I am considering installing Linux operation system as a secondary operation system to complement my existing windows 7 Pro.
However, I am pretty new to linux with only basic knowledge.

1.) Which Linux Distros is the best for a beginner who wants to learn and use Linux?

2.) Where can I download it?

3.) I need a good installation guide that will work me through the installation process.

Thanks for your expert input!

1) Ubuntu. Maybe Fedora but I'm not sure.
2) http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download
3) http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...tallation&aq=0

I'd look at distrowatch.com for the top 25 or so distro's. All are free to download. Install a Virtual Machine in the computer you have and run virtual computers. Fast and easy and you almost can't bork your current OS>


The best would be linux from scratch but that is really a hard road to go if you are new. It was the only way to do it decades ago. You build your system, at the end you have a basic understanding of what makes up linux.

The problem is you don't know anything about how to use it. That may be what you are really asking about.


If you know any other OS then you can use linux. It is simply finding out how to do what you did in the other OS and learn the new way(or different way).

distro
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mint
manuals
http://www.linuxmint.com/documentation.php

First, and most important: Welcome to Linuxquestions.org!

Another important note: Welcome to Linux!


At the very least, you do have quite a variety of distros to choose from. Although this variety may seem to make your choice more complicated, variety is a very fortunate thing. Another poster mentioned virtual machines. They are an excellent idea when testing different distros just to see how they "feel" and function. I use Virtualbox for running Windows within Linux every now and then, among other things. It's open source and an incredibly flexible product.

To help in recommending or suggesting certain distros, it would be helpful to know what your personal goals are, short term and long term. Are you into programming and development? Are you looking for a better, clearer picture of the fundamentals behind the linux operating system?

My beginning adventures into Linux started not unlike yours, several years ago. I had heard of it and wanted to try it. I tried various distros. I can't remember what my personal goals were (exploration was my motivation), but I do remember installing Slackware one day. I always seemed to keep coming back to that one.

Over time, I'd boot into Linux and investigate the overall functionality of it. I'd look at how to accomplish things in Linux that I was familiar with in Windows. Step by step, I'd build my ability to function, adapt and appreciate the flexibility of Linux.

There was not one magic day, but there was a point where I realized that I was using Linux more than Windows. Eventually, Linux became my primary operating system of choice. Booting my computer directly into Windows is now an exceedingly rare occurrence.

Now, I can't imagine not using Linux. I feel comfortable in it, even more comfortable than Windows.

Best of luck on your Linux journey.

Hello, welcome to LQ,
Slackware, if you really want to learn Linux.
Here a mirrorlist: http://www.slackware.org/getslack/ftp://carroll.cac.psu.edu/pub/linux/...lackware-HOWTO and here: http://alien.slackbook.org/dokuwiki/...ware:slackware
You will find a very helpful and knowledgeable community here: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/

Markus

Ubuntu. Incredibly helpful community at http://ubuntuforums.org

all distro's are suited enough for beginners. the choice is, how much tinkering do you wish to do out of the box?
Sometimes a steep learning curve is ofcourse hard, but will gains a quicker headstart in knowlegde. (first hand experience/insight by errors how things work under the hood)
Sometimes a steep learning curve is ofcourse hard, but will be just too much to handle. And therefor tinkering is not so much of a great learning environment for everyone.

Each person learns differently. Choose your comfortable path.

Perhaps the crux of the matter is not to get bogged down by the legion of choice. Pick one and stick to it, at least until you have extracted all the relevant/useful knowledge of it you can(ie how usful is it to you and not what is the flavour of the month). Mint, Fedora, Ubuntu, Suze are all good but don't pick something that is hardwork unless you like migrains- leave that to later.

I recommend you to start with lightweight OS like CentOS, Ubuntu or Fedora.Googled and found this link for you

Just a question, what do you mean with lightwight??? I understand that lightwight is meant as "needs few resources".

Markus