Hello...
Sorry to ask about so asked question, but I'd like to get some help from you guys please... I'm posting here for the first time, came from slackware website...
I got some doubts about a distro to choose, I've tried installing linux in my machines but I never had success... I always disered to deal with linux... The last distro I tried to install was Ubuntu 7.10 in a Acer Notebook... I didn't get the ATI video card to work, and trying to configurate reading instructions, I think I messed up the system and the linux did not start anymore... As always I came back to windows...
I'm downloading the mandriva linux one 2008 right now, to install in a desktop... Am I doing the right choice? Can anyone please help me in this subject?
Thanks in advantage... An excellent week for all!

ubuntu was a nice choice already. have you tried installing the newest version of ubuntu version 8.04?

No, Patoy, I haven't... Is it better than mandriva 2008?
I was reading in mandriva website and I liked the 3d desktop it has... and it looks simple to use, isn't it?
Should I install the new version of ubuntu even though?
Thanks for answering...

I would suggest that you look for a distro with a LiveCD. That way you can boot from the CD directly and see if you like the way the distro looks/feels before trying to install anything.

Don't give up just yet. I went through the same thing almost a year ago and I eventually settled on PCLinuxOS (an offshoot of Mandriva). Once I decided that was my choice, installing was point and click. The LiveCD had an icon on the desktop to start the installation process.

I keep a copy of the LiveCD around as a 'failsafe' trouble-shooting tool as I can always boot from the CD and poke around the hard drive if something goes wrong.

I liked PCLinuxOS because it's very much like the windows interface. It took a while to get used to the different labels for things, but it's not so bad. I rarely use the linux terminals. Everything is point and click, just like windows.

Once you settle on a distro, expect to spend some time getting the install right. It took me two weeks to figure out what mistakes not to make before I got it working properly. I was clueless, but the guys here at LQ were very helpful.

After seeing Vista on my new laptop, I don't think I'll ever regret changing over to PCLinuxOS. It's more reliable, less bothersome, and it's free.

Search the site for my posts from August 07 (dcalki is the username). You will see what sort of troubles I went through, but I'll tell you now that it was worth it.

Keep slugging and Good Luck!

dcalki

Why didn't you like slackware?

ubuntu has 3d desktop also. check this tutorial.
use a live cd first before installing same as the suggestions above.

I think Mandriva is a livecd that you can install if you like. Also you can try Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Fedora.

I just recently installed Mandriva, which I haven't tried since Mandrake 8 or so. Not bad just really not a big fan of KDE, too much stuff included.

You will have trouble getting ATI to work on any distribution, it doesn't matter which one you try. Ubuntu is probably the most newbie friendly distribution there is, with PCLinuxOS probably being a close second. Personally, no way would I use Mandriva or PcLinuxOS. For me, both are WAY to slow when compared to any other distribution I've used.

I personally would work on sticking to Ubuntu, but thats just me.

IGF

Hey guys Thank you all for helping me!
FredG u r right mandriva is a live CD... I'm using it right now! I like the look of this system... I Spent some time trying to configure the internet... It uses the connection of another PC in my lan.
Indy, it's really slow... but if I install it on my disk, will the system become faster? My computer has 1GB of ram, not sure about the processor speed... but its an Athlon 64 am2... I think I'll have no problem with videocard anymore since its a nvidea geforce...
I have 2 doubts...

1 - Will the system become faster if I install it?
2 - I have a USB bluetooth device, is it possible to install it on mandriva?

I went crazy when I saw all programs it has!... a lotta things I have to install on windows separately is already here!!
Please someone answer my two questions... I really need the bluetooth device working since I work with photos of people's cellphone.
Thanks again everyone!

STARHARVEST, i got a bit lost in slackware website... And I've heard it's harder to get things working, is that true?

fedora is a good option too..

Yes it will be faster than a livecd. I just installed it on a core2duo with 1.5gb of memory and it runs pretty fast for me. It's probably just as fast as Ubuntu and most other distros, except for lightweight ones, such as minimum debian & slackware types.

I have never used any bluetooth device with Linux so I can't say, but it probably will work. you just may have to install drivers.

PCLinuxOS 2007. Look no further.
Don't give up Linux before trying PCLOS2007 at least once.

Sorry, I thought you said you had an ATI card. If you have an Nvidia video card, that will go a long way towards helping set up any distro. I have no bluetooth experience, so I can only offer this link related to Ubuntu, and you can make your own decisions. Any system you install, will be faster than the Live CD...

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BluetoothSetup

My Mandriva experience... 1.8ghz, 160gig hard drive 1gig of ram, dual booting w/ XP.

System Installed, but I was able to read War and Peace while programs opened. It was worse than any hourglass hell I'd ever experienced on Windows. My TV Card was recognized out of the box, but every time I turned it on, the system would freeze and reboot to the login screen. It just crawled compared to every other distribution I'd used. Which was really disappointing, because I really liked Mandrake 10.0. Thinking my Tuner card might be causing some sort of conflict, I removed it, and reinstalled. It was still abysmally slow. I honestly used Live CD's that were faster than an installed Mandriva

I ended up moving on to Fedora, which ran perfect on that box, and really I only moved on from Fedora, because I found I liked Debian/Ubuntu more than Redhat. Installing/Removing programs w/ Ubuntu, and even Fedora is a snap(assuming said program is in the repositories), so I wouldn't concern myself with a perceived lack of programs ready to go "out of the box"

YMMV... and probably will.

IGF

I run Mandriva on my workstation and Kubuntu on my laptop. I run Fedora on a target computer that I am developing for an embedded system, and I have an SUSE around here someplace. I haven't run slack for quite awhile, and that is because I want to use the system, not fiddle with it. More properly, I do want to fiddle with it, but only when I want to and not because I have to.

Personally I like Mandriva better than the others for most things. Ubuntu is better about updating, though Mandriva is closing that gap, and the last Ubuntu upgrade I did broke my laptop rather badly (I am still sorting that out, as I feel like fiddling with it).

Mandriva would make a very good beginners distro, though Ubuntu is more popular.