*nix command processor/Win OS

I would like to start learning some basic *nix commands but I really don't feel like partitioning my harddrive and installing a *nix OS right now.

I've been looking around for a *nix command processor that I can run on Win 7 OS. Im not even sure if they, or even one, exists.

Really Im just looking for a DLable software prog. or online site where I can practice *nix commands in real time and with real effects on my Win 7 OS.

Anyone point me in the right direction, or at least let me know if Im wasting my time in this search.

thanks again
F

Have you considered setting up a virtual pc or booting *nix from a dvd? My workstation used to have 4 OS's running concurrently all interacting with each other and the network. IIRC the native OS was Win2k3 with VMware and the virtual ones were Win7 beta, CentOS and FreeBSD.

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Have you considered setting up a virtual pc or booting *nix from a dvd?

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Nope, honestly neither one of them have ever crossed my mind. I got a bug stuck up my butt thinking that a *nix command processor for windows had to have been developed and I got stuck on that idea.
Im clueless about virtual pc's. but as of right now that is my research project for the night ... so stay around, as usual Im sure I'll have a buttload of questions about it.:argue:

Alright, I've been looking at VM for the past few minutes. The only one I've really read anything on is MS VM.

Are there any better ones? I mean, Can I run *nix on MS VM or do I need to look for certain VMs for *nix?

advice, please .. advice and direction are always well received.

You can run vmware workstation on a 30 day trial or if you arent looking to spend anything, run Oracles Virtual Box.

Its pretty simple to setup.

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Originally Posted by IcSilk

I got a bug stuck up my butt thinking that a *nix command processor for windows had to have been developed and I got stuck on that idea.

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You can give CygWin a go. But setting up a VM is probably better.

Yeah, Ive DLed and installed Oracle Virtual Box.

As I said before this is to run a *nix OS on.

Any suggestions?

And once I figure out which *nix OS to run, can I DL it directly from the VM?

Its 3am now and Im strung out stupid. Alot of this will probably be very clear to me in the morning/afternoon :p but I still love the input and advice.

Blessings
F

Try a real unix: http://www.freebsd.org

Just download the ISO for disk one and set virtualbox to boot from the image.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/unxu...s.zip/download

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Try a real unix: http://www.freebsd.org

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Alright, I looked into it and took this advice. Installed FreeBSD on Oracle Vbox.

I was looking on the FreeBSD website at the new users guide here

alot of what I read here isn't really working. First of all the prompt is not # it is 'ok'
For example I type 'adduser' at the OK prompt and it says adduser not found, I type '# adduser' and it says error: stack underflow

as a matter of fact most of the commands Here come back as Not Found. Actually all of them are not found other than the ls command but its switches (do they call them switches in *nix) don't work.

Im brand new to virtual computing and a total newb to *nix. But since gettig some *nix experience was my reason for getting into virtual computing this is really irritating.

In *nix you need to enter the full path along with the executable name (command).
If you are in the directory the path is ./

hmph, yeah UA. Im not making any headway on this at all. Your last post didn't do me any good and I can't get anything to work. The VBox install went smooth as did the FreeBSD install into the VM. Or, at least, seemingly so.
Im really at a loss, Im still looking things up right now but I haven't yet found anything to help.

I really need some good newb advice right now:D

When I go to the command list (?) this is all that comes up (see attachment), actually when I page down theres 5 or 6 more that come up.

Now Im a complete *nix dunce as I lay here typing right now, and Im trying to change that, but as it stands I don't see how anyone gets anything done. Have I proven that I grew up under Windows? :p

but seriously there has to be more than this. I don't even see commands to create or really manipulate files as one can, in say the Win command line.
I really feel as if Im failing myself here.

I mean, Im not sure about alot of these commands, but so far I haven't found one that would even get you connected to an outside network, or anything really, other than check out your own system.

Im lost .... really I am.

BTW, the 6 remaining commands that don't show in the screenshot are:
boot-config
read-config
enable-module
disable-module
toggle-module
show-module

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Originally Posted by IcSilk

alot of what I read here isn't really working. First of all the prompt is not # it is 'ok'
For example I type 'adduser' at the OK prompt and it says adduser not found, I type '# adduser' and it says error: stack underflow

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That's because you're in the loader, not the actual system.

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?q...SD+8.2-RELEASE

What version did you try? I would recommend not using 9.0 yet.

http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO...ook/index.html

But if all of this is a bit too much to handle at first, you may want to give PC-BSD a try first. At least until you get the hang of things.

SirDice, I don't really agree that FreeBSD is a very good way to begin learning to use unix. Debian on the other hand allows you to use it as a desktop distro without knowing very much and installs all the necessary drivers and everything for you, so it 'just works', and you can learn to use the command line of a fully capable system from the get-go instead of learning to use the unix command line while simultaneously learning to configure a BSD distro. Just my opinion though.

