Linux newbie seeking advice (aren't we all ?) - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Jack Ruby · 11-25-2003, 01:43 PM

Hello. I'm pretty much your average 19-year old Windows XP-using geek and I've decided I'm ready to take the Big Step : I'm going to install Linux as a secondary OS on my new computer later this week. Problem is, I'm scared. Very scared.

I'm looking at a 160GB HD, which I would like to split up as follows : 40 GB for WinXP and Windows applications; 20 GB for Linux and applications; and 100 MB for storage and pr0n. I know how to make seperate partitions and all that, so that shouldn't be a problem.

The two only things I'm not sure about are which particular Linux flavor to choose, and the dual OS thing.

Last things first : can anyone give any advice about selecting operatings systems at boot time, and the best ways of doing this ? Ideally I'd have the PC boot into WinXP unless I ask otherwise (by pressing a key during boot or something).

And then my choice of Linux distribition. People who are clearly much smarter than me (the crazy guy who lives at the garbage dump and pees in a cup and throws it at you) have told me Mandrake 9.2 is a good choice, and after extensive research (typing "mandarke" in Google and pressing "I'm feeling lucky") I don't see anything wrong with it.

So I guess my question is, are there any specific dangers or other things I should be aware of, and which Linux distribtion do you suggest I use ? I've never seriously used Linux so it shouldn't be too hard to get into, yet I do plan to get better with it over time and, so help me god, actually become a true Linux geek one day. Any help is very appreciated.

drawerfixer · 11-25-2003, 02:17 PM

I know absolutely nothing about Linux, as I'm a Mac geek, but it's something I'm also interested in. When I have the space and money, I plan to build a computer and install Linux. The quote below, which is from a Gentoo post, helped me learn a few things regarding the Penguin OS.

Quote:

Originally posted by SecretMethod70
sailor said it right - Gentoo is NOT a newbie-friendly distro. I, too, recommend starting out with Knoppix or, if you have the space to dual boot or have an extra hard drive, Mandrake.

Also, some highly suggested reading:

http://tfproject.org/tfp/showthread....ighlight=linux
http://tfproject.org/tfp/showthread....ighlight=linux
http://tfproject.org/tfp/showthread....ighlight=linux
http://tfproject.org/tfp/showthread....ighlight=linux

flamingpeach · 11-25-2003, 02:27 PM

the way you are going to have your partitioning set up (20 for linux, 100 for storage and fappage material, 40 for xp) you won't be able to have access to the 100 from both operating systems. (as far as i know, they use different file systems). In my opinion, i would keep the 100 for storage with your xp.

As for booting. You'll want to install xp first and then install linux on the remaining partition. If i were you, i would start off with either fedora (redhat) or mandrake. Both of these distro have an excellent boot loader at start up. You can choose which O/S you want to boot into or they give you 30 some odd seconds and then boot into Linux. This is the EASY way to do it. Installing xp after linux will cause you unneeded problems since you are so new to linux.

When choosing a distro, what you really want is simplicity during installation. Mandrake or fedora (redhat) are excellent for this, as they install using a graphical interface.

The major mistake i see ALL THE TIME is that people install *.nix based operating systems and expect them to be similar to windows. They are nothing like windows. GUI's attempt to reconstruct that familar environment, but theres alot of stuff to get use to. Learning command line is a must if you want to become a pro, and get use to using the terminal to launch programs, su into root, etc. Fonts will take a while to get use to, for one, and it took me a long time to be able to browse forums with out cringing

. Another thing, you can't just plug in peripheral devices, soundcards etc and expect them to work. Everything needs to be configured. It doesn't take long, but in the beginning it can be a pain in the arse.

I'm rambeling, my apologies.

Good luck, and if you have questions don't hesitate to drop me a pm.

KnifeMissile · 11-25-2003, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by flamingpeach
the way you are going to have your partitioning set up (20 for linux, 100 for storage and fappage material, 40 for xp) you won't be able to have access to the 100 from both operating systems. (as far as i know, they use different file systems). In my opinion, i would keep the 100 for storage with your xp.

Actually, this view is rather simplistic. I can't think of a single operating system, these days, that only supports one file system.

In your case, not only does Linux support many file systems but, in fact, it even supports more MS Windows file systems than MS Windows does!

arch13 · 11-25-2003, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by flamingpeach
the way you are going to have your partitioning set up (20 for linux, 100 for storage and fappage material, 40 for xp) you won't be able to have access to the 100 from both operating systems. (as far as i know, they use different file systems). In my opinion, i would keep the 100 for storage with your xp.

