which version of linux best for new user and how to partition/download

i have given up on ms and would like to begin learning linux...the computer i am using now has a chinese xp pro sp2 and a vicious bug that has disabled every anti-bug program i loaded...enough. i would like to partition the 40g drive, load the version of linux appropriate to my need/ablility and wean away from the inhuman and soulless crack-dealer that is microsoft...i would appreciate any advice or direction...

right now my os is chinese and difficult to navigate in places due to the language barrier...i went to buy an english os and found it would cost me, a poor teacher, about $650 to get an english os and office applications here. just can't do it. i would have no food for two months if i did that...

in case you want to know WHY IN GOD'S NAME DO YOU HAVE A CHINESE OS????...it's very simple...i am in china. ok? ok.

 

http://distrowatch.com/ is another good site.

BSD Distributions​

FreeBSD
NetBSD
OpenBSD

Linux Distributions​

CentOS
Debian
Damn Small Linux
Fedora Core
Gentoo
Knoppix
Mandriva
Slackware
SimplyMepis
SLAX
Suse
Ubuntu
Vector Linux

Solaris​

Solaris

For a beginner, Suse, SimplyMepsis or Vector Linux would be good distributions.

 

One of the better sites on how to install various linux installations,display of pic's to make it easier.Main site and a example below
http://www.howtoforge.com/perfect_setup_suse_9.3

 

http://www.ubuntulinux.org/
A torrent download would be best. http://ts.searching.com/torrent/436985/Ubuntu_5_10_install_x86_ISO
Download with a client such as bitcomet or azureus.Check this blog for help http://linuxhelp.blogspot.com/

 

thanks for the info people...this should get me going in the right direction...............best of luck to all, and Merry Christmas!

 

Great! But why don't I find a Red Hat Linux here? any known issues with the operating system?,

for nykesoul: any linux distribution is currently free, and you can check them out, i heard about Suse and Red Hat, probably red hat is my choice. don't spend too much on ms english since your planning to migrate to linux.

 

i've always had good luck with Fedora Core whci his based on RHEL and CentOS which is based on Fedora Core. as far as "new user" distros go, those two are pretty good with CentOS being the stable one of the bunch.

RHEL is much more stable than Fedora Core. Fedora Core is the "bleeding edge" distro from Red Hat, but I haven't ran across any real stability issues yet.

Vector Linux is based upon Slackware. Slackware has a reputation of not being friendly, and for a new user it may not be. Vector however, is quite friendly, IF you can handle the XFCE window manager or the IceWM window manager. I'd suggest checking out www.vectorlinux.com before downloading. The only real bad thing about Vector is that it does now come with Open Office by default. I believe the SOHO edition does, but Vector Std. has more features. You can download Open Office however and with a decent connection it doesn't take too long.

As mentioned before SuSe is friendly and has an excellent configuration tool in YAST.

Mandriva Linux is also supposed to be fairly user friendly, but I have no real experience with it so i can't really give a reccomendation.

Ubuntu is supposed to be a friendly distro to begin with as well, but I personally did not care for it. There were a few issues that they claim make it friendly and that i thought were just not good ideas.

The main thing with Linux is, is that it is a different experience for more every user. Fedora Core may work great for me, but perhaps you won't like it so much and vice versa.

I'd check out www.distrowatch.com , www.madpenguin.org and www.linuxforums.org

hope things work out for you and if you need help, feel free to ask. there are a few of us Open Source people still floating around

 

wow...thanks for all the info...am spinning a bit...before i jump the gun on choosing a distro, i should address the issue of partitioning my hd when my current os is still in chinese...i have tried to find system tools to optimize and defrag first, but, um, well, have you ever tried to read chinese? i can't tell what is what and have done some goofy looking things to my computer trying to find what's what. most i have been able to change back, not all. i have never partitioned a hd and don't know how crucial it is to do the housekeeping bit before i partition. can it be done afterward? can i partition, load linux, wipe windows, then use linux to clean up the mess (and remove this damn bug!!) and go from there? i have a 1g flashdrive if it has any uses...but i just don't know where to start...am listening...

 

perhaps you said it earlier and i missed it, but are you wanting to partition your whole HD for GNU/Linux and wipe Windows completely? or is the plan to dual boot both GNU/Linux and Windows?

if you just want to partion the whole HD for WIndows without saving any data, then the GNU/Linux installer should be able to do it for you. this is all OS dependant however. Fedora Core will partition it for you, where as if you were to use Vector Linux you'd have to partition it yourself.

as far as partitioning goes, for what i do, i make a swap partition that is 512 MB (they say your swap partition should be double the size of your ram. i have 256 MB of ram). a lot of people make a seperate home partiton, but i have never had any use for it as i back up any important data quite often. i partition the rest of my drive for the /root partition.

my partition table would look something like this....roughly anyways.....

/hda1 Linux Swap 512 MB type 82
/hda2 Gnu/Linux/Solaris 79000 MB type 83 etx 3

navigating your way through cfdisk (which is used in partitioning on most GNU/Linux installs) is actually quite simple.

if you want to dual boot, Shadow_Puter_Dude is the person to seek out. SPD has posted a few times on Dual Booting and they are quite simple to understand and informative.

Good Luck

 

hmmm. gosh, that sounds like greek. honestly, i am not very savvy (obviously, eh?) but i do trust what you are saying is probably not that hard to do. if i could read my screen, anyway. that's the hard part. i think i would need to see a screenshot (or many) because of the chinese. and, yes, i would like to get rid of windows, but don't know how long it will take me to get a grip on linux.

if i could see a screenshot of what the scandisk/defrag dialogue boxes looked like, i could figure this out...or if you have any other ideas i am listening...

...lastly, there is still that nasty bug on my 'puter. don't know how the critter will affect the partitioning and loading....or if wiping xp will remove the vermin.

so, this is my question: can anyone send me a screenshot of scandisk and/or defrag? that would get me started on prep for partition, anyway.

 

a friendly distro such as Fedora Core of SuSe is easy to get a grasp of, especially for a Windows user.

Those two distros have great graphical point and click installers and will automatically partion the drives for you. No need to use cfdisk or fdisk.

It's the text based installers that come with Vector, Slackware, Ubuntu and the like that make you partition your own hard drive

i would also imagine that getting rid of XP would also rid your computer of the bug that is affecting it.

as long as your BIOS is set to boot off the CD-Rom, all you should have to do is pop in a GNU/Linux CD and start the install.