Which linux?

Ok, I have used Windows all my life since 3.1. I've been using Xp basicly since it came out. Well, some where between moving my xp disk got broken. Well I didn't know this formated c: to start over, And install SP2. Well no cd, no install. And since I am not going to spend money on another Xp cd and I'm stuck with my Windows Me. Heh, I think not. Windows me has so many problems its not funny. Explorer error this Explorer that... That all Windows Me seems to be meant to do. I'm looking for a Linux distro that I can have up and running as fast as Windows. That supports a lot of software/games/hardware. And one that has good technical support/forums. I here a lot about mandrake and its good for newbies. Would you all recommend this for me? Also I would like a good site. That basicly has cons and pro of linux. And one that tells the difference between Windows and Linux. Like the file system etc. I would look this up myself. But everytime I use a search engine Explorer crashes..... Thanks in advance.

Hello jayclark, glad to hear that you are thinking about using Linux.
I switched to linux nearly two years ago and I haven't regretted it.
My favorite linux distribution is Suse linux. I found it easy to use.
Both Mandrake and Redhat are good distributions as well.
Alternatively if you just wanted to have a look at linux and not disturb you current setup you could try a live distribution such as knoppix. These run from the cdrom and do not copy anything to the hard drive.
There isn't the support for as many games as windows yet but more games are getting ported to linux.
Besides from virtualdr another good site to learn about linux is Just Linux
Hope that it helps.
Yuri.

I went ahead and downloaded Mandrake. I love it so far. Easy to use, fast, the kde graphics are nice. Dual booting with Windows, but just for games. Haven't evenw ent into Windows since installing Mandrake yesterday. So far so good.

I was wondering what was the equvalent(sp) to the program folder in windows in Mandrake? Or better yet is there a website that tells you the equvalents of linux vs windows system.

By default the programs are installed in the /usr/bin directory.
Personally what I do is create a folder in the root directory called programs (example /programs ) and install the programs into there.
You might be able to find a paper about migrating to linux from The Linux Documentation Project
Hope that it helps.
Yuri.

jayclark,
I just found this guide while browsing on the Justlinux website.
Familiarising yourself with Linux - Just Linux
Hope that it helps.
Yuri.

Thxs for the link. I've been reading days worth of materials. Not saying that I understand it all or remember it all:D Mandrake is very easy to use. Only real problem I have is installing things. Not used to tars, rpms etc. I have to keep going back to guides to remember how to extract files from tars. Then compile them etc. Finnaly got my Nvidia drivers to install... I'm downloading and installing updates for mandrake right now. And to my surprise no restarts after the updates install. Its different from Windows but in a good way. After I start remembering things by heart it will be easier.

I started dabbling with Linux a year or so back - partly an intellectual exercise, partly preparing for the day when I can no longer tolerate the attitudes, costs and security holes of MS. My first Linux distro was Mandrake 9.1 (updated to 10 Community) and I found it fairly user-friendly, but I agree with jayclark's discomfort in having to deal with rpms etc. Also installing nvidia drivers with the 2.6 kernel was a problem.

But a couple of weeks ago I came across Mepis Linux . My initial impressions of it as a 'Live CD' distro were - WOW!! :cool: - a seriously slick package, and at least as user-friendly as Mandrake. So I decided to replace Mandrake with Mepis as a hard-disk installation, and completed it and set up four user accounts for the family in little more than an hour. Easier than Win 2000, which I continue to use as dual-boot.

Mepis is a Debian-based distro, which means that you have package installation via apt-get - much easier than rpms (although you can still work with rpms if the package you want isn't available from the apt-get repository) - and it deals with any necessary dependencies automatically.

If you're happy with Mandrake, fine. But I can recommend Mepis.

I like Mandrake very much. So I'll stick with it. I got to learn how to install .tar file correctly. The problem I have is I can extract it then in the console type

./configure and it says
./configure: No such file or directory

Its a command. Its not like I am cd'ing for a file as it seems to think.

Right now just trying to get my video card drivers work right. I thought it was over after I installed them. But glxgears gives an error I need to figure out. Hopefully get the driver working today. After that clear sailing....(I think)

jayclark,
sometimes depending on the script file you might need to type it in as ./configure.sh
On the subject of your video drivers, I cannot offer personal experience on this one but according to nvidia:

To download and install the drivers, follow the steps below:

STEP 1: Review the NVIDIA Software License.

You will need to accept this license prior to downloading any files.

STEP 2: Download the Driver File
Download - NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-6111-pkg1.run

SuSE users: please read the SuSE NVIDIA Installer HOWTO before downloading the driver.

STEP 3: Install
Type "sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-6111-pkg1.run" to install the driver, then edit your X86Config file as appropriate. See the text README for more detailed instructions.

Hope that it is of some help
Yuri

I'll try ./configure.sh if ./configure dosen't work. But sometimes ./configure will work then I'll go to the next step and type make and I'll get this

make: *** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop.

this is how I'll try to install a .tar file

cd to the files location
I'll try to do the following commands

./configure
make
Then I'll log in as root
make install

Is this the correct way to isntall a tar file?

I installed the nvidia drivers correctly acording to a faq from a Mandrake forum.

RE: tar files
Is this really a *.tar file or a *.tar.gz?
A *.tar.gz file is usually source code you will be compiling on your computer rather a *.rpm package that just needs to be installed.
Check for any documentation at the originating website.
A *.tar.gz extension tells you that a collection of files has been archived with the "tar" command and compressed with the "gzip" command.
Run "tar xvzf filename.tar.gz" to both unzip and untar the file. Then "cd' to the created file to check for any README or INSTALL files. These will usually detail the steps needed to compile the software.
Having the correct development tools and libraries installed could be required.
Software packages for your distribution are usually to be prefered unless you want or need to use the *.tar.gz source code.
Clear as mud?

If you had a legal copy of XP....you could call M$ and they would send you a new cd for 10 bucks.

Yeah, I had a legal copy of Xp, but I've been wanting to use Linux for a while now. Ok, I probably going to switch distros. Basicly since Mandrake dosen't like my system all that much. It was hell getting games to work such as America's Army and Enemy Territory. Which America's Army dosen't play right when on the internet. And Enemy Territory will exit by itself some times. It has to do with my graphics card and Manrake. So is Suse good for newbs? Does it have a control center like app like Mandrake does? Auto Updates, Tar extracting software, And RPM installing software? Hopefully there is a good support forum.

jayclark

My earlier recommendation (above) of MEPIS Linux still stands. Very user-friendly, installs smoothly, control centre, auto-install of applications - all the things you're looking for. It's not one of the big name distros, but it is based on Debian which is. The MEPIS website has a support forum , and there is another support forum at Mepislovers