

4: If your running fine with XP, Linux should do fine. Just remember to change the setting in BIOS to disable Plug n Play OS. You may want to check and see if you need a patch here:

http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/errata.php3

You have a good video card for Linux. Nvidia has good support. When you get everything else installed check out this link.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ticle&artid=30

This should get you off to a good start.


Good luck. Hope you enjoy Linux. It's getting better everyday.

ok ive herd that gentoo is a little more sleeker than mandrake 9.1 pp. i have installed linux before many years ago. it was red hat i am not AFRAID of dificult OS's i just want a decent clue on what to expect (mainly from the gui aspect but it must be as powerfull as the old and unforgiving command line distro's). i have considered the great differences between linux and windblows and i am ready to sacrafice xp (and the $170 price tag). but i will try and keep it (i am never going to use 80gig) so i guess now i need to know which distro? mandrake? or gentoo? (i don't mind reading...i do it every day...and i do not mind reserching...i do that every day as wel...where is the remote...how do i make a pinalakada?...ect). any help here would be appreciated.

oh yeh thanks for the replys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd suggest to start from a knoppix 3.2 from CD and see what it happens. If all is ok, I suppose that hardly other distributions will find difficulties with your hardware.