Total Linux n00b, wants to shift to linux, HELP!!!

[The Outsider]

I'm a total linux noob, got my free ubuntu 6.06 LTS cd 2 days ago so after playing with the live cd for 2 days now i wanna install it.

Heres what i have :
80 gb pata hdd, with win xp installed & all partitions are NTFS

What i want :
xp + ubuntu dual boot

so here goes the questions :
Pre-Installation :
1. how much space i should free up?
2. should i resize the partitions in windows itself by using some Disk management software or do it with ubuntu setup (at the tme of installation)?
3. i don't wanna lose my data so can anyone tell me how can i install it safely, without hasstles
4. if after the dual boot windows corrupt and i reinstall it, (i know grub will go and ubuntu will stop working) how to fix that thing?

Post-Installation :
1. after installation i heard that linux just shows up command line, if thats true how can i switch to the graphical mode?
2. in live cd i was unable to mount my partitions, will that remain the same in full installation too, if not how?
3. will i be able to play mp3s
4. how can i configure my dialup modem in linux, i have got its drivers for linux and i've also got few linux apps still no clue how to install an app in linux.

thanks in advance for your help, i know the reply will be a bit big but i'm sure some kind mate will help.

 

[mehulved]

Pre-Installation :
1. how much space i should free up?

Atleast 10GB if you really want to make some good use of linux.

2. should i resize the partitions in windows itself by using some Disk management software or do it with ubuntu setup (at the tme of installation)?
If you have partitioned disks before than it would be OK to go with partitioning in ubuntu otherwise just format a drive and do not give it any filesystem. When installing ubuntu, just select manual partitioning. Then use the formatted partition and make 2 partitions. One of ext3 mounted as / and one swap partition, that is 2xRAM.

3. i don't wanna lose my data so can anyone tell me how can i install it safely, without hasstles

Follow the above properly you won't loose any data then.

4. if after the dual boot windows corrupt and i reinstall it, (i know grub will go and ubuntu will stop working) how to fix that thing?

Then use the install cd and use grub-install. Just search here, it's been mentioned many times how to do it.

1. after installation i heard that linux just shows up command line, if thats true how can i switch to the graphical mode?

Totally untrue, it will start in GUI unless you configure it not to.

2. in live cd i was unable to mount my partitions, will that remain the same in full installation too, if not how?
I guess you did something wrong while mounting. And I'd suggest you make one fat32 partition as ntfs write support is not stable in linux.

3. will i be able to play mp3s

See www.ubuntuguide.org

4. how can i configure my dialup modem in linux, i have got its drivers for linux and i've also got few linux apps still no clue how to install an app in linux.

Which modem is it?
See *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36166

 

[The Outsider]

w000000000000000000000t thx bro, installed it successfully 10 mins ago, never seen anything like that, live cd is nothing as compared to full installation.

now i need to know how to play mp3s & configure my HSP56 MicroModem

read the procedure about installing codecs and xmms but still confused how to use and where to copy paste those wierd commands

 

[led_shankar]

Hey chester,

congrats for breaking on through to the other side!

the HSP56 modem issue is well documented here: *tinyurl.com/jfydn

hmm....one way of solving ALL your codec issues in one go is to install VLC player. Get back to us if you are not satisfied with it.

 

[mehulved]

For mp3 codecs and other essential software read the guide whose link I gave in the previous post.

 

[hemant_mathur]

Now even i am thinking of giving linux a try. I'll use my old pc for this which is as follows :-
P1 166 Mhz
96mb EDO ram
28gb HD (8 + 20)
Matrox MGA Milennium Video Card

Which linux distro will work on this config ? Dont want any fancy looks but GUI is a must and am gonna basically try it before installing it on my main pc (can't do that now as it's full to the brim).

 

[led_shankar]

hmmmm

a newbie friendly linux for that config might be tough.....techbhai u'll have to take over this one.

 

[Pathik]

hey hemant u can try mandrake 9....

 

[kumarmohit]

try a live cd like knoppix or damn small linux first

 

[mehulved]

Now even i am thinking of giving linux a try. I'll use my old pc for this which is as follows :-
P1 166 Mhz
96mb EDO ram
28gb HD (8 + 20)
Matrox MGA Milennium Video Card

Which linux distro will work on this config ? Dont want any fancy looks but GUI is a must and am gonna basically try it before installing it on my main pc (can't do that now as it's full to the brim).

