tenebrous_paradise Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 I've never used linux before in my life, but I want to. I've been on Windows since grade school. I'm not really sure about how to go about switching OS. I want to know if it is possible to switch a Windows 98 pc to a Linux mandriva? <I heard that is the easiest linux version to learn> If so, how do I do that? Is it as easy is buying a cd and installing it? Or is there more to it? Also I was wondering if I did install the linux then it would replace the Windows entirely. Right? If anyone could help me I would appreciate it. I'm fed up with Windows and I'm ready to move on hehe. Bonnie [moved from Everything Linux by spinynorman] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Welcome to the board It's quite easy and painless to install the system, and then with the help of the board, and a bit of patience, you'll be well on your way to using it instead of Windows. You can have both Windows and Linux on your machine, and you can choose to boot both, so you don't have to worry about completely switching to something new straightaway. You can download Mandriva from the net quite easily, linuxiso.org has some of them, but not LE2005 at the minute. distrowatch.com is quite good, and has links there too for downloading LE2005 or earlier versions as well. In a few weeks 2006 will be publicly released, and you could download that. If your connection is slow, just do a search for linux cd dvd in google, and you'll find a site where you can buy it on disk, sent to you no matter where you live in the world! Good luck, and welcome :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenebrous_paradise Posted October 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 How do you switch from one to the other? Is it like two seperate hard drives? I was looking to perhaps replace Windows entirely if at all possible, Right now I only have a 8 Gig. hard drive so it is doubtful that it can run Windows and Linux. In short I want to replace Windows with Linux and I am not so sure I can do so with such little hard drive space. Bonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Sure, you can run Windows and Linux on an 8GB drive, but it'd be a bit tight. If you have your data backed up, then you could wipe Windows clean when you install Mandriva, then you'll be fully Linux. One thing to bear in mind, is that you need to have 3 partitions configured. Clicking the auto partition button should do it for you. But your swap partition doesn't need to be any bigger than 512MB. I have done dual boot with Windows/Linux on the same hard disk, but it can also be done with two separate hard drives too. As you only have 8GB, then you'd be better with just running Linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenebrous_paradise Posted October 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 I don't know what a partition is . Ok well here is what I got and you tell me if it is enough to run Linux properly. 8gig hard drive, 160 mb RAM, 533mhz intel celeron processor. If that is enough to run Linux then great. Now all I need to know how to do is how to wipe out Windows and put Linux on. I am guessing you have to Install linux first THEN get rid of Windows. but how do I get rid of Windows? I'm sorry I have so many questions I've just never had to do anything like this so I don't even know where to begin. thanks Bonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 No need to worry all will be fine! When you boot from the Mandriva CD/DVD it will ask you about partitioning, you can use the whole disk and it will erase Windows at the same time as it replaces the data on the disk. Just make sure, if there is anything on the disk you want to keep, to back it up first! Specs are OK for running Linux, but KDE/Gnome desktops might be a bit slow. But you can experiment, and see how it turns out. If slow, you can use an alternative Window Manager, but we can cover that later once you're up and running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arctic Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Yes, you can run both systems on one harddrive. A basic install of Mandriva will use 1.5 to 2 GB for the base system and all applications. Add swap space (double your RAM size) then you should still have enough space for your /home folder left. Mandriva (just as almost any other Linux system) has its own bootmanager that will detect Windows and add it to the bootmenu. Thus when you start up your computer you can select which system you want to boot (basically you can boot just about any number of operating systems with the lilo or grub bootmanagers). If you want to check Linux before installing it, take a look at distrowatch.com. There are many live-cds listed there (like kanotix or knoppix) that will boot directly from cd and load into RAM, thus giving you a full fledged Linux system for playing around without touching your harddrive (unless you tell Linux to access the hdd). That way you can play around and get a feel for Linux without trashing your old system. If you run into trouble, just ask us. We will gladly help. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenebrous_paradise Posted October 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Thank you all for you're help, I must first get this CD I will keep everyone posted on how it turns out. I think I got enough information to Install it, I will however be back when learning to use it. Its good to know that I have people that will help me during the "learning process". Again thanks guys Bonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYinYeti Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 Yes, get the 3 installation CDs and (depending on your hardware) all should go easy. However, keep in mind that Mandriva is recent, and as such can be compared to Windows 2003 (or XP) Professional. You wouldn't expect Windows 2003 or XP to run on ten-year-old hardware. Similarly, Gnome or KDE (two alternative graphical interfaces for Linux) can't be expected to run smoothly on too old hardware. In this respect, though, Linux is better than Windows, because you don't have to use Gnome or KDE. I suggest you use IceWM instead, which is very light on resources, and is similar enough to Windows, so you won't be lost :) Yves. [edit:]If you can afford it, the safest way to install Linux is to do so on a different hard drive: one HD for Win, and one HD for Lin. You could even use one of those things that allow you to switch hard drives (while the PC is off) without having to open the PC.[/edit] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavaeolus Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I got ubuntu 5.10 running on a PII 350 MHz w/ 128 MB RAM, surely it was a bit slow, but it worked If you really like to try Linux without harming anything at first, try some Live-CD Distro like Knoppix, and if you like the look and feel of Linux then install it on your box btw ubuntu has a live-CD too, I think it would be better suited to a beginner than knoppix another tip would be to go to www.distrowatch.com, they list a lot of Linux-Distros with infos and reviews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieJohn Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Hi and welcome new member. If you don't require Windows for something like games then you have the easiest choice of all because will not have to worry about dual booting and also 8Gbs is a comfortable minimum for Mandriva install. If you get the Mandriva2005-LE discs then you should have a fairly painless install and get a rock solid system to ease your assimilation into the LINUX world. Cheers. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowchaser Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 From all of us welcome to MandrivaUsers, If you can give us some info on your system we can point you in the right direction. You'll be suprise how easy it will to setup your system 8 gigs is more than enough ;) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenebrous_paradise Posted November 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 I'm back and running linux, but now my sister wants it on her computer, it is a windows xp. i know she has all the requirements but when i put the install cd in a screen comes up says enter for install f1 for more options, ive tried both when i hit enter it loads then shuts off the pc and comes back on to that screen, i cant get past that screen, same thing happens with the f1 option, i changed the bios to not automatically detect the os and what not like i was supposed to, it works on mine but i can not get it to work on hers,... any suggestions? maybe im missing something i dont use xp often so maybe there is just something that i forgot to do. bonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarecrow Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 At the very first screen (before you get the option for install or upgrade) type in linux acpi=off ...or alternatively disable APM within computer BIOS. Another solution could be trying to boot from the second CD, not the first one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenebrous_paradise Posted November 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 that worked. linux is now on both pc's now all i have to do is learn how to use it hehe, thank you. Bonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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