How do I start?
 

I'm totally new to this world and am not a programer. Planning to learn, this is why am installing Linux in my old portable.
Mobile AMD Sempron
Processor 300+
787 Mhz, 1.12 GB of Ram
I need an idea on whitch version of Linux to start with, User Interface, Internet engine and so forth to use.

I also need to know if there is a free place to get an idea on how Linux works so that I can get ready to take on some education.

I need to prove to myself that old dogs can learn new tricks...

Thanks for the help

So I take it that you are old then, huh? LOL

These forums have LOTS of information.... including all over the web too. Just google for linux beginner guides, and go from there. When you get stumped on something, just post your questions on these forums, and you will most likely get the best answers and replies. Good luck, and welcome to the dark side :)

Josh

Hi & welcome aboard.

Take a look at the most popular distributions over at Distrowatch: that should give you an idea of what's out there, and you can pick one and download it. Most new Linux users go for Ubuntu but almost all of the big mainstream distributions are user-friendly enough for beginners to get going on them --- with one or two exceptions like Gentoo (a very interesting distribution but rather ambitious for newcomers).

As for the user interface & Internet software, the distribution you choose will generally install the things you're likely to need by default, and provide various alternatives for you to try out.

No worries: there are LOADS and LOADS of free Linux resources online. Indeed, it's possible to become a Linux guru without paying a penny for courses, tuition, certification or even textbooks! The distribution you choose will have its own documentation, which is likely also to give you a general overview of Linux. Read through that first. There will usually be links in these documents to further information for those who are interested.

If you want to whet your appetite before installing anything, you could go over to The Linux Documentation Project: they have a library of freely available online books & guides like, for example this one.

Anyway, I hope this has helped and stimulated your interest. Good luck & let us know how you get on! :)

Welcome to Linux.

I started with Slackware, and I'm glad I did. It's not as out-of-the-box as some other distros, particularly because it does not offer to partition your harddrive automatically, but expects you to do it yourself. Except for that, the install is a breeze, and Slackers are a most helpful bunch (as long as you ask questions intelligently).

Otherwise, I would say, start with any one of the major distros and learn your way around it. That will give you a benchline for your next steps.

Here are some resources I recommend:

http://linux.about.com/. It's oriented to Ubuntu, but it's full of good info.

http://tille.garrels.be/training/tldp/. Machtelt Garrels Intro to Linux.

http://www.slackbook.org/. Slackware oriented, but excellent on the basics, such as file structure, permissions, and the like.

I agree with Frank about Slackware --- my first encounter with Linux was using Slackware and I thought it was great. It's my favourite distribution, and I could spend an age extolling its virtues, but I won't... ;)

If you plan to dual-boot with Windows, however, you may find that, in the first instance, using an Ubuntu CD is easier (you can always install Slackware afterwards). The reason is that Ubuntu makes the business of repartitioning very straightforward since it includes a non-destructive partitioning utility called gparted on the live CD: this means you can make space on your hard disk for Linux without having to reinstall Windows (although make sure you do proper back-ups of any data want to keep in case of problems).

If you'd like to check out what is involved in installing Ubuntu before you take the plunge, then there's a fairly comprehensive PDF book about installing and using the current LTS (long-term support) version of Ubuntu for free download here. Once your installation of Windows is safely isolated on its own partition, you can then replace Ubuntu with Slackware if you wish, or install Slackware (or indeed any other distribution) alongside it on your hard drive.

Of course, if you've a totally blank hard drive, or don't care about erasing everything on it, then you can partition destructively using Linux's fdisk --- in which case, just go for Slackware!

For choosing a distribution, this site will give you a few hints:
http://polishlinux.org/choose/quiz/

And beware of people you tell you the only distro to use is the one they use; it may be best for them, but not necessarily the best for you. Visit http://distrowatch.com/ where you can find descriptions of each distro and links to on-line reviews, and check the most popular.

...Just to clarify, my previous post followed up Frank's post and was really just an endorsement of what he said, along with an installation tip if you are going to try out Slackware: repartitioning is much simpler using a Ubuntu CD (assuming you have a single-partition drive with Windows on it, and want to keep the latter for dual booting). ...I wasn't trying to twist your arm to use Slackware! (Apologies if it seemed that way.)

David's right: it pays to check out the various distributions first. (I said this in my original post, but it bears repeating.) It can be very disheartening for a beginner if they find themselves with something they can't get on with, and no-one here would want you to be put off using Linux.

Anyway, have fun and please come back to let us know how you get on...

You do not need to be a programmer, it's almost irrelavent.

That doesn't look like a modern or fast computer, so I'd recommend avoiding distros with the popular GNOME and KDE desktops (they're extermely resource-hungry).

I distro-hopped throught a lot of distro's: Mepis, Mint, Debian, openSUSE, PCLinuxOS, Fedora, Jolicloud, KNOPPIX, SliTaz, Ubuntu, Peppermint, Puppy, CrunchBang, Mandriva and a few others. I thought that I would learn more about linux by doing this - I was wrong.

If you want instant gratification, you can't go very wrong trying Mint or Ubuntu or Mepis.

The problem with most distro's is that you don't 'learn linux' - they leave nothing for you to learn; basically 'they just work'. (which is nice :))

As I said, I tried a lot of distro's and learned did-dilly-squat about linux until I tried Slackware - that's when the 'learning/understanding' really began. I am not suggesting that you start with Slackware - gravitate there once the linux bug has bitten you.

This was my 'linux' journey - enjoy yours!

Note: 62 years old and started my linux journey about 10 months ago.

Linux journey or slack 10 mos ago?
Just thought I'd ask because you registered LQ 16mos ago.

It's an 'age' thing. Your right, it was 16 months ago! Time just zips by when you get old.

Although, it feels like I have been playing with slack for 10 months but it has only been 2! Time just slowly passes by when you get old.

Slackware, another name for the 'Twilight Zone'???

Hey, I will be 60 soon. 60 is not old but I'm at a disavantage. life changes when your health hits a wall.

Anyway, I will be starting a new post soon thanks to Obuntu. You think it's easy but it's not. I need drivers, I need to install them, havent figure out how to do it and the help files do not seem to match my OS. By the way I yesterday I did not know the diference between a distro and a bistro. That's how new I am.

Thanks for the help.

What's a bistro? :scratch:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistro

Although it took me a while to figure it out, too.

Pretty sure he was just joking around.

Kind of like saying "Yesterday, I didnt know my butt from a hole in the ground."

I thought it was funny.