# Best free linux os



## Tinsoilder (Jul 22, 2003)

i have xp and hate it i want to try out linux i have already partioned my comp so i was wondering what would be the best free linux os i could get
-I still want to keep xp
-not a very compelx one
-i like to play games and surf the web
i have heard mandrake is quite good?

also cand windows programs still run in linux or do you need a special program?


----------



## Tinsoilder (Jul 22, 2003)

nobody likes any linux os?
comon peopel any suggestions?


----------



## soup4you2 (Jul 8, 2003)

There is no best linux distro.. it's more of a preferance of what you prefer.. each has it's own diffrences.

1 person would tell you they think debian is the best while another person would say red crap is the best.. it's all on a matter of what the user feels more comfortable with..

Just speaking out of experience since you're new to linux it really wont matter because i can guarentee you that your going to be playing w/ a variety of the distros as time goes on.

All distros can play games.. just done expect the same kind of games that you get in windows.. most people tend to keep a small windows partition or box around just for gaming.. although xbill still kicks ***...

as for using windows applications there is a program called wine which allows people to use SIMPLE windows programs.. dont expect all your programs to run in this only a handful will.. There's also transgaming's winex which is like wine but supports directx. both of these are really buggy still..

Good luck in your quest. hope you stick around to learn what a beautiful OS *NIX distros are.. more unix than linux... /me snickers..

And i guarentee you if you stick with *nix for some years you will learn more about computers / networking and the way things actually work than you would in windows anyday...


----------



## Tinsoilder (Jul 22, 2003)

thx


----------



## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Tinsoilder:_
> *nobody likes any linux os?
> comon peopel any suggestions? *


Patience is a virtue. Alot of people work during the day and I sleep during the day.

I am surprised that Soup didn't start pimping you FreeBSD. He is a big BSD lover. If you just want to try out Linux and your computer has enough horsepower, there are bootable linux cd's that you can run without installing anything onto your hard drive.

Many people suggest Knoppix these days. The more memory you have in your computer the faster it is going run. It boots off the cd and loads everything into memory. You can even access the files on your hard drive while running it.


----------



## lynch (Aug 3, 2002)

Mandrake 9.1 is the best choice for installing to your hard drive after trying Knoppix LiveCD.As LwdSquashman points out,the more ram you have when running Knoppix the better.If it seems slow,it's most likely the ram.Linux runs faster installed to a HDD than running off the CD.
I would leave XP there to play your games for now.Learn how to run linux before you start trying to play windows games on Linux.There are many popular games that have been ported to Linux.It's just a good idea to get some basic Linux skills before you try to do the advanced stuff.
Hopefully,your second post isnt indicative of your patience level cause you'll will have to exercise some patience until you get your feet wet.
Of course,if you get stuck there's always help here-just not on-demand 
HTH
lynch


----------



## lainly (Aug 18, 2003)

the more memory i have, the faster it is going to run. 

Will a 64MB RAM work normally on a RH8.0 Web Server?


----------



## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

Still trying to find the specs for RH 8. But here is the specs for 9.

Red Hat Linux 9 Technical Details 
Minimum and Recommended Hardware Requirements:
CPU:
Minimum: Pentium-class
Recommended for Text Mode: 200 Megahertz Pentium-class or better
Recommended for Graphical Mode: 400 Megahertz Pentium-class or better

Hard Disk Space*:
Custom installation (minimum): 475 MB
Personal Desktop: 1.7 GB
Workstation: 2.1 GB
Custom installation (everything): 5.0 GB

*Additional space will be required for file storage.

Memory Requirements:
minimum for text mode: 64MB
minimum for graphical mode: 128 MB
recommended for graphical mode: 192 MB


----------



## peter kotar (Apr 5, 2003)

recently attemted the linux thing myself. went with mandrake 9.1( distro i heard mentioned alot as easy)only about a week now. thinking i might switch to red hat only because support seems more tilted in that direction. when u look at a lot of the help books...(AND U WILL!) they give their insight as if everyone uses red hat. i have heard it is the most popular distro. RH also has an upgrading feature ive read a little about. so u dont have to do a full install when the new version comes out. i believe they pioneered the RPM thing too. im thinking they might have a little better hardware support too....not sure though. if anybody has tried both please chime in


----------



## DonsRuleOK (May 31, 2003)

I installed Knoppix onto my laptop Hdd a few months back and it has worked wonderfully since - almost left XP (not quite)... it was my first attempt at Linux and it was a doddle - I have it networked up to my XP server... perfect. 

Personally I'd recommend it - the fact that its on a CD originally means that if you don't like it - don't install it.


----------



## soup4you2 (Jul 8, 2003)

Well you can essentially put "almost" any OS on a bootable cd.

knoppix does it outta the box i think..

you can do it with windows 95/98

you can do it with all the BSD distros

i've seen people do it on redhat also..


----------

