Q. I want to download a version of Linux without erasing windows xp. Can someone please give me step-by-step information on how to do this.(If you are familiar with Linux could you please recommed the best version). Thanks.
A. Options to try Linux:
(1) Download what's called a "Live CD". That's a bootable CD which contains the Linux of your choice set up so that it runs directly off the CD and doesn't change your hard drive at all.
* pro: Easiest option to try it out and install it.
* con: Can be slow to boot and run, so if you want to experiment with Linux for days or weeks you might find using a Live CD tedious. Usually can't save anything because you can't write to the hard drive.
(2) Make your system dual-boot. Most Linux distributions allow you to split your hard drive by shrinking the space devoted to your "C:" drive and install Linux in the free space.
* pro: Get the best performance, as you're running directly on the hardware and reading and writing to a hard drive instead of a CD.
* con: Requires a permanent change to your hard disk and a modification of your Windows partition, introducting the possibility of a failure or glitch in this process ruining your Windows partition (I suggest you back up your drive or at least important files when you do this). Also, normally the Windows partition is invisible to Linux and vice versa (though there are tools to remedy this to varying degrees). If you switch a lot between OS'es, can be time consuming to reboot all the time.
* when it's best: Best option when you've decided to use Linux long term and it's the best performer. Also best if you plan to use the computer intensively and for long periods of time.
(3) Use an emulator. One is vmware, but you can find other options. Generally, emulators are programs that emulate a whole x86 computer in software. However, installing directly to your hard drive, you create a file that the emulator uses as a virtual hard disk and install onto that.
* pro: Requires no hardware changes. Can run both OS'es concurrently, so you can do things like cut and paste between the two systems, or even use networking. A good compromise between Live CD's in that it's faster than a live CD, slower than running directly on the hardware.
* con: Can be slower than running than on the native hardware. Some devices may not work properly running under emulation.
* when it's best: This option works best for folks who wish to use Windows mostly and Linux lightly, switching between the two, as the switching effort is next to none. Also best for short-term trials of one or more Linux distributions, as setting up different VM's is very easy.
(4) Loadlin is a system to let you install and run Linux on top of a FAT16 or FAT32 partition (default for Windows 98 and earlier; NTFS is default for NT, XP and later). Technically, you're dual booting and have to reboot to switch OS'es, but you don't need to repartition your drive:
* pro: Avoids the need to repartition
* con: Not an option for most people running XP, unless their drive is already formatted for FAT32.
As for favorite distribution, my current favorite is called "Ubuntu", derived from Debian (see link below). Debian is one of the best distributions but can be a complicated and intimidating setup for someone new to Linux. Ubuntu is a commercially supported derivative with a GUI installer, a friendly and powerful repartitioner, lots of popular and useful utilities built-in, and huge free online repositories available with even more software which can be installed automatically from a friendly GUI-based program.
Others are:
* Fedora Core, based on Red Hat Linux. Perhaps the most widely known and popular distribution in my experience. Broad support in terms of hardware and many programs both free and commercial are built to run on Red Hat, everything from Oracle Databases to freeware media players. Also offers an online package installation system like Debian and Ubuntu, which goes by the name of "yum" (never used it myself though).
* Slackware: A favorite of many Linux veterans. While it lacks the flashiness of more recent entrants like Red Hat, has a reputation for being a solid Linux distribution. In my experience I love setting up servers under slackware because I've had Slackware boxes run longer without crashing than anything else. Many Linux experts like it because of the simplicity with which one can configure it from the command line. However, as it's supported by a very small crew it evolves more slowly than others. An advantage or liability depending upon your point of view.
For others, shop around by visiting DistroWatch. There are many more options, too many to list. Everything from full-featured distributions which have every program under the sun to highly specialized distributions for everything from building parallel compute clusters (Parallel Knoppix, scientific Linux) to building video player boxes (GeexBox)
All the best, and have fun!!
(1) Download what's called a "Live CD". That's a bootable CD which contains the Linux of your choice set up so that it runs directly off the CD and doesn't change your hard drive at all.
* pro: Easiest option to try it out and install it.
* con: Can be slow to boot and run, so if you want to experiment with Linux for days or weeks you might find using a Live CD tedious. Usually can't save anything because you can't write to the hard drive.
(2) Make your system dual-boot. Most Linux distributions allow you to split your hard drive by shrinking the space devoted to your "C:" drive and install Linux in the free space.
* pro: Get the best performance, as you're running directly on the hardware and reading and writing to a hard drive instead of a CD.
