right im considering partitioning my hdd and putting linux on....problem is i know nothing about it though!! doe sit use windows file formats? whats the best free one to get? how big a partition will it need and will i be able to get drivers for all my hardware?

thanks

Unless you're a geek I wouldn't recommend it (especially if you're completely new to it and its very different to your average Windows) - nonetheless if your computer is not new there's no harm in having a play

Red Hat is probably the more popular one.. http://www.redhat.com/

Can you buy a cheap second machine and have a play with it there? No risk whatsoever of breaking it then

could do just fancy having a play! ive had a go before but to no real depth but think i had a problem with drivers but it was wayyyyy back should drivers be ok theses days?

have you gotta pay for redhat? i cant find a free link ?

The most popular linux distro these days is ubuntu, although as a newbie you might prefer "linux mint", which is ubuntu altered to have the multimedia codecs so you can play DVDs and flash etc when browsing web:
http://linuxmint.com/

Once you get use to it it's no harder than Windows. The only pain is that you might not be able to run your favourite Windows software, especially games. There's a thing called "wine", a linux programme that can make some Windows games run, but it's very hit and miss.

That said there's a world of (mainly free!) linux software: OpenOffice instead of MS office, Firefox instead of IE, Evolution instead of Outlook, Gimp instead of Photoshop.

Just be careful with the installation if you plan to dual boot. Defrag XP first, then see if the linux installer finds Windows and what it proposes for partitioning. You can always set your own prefs if you don't like the defaults. Goes without saying that you should BACK UP everything that matters to you first, in case it all goes pear-shaped!

Good Luck!

what about drivers alfabarry?

Don't do what I did many moons ago when I first tried dual-boot and delete the windows partition

i should be ok!! hopefully!!

so i should be fine with drivers then??

blackJTD said:

what about drivers alfabarry?

Click to expand...

Linux is not like Windows: you don't have many separate drivers- for the most part either the Kernel supports the hardware you are using or it doesn't. This can be a pain, although more and more hardware is now supported. Take printers: HP is very well supported: if you have a HP printer, and its connected and switched on at the time, the unbuntu/mint/fedora installer will spot it and install or download the HP software. If you have some others (I think Lexmarks are very weakly supported), you might have a problem.

Broadband routers will normally be spotted during install and the installer will try to make a connection before installation is complete. The only really big headache is with usb modems. Very few are supported and even those are flakey. The old Speedtouch is one (broadband) exception: a lot of work went into supporting it. Very few usb dialup modems can be got working.

But as long as you get the dual booting set up correctly you still have XP to fall back on, and in my experience, you can usually get things working eventually.

Just a thought blackjtd. You could try linux out first using a "livecd". These run from the CD drive and let you access everything on your hard drive without actually installing linux. If it's going to work with your hardware, you'll find out before committing to a hard drive install.

ISTR than mint comes as a livecd, from which you can then install it onto the HDD if you want to.

The best known and easiest to use livecd-only (really good for rescuing data from failed XP systems) is Knoppix (http://www.knoppix.org/)

thanks alot barry ill give the live cd a go

no doubt ill be back with more questions soon!!

thanks!!!

Live CDs rules :slayer:

Buy one of these they have linux on them and are cheap and great lol

http://eeepc.asus.com/global/product.htm

just get a fedora 8 live CD and load it into RAM runs just like it was install have a play, i use linux alot 1 as its me job and 2 its got some prti cool stuff in it

Ubuntu would be the best for fist time thow as it more layed out like windows and explanes its self more and so does fedora

wait till you find out about KnoppixSTD

Tom

tried knoppix but it wont boot on my laptop kinda gets to the desktop but th top two inche sof the screen look pixelated and it appears to lock up...oh well!