Hello all,

My wifes brother has been talking to me about Linux and how he prefers it over Windows.

Well, i am a complete noob when it comes to Linux and have no knowledge of any computer programing. Only computer related functions i can do is build systems from scratch.

My question to you guys is, what is the best Lunux OS out there for a complete newbie to Linux?

Thanks in advance,

welcome to LQ

http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/...x_distribution

prepare yourself for lots of different answers

fedora core.

suse.

mandrake?

--those are like linux for dummies. if you really want to run linux, look into something less dumbed-down. learn to utilize your resources:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/reviews/index.php/cat/2

I would say download a LiveCD and test it out. With a LiveCD, you put it in your drive, reboot, and it loads into a Linux system complete with applications. When you are done, remove the CD, and reboot. Your computer goes back to the way it was. With that in mind, here are some live cds:

Knoppix
Kanotix
Ubuntu
slax

Holy Cow, I didnt expect replies this quick, lol.

Hows Linux for gaming? and i guess im looking for a Linux which i can easily access my HD's and view files ect.

Sorry for the newbie questions....

http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Gaming

I keep referring you to the wiki because it's really rather good.

Im going to try a CD Version first to see how it looks.

Other questions i have are Virus. How does Linux fair against these? and how hard/esy is it to learn to program Linux? ect.

Thanks all

As far as I know there are so few viruses and spyware/malware apps written for linux, that I think most people, myself included, do not bother with antivirus applications. I think AVG does a free one which is supposed to be quite good if fancy trying it.

You don't really program linux as such, however, there are many different programming applications you can learn to use when you are comfortable with your new OS. With this knowledge, you could then write or improve upon applications, scripts, drivers, etc. It's up to you.

Start off playing around with the "shell" - a little like windows' command prompt, but only a little - It's obviously much more powerful than the MS command prompt.

Cheers

Thanks for the replies.

If i decided to install this to my HD i have 2 questions....

1) What is Dual Boot? Windows and Linux Booting at the same time?
2) How would i clean install Linux on a freshly formated HD?

Thanks again guys/gals

Dual boot means one half of your hard drive is Windows; the other half is Linux. When you boot up, you get a menu that lets you choose what you want to boot into.

If you do a clean install to a freshly formatted HD, you don't need to do much, just install! If you're dual-booting with two separate hard drives (instead of one hard drive that's partitioned into two parts), you can just have Linux take up the entire hard drive. You still need to install Grub on the MBR (you'll usually be asked during the installation process where you want to install Grub) if you want to dual boot. The Grub menu is where you choose whether you want to boot into Windows or Linux.

Also, people have been recommending random distros to you. We need to know more about your situation, though, to give you a proper recommendation. Are you afraid of the command-line? Do you want all point-and-click? Do you want to have Linux install by itself or build it from the ground up? How much memory do you have? Do you want a fast desktop or a fully-featured desktop? What kind of support do you need? I know you mentioned games, but what other kinds of software do you use? I don't see how people can just flat-out recommend "Use X" or "Use Y."

Different distros suit different needs.

Hi Aysiu,

Well, i a completely new to Linux.

I am looking for a Linux OS that is-

1) More or less Point and Click.
2) Good Hardware support.
3) Ease of use for a beginner i.e able to access whole HD ect.
4) Eventually able to tinker with the programming.
5) Main use is for Web Browsing and Gaming if possible.

So basically Windows type OS in a Linux Shell for now.

I have never done any computer programing before, just building custom systems and installing Windows. So, i guess you can say im affraid of a command prompt.

I have downloaded to CD the FeatherLite Linux which was very basic, more or less Point and Click but i could never find my HD.

Currently downloading Ubuntu to LiveCD to give that a whirl.

Thanks

This is a pretty good step by step
installation guide for Mandrake 9.0
Mandrake is now Mandriva
and up to 10.2
but the screen shots haven't changed much

http://www.mandrake.tips.4.free.fr/install.html

Mandrake is good to get started with
and if you want more of a challenge
there is always Debian, Slackware etc
Mandrake also makes dual-booting very easy
comes with many games
and is usually very noob friendly

floppy

might just be be and not being very helpful but shouldn't this be on the distros forum?
everything everyone else said was good tho
(sorry for being a cynic !!!)

I'd say Mepis is would be a good starting distro for you. It puts all your partitions on the desktop, whether they've been mounted or not (and when you click on unmounted partitions, they mount and open). You can enable extra repositories through GUI. You can browse as root through GUI. You can do just about anything you want through GUI. Its installer is also easy. The best part is that Mepis is both a live CD and an installer CD. So you can try it out, see if you like it, then click the "install me" icon if you want to install it.

I know you're afraid of the command line right now, but with the Ubuntu Guide, you can just cut and paste commands to get Ubuntu working right. It's almost easier than point and click in some ways.

I'd start with Mepis, though.

You don't have to be a programmer to use Linux, either.