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Originally Posted by metguru

SirDice, I don't really agree that FreeBSD is a very good way to begin learning to use unix. Debian on the other hand allows you to use it as a desktop distro without knowing very much and installs all the necessary drivers and everything for you, so it 'just works', and you can learn to use the command line of a fully capable system from the get-go instead of learning to use the unix command line while simultaneously learning to configure a BSD distro. Just my opinion though.

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I agree. I could also say that since you are wanting to learn, Ubuntu is pretty user friendly and it allows you to install it on your current system without having to partition or anything. It uses the windows installer to install it and it works pretty good so you don't need a VM. Just be sure to choose the third option on the download screen to Install it with Windows

You may wish to visit our sister site justlinux.com.

Yeah, FreeBSD seems a bit much for me at the moment. I want to keep the VM now, its an emerging technology and Id like to familiarize myself with it more fully. So whats the consensus on *nix newb user friendliness? Ubuntu or Debian? I will be installing it on the VM, btw.

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You may wish to visit our sister site justlinux.com.

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Thanks for that, will be registering shortly. Thats an AO sister site??

Ubuntu is sort of an offshoot of Debian. Either one would work out. Ubuntu is good... I use it quite a bit. It is almost too easy to use though. If you want to use linux/unix your should be irritated most of the time... which is why a lot of people around here recommend things like slackware and BSD. (kidding, kidding... don't kill me gore) -- Debian is a pretty good OS, and is the base for many Linux distros. Also check out live-build.debian.net for making a customized debian build.

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Originally Posted by IcSilk

Thanks for that, will be registering shortly. Thats an AO sister site??

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It is a member of the Internet.com group of sites. I help admin 9 of their many sites.

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Originally Posted by metguru

SirDice, I don't really agree that FreeBSD is a very good way to begin learning to use unix. Debian on the other hand allows you to use it as a desktop distro without knowing very much and installs all the necessary drivers and everything for you, so it 'just works', and you can learn to use the command line of a fully capable system from the get-go instead of learning to use the unix command line while simultaneously learning to configure a BSD distro. Just my opinion though.

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If everything "just works" you don't really learn something do you?

Spin those braincells and feel the victory when you finally manage to get it working. That's unix.

Linux is for people that hate Windows. BSD is for people that love Unix.

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Originally Posted by SirDice

If everything "just works" you don't really learn something do you?

Spin those braincells and feel the victory when you finally manage to get it working. That's unix.

Linux is for people that hate Windows. BSD is for people that love Unix.

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While I think you have a good point, I also think that most people that want to learn *nix will get discouraged if they nose dive into BSD and will eventually say "screw this". I know as I was like that 10 some years ago and went to RedHat or Debian or something. Then after spending time learning the basics, i tried BSD again and had better luck.

Breaking them in by giving them something more "friendly" will allow them to learn and understand the basics and if they want to know more, they can. If they are content with just using it for general use, then no harm done =-)

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Originally Posted by SirDice

If everything "just works" you don't really learn something do you?

Spin those braincells and feel the victory when you finally manage to get it working. That's unix.

Linux is for people that hate Windows. BSD is for people that love Unix.

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I understand what you're saying, but it depends on your goal. IcSilk stated that he wanted to learn to use the *nix command line, not learn to configure a *nix OS via the command line. There's no reason to over complicate things if it's not part of his goal. There's nothing wrong with learning to use BSD and configure it via the command line, however that is a more advanced goal that should be tackled after first becoming familiar with the command line.

I decided to go the easiest route possible this time - I installed ubuntu on vbox. Just finished a few minutes ago and have been looking around for ubuntu for complete beginners... haven't found anything exciting yet.

One of my problems is that I have no idea of the OS structure. Its all CLI and I haven't been able to figure out how to see a directory tree or OS setup yet. Don't know if theres a GUI to refer to once in awhile, don't know anything about it really. Haven't even figured out how to access an outside network yet even ie. Internet etc.

I've had my head stuck in Win OS for so long I've rendered myself clueless.

Im going to continue my search but I really don't know yet where to go from here...

This is kind of old, but might be helpful.

http://vimeo.com/4413255

One of the reasons I suggested FreeBSD is because we have a really good handbook. There's also a plethora of other documentation and the man pages are some of the best I've read.

Handbook: Chapter 3 UNIX Basics

that vid Westin posted helped alot, it got me going pretty good there.

I was also looking at the manual sirDice posted, theres alot there to though I only just bookmarked it just now.

Its funny Ive always pictured unix as complete CLI but until i got on it I never imagined how lost I'd feel without GUI. I know *nix does use GUI but if virtual Ubuntu does I haven't seen it, lol.

Is there no GUI to refer to with a virtual ubuntu OS? Is that a real dumb question, :drink:

I am typing this response in a virtual Ubuntu installation. Which version of the distro did you download? There is a server version and a workstation version. The workstation version should have a GUI enabled by default.

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I am typing this response in a virtual Ubuntu installation. Which version of the distro did you download? There is a server version and a workstation version. The workstation version should have a GUI enabled by default.

