hi. I would like to move from windows xp to linux.

camonacomputer · Joined: May 05, 2008 Posts: 5

I have use linux once but i would like to know which unix OS is the best; I have a powerfull pc.

Per · Joined: Dec 23, 2003 Posts: 5

camonacomputer wrote:

I have use linux once but i would like to know which unix OS is the best; I have a powerfull pc.

Which is best depends on what you want to do with your computer, your own experience and other things. Here is a site where you can answer a couple of questions to get suggestions depending on your preferences. One suggestion is to try a Live CD before you install it

camonacomputer · Joined: May 05, 2008 Posts: 5

thanks this has helped a bit

zlim · Joined: Mar 11, 2005 Posts: 2636

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

I'd try PCLinux, Knoppix, MEPIS, and Ubuntu. You have to see which one likes your computer hardware. If you have a problem with sound, video or getting on the internet, this that distro is not for you.
I hope you are on broadband rather than dialup because dialup can be a real challenge to set up.

ernie · Joined: Dec 16, 2002 Posts: 166

I have been a Linux user for about a decade and have been asked this question more times than i can count. My answer to the best Linux distribution question is the same as my answer to the best OS question: The best OS (or Linux distribution) is the one that works best for you. The one that works best for you is the one that feels the most intuitive (comfortable) when you use it. When you are using a new OS, it will feel a bit awkward at first, so you should use each distribution you try out for a few weeks or a month to give your self time to become familiar with it.

It should go without saying that you want all your hardware to work, and hardware compatibility can be an issue since many vendors do not provide Linux drivers for the equipment they sell. If your gear is new the Open Source Community may not have had time to develop drivers for it yet. In addition, not all distributions provide the same hardware support. If any of your hardware fails to work under Linux, you should check your distribution's hardware compatibility list (database) to see if the device is supported. I would not reject a distribution purely because a hardware device does not work unless that device works in another Linux distribution.

The previous post provided several good new Linux user friendly distribution suggestions to get you started. To that list I would add Suse, Mandriva, and perhaps Fedora Linux. All these distributions offer a Live CD from which you can boot your computer to give the distribution a test drive, and when you decide which one is for you, you can use the Live CD for that distribution to install it to your hard drive.

Since you have a "powerful" computer, I suggest you install a VM (Virtual Machine) application such as VM-Ware or VirtualBox (there are several others available) to run under Windows then install the various Linux distributions you decide to test in the VM. In this way, your Windows Installation is not disturbed in any way, and you can still use Linux until you decide which distribution you like best.

I suggest you burn the image for each distribution you want to test to a CD, then boot your computer from the CD a few times to insure that your hardware works correctly with it. Since it will quickly become a serious inconvenience to boot from the CD each time you want to use Linux, your next step should be to install the distribution to the VM and use it that way to become familiar with it. This process will take a lot of time, but when you are finished, you will not only have no doubt about which distribution is for you, but you will have become fairly familiar with Linux in general. Once you settle on a distribution, the final step will be to install it to your hard drive and leave Windows in your past.

HTH,

camonacomputer · Joined: May 05, 2008 Posts: 5

thank you for all your help i hope i find an OS soon