Not true.
As i understand it, the mainstream flavors of *nix such as RH and Mandrake can read Fat32 fine with the correct file system files compiled. If he makes the fappage partition Fat32 it could be seen by both *nix and MS depending on the boot.
Would someone please confirm or deny this?

flamingpeach · 11-25-2003, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KnifeMissle
Actually, this view is rather simplistic. I can't think of a single operating system, these days, that only supports one file system.

In your case, not only does Linux support many file systems but, in fact, it even supports more MS Windows file systems than MS Windows does!

I'm sorry, i didn't mean to say they don't support more then one, and i apologize for coming across that way. What i was trying to say is that it isn't an easy process to share one storage drive for two different operating systems and have the files availible for both.

KnifeMissile · 11-25-2003, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by arch13
As i understand it, the mainstream flavors of *nix such as RH and Mandrake can read Fat32 fine with the correct file system files compiled. If he makes the fappage partition Fat32 it could be seen by both *nix and MS depending on the boot.
Would someone please confirm or deny this?

It's true, although I would suggest not using FAT32 and, instead, use NTFS since Linux can also read that and it's a much better file system...

arch13 · 11-25-2003, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KnifeMissle
It's true, although I would suggest not using FAT32 and, instead, use NTFS since Linux can also read that and it's a much better file system...

Really? I've heard that compiled NTFS support is still shakey at best and needs fine tuning, at least that's the word i heard about mandrake compiled NTFS. I understand there is a sourceforge project also though...

yakimushi · 11-25-2003, 03:06 PM

NTFS isn't fully supported in Linux quite yet. Since MS won't release anything the project has had to reverse engineer everything. If you're looking for a journaling file system in Linux, stick with something like RiserFS (I think.)

However, since you're just keeping it for storage, Fat32 should be fine, both operating systems will read it automatically.

Another thing to consider is that Linux needs at least two partitions, optimally three. Yep, three separate partitions: boot, swap, and home. On top of that, Linux can overwrite your MBR which will render your hard drive unusable to Windows.

Because you'll need more than on partition and with the danger of screwing up your MBR, you may want to consider investing in a small, 20-40 gig drive to play with Linux on. That way you have no danger of destroying your windows partition, and more importantly your storage partition. You can pick up a new drive for around $40 and it will save you a lot of hassle when experimenting with Linux.

sailor · 11-25-2003, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by arch13
Not true.
As i understand it, the mainstream flavors of *nix such as RH and Mandrake can read Fat32 fine with the correct file system files compiled. If he makes the fappage partition Fat32 it could be seen by both *nix and MS depending on the boot.
Would someone please confirm or deny this?

Yeah, they can both read FAT32. I dont have any experience trying that, but they can do it. IIRC, Linux can read NTFS, but writing is pretty shaky and may end up corrupting files.

I would recommend Mandrake. Install XP first, leaving space for Mandrake. Then, before you spend any time getting XP all configured (in case things screw up), install Mandrake. It should setup dual-booting by itself.

Good luck. Trying Linux is a great learning experience.

longjohns · 11-25-2003, 06:28 PM

i found this very helpful for setting up dual boot:

http://www.devhood.com/tutorials/tut...utorial_id=313

Krycheck · 11-25-2003, 06:48 PM

I like Red Hat 9 myself but I'm a little more experienced now where I really don't need Madrake to do everything for me anymore. Mandrake is best for first time users imho.
As for file systems go with fat32 since it's supported out of the box so to speak. Safest way to go.
Mandrake will set up you'll dual boot options for you, just choose Lilo if it gives you a choice.
I take it that you have XP already installed so that's good. Windows needs to be the first OS installed since it will overwrite the mbr.

Good luck and have fun

Jack Ruby · 11-25-2003, 09:31 PM

Alright, thanks for the help everyone. Everything was more or less as expected, except this :

Quote:

Originally posted by yakimushi
Another thing to consider is that Linux needs at least two partitions, optimally three. Yep, three separate partitions: boot, swap, and home. On top of that, Linux can overwrite your MBR which will render your hard drive unusable to Windows.