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Im using the server version. I noticed you said that the workstation vers. will have GUI enabled by default ... that makes me hopeful that I can still enable it on the server version.
Is that correct? If so do you know how? If the answer to the previous two questions is 'yes' will you tell me how? lol :D Just messing around.

I'm not too worried about the GUI as I have gone through all this specifically to learn *nix CLI commands, but I would definitely like a GUI to play around with aswell.
I just started my daily routine and Im going to look around to try to figure it out, buy if you
know how and its possible I'd sure like to read about it ...


Blessings

F

EDIT: I found I few places real quick that discuss it, but one thing that isn't made clear is whether I can still have the package installs from server ed. ie LAMP and desktop ed. running on the same VM, or will I have to make a whole new VM?

I don't remember the package names right off hand, but you will need to use apt-get to download/install them. I would search for 'Install GUI ubuntu server [version]". That should provide some helpful results.

It shouldn't be a problem installing the GUI. The other services will continue to run, but you will just be using a bit more overhead running the GUI.

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Originally Posted by IcSilk

... that makes me hopeful that I can still enable it on the server version.
Is that correct? If so do you know how? If the answer to the previous two questions is 'yes' will you tell me how? lol :D Just messing around.

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Code:

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sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

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This installs the desktop packages including open office and the likes. If you want ONLY gnome and are trying to keep your os lightweight, then go for

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sudo aptitude install --without-recommends ubuntu-desktop

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//OFF TOPIC//

If you have Windows 7 Ultimate you can d/l Microsoft's virtual machine for free //

;)

lmao, this is effin killing me. I've tried installing the Ubuntu Desktop four times now. at the end of every one it says its failed to fetch certain files. At first I thought maybe they weren't that important, but I got into root and tried apt-get update then run startx (read that one in some forum but I get told its not a BASH command. So I restart the machine and I still only have CLI.

Im really getting to the point Im about to give up on this #$%(ing thread. I search around and half the crap I learn doesn't work, I can't use the up arrow key, the shift+up, shift+pg up to scroll through the shell.

The g&*damned shell is lucky its protected by my real computer or it would have gone out the window. I hate coming back here everytime to post something but I can't find a F&*(ing thing online that consistently works, except for the vid that Westin posted, I've watched it twice. most those commands work except the most important one (man) it even tells me to use man in the help and when I do it says its not a BASH command.

I need a drink :drink: ........... and therapy :argue:..........

I would recommend downloading the workstation version of Ubuntu. It comes with the GUI by default, and still has a fully functional command line. I use server quite a bit, but I have been messing with Linux for years. Starting with CLI only could be a bit frustrating.

I would also suggest selecting 10.04 from the drop down. I haven't used 11.04 much, but I have seen some negative reviews.

Don't give up. :)

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Don't give up. :)

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No, I haven't given up. I just needed a break ... Usually after a break you come back and things get better ... it wasn't to be this time :rolleyes::rolleyes:

I DLed the desktop version, burnt it to cd and about 55% into the install of the platform I get an unrecoverable error that it says is probably due to disk or disk drive error. I COULDN'T EFFIN BELIEVE IT :fpissed:

afterwards I could actually use the GUI but not without the disk and because of the error not completely .. is the need for the disk only because of the error causing an incomplete install?

Also, Why does this need to be burned to disk? is there no way to install this from my host pc or a usb drive? I've been playing around with things but haven't figured it out yet. And the DLed file is and NTI icon which is a media maker software.

This is so irritating .. and Im getting fed up with this thread to :(

Yeah, I am really a *tard. disregard that last post. I got it. Sorry AO@internet.com for the bandwidth, lol.
Im one of those people who get stupider and stupider the more time I spend on one project - I'v analyzed this but thats for another time and place :rolleyes:

So the Ubuntu GUI looks kind of .... how would you say? .. cute, I guess

I has a thought while it was installing: I was going about other stuff and clicked back to check the status, and the bit of the installation slideshow it was on was the bit about email and staying connected etc etc. Seeing that I had a flashback of a post I've been seeing on the 'recent posts' page here entitled 'Email Hacking'. I haven't even viewed this thread yet but I recalled seeing it everytime I've come here in about the last week.

But it got me thinking ... How are VMs traced? I mean if someone was up to no good on one could they trace the VM through its host? Since Im not too familiar with VMs as of yet and how they actually work I can't quite conceptualize how one would go about pinpointing one.

Just curious, Im really not up to no good :p

If you wanted to try out Linux or Unix / BSD, and didn't want to have to partition a HD to do so, why didn't you just download a LiveCD version? Basically, you download an ISO format CD image, and then, you burn it as an image, and make sure the software you are using set it to be bootable (Some software makes you have to actually tell it that you want the thing bootable) and then, you pop the CD in, reboot, and it loads up, and runs off the CD.

You CAN install it to the HD, but you don't have to. SLAX is one, for example, based on Slackware, and OpenSUSE is one I'd recommend too. And once you're done looking at the pretty GUI, you can open up an X-Term, or Konsole, or Gnome-Terminal, and start typing commands, and watch them run.

Also, you don't have to give full path names. It's not 1970.