Hello everyone.
I was a student who never knew anything about linux before.
However, I have to use this to do any homework in the university from now on. I have spent 1 week with linux on my labtop and now I feel like it.^_^ However, my version for Linux is a bit too old and didn't support most of my H/W from SiS. So I'm gonna find a newer version of it. But right now, I know only Red Hat and Mandrake. T_T Could you advice me about other Linux? Which one is good for the very newbie like me, which one would be the best for labtop and which is the newest version of those.

If you know Red Hat and Mandrake, stick with those. Red Hat 9 and Mandrake 9.2 are the latest, though 9.2 is only just out so 9.1 might be a bit more stable.

Iain.

I agree. Mandrake 9.1 and then give 9.2 a few months to settle out and then upgrade.

You may want to have a seperate /home directory though. That way if something bad goes wrong, like maybe you screw up a command, then you at least won't loose your Documents directory and settings. I have used that before. It is a life saver.

Hope that helps.

Mint 11 would be a decent start as it has all the codecs & decent hardware recognition. The other major distros are also worth a try.

Best linux for starters I would like to recommend is Linux Mint and you can download it from the following link:

http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

I think that OP "peradino" has solved or tried to solve it 8 1/2 years ago
looking at the date posted "16-10-03" it was Oct. 2003.

Hopefully he might read this now, and post back the experience he might got in these years.

Regards.

True, but its still a good question. I have fond memories of Mandrake!!

This must qualify as The Oldest Resurrected Thread. Congratulations!

I have nighmares. I used it way back then but I left it after attempting the first upgrade.

Warren Woodford was so dissatisfied with mandrake he created his own distribution, lol.

Well, what is it called? Ya don't have to keep us in suspense here.

the best and easiest version is redhat 9 for newbies.

oh sorry, warren woodford is the creater of 'simply mepis', commonly known as just 'mepis'.

Oh. I never tried that one. I switched to Gentoo and I been a meth addict ever since. I swear Gentoo is addictive.