I want to try a new os because i really dont like windows but i have a few questions about linux. The first is can i keep windows on my c:/ and have linux on d:/ or would i have to get rid of windows completly? Second i have only ever had windows so i was wondering how hard i would find it to get used to linux? And also what about it is better than windows?

you can download a cd that will boot and run linux without tougching your HD

Hello, What you may also want to do is called a dual boot. It will give you the option of loading windows or linux upon startup. As for your hard drives, assuming you have enough space for both you could keep both operating systems. This is most likely true because I see you are running XP and therefore most likely have a new computer. My best advice would be to see if you really want to use linux by running DosMinix. Please understand that this is NOT linux, but an updated version of an operating system that Linux was orgionally based on. Linux now has nothing to do with it, but Minix is still the best teaching tool around. And even better you can learn it while still working in windows. The process is described here: http://osnews.com/story.php?news_id=7303 . Another thing is that this is what would be described as console based because there is no graphical user interface in any part of Minix. Linux is usually configured with a GUI called the x server, which will run GNOME or other X Managers, very similar to windows, but still using the file structure that both minix and linux uses. My last words: I don't see much of a point switching operating systems if you don't enjoy tinkering around in this new environment, especially in the console. Some people in the linux comunity want large numbers of people to join, but I think only those who really want to see HOW an operating system works should use it. Also, alternatively you may wish to learn how to navigate through this console. I suggest this web page: http://linuxsurvival.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=1&meid=-1 because it gives a great web applet that simulates unix. Hope this helps, John

The cd mentioned above is called Knoppix, you can download it here: http://linuxiso.org/distro.php?distro=44

"My best advice would be to see if you really want to use linux by running DosMinix..." Hmmm... I got fed up with Linux recently and I thought I'd have a go at migrating to WinXP. Well I wasn't going to spend all that money without knowing whether I'd like it or not, so I took the advice of a Windows expert and downloaded a copy of CP/M and spent half a day trying to get it running under DOSEMU and I have to say it wasn't exactly easy (like a Knoppix or Suse LiveCD would be) and when I did eventually get it running... Well frankly I wasn't very impressed: It doesn't have anything like the functionality of GNU/Linux, it didn't recognize half my devices and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get it to run UT2004 or OO.org and nor could I find any CP/M equivalents. From this I have deduced that the WinXP experience consists mainly of typing pointless and cryptic commands in a terminal and not actually being able to run anything useful or fun and it seems to me that WinXP is really only for the kind of people who want to know HOW an OS works - despite what the Redmond marketroids would have us all believe - so I think I'll be sticking with Gentoo for now. "This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with Windows and Unix. You do not have to be a guru or even a power user, but a good understanding of the usage of both of these operating environments is required." [http://osnews.com/story.php?news_id=7303]

I see your point Wolfbone, and many people feel that way. I must start by saying I'm partial to Minix. I run it on my 8086, and am wholely impressed by it's simplicity and how stable it is. That said, I have never tried DOSMinix, but everyone I have asked said that it has the same qualities of the origional. Now that there is a full tutorial to installing it, I would believe it to be a wise choice to start learning Unix-like systems. I should explain that once Linux was created Minix didn't die. It lasted until 1997 when 2.0 came out. That 1997 code is what DOSMinix is based on. So many of the advancements that were made to Linux during that time were also made to Minix. Minix is obviously not widely used today, and for good reason. It is no longer half the system that Linux is. However, DOSMinix gives people the chance to run a full working Unix-like system, without ever having to change the person's native operating system. They can learn if they really like the filesystems, manual configurations, and sometimes headaches that occur from linux and minix. So, now GUI vs. console. Personally I think that Red Hat and all the distros that baby you into linux are good but only to beginners. Then they must be replaced by better distros, when the person learns more about linux. To me letting the distro do all of the work in setting it up and in common tasks takes away the point of learning this operating system. Many disagree, but I switched because I was tired of Windows making choices for me and they were not what I really wanted. So this said, Minix and Linux's consoles are very similar. In fact the filesystem structure is exactly the same (except that Minix files are based in the Minix partition type and Linux in the ext2 - or others). For example, a person wanting to customize their terminal would still have to edit .ashrc or .bashrc and play around with PS1 the same way. Concluding. Switching windows to linux is a LOT of work. My hope is that people will realize this and try either someone elses linux box or a linux that can run in DOS on their windows box to see if it is really worth it. As for the critics, they have their points, that trying to learn about a present system by studying the past may not be the best option. (sounds like history) Granted it is a bit exagerated, the difference between CP/M and WinXP is much greater than Minix and Linux. I am not suggesting that this be a perminant solution, but a view into what linux is really about. By the way the linux survival should be run first, since you'll be lost in Minix without it.

A wise choice to start learning Unix-like systems is not the same thing as a wise choice for an introduction to modern GNU/Linux distros. Especially not for a complete novice wondering if GNU/Linux might prove an adequate replacement for his Windows environment. I would imagine that fallenint would be initially most interested in discovering what apps he can run under GNU/Linux that are like the ones he is familiar with and how well they work - apps like OO.org, Mozilla, xine, kmail and such like rather than cp, find, mutt, tar etc. Suggesting running some other Unix-like OS seems rather eccentric and inappropriate to me - just reading that tutorial has cured *me* of any vestige of an interest in seeing what Minix is like and it ignores the fact that throwing a Knoppix CD in the drive and booting it is a hell of a lot easier than the fiddly and technical procedure described in the tutorial. And what would it get you anyway other than an environment vaguely like a Linux console or terminal in which you could try out some of the kinds of commands that only experienced Linux users are likely to want to use? As soon as a CD based distro has booted into it's graphical desktop you need only click on the terminal icon and you've got your power user CLI anyway. "DOSMinix gives people the chance to run a full working Unix-like system..." But it comes nowhere near to giving people the chance to run a full working GNU/Linux based distro with it's powerful desktop systems and the thousands of applications available, many of which are suitable replacements for their Windows equivalents. "So, now GUI vs. console. Personally I think that Red Hat and all the distros that baby you into linux are good but only to beginners." Yes - and not only is fallenint a beginner not an expert, he is probably also not someone who wishes to study Unix-like OS's, but someone who wants to try out GNU/Linux to see if it's any good and how it compares to Windows. Minix may well be simple and stable but I don't think that's going to impress fallenint much when he wants to watch his X-Men 2 DVD. "Switching windows to linux is a LOT of work." Steady on! Who's talking about switching? I thought we were talking about trying it out first - maybe via a CD based distro and later a dual boot scenario as you yourself suggested. What's so hard about that? Anyway, you make a great Minix advocate John, but suggesting it as a first step towards Linux for a Windows XP user? Maybe you've got a spare 8086 you could post to fallenint for him to run it on? '-)