Total Newbie for LINUX:Plzzzzz help me out guys

[rakeshishere]

Well after so much reading posts about praises of linux in this forum and elsewhere i thought of why not seeing and trying this out...because i jst love seeing and checking new s/w,os,games etc...So i had many diff version of linux cd with me like fedora,ubuntu ,knoppix...But knew these were huge and as i am addicted[u can say stuck up] with windows..I nvr knew how to intall linux even nor even know how to operate...Seeing so many diff versions which came with my digit/chip : cd/dvd ..First of all didnt know what to install and what not and then I saw this DSL: Damn small linux.. in one of the cds and read its review on the internet and thought that would be the perfect choice for me to see how linux is ...So i read a lot of instructions regarding its install and so much that me i almost spent some 3 hrs to know all the basics regardiing linux and then burnt the iso of DSL on the cd and booted from it.I used this as the choice as it was only 50MB and was happy with this. After the install seeing the desktop and some nice features in it i couldnt understand some of the terms and some words like"GRUB,LILO,ramdrive"and more that me cant mention it in here .
I JUST want to know few things..How to install DSL in HDD and watz the diff b/w DSL and others{fedora core,suse e.t.c} ..and how to get an create an internet connection in linux [me want to use internet -thats it]

Presently i have winxp-sp2 installed on my comp in my c:\ drive and will installation of linux harm my xp or create any booting problems...i hope all open source fans will help me in understanding me this new world and after me knowing something will switch from xp to linux dfntly as i feel its gud to be in a healthy growing linux community

 

[mehulved]

Well IMO if you are installing to hard drive you should go for some major distro like Ubuntu, Suse, FC or Mandriva cos it has huge community support and are easy to use.
To start with, LILO and GRUB are bootloaders. GRUB is mostly favoured by most distros over LILO, so go for grub, it's easy to use too.
You will need free space of atleast 10GB to really use linux to the max, more the better. + you will need to create a swap partition of 2 times your RAM.
Just install linux, don't worry much about those terms before hand, learn them practically while you use linux, using them practically will help you understand better.
Some material to get you started, *www.pathname.com/fhs/ and www.tldp.org/guides.html .
Also, check the sticky put up by GNUrag, it has one link to a thread where lot of links have been given.

 

[rakeshishere]

+ you will need to create a swap partition of 2 times your RAM.

What is this..More info regarding this plz

 

[mehulved]

Well you just need to create an extra partition that is 2 times your RAM and select it as swap partition. If you have done partitioning before in windows, then you can just go for manual partition and make 2 partitions - a 10GB one, allocate it to / and ext3 filesystem and a partition 2 times your RAM, if your RAM < 1GB or = RAM and select it as swap.

 

[saurabh.sauron]

to put it straight, SWAP is Linux Virtual memory. linux loads data into swap when it runs out of RAM. SWAP can be separate partition or if u choose it not to, linux makes one inside the partition containing the OS., though that makes the system slower. i suggest u go in for a separate partition for SWAP. also, as tech_your_future said, it's better to go for Ubuntu or Fedora. I didnt like DSL at all. it's too confusing...

 

[Pathik]

i wd say try mandriva 2k6 if u r a newbie.. I had also started wit that abt 2 months ago

 

[led_shankar]

You have the DIGIT April FastTrack, Rakesh? You might find that helpful. I did, when I installed xubuntu.

My advice (though I'm a n00b myslf ) is to try out Live CDs of various linux distributiuons before deciding. This is very useful for these reasons:

* It enables you to choose which distro suits your needs/wants best.
* It lets you get used to the transition from Windows to Linux
* Very important - It helps you check for hardware compatibility...It is very possible that some of your hardware may not work on Linux (most hardware is built specifically for windows)

Like everyone here, I'll agree that DSL is not a good option because: a) it was meant as an experiment to see how much stuff they could put in a 50 MB OS. Therefore, it lacks a lot of cool stuff b) It is useful only as a live cd/disk option. c) Even among tiny DSL-sized distributions, I'd rather recommend LuitLinux (made by an Indian )

P.S. - If you are addicted to windows, then I believe (please seniors clarify this) that the KDE desktop environment will be easier for you to handle.

 

[rakeshishere]

You have the DIGIT April FastTrack, Rakesh? You might find that helpful

Ya dude..i have it ..I almost 4got abt it

P.S. - If you are addicted to windows, then I believe (please seniors clarify this) that the KDE desktop environment will be easier for you to handle.

