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Which *nix????
I've only gotten into the security aspect of computers very recently. I've already been highly persuaded to migrate to Linux and get away from Windoze. Partly for the security aspect of avoiding the majority of viruses and learning more indepth security skills. However, I'm having a hell of a time with it.
My XP box is a hell in trying to load Linux so far. I obtained a free version of Red Hat 7.0 but it claims that there is no free space on my computer. I have 65G of free space. I got a version of Red Hat 9.0 but anaconda crapped out immediately on me.
I took an old comp I had, formatted the harddrive, got pretty far with setting up an install of RH7.0, despite it bitching me out for having a FAT partition.(??????HOW THE HELL CAN I FORMAT MY HARDDRIVE IN A LINUX FRIENDLY WAY?????) But then Anaconda crapped out on me again.
I've read a lot of good things about SuSe and want to buy that. But at this point I dispair of getting any linux loaded. I've asked linux lovers through friends of friends but none of their advice works. I've scoured Google and AO but nothing tells me specifics about the faults I get. :confused:
Which *nix should I try without hiring a expert to walk me through it in person on my comp???
Any opinion on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
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mandrake linux is the most user/windoze friendly.
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First of all, forget about rh 7.0. Why would you want to install some old kernel and distribution? Secondly, I have only installed rh once (7.1 on an old box) but I seem to remember disk druid coming up pretty quickly during the installation and asking me to format and partition the drive. If you don't want to use the built-in partitioning tool, use fdisk. Wipe out all previous partitions, then set up one for linux native (bsd label 82) and one for linux swap (label 83). Then let the installer do its thing, or use the mke2fs command to create an ext2 filesystem on the hd.
I know these suggestions must seem like greek to you, but I don't really know where you are going wrong (anaconda crapping out on you does not exactly lend much info) I wonder if you have some strange hardware (again, listing it might be helpful for people to help you)
In short, my advice is to get an up-to-date distro, then post exactly what you did and exactly what error anaconda is quitting with. I would like to help, but you aren't giving me much.
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KeyserSoze
I wasn't asking for help with Red Hat 7.0. I was asking for the most newbie friendly version of Linux. Along with that, if anyone could tell me how to format a harddrive in a way that linux prefers I would be very grateful. So far FAT, FAT32, and NTFS are apparently not formats that linux likes. But I have no idea how to format a harddrive any other way.
Any help on those questions would be great.
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The reason I mentioned rh 7.0 is because you mentioned it--twice.
Linux likes several filesystems, the most widely used one is called ext2. You will also have to create at least two partitions--one for swap, and one for your regular files. NTFS, FAT, and FAT32 are all windows filesystems.
One of the first things any installation disk will do is ask you to partition and then format your hard drive. Most distros will walk you through this with a gui. If yours doesn't, you want to read up on fdisk. It is not that hard. Google for it. Basically, while you are at the Command LIne Interface (DOS mode looking thingy) you will type "fdisk" (minus the quotes) You can then type m and hit enter for help, p to print the current partition table to your screen, n to add a partition, d to delete a partition, and so on. Like I said, you must label them with a partition type, and 82 and 83 are what you will use for your two partitions, swap and regular. Then type mkfs -t ext2 /dev/hda1 (assuming partition 1 is where your "regular" filesystem is) and then it is all like linux wants it.
Here is a page with all kinds of installation help, and here is a tutorial on how to use fdisk.
BTW, I think you will find red hat to be one of the most user friendly distros out there. The above instructions go for any distro.
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While I am new to linux I really like SuSe 8.1 and Slackware 9. (both are easy to install but SuSe is very easy for a default install) But i would say go to www.linuxiso.org download a couple different distros and find which one YOU like better. Hope this helps
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YES GO WITH SUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Redhat is fine for some. SuSE owns. Get 8.2 Professional and if you have a DVD drive just boot from that. If it doesnt find your Windows partition then well, dont worry, just partition it before installing. SuSE owns and the tools are the ****. Its 79.99 for professional and 39.99 for personal. I get professional every time because its worth it. Its 2 DVDs and 5 CDs, you can use either for install. Also, it comes with 2 awesome sized books and a nice sticker to put on the box (also it supports more Winmodems than most distros.) I recommend 8.2 alot. If you search this website for some of my posts, I made a post on installing SuSE Linux and also I made a complete review of SuSE.
