Complete Linux newbie needing some direction
 

I will soon have a spare PC and am considering using it to learn Linux. The computer has a Pentium II 266 Mhz processor and somewhere between 128 and 256 Mb RAM. It will have at least one IDE hard drive, probably 10 Gb or so. I'm not too sure about the video or sound, but I can find out if it makes a difference.
The problem is I have absolutely no Linux experience. I had some breif exposure to AIX over a decade ago. I understand root and some basiic command line syntax. That's about it. Where should I pick up a copy of Linux and what flavor should I use? Is there a beginners guide somewhere on the net or should I pick up a Linux for Dummies book?

I like "Teach Yourself Linux." It's pretty good and doesn't start by assuming that you're already a UNIX command line guru.

You might wanna try to get Knoppix because you won't need to install it, it's a live install CD. I believe somewhere on the forum, there is another thread about this...

I haven't read "Teach Yourself Linux", but I would advise getting a book that comes with a distro, since most of the distros that can be purchased in stores have rather skimpy documentation for all the things there are to learn.

like Fallon said, try knoppix.
if you have linux questions/problems, <a href="http://www.linuxquestions.org" target="_blank">linuxquestions.org</a> is a good resource.

I'd recommend picking up Redhat Linux Unleashed, which will come with RedHat 9 (not a bad system at all, and it's rather easy to use out of the box). However, Knoppix is a good solution too if you want to preview Linux before installing it.

It comes with Redhat, I don't remember which version though.

Knoppix all the way. Or if you want to dive in I recommend RH 8.0.

As far as books I really dont know. I've always relied on trial and error and a few forums ;)

This guy/girl has a computer to use just for linux.. why bother with knoppix?

I've always gone w/ RedHat.... but Mandrake is apparently a good starter Linux OS as well.

Stay away from Debian, Slackware, and Gentoo for the time being!

Check out the website(s) mentioned above! Good luck!

i second the mandrake vote.
I have some unix and solaris experience, but never used linux before last year. I've installed mandrake on a spare HD a few times and used it to just poke around without fail. Though if you dont have any plans to use it for anything "useful" or arent a big GNU crusader.. i really fail to see the point of running Linux at home.

It is a great way to waste time and learn more about different aspects of computing technology though. Go to your local library and check out some linux books and just read through them to get a feel for the environment before you buy anything. A lot of documentation is online for linux, but you can waste a lot of time searching for accurate and credible information. Books are good for something still..

I definitely recommend starting out on Mandrake.

As for learning a little bit about Linux, check out the stuff I posted here: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...ighlight=linux

Obviously, it's more than you'd need to know to just mess around with it, so you probably won't go through all of it. But it'll give you a basic understanding of a lot of Linux fundamentals. The internet is pretty much capable of taking care of anything else in my experience. If something comes up and you don't know the answer, just search for it. I also recommend setting up a filter in your e-mail account and signing up for the mandrake-newbie mailing list. It's a great source of help and I was able to figure many things out because of it when I first started to seriously use Linux.

Lastly, I recommend reading this to make sure that you don't have any misconceptions of Linux and that you're wanting to use it for the right reasons: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...ighlight=linux

I vote for mandrake.

Mandrake is simple, and full-featured. It can be customized to whatever suits you. :) It's free, has lots of support availible, and of course is open-source.

I use mandrake because I could set it up with easily, I could learn quickly on it, and because no one in my house other then me knows how to use it ;)

I've been using linux for a few months now, and I still have a long way to go before I am an expert. I love a challenge, and linux gave me the one I was looking for. I'm not going to lie and say linux is easy, goodluck with it :)

In 2 and a half months, I have not had a problem with my linux box. I have not had to restart it, it has not froze, and I have never had to wait on a program. That stands for something in itself.

As for books, I read the following:

"complete idiots guide to linux"
"linux for dummies"
"liunx KDE in 24 hours"
and "O'rielly - understanding the linux kernel"

These are all avalible in ebook form.



:)

I'd say go for gentoo.

This will make you cry several times, and you will pull your hair out, but as you said, you want to learn linux.
Something i feel is not easily acomplishable with mandrake, redhat or any of the other disro's that has everything neatly packed for you and dumps you straight into x (GUI) so you'll never actually get to learn how to use it.

You computer may be a bit slow, as gentoo is a source based distro, so it compiles each and every single line of code you're going to be using.

The community's great though, you'll be able to get lots and lots of help from there.

www.gentoo.org

DON'T use Gentoo. (sorry -Anders)

It's a GREAT distro (just look at my title) but it's meant for 1 in 1000 newbies.

With your computer it will take DAYS to install - and with your Linux knowledge who knows if it'd even work the first time (probably not).

If you want to absolutely immerse yourself in Linux as if you were taking a 300/400 level college course without having taken any of the 100 level courses, then Gentoo is for you. (Difference is, at least, you're not graded and the course lasts as long as you need).

I recommend starting off at the 100 level though and going with something simple like Mandrake. No, you can't do all the things you can do with Gentoo. No, you won't learn some of the more advanced things. But you'll be able to concentrate on some of the basics while it already works instead of it being a huge headache and not having any idea where to start.

Do not, do not, do not try to attempt Gentoo to begin with. There are fundamentals you need to learn about Linux before moving on to something more challenging. It's pretty much like SM70 said, start with the 100 level.

Thank you all for the great ideas, esp. SecretMethod. I have worked in the IS arena for 16 years and have been working on PCs since DOS 3.3. I know Windows inside and out and now that I have a spare computer, it's time to learn something completely different.
I think starting with Gentoo would be too much for me. I need to start out slowly and simply. I plan to try Knoppix from CD, just to see if it will load on the computer and get a feel for the x interface. From there it sounds like Mandrake will be the way to go. Once I have a few months (or years) of experience with it I can look into something more serious like gentoo.

http://www.linuxiso.org/ is a great place to download most common linux/bsd ISO's

I really don't know how to answer this properly...it depends on each person. I learned on Gentoo, and have had a wonderful time of it.

I've converted two complete newbies using Gentoo, and they both love it.

I've had on person try to install Gentoo, get frustrated with it, and go back to windows.

I feel that Suse, Mandrake, or RH might have been good for him, but at the same time his unwillingness to read the manuals might have been a death knell for actually /learning/ any linux system. Sure, he might have gotten it to work, but it is doubtful that he would have learned anything useful (anything beyond the simple bundled admin utilities).

Since it is a spare machine, I'd say just dive in with Gentoo, but be prepared to read a lot.