thinking of installing linux ....

Discussion in 'Software' started by flukekiller00049, Oct 6, 2007.

  1. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    hello i have been thinking of installing linux on my comp,,, and i have been reading up on the forums about it and i am totally confused.. i do not know much about linux but i am tired of windows..

    here are my specs... i have a Dell XPS/Dimension 400/9150

    intel pentium D cpu 2.80 ghz

    windows xp

    1 gb of ram

    250 gig HD (about 225 gigs free)

    any other info you need let me know and ill try to get it.

    im basically just looking for some info on what to do,how to install ,, how to use...

    i bought partition magic like 5 years back but couldnt figure out
    how to use it so i never partitioned my HD...

    any help would be greatly appreciated

    thanks
    paul
     
  2. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

  3. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    yeah i read that and was confused by a good portion of it.

    im planning on trying a live cd first to see if i like it to begin with
    ..
    to be honest im not sure what i want from an OS i just know
    that i wanna try something different then microsoft
     
  4. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

  5. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    so when i d/l this i can burn to CD then just boot from there??
    does it guide me to do things from there?
     
  6. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Pretty much!
     
  7. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    so i tried running linux from the live cd i created and i received this
    error message:

    Error: Unable to mount loop filesystem, commands were:
    losetup/dev/loop0 initrd/loopfs
    Dropping you to a limited shell
    loading /initrd/bin ash

    initrd/bin/ash: cant access tty; job control turned off



    then it freezes on that screen with a "$" prompt and it doesnt allow
    me to do anything from there

    any ideas on what i can do to fix this ???

    thanks
    paul
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2007
  8. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Sounds like a bad burn.

    Download it again, and compare MD5 hashes.

    Then burn it at a SLOW speed.
     
  9. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    i used the media check when trying the live cd and it said
    that my media failed...it was not recommended for use

    what can i do to fix this??

    does this mean the cd i used to burn is not compatible?
    i used a dvd-r that is 4.7gb

    i didnt use any cds b/c they are only 700mb and i didnt think
    these would be large enough due to the 2 gig download

    any suggestions?

    thanks
     
  10. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Like I said, compare MD5 hashes. The download isn't 2gb, its 697mb.

    That is, if its PCLOS.

    THe correct MD5sum is
    cf31f44513c9b30caaa1f1d2c382c033 pclinuxos-2007.iso
     
  11. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    how do i compare MD5 hashes? i dunno what i am supposed to be looking at
     
  12. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

  13. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    so i am looking for the downloads for linux or windows?

    sorry im just a bit confused
     
  14. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Ok.

    You are comparing MD5sum hashes for a Linux download, using Windows.

    Follow the article for Windows instructions.

    Then compare it with the one I posted.
     
  15. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    ok i think i finally figured it out

    and this is what it gave me

    af732b210f8b6ce126e04a0cdc8d4c1c pclinuxos-2007.iso

    i see they are diff so what do i need to do now?
     
  16. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Download it again until its correct.
     
  17. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    ok..thanks for the help
     
  18. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    great i got it to work thanks for all the help.

    next i just gotta figure out how to partition my HD so i can perm. install it

    i have partition magic that i bought a few years back but i am totally confused
    on how to partition my hd.
     
  19. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    also just wanted to know if i am able to access the programs i have
    on my hard drive when running livecd or no b/c they are from windows??

    thanks
     
  20. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Nope. Windows programs arent going to run in Linux, unless using WINE, and even then, they usually will not work.
     
  21. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    i am going to attempt to partition my HD(but probably not til monday)
    will i be able to copy programs from one partition to the other or will i have
    to reinstall them all?? meaning like my multiplayer games and things like that

    thanks
     
  22. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    If you are referring to installing your windows apps into Linux, no you cannot do that.
     
  23. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    no i mean like transferring games ,,my spyware programs and my anti virus

    stuff like that
     
  24. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Im confused. Are those not Windows programs?

    As for antivirus and spyware, you arent going to really run into anything like malware in Linux.
     
  25. flukekiller00049

    flukekiller00049 Private E-2

    im sorry im a bit confused myself... yeah i guess that those would be
    be windows programs....

    any free partitioners out there? the one i have is not supported
     
  26. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    There is one on the LiveCD.
     
  27. Trance

    Trance Private E-2

    You may want to try out a live distro, which means it runs off a CD rather than your hard drive (but may run slower because or this). If you are looking for a real quick download you may want to try Puppy linux which is under 100 mb.

    Once you get the hang of it try out PCLinuxOS or Mepis, both are live distros that have the option to be installed on your hard drive. And both are newbie friendly.

    If operating systems were cars, MS would be an automatic, Linux would be a stick shift. So you will need to do research, and be willing to do a lot of experimenting, but once you get the hang of it you will understand why it is such a great operating system.

    P.S. I just want to thank everyone involved with creating, programming, improving programs, and creating very helpful guides for linux, bsd, and all the other "alternative" operating systems. Great work!
     
  28. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Um...

    As far as I know, the poster has been working with PLOS, which is a Live CD.
     

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