This one's gonna be a bit problematic. It's your processor that will be a bit of a problem.
One distro that comes to my mind is Vector Linux. See this *distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/vectorlinux/docs/miscellaneous/version_table.html. Your PC meets the minimum requirements for Vector Linux 3.2. Well you will have to use some pretty old softwares with it so you will not really realise the full potential of a modern linux distro. Still this is something that you can give a try on P1.
__________

try a live cd like knoppix or damn small linux first

This solution is only for running the live cd on your current computer not on the P1.

 

[QwertyManiac]

Now even i am thinking of giving linux a try. I'll use my old pc for this which is as follows :-
P1 166 Mhz
96mb EDO ram
28gb HD (8 + 20)
Matrox MGA Milennium Video Card

Which linux distro will work on this config ? Dont want any fancy looks but GUI is a must and am gonna basically try it before installing it on my main pc (can't do that now as it's full to the brim).

Come on, why use your old pc, dont act so harsh man. Install it on your new pc to feel the true power, linux isnt "The os for the slow ones"

 

[hemant_mathur]

Thank you all for the reply ... will install it tomorow.
Qwertymaniac : My new pc is full .. there is only 2 gb space left (out of 120gb) on the hd .. i'll install linux on it as soon as i make my backups and delete data from the hd and thats gonna take some some time (am a lazy guy ).

 

[mehulved]

Here's the link to Vector Linux *www.vectorlinux.com

 

[led_shankar]

d00d i have heard that zenwalk and vector linux are good for those with old pcs but comfortable with linux........how comfortable should one be? because i have xubuntu and i dont hink it is very fast

 

[rakeshishere]

I too had the same question like chester [[exactly exactly i mean exactly the same]] ..Before making a new thread i saw this and i am very happy

 

[mehulved]

d00d i have heard that zenwalk and vector linux are good for those with old pcs but comfortable with linux........how comfortable should one be? because i have xubuntu and i dont hink it is very fast

If you are talking about performance, Vector or Zenwalk will outperform Xubuntu by a good margin on a very old hardware cos Ubuntu is optimised for i586, if I remember right and Slackware from which former two are derived is optimised for i486. Also, Xubuntu can perform better with lower RAM but not so well with slower processor compared to the other two.

 

[led_shankar]

so....128 MB RAM => Xubuntu or Zenwalk/Vector?

 

[The Outsider]

thanks for the modem guide shankar, gonna go through it.

now the main problem is its dialup so i don't wanna install apps & updates with the synaptic manager (or whatever), but i wanna download them in windows and then install them.

i downloaded xmms the extension was *.tar, now how do i install *.tar files

else is there a by which i can download ubuntu packages in windows and then install them in ubuntu through synaptic manager (or whatever) or add/remove programs.

btw i already started liking linux

 

[mehulved]

now the main problem is its dialup so i don't wanna install apps & updates with the synaptic manager (or whatever), but i wanna download them in windows and then install them.

But, why download from Windows? Why not from linux? Browsing the internet is always more secure from linux.

else is there a by which i can download ubuntu packages in windows and then install them in ubuntu through synaptic manager (or whatever) or add/remove programs.

You will face dependancy problems. It's not easy for newbies to handle dependancies. BTW, use deb's from packages.ubuntu.com for Ubuntu. It will be easier to install them. Use

 sudo dpkg -i <filename>

But, if there are failed dependancies, it will give you errors, so you will have to read those and find what's missing. It's a bit difficult to handle that when you are just starting.

 

[led_shankar]

lolz even i have dialup, and i also usually d/l stuff from elsewhere, unless it is really small.

This looks like a good, easy to understand guide:
*www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/softinstall.html

many of these packages (they can be opened in an archiving program that comes with Ubuntu) contain a readme file with the steps for installation.

also, there are ".deb" and "rpm" files for installing s/w on linux that generally make the job easier.

One last thing, I dont wanna sound rude or greedy, but please dont thank me. Rep me instead. My 'unknown' status is depressing me.
__________

But, why download from Windows? Why not from linux? Browsing the internet is always more secure from linux.

I think he is saying that because he wants to do the downloading from some other place (like an office, or cyber cafe) amirite chesterboy?