How do I start using Linux?
 

Hi, i recently bought cpu and i'm planning on using Linux rather than Windows. However, I am not familiar Linux. Here's my cpu specification:
processor: P4 2.66
motherboard: Foxconn 661FX7MI-S LGA 775 w/ sound,Lan,Vga
memory: 512mb
hdisk: 40gb

I've searched the internet but there are so many distribution that i don't know which one to use. Please help me.

just pick whatever one you like the look of. i'd suggest fedora core 5 or ubuntu for new starters.

not sure if im ready for linux - LinuxQuestions.org
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=447966

What craig meant to say was: Look at HIS POST in the above thread. The thread itself has a lot of extraneous stuff about programming.

Same problem shopping for a car---right?
Pick any of the free ones at random and dive in.
I like Ubuntu

Ok tnx. I might try that on my pc. Do Fedora Core 5 or Ubunta have office already like word, excel etc. I'm really really sorry for asking such question as i'm not familiar with it but i really want to give it a try. I've been reading a lot about Linux today, there things that i don't understand.


Another question is i'm planning on opening an internet cafe starting with 5 workstation(same specification) and i would like to use Linux (although i have never tried it before and Windows Xp is so so expensive (i'll be broke) and i'm in a tight budget). I'm open for suggestion.

thanks in advance!

Tnx.. I read His POST. I'm now trying to download a LIVE CD.. Tnx again.. I really want to use Linux, because here in the Philippines, Windows XP plus Office will cost you Php 20,000.. and that's pretty expensive, I'm familiar with XP because that's what were using in school and in internet cafe. And now that i have bought a pc, i want my OS to be LINUX..:)

Just out of interest: how much does a PC cost there then?

Is this a spare computer? In other words, is it a machine that you can dedicate to learning Linux, while you continue to use Windows (or whatever) on some other machine?

If it is not, then the first thing I want you to do is to buy a second hard-disk drive. (My main machine actually has three...) They're not expensive anymore and they're easy to install. Most motherboards have two on-board EIDE channels, supporting four drives, and of course expansion-cards are cheap too.

On the main drive, "install what you know." If that's Windows, then Windows it is.

While doing this, gently unplug the power-connector from the second drive so that Windows never sees that it exists.

Now plug in the power on the second drive. Using the BIOS Setup screen, select this drive as your boot-device. You might even temporarily unplug the other drive if you are nervous about corruting it (at first). Install Linux on this drive. Any distro that you please. Try several!

Then... play with the system with no initial expectations about being anything less than utterly bamfoozled :) by it. When your head hurts, shut it down and do something else. (The computer, I mean ... ;) )

Seriously... Keep a diary. A loose-leaf notebook and a number-two pencil will do nicely. When you do things, jot it down. When you have a question or don't understand something, write it down, and leave space for the answer. Once you have captured your :confused: in this way, you no longer have to go chasing after it "right now." You can come back to it at any time.

When you make a system change, print off a page describing it, three-hole punch it, date it, and add it to the diary notebook.

After you get past the initial feeling that everything you ever knew about computers just went in the trash ... after you experience the feeling that Bill Gates is a wonderful man and why would anyone want to use anything else ... after your diary accumulates several dozen pages ... all of which you have expected and planned for! ... then, the pieces that got all thrown up into the air and which initially landed in a great big confused heap on the floor, begin to snap into place one-by-one. They begin to make sense. (Then they get thrown back up into the air again. It'll happen a few times.)

So you stick-to-it, and you remember what it really feels like to learn new things. And you start to seriously enjoy it. (It was the feeling that you waited for.)

ya i agree with sticking to what u know part but
PCLINUXOS live has LOT of the word , chat , scanning , printing , web-browing tools
and it comes as a LIVE INSTALLER CD
LIVE INSTALLER CD :- its a cd which runs the operating system completely from that cd and you can use the operating system without installing the operating system (yeah use completely experience its features , check chat , browse etc , ) when you are satisfied , there is an option to install the operating system on the HARDDISK (that same OS would get installed very easily but the thing is:-
--before installing it you would experience it in a live cd (thought it would be considerably slow )
--you can in an unfortunate event recover system relatively easily as the OS in your hard disk would be same as os that you ran through cd
and dont think this one LIVE INSTALLER cd of pclinuxos is going to give you very small number of things
when u install this on your harddisk it kinda has around 4gb worth data !

I would recommend PCLinuxOS or Kanotix, both as LiveCDs and as good candidates for HD install.

They both come with a ton of software and in the case of PCLinuxOS all the multimedia pliguns like, Java, Flash, multimedia players and codecs already installed.

Sorry guys Ubuntu is just not a newbie distro, it comes missing to many things. Now before anyone flames me I know they are pretty easy to install especially with Automatix. However they are better off with a first distro that already has everything.

For a nice, clear rundown on what the major distributions have to offer, check out this page on DistroWatch:

http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

You could buy a pc for Php 18,000 (includes everything (p4 2.6 etc..) except for the OS and office) which you have to buy separately..

Yup.. It will be just for linux. I haven't installed anything on it yet (everything is new and untouched). I'm downloading the Knoppix in other computer unit and save it on the hard drive. Just about 58% being downloaded, will just have to wait for it to finish.

My question is how do i start to install it?

Before buring the ISO, verify the MD5 sum (you can use MD5summer under Windows), i.e. check that the one for the file you downloaded matches the one given on the site for the same file. This is to make sure that the download isn't corrupt.

You will need to burn the image to a CD, making sure that you select the "burn image" option (or equivalent) in whatever software you're using to burn. If you don't, the CD will not be bootable. You then just boot from the CD and the installation should start. You may need to make your CD drive the first boot device, which is done in your BIOS.