Hadn't heard about this yet. Do I really need two or three partitions to use Mandrake 9.2 ? And what about this overwriting MBR jibba-jabba ?

arch13 · 11-25-2003, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jack Ruby
Alright, thanks for the help everyone. Everything was more or less as expected, except this :

Hadn't heard about this yet. Do I really need two or three partitions to use Mandrake 9.2 ? And what about this overwriting MBR jibba-jabba ?

MBR: Master boot record.
Windows has a bad habit of controling everything. If you install it last it will write instructions to the MBR (which is the first sector of the harddrive) to look for windows. MS does not allow windows to acknowledge other operating systems if the last instructions written to the MBR where from a windows install.
Hence, you must install windows first, because when linux see's the MS instructions in the MBR, it will write a daul boot instruction to the MBR to offer you a choice of OS's.

As for partitions, check the distro you'll use site for size requirments. Linux will still take the same amount of space, that space will just be in three partitions. You have more than enough space budgeted for what your doing.

sprocket · 11-25-2003, 10:54 PM

Yes you need two partitions to run pretty much any linux distro ( your / partition and swap).

I would avoid using NTFS on the partition that you want to share between the operating systems. The read support for NTFS in linux has even been known to corrupt the NTFS filesystem. That is why most distros with any kind of QA testing have it disabled in the kernel by default. Fat32 would be the best choice.

People have a tendancy to recommend the "newbie friendly" distros to new linux users, but if your installing this to really *learn* linux, I have found starting out with a harder distro can really help to show you the ropes. I started with slackware 3.something about 5 or so years ago and it helped me immeasureably in learning how linux worked. This is simply because you have to learn the system in order to get it working usually.

But hey, try em all.. then you can decide for yourself wich one is best for you.

Debian is another good choice that i havnt seen mentioned here yet.

guthmund · 11-25-2003, 11:12 PM

I've recently installed Mandrake on an XP system with no problems. Linux seemed to be very flexible during the install and initial setup.

My "personal" partition is FAT 32 (I only use it for storage) and both OS's see it fine. And LILO practically set up my dual boot options by itself.

Everything worked out fine for me, but every user is different. I'd just be sure that I've double checked all the details and read everything twice during install to avoid clicking through.

Good Luck

If I can do it, I'm sure you can do it.

meff · 11-25-2003, 11:36 PM

Try out Fedora, RH's successor.. fedora.redhat.com

I love it, and I actually switched from Debian to use it

-Anders · 11-26-2003, 05:53 AM

Suse one of the best (much much better than mandrake) just released a network install of their latest distro (You used to have to pay for it, yuck)
http://www.suse.com/us/private/downl...nux/index.html

I Highly recommend this over mandrake as a dekstop distro

sailor · 11-26-2003, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by meff
Try out Fedora, RH's successor.. fedora.redhat.com

I love it, and I actually switched from Debian to use it

Yeah, Im going to try that one out soon. I figure I will wait for it to get to release 2, let it mature a bit, and then go for it.

ratbastid · 11-26-2003, 09:43 AM

The good news is, the configuration you're looking to build is a very common one. Most current versions of main desktop distributions (Mdk, Suse, Rhat, etc) already know that many users will be setting things up that way, and will support it well.

Just run the installer, and keep your head as you follow the prompts, and you ought to be okay.

Jack Ruby · 11-26-2003, 01:28 PM

Alright, thanks for the information everyone, I'm a little more confident now

LordEden · 11-27-2003, 05:29 PM

I've just installed Mandrake 9.2 and i'm on my 4th day of using it. I've played around with Red hat 7.2 a while back, but this is the first time I'm going all the way (Sounds like the story of sex life

. I thought about dual booting, but then I thought if I force myself to use only linux, I'll get better at it. I'm use to a UNIX style promt, even some of the commands, but I'm still haveing a few problems "getting around" in linux. Installing anyhting right now is beyond me, but does anyone know any good web sites for help on linux (I've seen alot of crappy ones so far) or any fellow FTPer willing to help me out and let me bug, I mean ask, them questions about linux. If you're willing at all, im me (now it REALLY sounds like my sex life). Thanks from a windows user who has seen the light, just not to clearly

.

sprocket · 11-27-2003, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LordEden
I've just installed Mandrake 9.2 and i'm on my 4th day of using it. I've played around with Red hat 7.2 a while back, but this is the first time I'm going all the way (Sounds like the story of sex life . I thought about dual booting, but then I thought if I force myself to use only linux, I'll get better at it. I'm use to a UNIX style promt, even some of the commands, but I'm still haveing a few problems "getting around" in linux. Installing anyhting right now is beyond me, but does anyone know any good web sites for help on linux (I've seen alot of crappy ones so far) or any fellow FTPer willing to help me out and let me bug, I mean ask, them questions about linux. If you're willing at all, im me (now it REALLY sounds like my sex life). Thanks from a windows user who has seen the light, just not to clearly .

