I was wondering what the best version of Linux I should try? I'd like to set up a dual-boot system with XP.

Red hat is supposed to be very good for beginners aswell as advanced users.

I think Ubuntu is currently the most popular - which means it has incredible support available online from fellow users.

Ubuntu is very good for beginners. It has very good hardware detection, which is good since manual configuration with the hardware is usually very tough for beginners. Debian is also a good choice. The hardware detection isn't as good, but they have a huge software repository which limits the number of programs you will have to compile and install by yourself. I think there are plenty of good choices for beginners. However, my advice it to stay away from Redhat and SuSe at first. Because of copyright issues both of these distos can't support for certain things (for instance, mp3 support for particular music players). You can still get support for things like this, but you won't be able to find it in the repositories, so it's kind of a pain.

Ubuntu 6 , "Dapper" - wow I'm hooked.It's the complete OS, fast on the i686 kernel, eye candy using compiz & a massive irc support channel as well forums.I hardly ever boot into windows these days because of it.I did use SuSE for a time, but yeah, prefer ubuntu :)

I use Debian sid, but if I could go back and do it again I would probably choose FreeBSD.

Many of the "beginner" Linux distributions are not actually good for beginners. They are best for non-Linux users who happen to need/want Linux. If you're interested in actually learning Linux, you should dive right into a more "pure" distribution, read lots of documentation, and learn enough about your computer and its OS to use it properly.

I've just installed PCLinuxOS which is highly rated for its hardware detection and ease of installation.

It also has a very friendly forum.

http://www.pclinuxos.com/news.php

Ubuntu is definitely the easiest to install/use (try kubuntu though.)

Yeah hardware detection is my primary concern, problems with modem drivers put me off in the past.

Ubuntu does have a live cd so you can test hardware compatibility. If you don't already know, a live cd is a linux distibution that will boot directly from a cd without installing anything on your computer.

Ubuntu does have a live cd so you can test hardware compatibility. If you don't already know, a live cd is a linux distibution that will boot directly from a cd without installing anything on your computer.
I think I'll look into that, thanks.

Well I've just booted into Ubuntu off the CD. Using it right now, looks nice! My first impressions are quite good, but I need to figure out how to dual boot and how to partition.

Ubuntu is easy to use and pretty. Slackware is a bit of an uphill struggle but extremely versatile and a great learning curve.

I got it to do everything windows did, except play games. I never really tried cedega.

It helps to have a second pc to troubleshoot on the internet whilst you're configuring things though.

i would wait until avatar has a chance to reply.
i think he has a couple of servers that run linux, he's well versed in the matter.
here are some threads to read:
http://sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=56878
http://sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=53428
http://sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=55267
http://sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=51520
http://sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=50341

good luck

No one has mentioned Mandrake?

Red Hat was good.. but Mandrake was fairly easy.

or Fedora Core 5, but it's true to really learn you need to at least use RH or similar.

I installed Ubuntu without a problem, and thankfully it didnt screw up Windows XP. But trying to figure out how to install applications is a bit difficult. tar? rpm? bin?

I think it uses its own repository modelled off Debian - you should be able to download a huge number of standard packages using the built in package manager?

I have never been a fan of debian. I would suggest SuSE or Fedora. I'm assuming most of you understand that Fedora is based on redhat, even owned by them or something(I dont really understand/care myself)

As far as mandrake goes; have fun trying to install it like 100 times. I was an experienced linux user and it just gave me hell when I tried to install it on a friends computer. Not so much with hardware compatability, but the POS wouldnt install GCC for me.

Ubuntu seemed alright, I only used it for a few hours, and it was the bootable one. I would suggest getting a second box to run it on, you'll never use it if you dont know how and its dual boot w/ windows. Also, as previously mentioned it is very nice to be able to troubleshoot realtime with another system(that works!).

All in all, I would fully suggest RTFM and have fun. it is defiently going to be an uphill battle, but when you get to the top it is good.

No one has mentioned Mandrake?

Red Hat was good.. but Mandrake was fairly easy.
About seven years ago Mandrake was a better Red Hat than Red Hat :p
or Fedora Core 5, but it's true to really learn you need to at least use RH or similar.
Utter garbage :bugeye:
A livecd is good for beginners. Someone new to linux should of course try a few different livecds. Also if you're not adept at installing Windows then linux is likely to be too much trouble. However if someone really wanted to learn I suggest LFS (linux from scratch) would be an ideal way...

Well, things were going fine until I got an "Error 17" error on bootup.

What distro were you attempting?

I would suggest Mandriva 2006.
It is easy, but not dumbed down. It doesn't try to be a Windblows clone and can be used for serious stuff too, if needed.
There are some issues, but none for a beginner.

I myself prefer Fedora Core 5 as my desktop OS of choice, but I would not suggest it to beginners. It is easy, very stable and versatile, but a complete beginner might get lost in it.
Thus I strongly suggest Mandrake 2006.
And it even has a better support community than Ubuntu @ mandrivausers.org

A bit easier and also a sane choice would be PC LinuxOS which is a fork of Mandriva.

I personally dislike Ubuntu, it is quite a dirty hack-together, but that's just imo. Besides their elitist forum community can't help you if something serious happens.
For an easy question you get a quick answer, but ask something hard, and you can forget about it.

If you want to use something Debian based, go either for Kanotix (a LIVE cd that can be easily installed on hd or Debian itself).

Good luck!

p.s. There are absolutely no problems in playing mp3, dvd, divix or any other media file on Fedora Core. It doesn't come with mp3 support by default due to copyright issues, but it can be fixed in a few minutes if the pc has an internet connection.

Ubuntu is definitely the easiest to install/use (try kubuntu though.)
Have you tried Mandriva 2006 install? Compared to it Ubuntu install is imho ugly.

Oh, about Mandriva 2006, Mandriva 2007 will be out in a week or few, so it's maybe worth waiting till it.

What distro were you attempting?
Ubuntu. No idea why it fell over. Worked fine for a few days at first. Had to restore the DOS bootloader.

Ubuntu. No idea why it fell over. Worked fine for a few days at first. Had to restore the DOS bootloader.


I would suggest Fedora to be completly honest. It is the most compatable in my experience as well as powerful. I really dislike the debian package manager. While I have tried unbuntu for like 10 minutes(we got a lot of free disks) I as never satasfied enough to stick with it.

FreeBSD is another very nice choice if you want to be a pimp.

OpenBSD if you want to be pimp mac daddy of the universe.

FreeBSD is nice, I have a little headless machine. SSH + Screen = God.

OpenBSD is for people who want to sacrifice functionality for local exploit protection. All it really does is close every service off by default, then make insane patches for potential local root exploits, and then make it a PITA to get the services going.

If you wanna be cool, pick up a FBSD bootonly CD, and have the handbook open on a laptop. Best documentation and support EVER.