Is there any good alternative Operating Systems around nowadays that I could use instead of windows XP?

Cheers: :m:

yes...linux

yeah! I just switched to Linux Mandrake 10
it' s an awesome OS, a lot better than Mandrake 9.1
here's a screen:
<img src="http://piparmetra.serveris.lv/images/snapshot2.jpg">

where is the screen? thanks :)

should be ok now :) a dot instead of slash
I used Windows XP prior to MDK 10. I had tried MDK 9.1 , but it had too many glitches. This version seems to be a lot better. still some problems, but they're imho minor.
I still keep WinXp as a second OS though, as a gaming station ;)

this mandrake is very good :D

cool OS.
i use XP (arg i hate it)
cause it crashes all the time, some bug in the program that they dont know how to fix, or something....

Is there any good alternative Operating Systems around nowadays that I could use instead of windows XP?

Cheers: :m:


Ofcourse

click here for linux iso's (http://www.linuxiso.org/)

Better get an easy distro if you are new to linux (redhat is best for that I guess).

Cool, i may check it out. What is compatibility in general like?

Thanks for that link Bachus :)

I don't advice RedHat. they have stopped making free distro, now have turned to corporate only distros. their support for RedHat (desktop) will be ended this summer. So it's like a dead os. Mandrake is good for new users. You can even install a windows skin lol
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Leviticus: smthing bad with your install. My XP ran for 1.5 years with just some 3 crashes. one being a really nasty one. apart from that - flawless.
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compatibility with what, Captain? (long time no see, btw)
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http://www.mandrakesoft.com/
you can get the cd image files on linux ftp's all over the net
I got mine from ftp.linux.lv

there isn't the 4th cd though. even more, it seems to be missing in a lot of ftp's, but there's nothing important on it anyways. just some additional development and the like software. all can be gotten on net if needed. you can install MDK10 without the 4th cd. I have the impression, that it is some bonus cd lol . I got it from a dc++ hub.

Redhat are going to start releasing Fedora project as their free OS, it says so on that page Bachus posted. Ill give Mandrake a go, I guess installing RedHat isnt worth while now, as it wont be supported.
I was meaning compatibility issues with commercial software distributions that will work fine on XP. I thought Linux by large couldnt run most of these programs and that could present a problem for me. Is there specific linux software that will substitute?
(yeh, long time no see, good to be back)

depends what you want to substitute, though there are substitutes for many of them
but you can also emulate it through WINE (a bit glitchy) or simulate the whole Windows through WMWARE, or you can do like me and run Windows as a second os, meaning you can choose the os to run @ computer startup. as I said I left Windows for games and also a few graphic programs (Photoshop, Flash)

Redhat are going to start releasing Fedora project as their free OS, it says so on that page Bachus posted. Ill give Mandrake a go, I guess installing RedHat isnt worth while now, as it wont be supported.
I was meaning compatibility issues with commercial software distributions that will work fine on XP. I thought Linux by large couldnt run most of these programs and that could present a problem for me. Is there specific linux software that will substitute?
(yeh, long time no see, good to be back)

1. Support is bs, if you have any questions regarding linux either ask here or on linuxquestions.org
2. To have software working which is designed for windows you need to get wine here there be wine ;) (www.winehq.org). I have no hands on experience with wine so any questions on that I will have to skip (or start reading the damn documentation). Also for alot of commercial software there is a substitute on linux.
3. Why is my nick in bold? (I'm not fat ;) )

Cheers for the help.
Im downloading Redhat as we speak, after thats done Ill get Mandrake (when I can find it).
Why is my nick in bold? (I'm not fat ;) )
Dunno. haha. Ill stop it then. :D

support indeed is bollox, but the fact they'll stop providing it means that they won't develop in further. and that isn't bollox at all. I've got nothing against RedHat :) just think it's not a good idea to install it now

Cheers for the help.
Im downloading Redhat as we speak, after thats done Ill get Mandrake (when I can find it).

Mandrake is also on the page I provided earlier :D

you can download mandrake from ftp.linux.lv (in distros > iso)
tell us later how you like RedHat :)

Mandrake is also on the page I provided earlier
The links are broken :(

you can download mandrake from ftp.linux.lv (in distros > iso)
tell us later how you like RedHat
Ill try that, thanks. Yeh, I will tell you guys once i have got it installed.

