seeking wisdom regarding an os

[bha]

well, basically...
i'm new to other operating systems, but am highly interested in a good one. here is what i'd like to accomplish.

1. use partition magic on either my current xp or me laptop to partition my drive.

2. download a great os and install it without causing any horrible errors to my current os.

i'd like to get some ideas from someone on a cool os, as i do not know much about this subject. any help or info will be highly appreciated and smiled upon.

thanks...

[Master of Reality]

you can try Mandrake Linux or Lycoris if you want user friendlyness. Redhat if you want to learn a lot about alinux but not give up user friendlyness. Slackware if you want to dive into the deep end.

Do you want to have a dual boot with WinXP and Linux(or whatever)? If so, I'm not sure how easy it would be to do that without having to reinstall winxp.

We will all be glad to help you though.

[Pantso]

First of all welcome to the boards   !

The choices on an alternative OS in your case are numerous. Given the fact though, that you are a newbie (to be), I'd definitely recommend Linux as the number one alternative to Windoze. However there are many Linux distros out there for you to choose, some of them harder to install and configure (Slackware, Debian) and others much easier (SuSE, RedHat, Mandrake, Lycoris etc). I believe that Mandrake (current stable version being 8.2) and Lycoris are the most newbie friendly (more info about distros can be found at http://www.distrowatch.com)

After you decide on your distro, make sure that your hardware is fully supported (keep in mind that cheap and proprietary hardware are not supported in Linux), by visiting the respective website and the supported hardware database.

I wouldn't suggest installing Linux alongside Windoze though if the latter uses the NT and not the FAT32 file system like Win95, 98 and ME because it would be tricky especially for a noob like you   . Oh, and about your laptop, you can find some useful links at the  linux on laptops page, under the make and model of your laptop!

[bha]

i am really not concerned with a dual boot, and for the meantime, i would prefer to keep my current os primary, as i know nothing of the other.

so, whichever way i can install another os and do this would be my preferred method.

as for the os, i guess i want some user friendliness to start with, so by the sounds of it, slackware will have to hold off. i'll have to pick one of the others.

i would prefer not having to re-install winme

also, are there any tricks to partition magic that i should know about before its installation. i want the process to go as smooth as possible.

thanks for the reply.

[bha]

thanks for the welcome too.

i believe i will be installing the new os on my me edition of windoze (as you call it). will this work effectively versus the xp?

oh, and thank you for the helpful links.

[Pantso]

Installing on your ME machine will be easier for you, believe me.

Some more links for you (in random order):

http://www.linuxnewbie.org

http://www.linux.com

http://www.linux.org

http://www.newtolinux.org.uk

http://www.gnu.org

http://www.linuxrefresher.com

and many more....

Good luck  

[rtgwbmsr]

Mandrake Linux can resize your partition to install the OS on the same partition as Windows. So can others, but Mandrake is the easiest.

Download Mandrake from:
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ftp.php3

Download Any Distro From:
http://www.linuxiso.com

You just burn the ISO's to CD, put disk 1 in the drive, and restart.

Here is Mandrakesoft's official user's guide:
http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/doc/82/en/user.html/

A specific guide to resizing partitons:
http://www.linuxbeginner.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=60

It may be a little hard to follow, so here is an easier to follow (and print) install guide:
http://linux.box.sk/newsread.php?newsid=442

Have fun!
If you need help, we are here.

BTW: Back up your important docs. In the rare event something does go wrong, it's nice to know you still have your important stuff. Not to scare you or anything

-The Muffin Man

[Master of Reality]

he is right, when you boot off the mandrake CD it will give you a partition tool that may very well be a lot better than partition magic.

When i first started with Linux i tried Partition Magic... then i formated and re-installed windows cuz i fucked it up. The next time i used the mandrake installer partition tool (called DiskDrake) and it was very good.

[Master of Reality]

first what you will want to do though is:
run scandisk in windows, then run defrag, then make sure you have enough free space to put Mandrake on the end of your harddrive.
You will need around 2 GB for a full isntall (you probly wont want the full install anyway) and about 100MB for the minimal install (you dont want that either). I suggest having a partition size of 2GB so you still ahve space for files and programs you isntall later.

You will also make a swap partition for Linux, this swap partition is Virtaul Memory, it stores files just the same as Memory does. A good size for a swap is 200MB (some people say twice your RAM but i usually use 150-300MB).

When you use the partition tool in the Mandrake isntaller it can resize your windows partition without destroying any data but i recomend backing up any important files just in case.

Now in case you didnt notice i kind of made your decision for you above (Mandrake). I highly suggest Mandrake, i used it for a while and liked it for a beginning Linux.

[bha]

thank you to everybody for your help. i will be checking into all of this very soon. i guess that mandrake would be a great way to start, especially since most of you seem to think so. i will do some research with the links that you have all provided. i want to be fully prepared, as i do not want to run into too many problems.
feel free to keep any advice going, and thanks for all the quick responses.

which of these do you think i should use:

Downloads: Mandrake 9.0 Beta | Mandrake 8.2/i586 | Mandrake 8.2/i586 ISO Image | Mandrake 7.1/SPARC/UltraSPARC ISO Image | Mandrake 7.1/AXP ISO Image | Mandrake 7.0/i486 ISO Image | Mandrake IA64 | Mandrake 8.2/PPC | | MandrakeSecurity Single Network Firewall


also. does the download come with diskdrake, or do i need to install this separately?

[ September 14, 2002: Message edited by: big-hired assassin ]

[KernelPanic]

Mandrake 8.2 ISO image.

[rtgwbmsr]

DiskDrake comes with it: It's part of the installer

[Calum]

yes indeedy, mandrake 8.2 is what i use and i would recommend it.

i recommend you dual boot between mandrake and windows, meaning you have one system on one partition, and the other on a seperate partition. you can use a simple tool such as LiLo to give you the choice of which to boot into every time you switch on.

i strongly suggest you read a bit about what you are getting into before you do it. it will all be a bit unfamiliar to someone who has been using windows. i can remember well what i was like last year! very puzzled, but it makes sense once you actually get in up to your elbows in it!

The Mandrake User site is a really good one stop shop for finding out how to dual boot, how to use LiLo, how to install and so on. Go to their site and click "DocSection" to read their many helpful articles, and also go to their downloads section, where you can download the entire DocSection for home reading, and also download several useful utilities and programs specifically compiled for mandrake 8.2.

If you have any questions about getting started with linux, we will be happy to help you here, or i would also recommend the New To Linux site, where they have some articles and a very friendly help forum.

good luck and i hope you enjoy your new OS, and welcome to the board!  
Good luck

[bha]

okay, i'm drowning here. i have cleaned up my system, ran skandisc and defrag, downloaded the iso files, burnt them, read lots of stuff, and here is the problem.

makes me feel stupid, but i can not get the disc to start up. i've changed the bios, but it still will not run? i checked into the plug and play thing, but i've never been able to get my winme to run a disc automatically anyway. i'm at a loss and haven't even begin. what a shame. any advice?

[KernelPanic]

Boot Windows
Put the disc in
It will autoplay
Click 'Make boot floppy(s)'
Make the boot floppy
Reboot

Bob's your uncle...