Migrating from Windows to Linux

Hi everybody. Like many before me, I am planning on making the switch from Windows to Linux. This is because Linux is popular and reputable, but more importantly, it stops Microsoft from controlling that much of my life with Windows.

I plan to keep Windows on one partition and install Linux on another, is that possible?

I will be using Linux for general purpose such as web-browsing, music, videos, instant-messaging, word processors, etc. which means I will be using Linux for as many tasks as I can. I don't mind if I have to boot into Windows to run some certain programs...

I have basically scratched the surface of Linux now.
I did some quick google searches and read some forum threads about Linux but I still have a few quick questions:

1) Are there constant, free updates for Linux? How do I obtain them?

2) The Names! I have read that distributions like SUSE, Ubuntu, and Red Hat are good and popular, but I am seeing stuff (at distrowatch.com) like openSUSE, Red Hat Fedora, and many more, with an extra word on it. The only thing I know is that Mandriva used to be Mandrake..the rest will need explaining.

3) Can Windows be on the same hard drive as Linux? Also, is one partition (roughly 50GB) enough for full Linux functionality? Can Linux open large video files that I store on another partition?

4) What is a "Dual-Boot" I keep reading about in Linux forums?

5) How long does the installation of Linux usually take? Is the installation straight-forward and self-explanitory?

That's about the majority of the minor questions I could think of for now, I'm sure more will pop up. Links to other pages that will help me are welcomed.

Also, I need help the most on choosing the right Linux distribution. I see that SUSE, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Debian, etc. are very popular, but I dont know why!!
I would love it if some kind person would list the most popular distributions and say what's good/bad about them..
Maybe I should just blend in with the crowd and go with something like SUSE...
What I am looking for is something that is easier to use for a first-time Linux user - extremely user-friendly.
I am hoping that I would love Linux soo much that I will wipe Windows from my other partition.
I'm willing to take risks when I don't know what to do, as long as it does not fatally damage my system.

Please tell me anything else I need to prepare before installing Linux. (hardware compatibility? file backups?)


Thanks in advance for any help.

P.S. I'm already dedicated to go through with this to the end, and will not bail out to Windows when the going gets tough. I'm ready to fight through the pain of not knowing how to do simple tasks.

 

Rather than answer your questions, i will tell you that you can get all the answers you seek by reading through the other threads in this forum, as this has all been covered before, and TBH i can't be @ssed to type it all out again.

 

Well, I spent the last few hours doing what you told me to do. Most questions got answered. Some questions remain, and some new ones popped up.

At the moment, I am leaning towards downloading SUSE 10.1 - it seems more appealing than the rest.
Now these are the questions I still have yet to find the answer to:


- Can the full OS of Linux be contained to one partition? More importantly, can Linux open files and large videos stored on another partition where I keep my data?

- Is there a need for security in Linux? Do Linux-users need retail security applications like antivirus?

- Like Windows, does Linux need a driver for every piece of hardware in the system that it uses?

- I know that many recommend using the Live CD first to try it out without installing. Do I just boot up on that CD and it will load Linux? Is this considered a "Dual-Boot"?


Please pardon my ignorance, I am such a newbie at this. I hope it won't be too much trouble to answer these questions.

Thanks.

 

These are a bit more advanced questions, and they haven't been answered yet, so i'll give it a go :

1)A linux distribution, like windows, can be run from a partition as long as it has sufficient space to install all necessary software and drivers.

2)Most linux applications come with security software built in, OpenSuSE 10.1 and 10.2 are prime examples of that.
Antivirus software can be downloaded seperately, but it isn't really needed, as i have only seen a linux virus once in my 7 years of using it.

3)Yes, but most new hardware *if made by big brands* will be supported.

4)You download it, burn the iso to a cd or dvd, make sure your computer meets the specs for suing it, then pop it in, restart your system, and presto, you'll boot *after some selecting* into linux.
And no, that is not dual booting.
Dual boot refers to a system that has 2 operating systems.

[edit] Damn you creaky and your fast replies !!! ;-) [/edit]
[edit2]/me slaps creaky with a wet tunafish for not properly distinguishing the difference between Unix *freebsd* and Linux[/edit2]

 

/me laughs as he has no beard and wears allstars :-D

 

I have had more than one version of Windows installed in one of my older systems (Win 98 and Win 2000). And at startup, it just asks me which OS to boot up on, and that sounds a lot like the lilo boot-loader you mentioned, creaky. Is that exactly what it is?

And a Dual-Boot is any time you boot up with two OS's installed..

Wow. It was that simple all along.


I'll now download the Live CD for SUSE 10.1 and try it out first.

Thanks for all your help!!

 

Well, I downloaded (at amazing speeds!) the Live-DVD of SuSE 10.1 and tried it out. It was almost exactly what I have expected. A clean, easy-to-read interface, lots of software accessed from the bottom taskbar, etc. So I just randomly opened folders and explored around for a while, having no idea how to do simple tasks. Too bad I couldn't get online in Linux, or I would have replied this thread there.

Ok, question time!

- It let me choose from Gnome and KDE. It says that they are desktops..what's the difference? Just looks?

- How do i shut down the computer? There's no shut down function that's easy to find, so I had to hit the reboot button on the computer.

- How do I gain administrator privledges? I read somewhere that you must be a root user or something...

- What is the "terminal" that appears in drop-down menus, applications tab, etc? Is it like a console to type commands?

- Every part of it where anything needed to load, it was unsalvagably slow!! It took up to a minute to load the blackjack game or the OpenOffice word processor. Is it supposed to be that slow??

- How will Linux open files that I import from Windows. How will it open MS-Word .doc files?


