I wanted to install Linux on my intermediate-class system. I had to select a distro, and since I'm already running Mandrake 8.2 on my old system, Mandrake seemed to be a good choice for the other, more powerful (but not too powerful PC).

I just wanted to know - does anyone use Mandrake 9.1 anymore? Will I have problems installing software (failed dependencies)? Does everyone already have 10.0/.1?

If it isn't (and because I can't find Mandrake 10 here and my connection's too slow to download), which other major distro would be recommend?

I already have Mandrake 9.1 ISO from a magazine cover-DVD

9.1 is perfectly good. You could always set your urpmi sources to the 10.2 repositories and do an upgrade that way. The beauty of Linux is that it's all upgradable in one way or another.

Oh, really? I can use 10.2 RPMs with 9.1?

That's great! :d

No there are too many dependancies to do that.

In effect you must upgrade your whole system anyway.

Check out some of the places that provide copies of the Mandrake Distro disks for 1.99 USD if your connection is too slow.

Don't bother with a non-current release, especially if you have a slow connection, as you'll be downloading updates forever.

Ah Thanks for the tip as well...

How about Red Hat 9.0.

I don't want to install Fedora Core, so how's that one?

Now that one is too old - Fedora is effectively RH 10 (just a bit more bleeding/cutting edge.

I'm not so much interested in Fedora. I'm more into Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, so I think I'll install 9 first and later upgrade to RHEL

RHEL is quite a costly alternative to RH9 - I'd say go for Whitebox Linux. It's RHEL without the RH branding and so is free to download.

Hello,

I have a laptop with Mandrake 9.1; my tower PC used to use 9.1, too. This version is one of the most stable Mandrake ever created.
Also, I used some 10.0 packages on my 9.1 box before I switched. But many packages will require too many dependencies. On the other hand, I very commonly use 9.1 packages on my now-10.0 box, because Mandrake10.0 is missing a good number of -devel packages if you only have the 3CD-set.

Yves.

Thanks for all the input My attempt at installing RH9 destroyed my Master Boot record. Anyway, that's was Partition Magic's fault. I'll attempt installing again. I haven't yet decided on a simple, powerful distro.

How's Debian? I know there are no RPMs, but apt-get sound's good. What say you?

Hang on you want to install a really dated mandrake and then you ask about another distro.

Load mandrake 10.1 and if it's a problem of money load the 3 iso's of 10.1 and boot from that.

Really, you cannot ask the community to start helping you with such an old distro, when there ars so many fixes that have gone by and the present 10.1 is leading edge.

Who's being unfair?