I would like to keep XP as a OS for gaming too, how is this done?

take a prog like Partition Magic (can be acquired through dc++) and make one of your ntfs of fat partitions smaller. On the taken out space (now it belongs to no partition) you can install linux, or if you have any partition that you can sacriface altogether for linux, you'll be able to delete it and overwrite with a linux file system from Mandrake installation screen. duno how it is done in Redhat though.
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you can ger RedHat on that ftp also
when you go to Mandrake folder (under pub/distros) the MDK 10 is in the iso folder

They appear not to be broken form here, no ftp access from here though so I can't try to dl. To keep XP on it aswell you have to make it dualbootable, no idea how though since I never done it.

oh and Mandrake installs a Bootloader which asks what os to run on computer startup. I've never installed 2os on RedHat, so I don't know about it. Have only tried RedHat on my sister's computer when she was still using it

Have only tried RedHat on my sister's computer when she was still using it
Euh, how did you manage that? She is working on the computer and meanwhile you are installing an OS?

take a prog like Partition Magic (can be acquired through dc++) and make one of your ntfs of fat partitions smaller. On the taken out space (now it belongs to no partition) you can install linux, or if you have any partition that you can sacriface altogether for linux, you'll be able to delete it and overwrite with a linux file system from Mandrake installation screen. duno how it is done in Redhat though.
Ok, I will try this once I am ready to install Mandrake. Thanks.

They appear not to be broken form here, no ftp access from here though so I can't try to dl. To keep XP on it aswell you have to make it dualbootable, no idea how though since I never done it.
I got it to start downloading but it was doing it at 1KB/s, Avatars location is running at a good download speed, 21KB/s.

Thanks for the help.

XP isnt too bad but i reckon it doesnt make full use of system resources, I think ill notice an improvement in performance with Linux.

XP makes full use of sys resources, it just manages it badly.

Euh, how did you manage that? She is working on the computer and meanwhile you are installing an OS?
she has her own computers, a cable girl :)

nm, don't get that one :D

simple - likes cables and networking

Oh ok, girls who like computers?

Personally I think all these "Commercial" transitions are based upon Microsoft pressurising for Software patents globally, namely if all hell breaks lose and MS can sue all those that have operating systems that look similar (Although MS's Desktop reminds me of something that was called Workbench) then those Distro groups are going to need some form of monetary backing to stand their ground, and "commercialising" might be the only way.

(In fact I think the MS complaint was about the OS's being "free")

Before you installed Mandrake, Captain_Crunch, I would have recommended that you check out Knoppix (http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-old-en.html). It's a "live" distribution of linux. A "live" version of linux is like most other distributions (like Redhat, Mandrake, etc) with, mostly, the same programs except it doesn't need to be installed onto the hard drive. You just pop the cd into you drive, reboot the computer and Knoppix boots up into your RAM without actually modifing the hard-drive. You don't need to fool around with partition magic or boot-loaders and to go back to windows XP, you just shutdown Knoppix, take out the CD and reboot the computer.

But on the other hand, Mandrake is a very good distribution with a gentle learning curve. Two sites I'd recommend for any beginner: The Linux Cookbook (http://www.dsl.org/cookbook/) , a must read, and RPMseek (http://rpmseek.com/index.html?hl=com), a search engine for RPMs for Mandrake.

Liked Mandrake and all the shells. Very sleek. I like the control too. It just seemed a pain finding drivers for things like my internal DSL modem (BestData) and WinTV card.

XP has been pretty stable for me. Only crashes during DVD burning + other apps at same time.

If you want the most out of linux, you'll need to learn it. -And if you want to learn linux...then I wouldn't recommend going with mandrake.

Don't get me wrong, its an excellent OS, (I try them all). But 'Slackware' is superior, and with a wm like KDE, you'll be able to get over the learning curve in no time.

The package management system is superior to URPMI- what mandrake uses- and you can even add certain utilities like slapt-get or swaret to make it easier.

I'll just stick with the BSD range, okay it's not really a beginners system, but I like shaving all the bloated GUI stuff off and just run a barebones commandline.

Debian's another I used in the past, although some people find it impossible to install.

www.freebsd.org
www.openbsd.org
www.debian.org

Ive just downloaded all 3 Isos for Mandrake v.10 and Partition magic.
Thanks for all the reading you guys have posted.