Check out and http://www.tldp.org. And never forget http://www.google.com/linux

sailor · 11-27-2003, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sprocket
And never forget http://www.google.com/linux

That is an *awesome* link. I cant believe I hadnt ever heard of it...

flamingpeach · 11-27-2003, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sailor420
That is an *awesome* link. I cant believe I hadnt ever heard of it...

they also have http://www.google.com/bsd and http://www.google.com/microsoft

SecretMethod70 · 11-27-2003, 10:59 PM

First off, thanks for the plug drawerfixer - saved me from posting those 4 links myself

I do highly recommend reading them.

Aside for that, I just wanted to say you really don't have much of anything to worry about. Your planned partition layout seems generally good. I would do this:

<li>40 GB NTFS for WinXP
<li>100 GB Fat32 for storage (both OS's will be able to read this, but in order to format 100 GB into Fat32 you'll need to do it during the Mandrake installation and not the Windows one)
<li>512 MB swap (general rule is make it twice the size of your RAM, so 512 is assuming you have 256 RAM. In my case, for example, I have 512 RAM so my swap is about 1 GB)
<li>19.5 GB Ext3 for your / partition (plus or minus some depending on how big your swap ends up being)

So, that's my suggestion. I would also say Mandrake 9.2 is a good distro to start on. Mandrake is what I started out on with Linux (version 8.0 though) and I loved it because I was able to ease into it - testing out the water if you will.

About the MBR, don't worry about it. The general rule of thumb is, install the dumb OS first - i.e. Windows. As was previously mentioned, Windows doesn't play nice and will completely overwrite the MBR when you install it and then you can kiss dual booting good bye if you install it second. So install Windows first and then install Mandrake. Mandrake's installation process, from what I remember, makes it very easy to dual boot and you shouldn't have a problem with it.

Krycheck · 11-28-2003, 07:45 AM

www.justlinux.com is a good newbie/help linux site. Forums there will be of great help to you. If we can't help you of course

RelaX · 11-28-2003, 03:03 PM

I'd have to second SuSe if you want to get a good first experiance. Even my little sister (computer noob) was able to handle it nicely. It installs like a dream and comes with LOADS of stuff.

Off course if you really want to learn things you'll go for Fedora or Knoppix or maybe even Slackware.
Drawback is that you'll spend whole lot of time on google trying to find out just what the hell you're supposed to do, but that's how you learn. You'll also find out way more about your comp and how complex software works.

So in short: Go with SuSe, RedHat or Mandrake or similar first, muck about with that, then install Knoppix or Slackware or something if you really want to get a taste of the hell/bliss that linux can be.

sailor · 11-28-2003, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by flamingpeach
they also have http://www.google.com/bsd and http://www.google.com/microsoft

I am embarassed to say that I didnt know about those either

Quote:

Originally posted by RelaX
get a taste of the hell/bliss that linux can be.

You have no idea how accurate that statement is. Actually, I guess you probably do

11-25-2003, 01:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jack Ruby Psycho Location: Belgium	Linux newbie seeking advice (aren't we all ?) Hello. I'm pretty much your average 19-year old Windows XP-using geek and I've decided I'm ready to take the Big Step : I'm going to install Linux as a secondary OS on my new computer later this week. Problem is, I'm scared. Very scared. I'm looking at a 160GB HD, which I would like to split up as follows : 40 GB for WinXP and Windows applications; 20 GB for Linux and applications; and 100 MB for storage and pr0n. I know how to make seperate partitions and all that, so that shouldn't be a problem. The two only things I'm not sure about are which particular Linux flavor to choose, and the dual OS thing. Last things first : can anyone give any advice about selecting operatings systems at boot time, and the best ways of doing this ? Ideally I'd have the PC boot into WinXP unless I ask otherwise (by pressing a key during boot or something). And then my choice of Linux distribition. People who are clearly much smarter than me (the crazy guy who lives at the garbage dump and pees in a cup and throws it at you) have told me Mandrake 9.2 is a good choice, and after extensive research (typing "mandarke" in Google and pressing "I'm feeling lucky") I don't see anything wrong with it. So I guess my question is, are there any specific dangers or other things I should be aware of, and which Linux distribtion do you suggest I use ? I've never seriously used Linux so it shouldn't be too hard to get into, yet I do plan to get better with it over time and, so help me god, actually become a true Linux geek one day. Any help is very appreciated. __________________ You don't know what you don't know.