Oh yea, almost forgot....
With SuSE you dont have to sign up for an account to update like with redhat. (God that got on my nerves.) Also SuSE comes with more tools than any other distro, and more terminals and shell than any other. SuSE comes with like 10 terminals to choose from. :)
http://www.suse.com
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For me, I started on Red Hat, but when I got a copy of 9.0, a lot of the stuff I like to use was no where to be found. Plus, as mentioned earlier, the register-to-update deal is a pain in the ass. Some friends of mine recommended Debian, so I recently downloaded it, but have yet to install it. Updating Debian, I hear, is a breeze...
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Quote:
Originally posted here by alphabetarian
For me, I started on Red Hat, but when I got a copy of 9.0, a lot of the stuff I like to use was no where to be found. Plus, as mentioned earlier, the register-to-update deal is a pain in the ass. Some friends of mine recommended Debian, so I recently downloaded it, but have yet to install it. Updating Debian, I hear, is a breeze...
What was RH 9 lacking, that you found useful in other distros?
The up to date tool is wonderful. It allows you to keep your linux system up to date without having to search for every patch manually, it's something like windows update, but better, because you can update your systems remotely from Red Hat's site.
--PuRe www.pureescape.net <<~~~ go there for lots of cool linux and security talk.
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Yea and with redhat they make you sign up for an account to do that. SuSE does this without the damned bastard account.
Oh yea, SCO.com runs on Linux and so does linuxsucks.org.
HAHA ****ers. both hate what they use. funny.
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If you want to try out red hat 9 try this site:
http://www.nomachine.com/
Download the windows client and click on test drive and sign up - Presto your very own RH9 box on the net!
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Hey, man...what I think you're getting wrong is that you're trying to format the disk as though you were going to install windows. What you actually need to do is either partition your disk (if you want to run more than one os), or use fdisk either on the install disk (*nix version) or in dos (not the best way) to wipe all the data on the disk.
If you are dual booting, you're gonna have to partition your disk more than once, because you will have to make a distinct space for all your os's (e.g. with win and linux, one part for win, and one for linux), then you will have to partition the linux partition again, to split it up into the separate filesystems needed by your dist. (usually /, SWAP and /boot...just depends on the dist). You'll get that info in the install help.
Also, gore, it seems a bit misleading when you're quoting prices for dists, because you only buy them if you either can't download them, or you don't want the hassle, and want a boxed set. All linux distributions are free, and it just seemed like you were saying that you had to buy it. IMO anyhow.
Thanks
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Mandrake 9.1 (9.2 is due soon). It has to be one of the easiest distro's on which to learn linux.
Everything has a GUI config tool thats easy to find and use.
RH9 was dismal in this respect. There will be people who will argue against configuring via a GUI, as bugs in the code will not configure stuff properly. I reckon thats all part of learning Linux, when you've configured something you think you got it right and the GUI config stuffs it up, solving the problem is how you learn how to fix stuff. You will be saying AAAHHHHH!!! a lot. As well as AAARRRGGGHHH!! Eventually you'll be configuring and using the command line more often than not.
How you get your hands on a copy of linux will also sway your prefference too. If you're on cable and know of a local mirror, you'll get the 3 install cd's in about 1hr. If you're on dial up try something like knoppix which is run off a cd-rom, ie: no installation and only 1 (8hr download) cd to burn.
I've learnt a lot from mandrake despite (and because of) its bugs. I hardly ever go into my RH9 partition. And get to as many linux forums as you can too.
And last piece (of **** :confused: ) advice is;
install on that old slow box you mentioned, if you can get a network card and maybe a router or something, connect it up to windows and the net, and learn your head off :D .
