other operating system i could b running

[bmxdirtbag]

god forbid, i run possibly the worst O/S in the world, win me

wat otha O/S out there cud i b running, i have considered linux, but i have heard that requires programming knowledge to run effectively, which i have none of. I was also thinking of mayb runnin 2 operating systems, possibly 2000 and linux or something, as im a bit of a gamer, and would dearly miss GTA 3, Max Payne, UT and other games not able to be played on a linux platform

[Calum]

you heard wrong, probably from somebody that has not used linux for at least seven years.

dual boot with a windows (does not matter which, they are all shit) and linux. pick red hat, suse, lycoris, mandrake or some other well supported linux, and if i was you i'd buy a cheap copy straight from the vendor (cheap means like $80 for SuSE, $35 from mandrake $30 from lycoris and so on - i made those figures up so don't expect them to be exactly right) - this means you get a lot of printed manuals (easier to read and more portable than docs on a CD) and three months telephone/online support (typically).

put linux and windows on the same machine and dual boot. use linux for your wordprocessing/internet/chat and so on and boot into windows for all that 3d win-only crap you want. remember to get used to linux though! once you get over the frustration watershed (yes, linux is a lot more complex and customisable than windows - ie: it's not a toy - so this means a slightly steeper learning curve that will take a short while to get over) i promise you it will have been well worth it!

and welcome to the board. post questions often if you have any problems!  

[ January 16, 2003: Message edited by: Calum ]

[pkd_lives]

Welcome to the boards, I would second what Calum has said.

Also be aware that UT2003 is available for Linux (in fact it is probably on your CD right now, if you have UT2003, and you did not even know it). Of course you could always game on a console.

If you want to buy new from scratch there is also Mac, which is very good and runs most of the games you would want, but I am an Open Source advocate, I believe that provision of source code is my right as a consumer, on every product I use. The same way ingredients lists are available on food.

If you are running a M$ windows PC then your options are Linux (one of around 250 versions), OS/2 (costs a lot and not as good as Linux - opinion), BSD (three main versions, a varient of UNIX, condidered more for use on servers and requires a little more technical skill) and a few other types of UNIX and some small development OSs. As a noob I would suggest a main distribution of Linux such as Mandrake. You can download it for free and try it out, if you like what you see you could buy a full version with some manuals and support for less than a M$ OS. If you know someone who can help you out then so much the better. You do not need to be programming guru, in fact many users of Linux are not, they use their computers same way you probably do, e-mail, internet, games.

The reason you may see many people who are Linux and programmers is because the Linux environment actually gets you interested in computers, and people often keep on learning because it is more inspirational than any other OS I have ever used.

[bmxdirtbag]

ok, thanks for that.

what would be the best office/email/internet/msn   :confused:  clients to use? Im currently running mozilla for my surfing. Can you download flash/shockwave etc for this?  :confused:  

also, how large is a fully installed linux o/s?
are those prices you quoted in $US?

[shuiend]

I would personally stay away from dial-up with linux becuase most internal modems are winmodems and wont work. AND I REPEAT do not use MSN. Mozzila does have a flash plugin that works but i am not sure about shockwave. And installation of linuxdepends really on what you install. I usally install about 2.5 gigs worth of crap. But thats just me and i like having apps to do almost anything.You can make it less the 2 gigs though if need be.

[bmxdirtbag]

 then how would i get internet going?

I have a gateway 1.3ghz p4, 384mb ram, geforce 2 mx400, 20gig 5400 ata 100 hd, soundblaster live value, NEC dvd, a-open cd-writer. I'm running a Epson Stylus Colour 580, a very old HP Laserjet IIP, and a Canon Canoscan N670U/N676U, the epson and canon r usb, and the laserjet is parallel.

would i have many compatability problems with my current system? and if there are any, what would i have to change?

thanks

[Crunchy(Cracked)Butter]

The only thing that may be of trouble for your system would be your printers but HP support their printers in linux.

Try and get a popular distro that is good for newcomers.  Try SuSE 8.1 as it has very good support for a wide range of hardware, some say it has the best while others will say RedHat has the best.  Try either one of these 2 first.  My preference is towards SuSE, i've tried them both but i find SuSE to be better for a newcomer.

[dishawjp]

quote: I would personally stay away from dial-up with linux becuase most internal modems are winmodems and wont work

Wild_Jester is partially correct on the modem issue. Win modems and Linux computers are a pain, but I have two Linux boxes that both connect to the 'net with modems.  One uses an external Zoom modem and the other is an internal US Robotics.  No problem connection with either.  Just make sure that you're using a "hardware" modem and not a "win modem." Although even if you do have a win modem, I think that there are places to download Linux drivers for many of them.  I've never tried, but I'm certain that others here have.

Jim

[Calum]

i find that getting shitty modems to work in linux is a no go, simply because the modem is half finished and the missing bits need to be emulated in software. don't go there.