* con: Requires a permanent change to your hard disk and a modification of your Windows partition, introducting the possibility of a failure or glitch in this process ruining your Windows partition (I suggest you back up your drive or at least important files when you do this). Also, normally the Windows partition is invisible to Linux and vice versa (though there are tools to remedy this to varying degrees). If you switch a lot between OS'es, can be time consuming to reboot all the time.
* when it's best: Best option when you've decided to use Linux long term and it's the best performer. Also best if you plan to use the computer intensively and for long periods of time.
(3) Use an emulator. One is vmware, but you can find other options. Generally, emulators are programs that emulate a whole x86 computer in software. However, installing directly to your hard drive, you create a file that the emulator uses as a virtual hard disk and install onto that.
* pro: Requires no hardware changes. Can run both OS'es concurrently, so you can do things like cut and paste between the two systems, or even use networking. A good compromise between Live CD's in that it's faster than a live CD, slower than running directly on the hardware.
* con: Can be slower than running than on the native hardware. Some devices may not work properly running under emulation.
* when it's best: This option works best for folks who wish to use Windows mostly and Linux lightly, switching between the two, as the switching effort is next to none. Also best for short-term trials of one or more Linux distributions, as setting up different VM's is very easy.
(4) Loadlin is a system to let you install and run Linux on top of a FAT16 or FAT32 partition (default for Windows 98 and earlier; NTFS is default for NT, XP and later). Technically, you're dual booting and have to reboot to switch OS'es, but you don't need to repartition your drive:
* pro: Avoids the need to repartition
* con: Not an option for most people running XP, unless their drive is already formatted for FAT32.
As for favorite distribution, my current favorite is called "Ubuntu", derived from Debian (see link below). Debian is one of the best distributions but can be a complicated and intimidating setup for someone new to Linux. Ubuntu is a commercially supported derivative with a GUI installer, a friendly and powerful repartitioner, lots of popular and useful utilities built-in, and huge free online repositories available with even more software which can be installed automatically from a friendly GUI-based program.
Others are:
* Fedora Core, based on Red Hat Linux. Perhaps the most widely known and popular distribution in my experience. Broad support in terms of hardware and many programs both free and commercial are built to run on Red Hat, everything from Oracle Databases to freeware media players. Also offers an online package installation system like Debian and Ubuntu, which goes by the name of "yum" (never used it myself though).
* Slackware: A favorite of many Linux veterans. While it lacks the flashiness of more recent entrants like Red Hat, has a reputation for being a solid Linux distribution. In my experience I love setting up servers under slackware because I've had Slackware boxes run longer without crashing than anything else. Many Linux experts like it because of the simplicity with which one can configure it from the command line. However, as it's supported by a very small crew it evolves more slowly than others. An advantage or liability depending upon your point of view.
For others, shop around by visiting DistroWatch. There are many more options, too many to list. Everything from full-featured distributions which have every program under the sun to highly specialized distributions for everything from building parallel compute clusters (Parallel Knoppix, scientific Linux) to building video player boxes (GeexBox)
All the best, and have fun!!
How can I access to an internet connection on linux using the wireless?
Q. I want to access to a wireless connection in a PC with linux (ubuntu 10.04). But I can't find any connection. Lately I realized that the wireless light on my computer (fujitsu Siemens) is turned off. How can I turn it on and access to an internet connection by wireless.
A. Weeks after weeks ppl keep asking this question. The answer is because you are using a free linux that mostly relies on opensource technology and insanely restrictive laws in the USA do not allow to integrate proprietary drivers in open source technology.
Ubuntu is a cute little linux but a nightmare for ppl using wifi, forget about installing the drivers yourself unless you are a programmer. Solution? use a top notch linux like Mandriva Power pack or SUSE linux entreprise they cost money but u pay for windows don t u?
You could always try your luck with linux miint it contains some proprietary drivers but has many bugs we found and translation of many applications in English or other languages is not always proper.
RICK
Ubuntu is a cute little linux but a nightmare for ppl using wifi, forget about installing the drivers yourself unless you are a programmer. Solution? use a top notch linux like Mandriva Power pack or SUSE linux entreprise they cost money but u pay for windows don t u?
You could always try your luck with linux miint it contains some proprietary drivers but has many bugs we found and translation of many applications in English or other languages is not always proper.
RICK
What's the difference between Linux operating systems?
Q. Linux has a lot of operating systems, I'm not even going to bother to list them. I was wondering, it there a difference between them? Does each type of Linux operating system hold a specific purpose? For example, Red Hat holds a different functionality to Ubuntu, or something like that.