Can someone link me to any website that gives in-depth explanations and instructions (like a manual) on how to use SuSE and each function of it?

 

i don't know much here, but i can answer a few questions.

it was slow because it's the live version. everything is compressed on the disc, and as you open games or whatnot, that has to be uncompressed, temporarily stored, and run from drive as you go. linux, once installed, is very fast.

if you use Wine or some such emulator, you could run Word in linux and open word files through that; or,use a linux office package, like OpenOffice, which has the ability to use and save files in the word format.

 

Ok then. So once I install it, it will be fast.

And I suppose there's also an emulator to make Windows drivers run on Linux..

Can anybody else contribute the answeres to the rest of my questions?

 

windows drivers? no no no...you'll need linux drivers for all your hardware. as for software, there's linux alterantives for 99% of MS stuff out there, and they all tend to be as easy or easier to use and have the ability to use MS's native formats.

as for more answer, well, creaky or the_fiend would be able to help more when they pop up again.

 

There is a program that will use your windows Network card driver called ndiswrapper. If your talking about WINE. That emulates SOme windows programs.

 

You can also do that with VMware Workstation, though it's $paid$ software.

 

You can also do that with VMware Workstation, though it's $paid$ software.

As far as desktops, most installations allow you to install both, as some software is written for only one desktop. KDE seems a bit better-supported, though I usually use Gnome due to a few small but irritating differences (e.g. clipboard doesn't always work right in Terminal in KDE, etc.)

Note: The X GUI interface system, which gives Linux a Windowish feel and is the underpinning of KDE, Gnome, etc. is enormously inefficient, and a real resource-hog. I imagine you will want to use it sicne you are migrating from the Windows world, but if you are comfortable with the command-line interface, consider not installing X or any desktops. Alternatively, you have the option of running or not running it on a per-session basis by changing your runlevel. More on that after you're acquainted with Linux.

As far as Shutdowns, look around. Under some systems, you need to Log Off first, then shutdown. It changes with versions of Linux - I have Fedora Core 2 and it's right there under the main menu, whereas on FC 4 I have to logoff first. You can always drop into Terminal and issue:

shutdown now (or simply shutdown)

To login as a root (admin) user, just log in with the username root and the password you gave root when you installed Linux. Only use root for installing software and administrative stuff - it's easy to hose a system as root if you're not careful. You can also attain root privileges if you are logged in as another user by issueing in Terminal:

su -
Then type the root password.

"What is the "terminal" that appears in drop-down menus, applications tab, etc? Is it like a console to type commands?"

Exactly. I like to set the colors to green text on black to remind me of the old days.

"Every part of it where anything needed to load, it was unsalvagably slow!! It took up to a minute to load the blackjack game or the OpenOffice word processor. Is it supposed to be that slow??"

Yep. Mostly you can thank the X interface for that. When run by commandline only it's pretty quick.

"- How will Linux open files that I import from Windows. How will it open MS-Word .doc files?"

File associations are weird and erratically-handled. In a way, the fiel associations are one of Linux' security strengths (in that it's al ittle harder to automatically launch, say, a macrovirus, etc.) but it also makes Linux a bit more difficult to use.

If you're talking about what software to use, that's easy - Openoffice, which might have been installed from the initial installation. OO is sweet. The current stable version is 2.0.3.

 

What is the difference between Gnome and KDE? Are they packages of software for the desktop? When I install both, I can switch between them to do certain tasks?

Do Gnome and KDE come with that X GUI interface thing? Does that make it inefficient and slow?

Does someone know a trustworthy website for all basic terminal commands used to do simple everyday tasks? I'll have to know those commands to use Linux..

Another question: Does it matter what file system (NTFS or FAT32) it is for the partition Linux is installed on, and for the partition that it opens files from?

 

@Dunker

No its not. You can get Vmware Player on thier site, all you have to do is register.

Me too

@TheFear

One is "Eye Candy" the other isn't. I don't believe KDE is most supported overall, mainley only on distros like Mandrake or SuSE or other that has KDE as default are more supported. I myself prefer Gnome as I think it is more reliable and better updates. KDE tends to crash alot especially on 64bit.

http://www.linuxcommand.org/learning_the_shell.php
Some basics.

Linux can't run on NFTS, but I do belive it will run on FAT32. I use the default EXT3 for my partitions. And for the second part I don't really get what you mean, but I'll try anyway. If you want to open up your Windows partitions you can mount your drives and you will be able to read but not have write priveleges.

 

X is the underlying GUI. Gnome and KDE are essentially overlays for X to give your Windows a look and feel and some functionality. Put another way, you can't have either Gnome or KDE without running X underneath. As far as efficiency, I suppose the model which allows the overlay of desktops upon X create some inefficiency, but X is just plain poorly-designed. I suspect a lot of it is because it uses a lot of old code.

http://www.linuxquestions.org has stuff too. There are various admin guides around, both online and in print. Personally, one of my favorites is an old one from Sams called the "Linux System Administrator's Survival Guide". It's very much out-of-date but is good with commands, as well as some more advanced stuff like shell programming, etc. You can probably find an updated version or something like it at Borders.

 

Thanks!

I'll learn as many basic commands as I can.

I'll have to format one partition to FAT32

The other part of my question (which was confusing) is: Can Linux attain files off another NTFS partition? I store large video files in a separate partition from Windows and Linux, and that one is NTFS. Can Linux read from another NTFS partition?

I got another question I'm just throwing out there: What about the drivers that are usually supplied by Windows? The device drivers for the CD/DVD-ROM drives, hard drives, etc are supplied by Windows (I did not have to install their drivers). Does Linux also supply basic drivers for hardware like the CD-ROM drive to work?