Linux

Jongamer · Post by **Jongamer** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:41 am

What Kernal or Build should I look for, because I just formatted my xp Partition on my 500mhz PC because it didnt work correctly and I would like to install Linux as my 2nd Partition, my first Partition is Windows 2000 which I soon will make 200o into 98 because 2000 isnt compatible with my sound card.

atari2600a · Post by **atari2600a** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 12:29 pm

You'll need to use 2 partitions, actually. (which gives you room for just one more after that, not counting extended)

You'll need your ext2 or ext3 partition (ext2 is the equivelant of FAT32, & ext3 w/ NTFS), & a linux-swap partition (the equivelant of the PageFile on Windows), which should be somewhere around 256MB-1GB.

Also, you shouldn't be looking into specific kernels just yet. Look for a good distro to work w/. Ubuntu is a great one to start w/, & is easily expandable. It's like Windows & OSX did personal things in bed together.

Post by **bicostp** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:07 pm

Yeah, you really need 3 partitions:

1. Windows (FAT, FAT32, or NTFS)
2. Linux Filesystem (ext2 or ext3)
3. Linux Swap (Type 82 in cfdisk)

Don't bother looking at specific versions of the kernel unless you have really advanced Linux knowledge and are building your system from scratch. Look at premade distros:

Ubuntu: Very good beginner's distro, comes with GNOME by default but there are versions like Kubuntu with KDE. Quite a full-featured distro considering it's on just one CD. The install disc is also a live boot disc so you can try it out before installing. (The installer shows up as a shortcut on the live desktop.)

Fedora Core: A completely free distro based off Red Hat. I'm pretty sure it's compatable with precompiled Red Hat packages.

Damn Small Linux: A very clean, 50 megabyte live CD. It's pretty simple to install to the hard drive and there are many premade packages that let you easily add programs, but it's based off an older version of the kernel and it's missing a bunch of stuff.

Knoppix: A live CD (or DVD depending on which you download) that's jam-packed with software. Even though it's a live CD it's pretty simple to install to the hard drive.

Looking for a distro is like car shopping; you have to do some looking around and try a few things out before you can decide what's right for you.

atari2600a · Post by **atari2600a** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:16 pm

Oh, & if you try Knoppix, burn it to a DVD if you can; the CD version constantly uncompresses data & is therefore slower.

gamemasterAS · Post by **gamemasterAS** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:13 pm

I just made a Ubuntu partition like 2 days ago, Accidentally made it to big tho. Anyone know how to make the area I partitioned smaller. Say from 20 gigs to 10.

Post by **Sparkfist** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 3:56 pm

Guys don't get too into the partitioning of the hard drive. Simply put the installer will ask you if you want a swap partition, select "yes" and it's been suggested to me to leave it at default, if default is too low, go with double your system ram.

I would suggest Ubuntu. Easy to install, easy to install software, that is provided you have an internet connection, and Ubuntu has a nice big support base that you can ask for help.

Should you want to install Ubutnu, go to iso.linuxquestions.org, select alphabetical list, and then scroll down to Ubuntu, select 6.10 Edgy. This is the most current (to me at least) and is quite easy to use. They do have a slightly different version should you want a nice small CD to a DVD, it's called xubuntu (google it).

If you want to install software, once it's installed, go to the menu button, scroll down to system tools, and then select Synaptic . It's a great tool, downloads the program you want and any dependencies it might have, saves you a lot and I mean a lot of trouble.

Well enjoy linux, you will still need to learn some command line utilities in order to get past the simple everyday stuff, but once you do you'll find it's really a great experience.

And as a salesman said to me at Micro Center, "Microsoft makes people stupid." Using something like Linux will make you smart and you'll learn how a computer works, which is important.

atari2600a · Post by **atari2600a** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:45 pm

Microsoft doesn't make people stupid, more just enabling them. The average person can't use Linux, because you have to have at least SOME significant knowledge of computers to use it. Now for OSX, you can practically be brain dead & use it.

Post by **gannon** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:49 pm

gamemasterAS: Try parted or qtparted

gamemasterAS · Post by **gamemasterAS** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:24 pm

gannon wrote:gamemasterAS: Try parted or qtparted

Ummmmm, I just used the built in Ubuntu one. So at the moment it only has XP SP1 and Ubuntu 6.10. But from the only 2 options you gave I'm thinking tri ?