A. Linux has many distros but all versions of Linux are the same OS.
Linux is extremely customizable. So much so that it'd be impossible for one person to do all the tweaks necessary to have what most people consider a polished and functional operating system. On top of that many Linux distros are heavily customized for specific purposes. Robotics, hardware appliance (routers for example), Real time OS (traffic lights, microwave ovens, unmanned aircraft), Music studios, Network security, Home theatre, Cash register, various industrial and scientific specialties, generic servers and so on.
There are also distros that are specialized to fit on a 1.44 floppy, thumb drives and a few distros specifically designed to run on CDs rather than be installed on a machine. There are distros that mimic other operating systems such as Mac OS and Windows so closely that at a glance you wouldn't know that you were not using those OS's. Other's are branded such as Dell's version of Ubuntu which is customized for Dell hardware.
There are also commercial versions of Linux. Red Hat Enterprise for example which is designed for high end servers and IBM's SUSE which has customizations for running on IBM virtual servers/being the host OS for the virtual servers, a desktop version which much of Europe's governments uses.
Distros often come with sub distros that are customized for various purposes. For example most major distros have a KDE and a Gnome version These are customized to people's favorite window managers and some distros support up to 5 or 6 window managers with sub-distros. Most support at least 2 or 3. Long term support, special purpose sub-distros like Ubuntu Studio which is geared for musicians are also common with widely used general distros.
The majority of distros however are shortcuts for Linux users to get what they want/need without spending the thousand of hours personally making those customizations. For example some like myself do too much customization and install too much software to upgrade a machine every 2 years. So long term support versions appeal heavily to me. I need and use a large variety of applications so it's important to have very large software repositories. Other people choose high performance bare bone distros. Some people want total control over their sytem and choose primitive distros that give you the bare min necessary, anything else the user installs themselves and customize as they see fit. (not recommended for anybody but an expert).
There are philosophical choices involved in choosing a distro. One big split for example is RH vrs Debian based systems. The RH fork (RHE, SUSE, Mandriva, CentOS) and Debian fork (Ubuntu, Debian) have some small differences in the way they are built. For example RH systems use YUM for software installation while Debian based systems use Apt-Get. You can install and use YUM on Debian systems and Apt-Get on RH systems. It's just a matter of defaults. Same with how root privileges are handled, and other minor details. The average user won't notice such subtle differences.
I've included a link to distro watch which gives details about specific distros as well as release cycles and where to download them.
Linux is extremely customizable. So much so that it'd be impossible for one person to do all the tweaks necessary to have what most people consider a polished and functional operating system. On top of that many Linux distros are heavily customized for specific purposes. Robotics, hardware appliance (routers for example), Real time OS (traffic lights, microwave ovens, unmanned aircraft), Music studios, Network security, Home theatre, Cash register, various industrial and scientific specialties, generic servers and so on.
There are also distros that are specialized to fit on a 1.44 floppy, thumb drives and a few distros specifically designed to run on CDs rather than be installed on a machine. There are distros that mimic other operating systems such as Mac OS and Windows so closely that at a glance you wouldn't know that you were not using those OS's. Other's are branded such as Dell's version of Ubuntu which is customized for Dell hardware.
There are also commercial versions of Linux. Red Hat Enterprise for example which is designed for high end servers and IBM's SUSE which has customizations for running on IBM virtual servers/being the host OS for the virtual servers, a desktop version which much of Europe's governments uses.
Distros often come with sub distros that are customized for various purposes. For example most major distros have a KDE and a Gnome version These are customized to people's favorite window managers and some distros support up to 5 or 6 window managers with sub-distros. Most support at least 2 or 3. Long term support, special purpose sub-distros like Ubuntu Studio which is geared for musicians are also common with widely used general distros.
The majority of distros however are shortcuts for Linux users to get what they want/need without spending the thousand of hours personally making those customizations. For example some like myself do too much customization and install too much software to upgrade a machine every 2 years. So long term support versions appeal heavily to me. I need and use a large variety of applications so it's important to have very large software repositories. Other people choose high performance bare bone distros. Some people want total control over their sytem and choose primitive distros that give you the bare min necessary, anything else the user installs themselves and customize as they see fit. (not recommended for anybody but an expert).
There are philosophical choices involved in choosing a distro. One big split for example is RH vrs Debian based systems. The RH fork (RHE, SUSE, Mandriva, CentOS) and Debian fork (Ubuntu, Debian) have some small differences in the way they are built. For example RH systems use YUM for software installation while Debian based systems use Apt-Get. You can install and use YUM on Debian systems and Apt-Get on RH systems. It's just a matter of defaults. Same with how root privileges are handled, and other minor details. The average user won't notice such subtle differences.
I've included a link to distro watch which gives details about specific distros as well as release cycles and where to download them.
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