I love the idea of moving from Windows. I have wanted to for a long time.
I would also really enjoy some new OS knowledge, and if I switch I want to know everything! Please ease my fears that this stuff isnt way beyond me. Pointers and advice would be appreciated. I think Linux is deffinitely in my future, so I am really looking forward to this change. America has bought into an inferior piece of junk in Windows (which I am presently running) but I have seen the light and want to see what Linux has to offer other than no blue screen of death.

Crete

In God We Trust
All Others Bring Data

What I have found:
The most amazing thing about Linux is that you can do just about anything your little heart desires.

The most daunting thing about Linux is that, depending on your distribution, it is rarely "easy" or "pretty" or "idiot proof" to make changes.

Again, some distributions are much easier than others.

Above all: HAVE PATIENCE!

I started off with slackware, I reccommend you do the same, really just throws you in there and you fail or you succeed .

And how about we dont 'move' from windows, but we just use linux too? I say just dual boot so worst case, if you cant stand linux, which i dont know why that would be the case, you can just go back to windows =).

And TRUST I might add. Linux won't let you down, even if it might look like sometimes. Go ahead, you won't regret it.

It's just like ancient manuscripts : requires patience, dedication and above all good reading skills

Cheers

Or you could replace "good reading skills" with a "good translator"

dual boot...definately. i've been using linux for 18 months, and i still have xp on board....although the only time i use it seems to be for updating it's antivirus...

I think the most important thing is not patience but a willingness to learn and dogged determination to succeed. My own recomendation is to get a copy of Knoppix and have a look at the file systems and how they are structured. The easiest distro to install is probably Mandrake BUT in my opinion you learn very liitle about the os itself and you tend to be dependent on their way of doing things. I personally think that having spent a while with Knoppix you should have a go at one of the harder distros like Slackware or dare I say, Debian. The first few months can be very frustrating and it is a big learning curve but with a willingness to learn and more than a bit of determination you will learn a lot. I also agree with a dual boot concept which will allow you to carry on as normal and you will slowly wean yourself off M$ and use your Linux desktop exclusively. I haven't used Windblows for many months and only really use it for some of favourite games.

Try learning Slackware the easy way: www.thelinuxbox420.com (basics). Then see 'How I do it all' thread in Slackware branch (this helped me to compile kernel-2.6.7 without any error).

I decided to clean up my hard drive a little bit and intstall linux on a 10 gig partition a few days ago. After one initial hiccup the installation of Mandrake went really smooth. There is definately a big learning curve though. If you've never worked from a command line then you will definately end up reading a lot on the subject. I have a dual boot system, but I haven't booted into windows since installing mandrake. I'm glad I went with one of the easier distributions at first because it gives you a chance to learn what linux is all about without getting stuck and not knowing what the hell you are doing. It seems like a daunting task at first to switch, but I think if you jump right into it you will enjoy it.

Coming from Windoze, you are probably better off with either Mandrake or SuSE. They are the easiest transition of the big distros... Both have excellent install and configurations. Both are full featured with a vast array of installable apps and utilities. Both are good at running wine/winex/Cedega for getting un-ported Windoze apps to run in Linux. Both are attractive desktops.

Make sure that when you install, you make your /home partition a seperate partition and devote at least 1/2 the space (or more) that you are making available for Linux your /home partition's size. Having a seperate /home partition means that you will have easier upgrades and/or re-installs. Just make it big enough to contain all the stuff that may be installed there, like video, music, or Windoze or DOS programs that will be run under emulation.

Don't be afraid to post here for help. Don't be afraid to duel boot for a while until you get everything working right. You can always re-format your windoze partition and make it a big storage area that you can access from your user accounts.

Pick up a book on basic Linux command line commands. A Dummies book wouldn't hurt, and many of them come with a copy of Fedora Core (check to make sure it's the latest copy of Fedora... ).

Make sure you use nVidia for graphics. ATI is a good second choice. NVidia's graphics support is the best in Linux of all 3D graphics card.

This question is kinda like mine that I also posted here.

---- JasP ----

You seem to know a lot about Linux, so what would you recommend, Redhat v9.0 Professional or SuSe v9.0 Pro? I'm told that RedHat has like no programs written for it anymore? Well, people could just check my post in this same discussion area.

Thanks for the help.

G

Get a copy of Knoppix and if you can get your printer working print out a copy of
/etc/X11/XF86Config-4 or /etc/X11/xorg.conf if they use that.Print /etc/fstab and Print
/boot/grub/menu.lst and get use to your hardware.Make sure you can get on the net with knoppix,won't be much fun if you can't,I learned almost all I know on these forums,just great,people want to help,you will love it.good luck
Mepis is a great first distro,or last.

Having been windows free for 4 months and switching cold turkey I would tell you to do the same. What Distro, well trying to answer that is like somebody trying to tell you who to marry, you have to decide. I think it's mostly just going to come down to finding one that isn't too hard for you at first so you're not floored. Some will mount (read) cd's and usb stuff when you put them in and some wont without work. Knoppix is KDE (the desktop or look and feel of the OS) and I don't like it as much as Fluxbox (way watered down simple desktop) or GNOME...

I started with Ubuntu's live CD and ran that for a week, then did an install of it on the HD. Live CD's are a big deal if you ask me, I would go to distrowatch.com and click on search then live distros or whatever it's called. I would burn EVERY ONE that you think you have an interest in and see what look and feel you like the most. Don't draw things out trying to dual boot and crap, that's like sleeping with a girl you broke up with, it feels safe and fun but in the long run you just end up worse off.

In addition to the look and feel the LIVE cd's will give you a clear idea as to what will work in your system. I honestly really liked Ubuntu as it was easy and auto mounted everything. Linux has SHITTY multimedia and that's the only bad thing I can say about it. That and flash and java are a pain in the ass and I would avoid trying for awhile!

Good luck!
Adam

If you go with any distro, make it one based on the 2.6 kernel, like SuSE 9.1 Pro and up, or Fedora Core 3. Both RedHat 9 and SuSE 9.0 are based on the older 2.4 kernel, and upgrading the kernel is a pain.