I wanna download linux but which distribution to choose.

[iGuest 3]

I have used Mandrake (back in the version 7 days), and it worked very well for what I used it for. You should not, however, just download Linux because it's "cool" or because it's "better than Windows". For the average person, it is not better than Windoze, so be aware of what you are getting yourself into.

 

All Linux distributions are designed to be reliable workstations that won't crash or hang like Windows tends to do. For this reason, a huge amount of their resources go to securing server stability and available resources for programmers / designers. The operating system (depending on the distribution) does provide a substantially more stable environment than does Windows, but chances are you will be very frustrated with it. It is not an easy thing to learn if you are used to Microsoft's GUIs.

 

Mandrake Linux is very easy to install and configure, but that is about where the ease of use ends. The reason Linux is so stable is because it operates primarily on command-line consoles (rather than the GUI), so you have to update your syntax and vocabulary to accomodate for Linux's way of handling partitions and file permissions. Help is also hard to come by; many people take the "I spent the time to learn it myself so you can do the same" approach. There is also the fact that there are very few Linux gurus out there as it is.

 

In short, if you are running a server or development environment (strictly, with no other apps), then Linux is something you may want to look into. Otherwise, if you treat your Windows box right, it will treat you right. If you play any Windows-based games at all, I strongly recommend staying away from Linux altogether. As for dual booting Linux on a Windows computer, it in theory can be done, but the results will often lead to an unstable installation of Linux. The kernel seems to have trouble operating when partitions are divided in such a manner. If you don't need Linux, save yourself the frustration and stick to Windows. Gates would give his left arm and foot to ensure that a two-year-old can successfully use his operating systems, and there is a good reason it has paid off for him. Windows (at least versions 2000 and later) is a good operating system, but it has its flaws. Linux is the same way. If you have doubts, stick to Windows.

[Shackman 0]

I downloaded Mandrake before and installed it. It seems quite good so if you want to ask me, I'll recommend Mandrake anyway...Happy downloadingRichmix, nice article. You really said it well. Its really true, if you don't have any problems with your Windows OS, don't try Linux. Its really more harder to understand than Window. As far as I know, Linux divides the hardisks into many partitions used for storing different information. Windows may have trouble reading these partitions. At least for me, it did. Windows can't read Linux drives and vice versa.

Edited August 25, 2004 by Shackman (see edit history)

[football123213 0]

but i want it 4 free

[MSTR 0]

it is free. go to http://iso.linuxquestions.org/ or .net or .com. It's one of those

[hatebreed 0]

yea...but download versions are so called "Community" versions...its on 3 cdsif you buy Mandrake, you get Power Pack+ that goes on 5 cds....but still it cheaper than windows, A LOT cheaper!

[popac 0]

Comunity are not stabile, they are coming 2 times a yerr, Official are super stabile and they come once for a 18 months. All of those have their Power Pack, Download and other editions, but they are all the same. You can easuly download Mandrake Linux 10.0 Offical Power Pack, as yau can find Download edition

[gotenx 0]

I used to use mandrake but it got anoying after awhile. I wouldve used red hat but it didn't work on my computer. Wut a bummer...

[akz 0]

well you should try redhat its more userfriendly.. however its really easily exploitable... but if you are a more advanced user you can give freebsd a try.

[mizako 0]

Hi,Using Windows or Linux depends of the type of user you are. If you want your computer to sends mails, play games, surf in the internet, play music and videos Windows can be a good idea. However Linux can make all of these in a really intuitive and easy way. I use Knoppix with KDE and i can make almost everything through the GUI. I mean installing packages. Office staff, playing music, surfing..... Linux is not so complicated like it was before. Now the Linux GUIs are in my opinion better that the Windows ones. Moreover Linux is better for Web development, Programming, server applications ... and you will not suffer all the Windows viruses. Also, you can use Messenger also in Linux (with programs like Kopete or Gaim which include the msn plug in). To sum up, Linux is as easy to use as Windows. I think that the problem of Linux is that there are not good games for it. And gaming industry is really important and make a lot of users stay with Windows. I have Windows and Linux in different partitions. I use Linux for everything but if i want to play any Online Game i change to Win. About the distro's i tried Red Hat, Suse and Knoppix. The one which i am more happy is Knoppix. Give it an opportunity!!

[kelp 0]

If you don't want to deal with that grub/lilo boot setup(which is really quite easy, the real problem is partitioning), you could try Knoppix. It comes in an .iso file which you can use nero or the program of your choice to burn the .iso onto a cd. Then you can just reboot and pop the cd in and it's loaded.

[mrbradeli 0]

Mandrake destroyed my computer!It killed my hardrive and my CD ROM!My printer was printing so slow when I had it and I could never view webpages correctly.It also would not let me install have the programs that would have worked on any other linux distro...If only Suse or redhat would work... Oh well

[xboxrulz 0]

alot of people think that Mandrake is user-friendly and all that, but if you look deeply, many linux "gurus" states that Mandrake is like an AREA51 where they often tests things in their product. Most of the software that comes in Mandrake Linux are usually betas or Release Candidates.

If you want ease of use, use Novell SuSE Linux or Yoper Linux

Dual booting Linux and Windows IS NOT A THEORY! It works and it is stable. My computer has been using dual booting since the 3rd month of using Linux when I decided that Linux was more worthy than Windows on my desktop. I had Linux installed on my laptop while I'm in school so I can fiddle around w/ it when I was having a break. I usually dual boot w/ LInux LOader (LILO) or GRand Unified Bootloader (GRUB).

In order to run Linux and Windows together, you need to use the LILO or GRUB. For beginners, you should use GRUB because it's easier to troubleshoot.

Usually, GRUB and LILO are preconfigured on COMMON LINUX DISTRIBUTIONS. Windows XP would be available to be booted. If it cannot detect, do this:

In grub.conf, add this:

[Windows]

boot=/dev/hda1 (ONLY IF YOUR WINDOWS PARTITION IS HDA1)

label= Windows

If you're using LILO, it should be preconfigured when Windows is detected. If not, try to rescan it when you're running root and using the command lilo. It will rebuild and activate the LILO configuration, if not, contact your distribution about it.

For people who think that Linux CANNOT read Windows partitions, they are wrong. All Linux distribution can read FAT32 and NTFS. Only kernels using 2.6 and above unless the distributor has added that support. Unfortunately, Linux can only write into FAT32 filesystems. Future support for writing into NTFS is currently in development. Linux can already R/W in HFS (Macintosh Filesystem)

xboxrulz

[aloKNsh 0]

u can download linux from ubuntu and also from kubuntu they both provide linux for free and in ubuntu you can order for a cd of ubuntu for free ................ they will send it to you where ever you live and also that for fretry it you will get within 4 to 5 weeks............all the best.............

[mandla 0]

im looking for linux mint i used it once on a mates pc and i liked it. Were can i get a version i can run from cd Does it take up less memory tows because i dont exacly ha latest pc with hi specs so sometimes i struggle when running apps cause it tends to freeze while processing anyone with a link please give

[rvalkass 5]

im looking for linux mint i used it once on a mates pc and i liked it. Were can i get a version i can run from cd

Search engines are your friend.

https://www.linuxmint.com/

Does it take up less memory tows because i dont exacly ha latest pc with hi specs so sometimes i struggle when running apps cause it tends to freeze while processing anyone with a link please give

Pretty much anything takes up less memory than anything Microsoft produces I can't find Linux Mint's exact system requirements, but you should be able to find them on their website. Remember that running a Linux distribution from CD will be much slower than running an installed copy, simply because everything you try to do has to be loaded from the CD first.