Watz KDE...and i will i not get a windows like experience if install Linux without KDE desktop

 

[mehulved]

It doesn't matter if you8 use GNOME or KDE, it will of course be a little different since linux is a different OS. It's just a mindset that since KDE looks like Windows, it's easier. There exist other Window Manager, I won't talk much about them now since such a thing doesn't exist in Windows.
DSL uses some Window Manager, which seem a little intimidating to newbies that is why you found DSL a bit tough to go with. I'd recommend you to try out live cd or Ubuntu 6.06 and if you like it, get Ubuntu 6.06 DVD offered with LFY magazine, this month. It will be available mostly with your LUG. For more on LUG operating in the area, see the Sticky by GNUrag, it has a link to a thread on LUG's.

 

[led_shankar]

Watz KDE...and i will i not get a windows like experience if install Linux without KDE desktop

ah.... sorry.

I should have mentioned that.

Ok....I was trying to type an explanation for fifteen minutes...but I decided I could not do it better than wikipedia.

KDE is a desktop environment (*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_environment)
There are 2 popular desktop environments for Linux...one is KDE (*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE) and the other is GNOME (*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME)...Both have their advantages/disadvantages, but KDE resembles the Windows environment more than GNOME, and is thus easier for Linux newbies.

Note- I am using neither KDE, nor GNOME. I am using another Desktop Environment, called Xfce

 

[led_shankar]

@tech_your_future: ok, so i was wrong . I had come to this conclusion because I read an article in DIGIT some time ago about how this guy convinved his mom to use Linux, and he used KDE for that reason.

Anyway, majoro thanx

@Rakesh: BTW, bear in mind that live CDs will not show you 100% of the features offered in a distribution. Still, do try using lots of Live CDs...It's fun!

 

[mehulved]

If you have a computer with low end specifications, window managers will make your computer spruce up a bit. If you really want to try a window manager, try out Xubuntu. It uses XFCE window manager and is really easy to use and quite light on resources.

 

[led_shankar]

^
@Techbhai: I'm using Xubuntu right now

It is quite nice.

 

[rakeshishere]

Ok now one question...There was some s/w called KDE-in this month's digit cd/dvd...Should i install that to get a windows like experience in linux and is not possible to get without installing that.And i have heard about GUI mode in linux which gives u windows like environment

 

[mehulved]

@tech_your_future: ok, so i was wrong . I had come to this conclusion because I read an article in DIGIT some time ago about how this guy convinved his mom to use Linux, and he used KDE for that reason.

I myself started out with FC2 running GNOME, I never really faced any kind of difficulty. In fact, I never knew in the beginning that options existed. It was when I installed Slackware almost a year and a half later, I even came to know that KDE existed and even later I came to know of windows managers. It's just something that's hard built into people's head that since KDE looks windows'ish it's easy to use.

 

[rakeshishere]

I have a 2.8GHZ p4 comp with 512MB ram and a 160GB HDD.Will that be enough for linux to run smoothly

 

[led_shankar]

oh...you don't need to install it separately. The desktop env comes along with the distro.

for example...Ubuntu comes with gnome, Kubuntu comes with KDE and Xubuntu comes with Xfce

 

[mehulved]

Ok now one question...There was some s/w called KDE-in this month's digit cd/dvd...Should i install that to get a windows like experience in linux and is not possible to get without installing that.And i have heard about GUI mode in linux which gives u windows like environment

If you install Kubuntu, you will have KDE. Installing KDE from cd isn't recommended for newbies cos it will lead to lot of dependancy errors to solve out. If you want KDE, go for Kubuntu or OpenSuse or Mandriva. IMO, FC's KDE is too unpolished to work with so I won't recommend FC for working on KDE. Well, that's just my opinion.

 

[led_shankar]

I have a 2.8GHZ p4 comp with 512MB ram and a 160GB HDD.Will that be enough for linux to run smoothly

hahhaha

more than enough...actually, the oldest versionof linux can run even on 4MB RAM.

and for the modern distros, 512 is probably sufficient for them all
__________
@rakesh: sorry for the "hahaha"...i was not making fun of you...it's just that my own comp is on 128 MB


pls don't take offense

 

[mehulved]

I have a 2.8GHZ p4 comp with 512MB ram and a 160GB HDD.Will that be enough for linux to run smoothly

With these I'd recommend GNOME or XFCe. IF you are going for KDE follow these tips *wiki.kde.org/tiki-index.php?page=Performance+Tips.