I have an old laptop that I want to experiment with...does anyone on here run linux and is it worth downloading it?

 

Linux is a lot of fun.I have tried several different distros.If your laptop has enough harddrive space you can dualboot running Windows and Linux on the same machine so you can still use it for windows stuff.Go to Linux.org and snoop around.Ron G

 

I'm running Gentoo Linux- not too easy but really nice.

If you want to try it I feel that Kubuntu is a nice starter. (It will even run from the CD if you have got enough RAM)

HTH

AlpineRAM

 

Back in the NT days, I ran a version of Redhat - did it mostly for the novelty of it, and because it was there.

It was fun wrestling match, but I finally prevailed. Its probably a lot simpler these days.

Go for it.

 

I run it. It is more stable and more powerful than Windows, the majority of big internet servers (this one included) are powered by Linux or Unix-Based machines.

Ubuntu or Kubuntu or Xubuntu (better for machines without much RAM) are all very easy to use and great to learn with. I use Gentoo on my main desktop computer because it is extremely fast and you can optimize things to an insane level. However I do not find it stable enough for a production environment. I have a firewall and a small Dell Poweredge server that run Debian Etch, and a gigantic quad processor server (4x2.0GHz Xeon MP) that at the moment is running CentOS 5 (RHEL, striped of all the red-hat stuff, so its free), but it is never on as it is just sitting unused.

 

I run Ubuntu on a PII laptop with ~200 MB of Ram and run DSL (D*mn Small Linux) on a P166 machine with ~20MB of Ram. I have also played with Slax and have it on a bootable USB (thumb) drive.

I browse the web on Firefox, get Email, and play music and videos. The media player will not play licensced files such as wmv, wma files but it plays mp3 and others just fine.

 

I'm running SUSE Linux...which is now owned by Novell. It's on a server in the house. Been running about 4 years; the only time I've taken it down to reboot is when I moved and when I was testing battery life in the UPS. Try that with ANY version of winders!

I do advocate almost any version of Linux. Or, am I against microslop? I almost hate to admit that I do run XP on the desktop. Just so I have a broader compatibility base.


Tony

 

Thanks for all the info! I went ahead and downloaded Mandriva on the laptop last night but haven't installed it yet, so I guess I will see how that works tonight. it came in a ".iso" format.. whats the easiest way to install from that format? Or am I completely doing it wrong?
Thanks again!
Rat

 

Mandriva seems like a nice version(it was the first one I tried) but it ran kinda slow on my PII laptop. Make sure you have the resources to run it.

You need to burn the iso to a CD. Your CD burning software (I use Roxio that came with my Dell) will create a bootable disk using the iso image. Some people have recommended this software if you don't have the capability with your software: Magic ISO

After it is burned to the CD, put the CD in your old laptop and boot it. It should boot from the CD but if it doesn't you will have to change your boot settings in the BIOS.

 

Not for long.. im a big proponent of pointing out how linux is on the way out and ms server has been dominating.. muahaha
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/we...er_survey.html



Nonetheless, linux is fun to try, just for something different.

 

Umm....why? What has Microsoft done for you lately?

I don't want to turn this into some kind of contest. I like Windows it's just that I hate paying for software. Linux still does not have the ease of use that Windows does but it is definitely more stable. I think that once Linux becomes more user friendly and can remain stable, you will see it on more desktops not just servers.

 

I have been running Ubuntu since March NO regrets, my computer is faster and more stable. And I still do everything I did before.

 

Mandriva is a nice distro and I am running it on one of my PIII laptops dual booting with XP.I am not sure I would choose it to install on a PII as it can use more resources than some of the other distros.Try Ubuntu to start with and see how that goes.Mandrake (Mandriva) is somewhat more friendly to install in my opinion especially if you want to set up the dual booting option but it might be a bit much for a PII.If you use Mandriva make sure you have all the CDs available before you start the install.As was suggested earlier you can try a "Live" version of Linux that will boot from a CD and see how the computer handles it.I like the Nero software better than the others I have tried,even the free version bundled with new drives is pretty good and it will burn the ISO image for you if you have a writable drive.
There are many operations that Linux will not do without a lot of work that we take for granted these days,it will not natively read .WMV files and I cannot find a Linux program that will edit videos to my satisfaction.There are many contenders but Windows moviemaker is the best of the free ones and that is what I will use.
The Linux enterprise editions may have that capability but I have never tried one and the object here is to do it for free I assume so I might never know how they run.
I have downloaded "White Box" enterprise edition but have not been able to install it to my satisfaction so I still can't say how I would like it.
I gave up on Linux about a year ago,that is to say I have been busy and have not been using it so I do not know what is being offered these days but it certainly needs some polishing before it is going to be any threat to Windows desktop machines beyond the basic functions that computers are used for.
Try to get Linux to detect and install a scanner for instance.It might not be there when you reboot.Sane has all the answers??Not in my computers.
I have loaded it in half a dozen machines,it never installs the same way twice and it will not detect a lot of the new hardware but it is fun,just don't expect a turnkey system right off the bat.That having been said,my hat is off to all the folks running and maintaining it.Linus has a strong following and his work was not in vain!!Ron G

 

What's the best way to dual boot? I want to run ubuntu on my desktop, but I don't want to lose XP and all my clients pictures that are saved on the hard drive... Can I add a new partition without erasing the old ones? Ubuntu has a partition manager, but im too afraid to try it for fear that I might lose something.

Going to a diesel website for computer help...who woulda thunk??

P.S. i'm typing this in ubuntu right now because it's booted from the CD... I likey!