On the other hand it's not hard to get a decent modem. I just bought an external 56k serial modem for my desktop for 20 pounds and i have a PCMCIA modem for my laptop and they both work fine (any serial port modem will work in linux by the way with no drivers required).

[Pantso]

Calum is right. Since you're on dialup, I would also suggest a serial modem (preferably a USR one), since they certainly do work in Linux. Winmodems on the other hand are a whole different story, since they require special drivers which emulate the missing hardware parts they lack. Unfortunately, most of these modems (mainly PCI and some USB ones) work only in Windows, but there are some drivers for Linux as well (that's why those modems are also called linmodems). If you have a modem and are not sure whether it is a hardware or software one, go to this page and check it out.

[pkd_lives]

quote:Originally posted by bmx dirt bag:
ok, thanks for that.

what would be the best office/email/internet/msn    :confused:   clients to use? Im currently running mozilla for my surfing. Can you download flash/shockwave etc for this?   :confused:  

also, how large is a fully installed linux o/s?
are those prices you quoted in $US?

Office - OpenOffice

This is a very good office suite, however M$ cannot read the document format, so you can save your documents as .doc, .rtf, or .txt and M$ office users will not even notice the difference, until M$ change their file format.

e-mail - You already have a good client in Mozilla, but Ximian evolution is also good.

Internet - probably no problems whatsoever, however problems can exist depending on your exact modem.

Flash - there is a Linux version of flash, Shockwave is more difficult but it exists in some form - the main reason for this probably being Shockwave are heavily invested in by M$. There are cracks out there to make it work, but flash looks crap anyway so don't use it.

Your scanner may or may not work, it's USB so the odds are in your favour. There are topics in the forum on this subject.

To prove whether your system would work I would suggest you dual boot and find out. Again visit the MES FAQ and read the numerous topics on this forum on that very subject.

A fully installed Linux will probably need around 3GB, however note - this includes servers like Apache, lots of software you may never use, in fact you will only want to do a workstation install, which will be around 1.5GB plus some for files. And this can be lowered further still if you don't want to install some of the GUIs, and further still if you really really want to. You would need to learn what you want and what you need.

[bmxdirtbag]

My ME (c:\windows) folder is currently 1.37gb, and i got ME with my computer (OEM) is there anyway without spending to much money to re-install ME 'cleanly' (lol, clean?) i am trying to find room to put linux on my computer......i currently have 2gb free, with about a gig of music to burn off.

The cds that came with my GATEWAY only say System Restoration Kit (Desktops) on them, which i am think would just re-install me again, but with all the extra crap thats made the file 1.37gig. When I first got the computer about 1 1/2 years ago, the me folder was already something like 1.3gigs, i thought ME only took up about 700-800megs or less?

PLZ HELP ME!!! I NEED ROOM TO PUT LINUX ON MY DYING BOX, Linux is the only thing that can save it from turning into a compltely useless box of metal...no comments bout it already being one plz, im already depressed......

[Calum]

yes, okay, first burn backups of all your data then do a complete wipe of your entire hard drive. to do this (so long as you only have one partition) you can make a 'windows ME emergency boot disk' from Control Panel>Add/RemovePrograms and boot from that, then type 'format c:' at the prompt. it's a GOOD feeling.

now you can use your system disks for windows (i presume these are real OEM full install disks, yes?) to install windows again if you really have to. Windows gives you control over some of the crap little bits you don't want. you can choose not to install lookout excess and msn messmaker for instance, thet'll reduce it by a few megs. also take a look at http://www.litepc.com/ which has a few tools for aiding you in the installation of windows. these include adding extra options like not installing internet exploder, or they provide an uninstaller for internet exploder for if you've installed windows already et c.
DO read their docs before you try their software though, as it is not "official" microsoft software and so microsoft are of course hell bent on making their stuff as incompatible with it as possible.

Now once you have finally done that and rebooted umptytum times to reinstall your drivers and so on, install linux. first: use ctrl-alt-del to close everything except explorer and then run 'defrag'. then switch off your computer, stick your linux CD in the CD drive and prepare for the real installation.

If installing mandrake, you'll get a nice GUI to select all your partitions and so on during installation. red hat doesn't have quite as good a setup, but it's adequate. not sure what other distros have in the way of partitioning tools but some of the more crap ones (lindows fr instance) don't have anything that might help you partition your system correctly during install. might be worth asking around first.

that's it! enjoy. post often and ask questions.

[psyjax]

Kind of off and on topic.

Just wanted to suggest going to your local bookstore abd purchasing the O'Rilley, Dummies, or RedHat8 Bible. Each of these are great Linux refrences and contain Linux install CD's.

They will also get you started right quick. For the cost of the book, you get linux and everythng you need to know about it.

[Pantso]

Psyjax is right. A good book about Linux can save you a lot of time and (possibly) trouble later on.      I would also suggest a book from O' Reilly publications, although there are many good books out there.