11-25-2003, 02:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
flamingpeach hip mama Location: redmond, washington	the way you are going to have your partitioning set up (20 for linux, 100 for storage and fappage material, 40 for xp) you won't be able to have access to the 100 from both operating systems. (as far as i know, they use different file systems). In my opinion, i would keep the 100 for storage with your xp. As for booting. You'll want to install xp first and then install linux on the remaining partition. If i were you, i would start off with either fedora (redhat) or mandrake. Both of these distro have an excellent boot loader at start up. You can choose which O/S you want to boot into or they give you 30 some odd seconds and then boot into Linux. This is the EASY way to do it. Installing xp after linux will cause you unneeded problems since you are so new to linux. When choosing a distro, what you really want is simplicity during installation. Mandrake or fedora (redhat) are excellent for this, as they install using a graphical interface. The major mistake i see ALL THE TIME is that people install *.nix based operating systems and expect them to be similar to windows. They are nothing like windows. GUI's attempt to reconstruct that familar environment, but theres alot of stuff to get use to. Learning command line is a must if you want to become a pro, and get use to using the terminal to launch programs, su into root, etc. Fonts will take a while to get use to, for one, and it took me a long time to be able to browse forums with out cringing . Another thing, you can't just plug in peripheral devices, soundcards etc and expect them to work. Everything needs to be configured. It doesn't take long, but in the beginning it can be a pain in the arse. I'm rambeling, my apologies. Good luck, and if you have questions don't hesitate to drop me a pm. __________________ I've eaten my veggies all my life so bring it on, I am educated and strong for the revolution.

11-25-2003, 03:06 PM	#9 (permalink)
yakimushi Addict	NTFS isn't fully supported in Linux quite yet. Since MS won't release anything the project has had to reverse engineer everything. If you're looking for a journaling file system in Linux, stick with something like RiserFS (I think.) However, since you're just keeping it for storage, Fat32 should be fine, both operating systems will read it automatically. Another thing to consider is that Linux needs at least two partitions, optimally three. Yep, three separate partitions: boot, swap, and home. On top of that, Linux can overwrite your MBR which will render your hard drive unusable to Windows. Because you'll need more than on partition and with the danger of screwing up your MBR, you may want to consider investing in a small, 20-40 gig drive to play with Linux on. That way you have no danger of destroying your windows partition, and more importantly your storage partition. You can pick up a new drive for around $40 and it will save you a lot of hassle when experimenting with Linux. Last edited by yakimushi; 11-25-2003 at 09:07 PM..

11-25-2003, 06:48 PM	#12 (permalink)
Krycheck Sultana ruined my evil persona Location: Los Angeles	I like Red Hat 9 myself but I'm a little more experienced now where I really don't need Madrake to do everything for me anymore. Mandrake is best for first time users imho. As for file systems go with fat32 since it's supported out of the box so to speak. Safest way to go. Mandrake will set up you'll dual boot options for you, just choose Lilo if it gives you a choice. I take it that you have XP already installed so that's good. Windows needs to be the first OS installed since it will overwrite the mbr. Good luck and have fun __________________ His pants are tight...but his morals are loose!!

11-25-2003, 10:54 PM	#15 (permalink)
sprocket Psycho Location: In transit	Yes you need two partitions to run pretty much any linux distro ( your / partition and swap). I would avoid using NTFS on the partition that you want to share between the operating systems. The read support for NTFS in linux has even been known to corrupt the NTFS filesystem. That is why most distros with any kind of QA testing have it disabled in the kernel by default. Fat32 would be the best choice. People have a tendancy to recommend the "newbie friendly" distros to new linux users, but if your installing this to really learn linux, I have found starting out with a harder distro can really help to show you the ropes. I started with slackware 3.something about 5 or so years ago and it helped me immeasureably in learning how linux worked. This is simply because you have to learn the system in order to get it working usually. But hey, try em all.. then you can decide for yourself wich one is best for you. Debian is another good choice that i havnt seen mentioned here yet. __________________ Remember, wherever you go... there you are.

