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If so, what version would you recommend installing as a Linux beginner? I have a ATI Radeon X600 video card which I hear is problematic with Feisty Fawn (Ubuntu 7.04). Anyone have success with Ubuntu? Or should I look for other versions? Any and all advice is welcomed. Just looking for "general" OS...no gaming. Also, can I trust Linux to partition itself for me on NTFS?
Dell E-510
Windows XP Media Center 2005 SP2
Intel Pentium D 2.6 GHZ, 1 Gig RAM
I would suggest you try live linux cd's to start. They boot into linux normally do not damage or load anything to your system.
Secondly, I'd use a virtual machine. Microsoft, Vmware and VirtualBox are free and near native speed. Qemu is also very good. All run a second OS within windows.
If you must load a linux see any of the top ones maybe at distrowatch. Be sure you make a backup of the XP and the MBR before you start. Know how to recover from that attempt.
All have a steep learning curve. Even between distros requires distro specific knowledge. Gentoo requires the most learning to use it properly. Might also look at Solaris and the BSD's.
I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you goober.
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Look at PCLinuxOS very Windows like and a great place to start, though run LIVECD first.
Linux will not install on NTFS, you will need to reformat the partition you wish to install to.
Linux also comes with a Boot Manager to create a Dual Boot.
Time for some reading....
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I have a pc with a dual boot of xp & pclinuxos 2007. This uses Lilo.
On my main pc, I have ubuntu, installed from windows, It appears in the windows boot ini file. & you can uninstall it through Add & Remove programs in Windows.
look at this http://wubi-installer.org/But, try the live cd's first. They both have a way to install them to the hard disk while running as a live cd. I found it easier to create the linux partition before installing. But that's probably because I find linux partitioning confusing.
Before posting try google. Backup. Use anti virus software.
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Thanks all. Wow. I do have a lot of research to do. I am hearing Ubuntu is rough on ATI radeon cards. I have the live ubuntu cd at this time and am experiencing the ati problem. I may need to use the alternative cd to install to change some code. The wubi is intriguing
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also, does anyone have a good Linux beginners guide or site? I realized I may have gotten ahead of myself and need to slow down a bit before moving along.
Do most linux offer Live .iso to run off CD before installing?
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Only if they offer it either as a live cd only or a type of install cd that can be run live or to install. Many of the top ones do. Knoppix, dsl, puppy, vector, ubuntu and some fedora are common.
With the modern web almost any question has at least one right answer somewhere. Every site has the basics of install but they don't fully cover the nuts and bolts. Might start with the wiki sites and wikipedia and go from there. If you know any dos or windows concepts they translate to unix/linux in some manner usually. The names are all changed.
I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you goober.
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You could start here http://distrowatch.com/
Before posting try google. Backup. Use anti virus software.
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I believe I have settled on either Mepis or Ubuntu (Likely Mepis). One question: I install Mepis and have it partition my C: which already boots XP--thus then creating a dual boot, but what if I decide to get rid of Mepis and its partition? Can I have XP reclaim that old linux partition space without having to reinstall XP or without a third-party package like Partition Magic?
I so use a drive image software (Iomega portable HD issue) for backups on a non-partitioned C:. But if I partition My C into two drives, the pre-partition image will only try to fit into the re-sized (smaller) C: partition, right? Im not sure anyone will underastand whatIm trying to get across. basicaly, I want to cover my A$$ in case I regret linux and its associated partition and I dont want to run off live cds forever
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If you insist on a full linux install. Read the million pages on it over and over a few times.
Basic steps are as follows.
Make a full backup of your system and MBR.
Test your backups.
Defrag.
Use a program to re-size partition (or make new ones and reload XP)Install linux and be sure you understand how linux boots and most newer ones install a type of boot loader normally grub.
I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you goober.
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Jefro,
I have full backup images of unpartitioned C, but I'm wondering if those backup images will get me back to unpartitioned C if I decide I don't want the Linux partition aymore.
I think I would have to delete the linux partition using my WinXP disk management, recover (incorporate) the unallocated space of the former linux partition back into C drive (or does it do this automatically if I delete the partition?) and then use my backup image of unpartitoned C: to restore back to "pre-linux" state. Does this sound remotely accurate?
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With an image of your Windows partition you should be able to remove any existing partitions and restore the image. The problem with this approach is that any data you add after the image was created will not be included in the image.
If you should decide to remove Linux and return to a Windows only system, you may be better off to create an image of your Windows partition at that time, remove the Linux partition, resize the Windows partition then restore the image you just created. The final step would then be to boot the Windows XP installation disk and enter the recovery console to run the fixmbr command. By following these steps, you will be better assured of a successful outcome.
To accomplish all this you can use System Rescue CD. Download the iso image and burn it to CD to create a Live Linux installation you can run from the disk. It includes Partimage (a Ghost/Drive-image clone for Linux) and GParted (a Partition Magic clone for Linux). You can use these Open Source tools to create an image of your Windows XP partition (Partimage), Remove the Linux partition (GParted), and resize the Windows partition (Gparted again) then restore the Windows partition image (Partimage again).
HTH,
Ernie Registered Linux User 247790
ICQ 41060744
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