Please assist

[Alpha]

Hi Everyone,

I have been using Microsoft products since Dos 3.
I was always very happy with Dos. However the onset of Windows was a horrible disappointment. At one point I decided to try something different and went to OS/2 Warp but that was even worse than Windows. So for several years now I have used Windows. I am presently using W98 and I have no wish to upgrade to yet another Microsoft castrophe. As it is Windows crashes on this computer about once a month and I have to reinstall.

I had begun to hear a great deal of good things about Linux products. Recently I found this site and checked through all the links looking at the various OS's. After some consideration I decide to try ZipSlack. It setup quickly and easily but left me at only a text prompt. Since I don't have any documentation I have not been able to do much with it. So I decided to try again and came back to this site and linked to Winlinux. I ordered their CD (Which btw apparently comes with no documentation) and set it up. After several tries I got it working but the system consistently remained unstable. Further although I could connect to the internet through my network I could not connect to the other local computer on my network. I have found Winlinux to be consistently unstable even though it finds all my hardware and seems to configure it.

Although that was a bit of a disappointment I would still like to find a truly good stable version of Linux (I am sure there are many good ones out there) that comes with a manual and full oncomputer doc's/help files.

So here are my questions.

1. Will Linux work in a peer to peer setup with a windows computer? If so what client would you suggest for the windows computer?

2. If #1 will work then what version of Linux would you suggest that I buy? I have looked at Best Linux, Mandrake, Suse and RedHat (which I don't want because Winlinux is based on Redhat (of course that may just be Winlinux interpretation of redhat but I would rather find something else) ).
 
To clarify the above I need to be able to pass documents and html files back and forth between the 2 computers. I don't expect Windows executables to run under linux but I may wish to copy them across the network from time to time.

Further I have no problem with reconfiguring my hard disk for a linux product that will be stable but I would be just as happy to have it run on a dos partition.

So what I am looking for is network connectivity (both local and internet) with a stable OS that is not going to crash regularly.

Thanks in advance

Alpha

[jtpenrod]

In your case, I'd suggest Mandrake. While both SuSE and Mandrake have outstanding documentation, Mandrake has fewer install issues than does SuSE, making it a better choice for the new comer. You can get the Mandrake documentation either with a boxed set, or you can download it from the Mandrake sites: www.mandrakesoft.com or www.mandrakelinux.com. http://linuxcentral.com has the three CD Mandrake set available for $5.95 + shipping. However, it doesn't come with any documentation. Mandrake can be installed either on the ext2 native Linux partition, or the VFAT partition. Linux rigs can indeed network with Winblows rigs. You can get additional help/documentation from: www.mandrakecampus.com or www.mandrakeexpert.com.

[Centurian]

Hey jtpenrod,

Thanks for the reply. I am Alpha. Unfortuantely at the time I signed up under that name there was a server error and I have not been able to get back on using the name Aplha. So I resigned up under this name.

Anyway I ordered Mandrake the other day, recieved it friday (yesterday), installed it and I am running it right now. I like the Gnome desktop alot and mostly I am using Galeon as my web browser.
I found the install process very simple and easy to use. The only hardware that it did not detect is a win-modem that I don't use anyway. I placed it on its own partitions. The network was quite easy to setup. All around I would highly recommend Mandrake Linux to anyone.

Thanks much for your assistance.
Hopefully this post will help other people who are considering changing over to Linux.

Later
Centurian