hi,

i have amd64 3000+ , 768 RAM, R9800pro Vcard,, which linux version is best to start with for a newbi linux user ? i'm downloading warty-install-i386.iso now using bittorrent 522MB size ! ist the right one for 64bit proc? i'm doing it for fun, not looking for a boost performance since i should have at least 4GB RAM as i read somewhere else to see some great performace boost..

You can get 32bit and 64bit versions of most of the main distros now. I'm still using a 32bit distro on mine due to compatibility issues with certain software, so you don't HAVE to have a 64bit distro... The amd64 boxes run 32bit distros really quick as well

thnx for reply,

i havent used linux b4, but i'm thinking bout doing that now & start with 64bit! since windows64bit is buggy & got bugs everywhere ! so i thought that linux would be better & more stable ,, i guess i'll start with 32bit for now, but is what i'm downloading the right one for 32bit & 64bit? ist a good choice to start with? or not. this's what i'm downloading BTW
warty-install-i386.iso

I tend to use mandrake, and I haven't used ubuntu, but a i386 will run on all machines from a 386 up, including 32bit and 64bit machines. I'm sure warty will be as good a start as any, but I don't have any personal experince with it, sorry.

ok, i downloaded mandrake 10.1 & burnt it in 3 cd's, now i have some Questions

-when installing, it showed me some apps ( Office, internet, firwall..... etc) to choose from , i hit some of them but it showed a message that there was no free space to install em ( partition that i chose to install in is 14GB) i chose basic ones, but why it said that? no space?
-after installation was done, system rebooted, then some checks were performed ( hardware, software,, etc , all was OK then it asked for Login&password, i remember when installing i set a Login but didnt choose a password ( i hit the NO PASSWORD button) so i typed login, when i try to type password; i cant type anything in password field,,, numbers nor letters, i hit Enter, it shows Wrong Login in the black screen..
-i restarted my pc in Windows xp pro, partition that mandrake was supposed to be installed in, i see it as FREE partition, no data in it ( used space is 68MB out of 14GB free space !!when i restarted into Windows, it ran a check disk on the mandrake partition..
-when installing, it asked for cd2, i removed cd1 & inserted cd2, but it showd a message like " wrong volume in drive" or something like this, so i had to remove it & tried with cd3,, same message.. so i hit cancel & continued setup...

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I don't have much to add, but... I am toying with the idea of upgrading to Suse 9.2, professional or personal. I know one difference is that professional will support 64bit proc. Therefore the machine would have to be upgraded as well.

thnx for reply
ok, i'll download Suse & see if i can acctually use it..

u know a good link for the profissional one.. i would apreciate it

Do not download SUSE. It sucks when it comes time to setup the video card. I suggest installing 32-bit version. Then compile programs with 64-bit instructions to get more performance. Programs like mplayer, xine, vlc, tvtime, xawtv, transcoder or any multimedia program will benifit with 64-bit code. Though you have to compiled these program as static because the libraries that they will use are 32-bit.

It does help to run the ISO images with an md5sum program before putting them on CDs.

The steps I take whening downloading ISO images:
* Download ISO images
* verify all ISO images are correct using md5sum
* with CD recording software select a slow burn rate around 1X to 4X

thnx for reply guys,,

but can some 1 answer my questions in post #5 ? i cant login in to linux,,,

What about RH EL WS 64-bit?

I already answer your question. I will rephrase it, check the ISO images with a md5sum program and if they are ok make new cds. Usually with bad ISO images you will have problems. Also you can have problems if you burn to fast. That is why I suggest burning at a slow speed to minimize the problem.

You should not use password or login for passsword because that is dumb and anybody with a knowledge of typing on the keyboard can easily access your system. Its like leaving the front door open while you are at the movies, at work, or asleep.

burn speed was 8X, i'll check iso images later, its late now....

i dont need a password for system cause i'm the only 1 using it. i DIDNT set a password, now when starting linux, it asks for a password, but i cant type anything in password feild!! if i leave it blank, WRONG LOGIN show up although i typed login name correctly !!

I understand that but Linux is different than Windows. Linux is multi-user OS unlike Windows. Doing anything like installing of programs and configuring files requires you to log in as root. If root does not have a password, you can not do anything in Linux.

For the keyboard not working during installation. Try using a PS/2 keyboard instead of USB keyboard. Though I never had a keyboard fail during the installation, but I had the mouse fail.

Just try hitting enter with no password. Maybe you installed without it. You can in some distros...