linux question

Does anybody know where I can get step by step instructions on how to
a) Install linux on a partitioned harddrive(one side has windows xp the other win98)
b)where to find a complete linux download site, and any ideas on a version of linux that would be good to start with? Thanks in advance and this site

ROCKS

 

Dual Boot WIN 2000/XP & Linux
​

1. Use fdisk to partition your drive properly.

NOTE: If you already have Windows installed use QTParted from the Knoppix Live CD to reduce the size of your Windows partition. Leave at least 10 GB of drive space for Linux.

2. Install Windows 2000/XP on the first partition.

NOTE: Skip this step if Windows is already installed.

3. Start your Linux Installation and install the /root directory into the second partition. Install GRUB/LILO into the first sector of your boot partition (usually /boot) and NOT in the MBR.

4. Reboot into Windows 2000/XP.

5. Download & install Bootpart.

NOTE: Install Boot part to C:\BootPart

6. Run Bootpart by doing the following:

Start -> Run
CMD
OK
​

Command Terminal will open, at the command prompt type the following command, pressing enter after each command.

cd \bootpart
bootpart
​

When you run it, you get a report similar to the one below:

Physical number of disk 0: ffff6a32
0 : C:* type=42 , size=22659651 KB, Lba Pos=63
1 : C: type=42 , size=17358232 KB, Lba Pos=45319365
Physical number of Disk 1 : ca1dca1d
2 : D: type=83 <Linux native>, size=6184993 KB, Lba Pos=63
3 : D: type=82 <Linux swap>, size=522112 KB, LBA Pos=12370050
4 : D: type=83 <Linux Native>, Size=1542240 KB, LBA Pos=13414275
​

7. Since GRUB/LILO was installed in the first Linux partition, the command for modifying BOOT.INI in this example is: C:\BootPart\bootpart 2 bootlinx.bin Mepis Linux

NOTE: Substitute you Linux Distribution name for Mepis in the above command, i.e. Debian, RedHat, Fedora, Gentoo, CentOS, Mandrake, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Slackware, Suse.

Your boot.ini should be similar to this one:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
C:\BootPart\bootlinx.bin="Mepis Linux"
​

Linux Distributions
​

CentOS 4.2 i386 (http://mirror.trouble-free.net/centos/4.2/isos/)
CentOS 4.1 x86_64 (http://mirror.trouble-free.net/centos/4.2/isos/x86_64/)
Debian 3.1_r0a i386 CD (http://carroll.aset.psu.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian-cd/3.1_r0a/i386/jigdo-cd/)
Debian 3.1_r0a i386 DVD (http://carroll.aset.psu.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian-cd/3.1_r0a/i386/jigdo-dvd/)
Debian 3.1_r0a ia64 CD (http://carroll.aset.psu.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian-cd/3.1_r0a/ia64/jigdo-cd/)
Debian 3.1_r0a ia64 DVD (http://carroll.aset.psu.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian-cd/3.1_r0a/ia64/jigdo-dvd/)
Fedora Core 4 i386 (http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/4/i386/iso/)
Fedore Core 4 x86_64 (http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/4/x86_64/iso/)
Gentoo 2005.1-r1 x86 (http://gentoo.osuosl.org/releases/x86/2005.1-r1/installcd/)
Gentoo 2005.1-r1 amd64 (http://gentoo.osuosl.org/releases/amd64/2005.1-r1/installcd/)
Knoppix 4.0.2 CD (ftp://ftp.cise.ufl.edu/pub/mirrors/knoppix/)
Knoppix 4.0.2 DVD (ftp://ftp.cise.ufl.edu/pub/mirrors/knoppix/dvd)
Slackware 10.2 (ftp://slackware.mirrors.tds.net/pub/slackware/slackware-10.2-iso)
SimplyMEPIS 3.3.1-1 (ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/mepis/released/)
SLAX 5.0.6 (http://slax.linux-live.org/download.php)
SUSE 10.0 (http://www.opensuse.org/Released_Version)
Vextor Linux 5.1 Std (ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/vectorlinux/veclinux-5.0/iso/)

If you still intend to use Windows 98 that will be a little more problematic as 98 must be installed on the boot volume, in order to load and run.

 

There are so many distros to choose from, it's hard to narrow it down to a few that are good to start with. CentOs is a stable, reliable and user friendly distro based on the Redhat/Fedora Projects. Vector Linux is based on Slackware, and is not as friendly as CentOs, but I never had any problems with it. It has a text based installer though, but it isn't too hard to get through.

Slakware Linux is the oldest distro around and as far as I'm concerned the most stable. If you really want to learn about Linux Slackware will help teach you. However, it is not new user friendly. You generally have to manually edit your own configuration files and set up the X windows system yourself.

Debian is extremely stable and has the largest selection of packages to choose from. It has a great package management tool in Apt-Get, although the installer scares most new users off (fighting your way through it though is worth it as far as im concerned. Apt-Get is worth it).

I have no real experience with SuSe or Mandriva so other than what I have heard (user friendly, easy install, good hardware detection) I can't comment.

Ubuntu is one that is very popular but one I could never get working to my liking. There are a few things I didn't like about it.

Gentoo is a quick distro with the worlds longest installer (1-3 days). The nice thing about Gentoo however is that it has great documentation ( the best of any distro perhaps) and if you want to learn the ins and outs of Linux, it's great. If you follow the Handbook to the letter, it's hard to mess up a Gentoo install. It also has one the best package managers around.

So all in all, CentOs, Fedora Core 4, SuSe and Mandriva are the user friendly distros to look in to.

Also, check out www.distrowatch.com

 

ROFL, if that doesn't sum it up, I don't know what does

I can totally relate.

 

Well once you get Gentoo up and running it's a quick distro haha.

 

I tried Ubuntu for a while. I never had any problems installing or running it on a partition with XP, and I don't know too much about Linux.

 

Me and Ubuntu just didn't agree for some reason. X windows never wanted to setup right, I had hardware detection issues and I don't like having to use sudo for everything. I'd rather log into the root account.

For a new user distro, I think I expected a bit more. The initial packages that came with Ubuntu were minimal for my tastes. I had to tap into Apt-Get to get a lot of what I needed.

The thing with Linux though, is that it's almost a whole new experience for each person. That just happened to be my experience with Ubuntu.

If you go to the Ubuntu website, they will ship you the CD's for free with no shipping charges. Only problem is the wait. 4-6 weeks.

 

Thanks for the info. I am starting tomorrow and will let everyone know how it goes. I'm going w/ centOs I was able to grasp the majority of what I read about it.Thanks Again

OH and yep that sure does sum it up!!!

 

Good Luck. And if you have a question feel free to ask. you may also want to check out, www.linuxforums.org/forum they have some good advice and information on Linux. I find them to be the Linux version of MajorGeeks