XP to linux

[walt]

I have been useing XP and 98 since I started computing. I would like to try Linux to see if I could get on with it.

Do you recommend that I should try it or leavce it alone? My computing skills are average so not sure if I should but it would be nice to try. Also could I run it along side XP as my wife would not get on with somthing different.

Walt

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Well if you've never had any experience with Linux Walt I suggest you try Ubuntu as a suck it and see.

 

Ubuntu Home Page | Ubuntu

 

I highly recommend that you request a free cd and run Linux off that rather than install it as a stand alone OS.

[walt]

Thanks

 

Well if you've never had any experience with Linux Walt I suggest you try Ubuntu as a suck it and see.

 

Ubuntu Home Page | Ubuntu

 

I highly recommend that you request a free cd and run Linux off that rather than install it as a stand alone OS.

 

Thankyou for this. I have ordered a CD from them and will give it a try, when it comes through.

Thanks again.

Walt

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Run it off the cd Walt as I mentioned earlier as installing it as a dual boot system can interfere with the windows NT Loader if not done correctly.

[Tootech]

Ubuntu is considered the easiest distro to use of the Linux world.

 

Kubuntu is a variation, with a different Desktop setup and is just as easy to use.

Have a look here:

 

Kubuntu | linux for human beings | Kubuntu

 

Bear in mind that most of the new Linux distributions are designed as Windows replacements,and you will need a decent spec machine to run them properly.

 

So, for example your old Pentium 3, with 256MB RAM will not do the job, Pentium 4, or Athlon 3000 and above with at least 512MB RAM will give you a good starting point, and be useable.

 

Also, the live CD will be slightly slower than a hard drive install.

 

Let us know how you get on.

[mike]

You can download the CD for free and run the Live version.. Just to note in case you don't want to wait for weeks for your free CD. :)

 

If you need help on downloading/burning the CD just ask.

[backtogeek]

Although I am a fedora man myself you have the option with the latest version of ubuntu of actually install it as an application on windows and the whole OS runs in a window on your XP desktop....it cant get any esier to try than that, load up windows, download the ubuntu ISO, burn it, put it in (while running windows) and install as a desktop app as per the wizard that pops up.

[ivo_bivo]

If you don't find yet how to dual boot your existing Windows XP with Ubuntu this is grate guide,ore you can mess with Wubi (Ubuntu installer for Windows) I recommend you the first method, the second is the easy way but i don't know if you want Linux on NTFS.:confused:

Good Luck

[dtmcriss]

Freespire isn't too bad either it makes everything fairly simple, although i did recently start to have some issues with it. Almost all the linux os that i have allow you to run two os. I think they have even come out with a way to run windows programs in linux. you have to pay for it but maybe that would be worth looking into.

[Tootech]

You can run Windows programs under Linux, there are a few ways to do it.

 

Wine is a well known emulator that will let you run some Windows programs - its a bit of a pain to set up as its needs a bit of linux understanding.

 

Crossover is a commercial product that allows Windows programs to run on a Linux box - I like it, and have had some success with it, but it is a bit picky about the programs that will run.

 

The other way to do it is to run a full Windows install inside Linux - known as a Virtual Machine. Quiet a nice way of doing it.

 

Links...

 

WineHQ - Run Windows applications on Linux, BSD and Mac OS X

 

CodeWeavers

 

VirtualBox

[jessejazza]

I've been using ubuntu for a couple of years so Walt i have been through some of the problems with the 2007/2008 versions. I'm now totally converted but would advise the following before you have any grief.

 

Get an old P3 1ghz 516mb or similar that someone is giving away... hopefully. A live CD is quite slow and won't allow you to fully experiment/test downloading software and compiling - you will make mistakes initially. Thus a test machine for you to make mistakes on is a good move.

 

Linux runs quite happily on that [gnome desktop] and bear in mind it is not the memory hungry OS that windows is.

 

Virtual machine and wine needs to be done on a faster machine. Wine is frequently updated and folk seem to have quite a few problems.

 

I do have a windoze scanner and a couple of windoze apps so i do dual boot - but everything else can be done on ubuntu. Dual booting is very easy with ubuntu. I'd recommend a second hard disk. Put both drives on cable select. Connect only windoze drive cable and install. Connect the second cable for the ubuntu drive and ubuntu as it installs will create the grub menu for boot which is where you'll select windoze when you want to go into it. [Thing is windoze doesn't like other OS on the machine - it is possible to do it the other way round for the more knowledgeable]. That easy.

 

ubuntu v kubuntu - i'd say ubuntu is a more polished choice but there are apps that one wants to use from the other desktop. e.g. krename for renaming all those digital photographs. But again linux is all about choice and you choose.

 

With ubuntu they produce 6 month updates and i and many others have found that the April version seems to be better than October. I'm just an annual updater! Remember linux is not windoze.

Edited May 31, 2009 by jessejazza

[Tootech]

i and many others have found that the April version seems to be better than October

 

I agree - the latest Ubuntu release is very slick, looks better than the older releases too.

[zinglebarb]

Up until very recently I have never been able to get Linux up and running to a point where it does everything I need my machine to do. That ended with the newest release of Ubuntu. I must admit I cheated and used the inside windows none destructive dual boot install pretty much like Wubi. I still had to make a couple of visits to Terminal (which is my bone of contention I hate Terminal installs) however by the time I had finished the system was fully usable

[jamiestuart]

Why dont you install VMware player and give it a try first?

 

That way you can keep your current XP install and play around with linux

 

It can take a while to do basic things though.

[jackymark001]

Before you follow the steps in this article, verify that you have a bootable disk or bootable CD-ROM for the Linux operating system, because these steps completely remove the Linux operating system from your computer. If you intend to restore the Linux operating system at a later date, verify that you also have a functional backup of all the information stored on your computer. Additionally, you must have a full release version of Windows XP to use during this installation. If you intend to use a Windows XP upgrade CD-ROM, a CD-ROM of a qualifying Windows product must be available. Setup from the Windows XP upgrade CD-ROM will prompt you for this CD-ROM.

[juliek]

I have wanted to try Linux, as a preference to upgrading to Windows 7 (I currently use XP), but I've tried to use the live CD and it doesn't seem to work very well. Slow and keeps hanging. Is this because I'm using the CD? Is it likely to run better if I install it on my Computer/Netbook? Is it hard to find drivers for it, for example, for my WiFi adapter?

[_8042Warrior]

Drivers can be a little tough to get ahold of, espically for some Broadcom wireless cards. Depending on the version of Linux you are using, the drivers may already be installed, but you may have to do some tweaking. However, LiveCD's will always be slow, because everything has to be read off of the CD, which is acting as a harddrive. A straight install would be a better method yes. If you are planning on keeping your XP to give Linux a test run, the GRUB loader can help you. When you install Linux, the GRUB is installed, and you can choose which OS to boot from. It is far more flexible than the windows boot loader as well.

 

Hope this helps