which linux for me

[Jicky]

I have asrock k8 upgrade vm 800 mother board with 512 ram &sata hard disk
which linux is best suited for me

[TheNNS]

it really doesn't matter, but I'd go with debian because it's very light weight.

[Zorbie]

I would agree with TheNNS. I currently run debian stable on both my desktop and notebook. Debian is very versatile. If your machine is connected to the internet via a high speed connection I would recommend that you do a Net install. The reason I say that is, this way you will have all of the security patches installed right from the git-go. Otherwise you would have to download and install them later.

[TheNNS]

not to mention debian has like 24 cd's you'd have to download.

[Lee-Pro]

You could also try Fedora. It has a whole host of security additions plus it is a zero cost branch of Red Hat.

At 512 MB RAM, I would say that it would run fine. It ran well on my 256MB computer.

[TheNNS]

>You could also try Fedora. It has a whole host of security additions plus it is a zero cost branch of Red Hat.

No. Fedora is way to buggy and to packed with useless things. Use something more lightweight.

[Zorbie]

Speaking of "lightweight", have a look at the Live CD linux page:

http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

Pick one with a small iso size, burn it to a cd, put it in your cd drive and boot up from it. You just have to make sure your machine's BIOS is configured to boot from the cd drive. This is a great way to get a taste of Linux, and of different distros before installing to the hard drive. You can download, "burn-'n-boot" until your fingers are numb!

[TheNNS]

SLAX is an excellent livecd, as well as DSL. Most distros comes with livecd's you can test before installing the system on the computer.

[blud]

I think the fact that most people who are asking which is the right type of linux for them may not be ready to go from 'something else' to 'lightweight'. Most work their way down, as they learn what they do and don't want in a distribution. Most people will start out with something like Fedora, or (K/U)buntu (I despise this distro, but if you want the stable debian base, it's a new user friendly release). Maybe if you provided a little more information about what your looking for in the distro, then we can make recommendations on things like how often they are updated, what packages they come with that are easy to configure to suite your needs.

I like to think of Linux Distrobutions like cars, even though most people want the minimalistic sports car to go fast, personally I like the fully loaded luxery cars.

[TheNNS]

how are you a moderator? you only have 345 posts and have only solved 5 threads? what the heck? i want to be a moderator.

[blud]

That would probably be since I manage the systems Daniweb runs on.

[TheNNS]

Well good for you. You should put in a good word for me.

[DimaYasny]

TheNNS, how old are man? being a mod means working more, it's not a bonus.

[John A]

how are you a moderator? you only have 345 posts and have only solved 5 threads? what the heck? i want to be a moderator.

DaniWeb staff isn't necessarily chosen based on their helpfulness in the forums. Thinking that you would make a better moderator because your post count or number of solved threads is higher than an existing moderator is silly.

[Lee-Pro]

Back to the main point, I would recommend Slackware as the starting point in learning about inside Linux.

Unlike most other distros, there are almost no configuration helpers. You mostly have to do them by hand. In a way it forces you to learn to get thing the way you like. I found out a lot more about Linux this way.

Plus, the packages provided have its respective source code provided, so if you are a big fan of modding, this is one to go for.

[TheNNS]

>Unlike most other distros, there are almost no configuration helpers.

For some one who has no linux experience this is not a good starting point. They should start out with something simple, like debian, and then gradually move on to harder distros, like Slackware and Gentoo.

[jamshid]

Pardus!

[TheNNS]

what does that even mean.

[John A]

Back to the main point, I would recommend Slackware as the starting point in learning about inside Linux.

Unlike most other distros, there are almost no configuration helpers. You mostly have to do them by hand. In a way it forces you to learn to get thing the way you like. I found out a lot more about Linux this way.

Like most Linux distros, choosing one to start with all depends on your needs and goals. If your goal is to be as productive as possible while using an open source operating system, Slackware might not be the best choice. You could possibly spend days trying to configure a system that would already be working and ready to go on a distro like Ubuntu. On the other hand, not having to configure anything with the operating system itself will mean that you probably won't learn much, either. If your goal is to learn Linux as quickly and thoroughly as possible, then it would probably be a good idea to jump right into something like Slackware or Gentoo.

[efmesch]

Are there any distros with a down-to-earth help file to guide you along from the start?
Five years ago I bought a laptop that came with a Linux distro--I couldn't get anywhere with it so for lack of choice, erased it and went back to Windows. I still want to use Linux and have been cleaning out all the needed files from an old computer (transfering them to the one I'm working on now) with the intention to make the plunge once again.
As I have learned from my children and grandchildren--the first steps are the hardest and require assistance till you can walk alone.
It's really nice to have the assistance of Daniweb, but I'd like something more immediately available.

[jbennet]

Grab a copy of Ubuntu "gusty gubbon". Its only one CD and you can run it straight off the CD to try it out before installing. If you dont want to download (e.g you have dialup) then you can order one for cheap. Ubuntu is designed for first time linux users, is very easy to set up and has
a lot of books about it.

When trying the LiveCd mode dont worry if its a bit sliggish, thats because it loads everything from the CD or from RAM (so you can try it without deleting windows)

Ubuntu can also resize your XP partition so you can run linux alongsgide it. If you are going to do that though, run Chkdsk and Defrag from windows because if it encounters errors while resising, then it may lead to data loss.

It comes with web browser, email, chat, office suite, media player, burning studio. Makes a good XP replacement.

Runs ok on 512 ram too.

[efmesch]

I read you loud and clear--
Thanks

[John A]

Ubuntu can also resize your XP partition so you can run linux alongsgide it. If you are going to do that though, run Chkdsk and Defrag from windows because if it encounters errors while resising, then it may lead to data loss.

Technically, defragmentation isn't really necessary -- the ntfsresize program that is used to resize the NTFS filesystem has the capability of automatically moving file fragments if they're in the way of resizing (although it wouldn't hurt to run a defragmentation in Windows first).

[jbennet]

thanks for that

[TheNNS]

you can actually order a ubuntu cd for free. no charge.

[jbennet]

shipit?

[efmesch]

I downloaded it from the internet and burned an ISO CD--all went smoothly. Now I have to get to the point where I'll use it. I hope the use is as smooth a the download!

[jbennet]

:)

do a google for "ubuntu restricted formats" to get the additional media formats working (e.g wma, wmv, flash)

[TheNNS]

yeah, shipit. i love it. use it for every new release.

[jbennet]

yeah, shipit. i love it. use it for every new release.

why dont you use release-manager to upgrade?