11-25-2003, 06:28 PM	#11 (permalink)
longjohns Insane	i found this very helpful for setting up dual boot: http://www.devhood.com/tutorials/tut...utorial_id=313

11-25-2003, 11:12 PM	#16 (permalink)
guthmund big damn hero	I've recently installed Mandrake on an XP system with no problems. Linux seemed to be very flexible during the install and initial setup. My "personal" partition is FAT 32 (I only use it for storage) and both OS's see it fine. And LILO practically set up my dual boot options by itself. Everything worked out fine for me, but every user is different. I'd just be sure that I've double checked all the details and read everything twice during install to avoid clicking through. Good Luck If I can do it, I'm sure you can do it. __________________ No signature. None. Seriously.

11-25-2003, 11:36 PM	#17 (permalink)
meff Vanishing, like I do.. Location: Austin, TX	Try out Fedora, RH's successor.. fedora.redhat.com I love it, and I actually switched from Debian to use it __________________ Toy-like people make me boy-like.

11-26-2003, 05:53 AM	#18 (permalink)
-Anders Custom title. Location: Denmark.	Suse one of the best (much much better than mandrake) just released a network install of their latest distro (You used to have to pay for it, yuck) http://www.suse.com/us/private/downl...nux/index.html I Highly recommend this over mandrake as a dekstop distro __________________ Signature 101

11-26-2003, 09:43 AM	#20 (permalink)
ratbastid Darth Papa Location: Yonder	The good news is, the configuration you're looking to build is a very common one. Most current versions of main desktop distributions (Mdk, Suse, Rhat, etc) already know that many users will be setting things up that way, and will support it well. Just run the installer, and keep your head as you follow the prompts, and you ought to be okay.

11-26-2003, 01:28 PM	#21 (permalink)
Jack Ruby Psycho Location: Belgium	Alright, thanks for the information everyone, I'm a little more confident now __________________ You don't know what you don't know.

11-27-2003, 10:59 PM	#26 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	First off, thanks for the plug drawerfixer - saved me from posting those 4 links myself I do highly recommend reading them. Aside for that, I just wanted to say you really don't have much of anything to worry about. Your planned partition layout seems generally good. I would do this: <li>40 GB NTFS for WinXP <li>100 GB Fat32 for storage (both OS's will be able to read this, but in order to format 100 GB into Fat32 you'll need to do it during the Mandrake installation and not the Windows one) <li>512 MB swap (general rule is make it twice the size of your RAM, so 512 is assuming you have 256 RAM. In my case, for example, I have 512 RAM so my swap is about 1 GB) <li>19.5 GB Ext3 for your / partition (plus or minus some depending on how big your swap ends up being) So, that's my suggestion. I would also say Mandrake 9.2 is a good distro to start on. Mandrake is what I started out on with Linux (version 8.0 though) and I loved it because I was able to ease into it - testing out the water if you will. About the MBR, don't worry about it. The general rule of thumb is, install the dumb OS first - i.e. Windows. As was previously mentioned, Windows doesn't play nice and will completely overwrite the MBR when you install it and then you can kiss dual booting good bye if you install it second. So install Windows first and then install Mandrake. Mandrake's installation process, from what I remember, makes it very easy to dual boot and you shouldn't have a problem with it. __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

11-28-2003, 07:45 AM	#27 (permalink)
Krycheck Sultana ruined my evil persona Location: Los Angeles	www.justlinux.com is a good newbie/help linux site. Forums there will be of great help to you. If we can't help you of course __________________ His pants are tight...but his morals are loose!!

11-28-2003, 03:03 PM	#28 (permalink)
RelaX Follower of Ner'Zhul Location: Netherlands	I'd have to second SuSe if you want to get a good first experiance. Even my little sister (computer noob) was able to handle it nicely. It installs like a dream and comes with LOADS of stuff. Off course if you really want to learn things you'll go for Fedora or Knoppix or maybe even Slackware. Drawback is that you'll spend whole lot of time on google trying to find out just what the hell you're supposed to do, but that's how you learn. You'll also find out way more about your comp and how complex software works. So in short: Go with SuSe, RedHat or Mandrake or similar first, muck about with that, then install Knoppix or Slackware or something if you really want to get a taste of the hell/bliss that linux can be. __________________ The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents. - Nathaniel Borenstein