I'll just stick with the BSD range, okay it's not really a beginners system, but I like shaving all the bloated GUI stuff off and just run a barebones commandline.

Debian's another I used in the past, although some people find it impossible to install.

www.freebsd.org
www.openbsd.org
www.debian.org
He is starting with linux, I wouldn't recommend BSD for that :)

You are right though that BSD > linux :D

So is mandrake the best to start out with?

Any major distribution of linux is good to start with (with the possible exeption of debian). Just install it and away you go :D

It depends on what you want.

Mandrake, like XandrOS or lindows is for people who just want a non-windows desktop for reading emails, listening to music, or typing. If thats what you want, then yes, mandrake is #1.

If you want to 'make computing fun' like it used to be, Mandrake will not allow you to do that. It acts like a safety pen... leaving you in a nice soft, safe environment. Superior to windows, but not up to snuff with what you *can* have.

You can still install all of the applications you want, but you're missing out on a whole bunch of features. (Her majesty: the command line.)

I started out with Mandrake, and wiped it off of my hard drive a month later in favour of slackware. What I ended up with a lot more power... losing the ease of use that came with mandrake.

So like I said, it all depends on what you want. If you change your mind, slackware, bsd, debian (for masochists only) or GENTOO is but a few clicks away. Since you already downloaded the ISO's, I say stick with mandrake for now.

One more thing...if you like mandrake, join the club. Its only a few bucks, you get access to tonnes of great things (including support), and it'll help the developers.




Here are some fun links:
www.distrowatch.com
www.kde-look.org
www.linuxquestions.org
http://slashdot.org

You still have access to the command line in Mandrake. I don't see how Mandrake will not make computing " fun" or that it's not up to snuff with any other distribution just because it's easier to install. Frankly, other than a few icons, the installation process and things like the Mandrake control center, there's not much differance between different distros.

Besides the things that invert_nexus mentioned, I *hate* not being allowed to run KDE as root without having some silly red screen.

standard linux folder structure


hehe i like to see that, imo 1 of linux strengts and weakness is the lack of a standard cross distros

hehe i like to see that, imo 1 of linux strengts and weakness is the lack of a standard cross distros

It's a weakness really


I spend some time trying to find the damned ports collection on a friends machine. He wasn't running bsd though so there were no ports :(

On the other hand, if all was the same there would be no need for different distro's.

take a prog like Partition Magic (can be acquired through dc++) and make one of your ntfs of fat partitions smaller. On the taken out space (now it belongs to no partition) you can install linux, or if you have any partition that you can sacriface altogether for linux, you'll be able to delete it and overwrite with a linux file system from Mandrake installation screen. duno how it is done in Redhat though.
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you can ger RedHat on that ftp also
when you go to Mandrake folder (under pub/distros) the MDK 10 is in the iso folder

If I have two drives, a 40GB and a 160GB, do I still need to fiddle with the drive partitioning?

If I have two drives, a 40GB and a 160GB, do I still need to fiddle with the drive partitioning?

Yes


Divide up the 40GB, send me the 160GB :P


or use on off the disks for linux

yes. if you want to give linux less space than 40gb, let's say just 10gb

btw- take notice that Linux can not write in NTFS partition. it can only read it. but it can read/write/delete in FAT partition

Also note that sometimes Linux 'might' complain about the size of the drive if it's in a different format to what it wants. (Although its only as much complaining as Microsofts OS use to do to)

Ok Cheers.

btw- take notice that Linux can not write in NTFS partition. it can only read it. but it can read/write/delete in FAT partition
Yes it can. NTFS write support is still experimental, though. (I think; did 2.6 change this?)

I have 2.6 . if there is such a support then it has to be enabled somewhere deep in the os

It's a kernel compilation option: make menuconfig is my preferred form of kernel configuration (well, it was: I use XP), somewhere under filesystem support

Mandrake comes with a great disk partitioning wizard known as 'DiskDrake'. If I were you, I'd make two or three linux partitions (ReiserFS) and put mandrake on the biggest one, (which should also be the first linux partition after the windows one...not counting swap.) On the other two, experiment with the different flavours like slackware or Arch.

I have about 4 'experiments' running on my 80gb drive.