Switching to Linux?

[tthor]

well, recently my main computer was pretty much destroyed by a nasty virus that got on it.
i dont really care a whole lot about what was previously on the harddrive, and i think i'd be perfectly happy with just starting fresh (ive been wanting to clean out some of the stuff of there anyway.. so why not clean it all out)

a friend of mine (who is a big computer nerd, and proud of it) seemed pretty confident that he could easily fix my harddrive. he also suggested possibly putting Linux on it instead of Windows.
one thing he had said was that Linux was completely virus free, which sounds great, but too good to be true
he also said that linux tho sometimes requires a bit of computer knowledge, but he thought i could probably figure out how to use the linux code stuff within a day
he also claimed that many programs and games for windows don't work on Linux, but that many ppl convert a lot of these programs into linux and let u download them for free off the web.

so what are your views on me switching to linux? anything i should know about it before i decide to use it? and can i truly find a lot of games and programs converted for linux free on the web? and is linux truly virus free?

any advice/info on Linux would be great

 

[tthor]

I believe you can use a program called wine, to run windows programs. Linux would be a great choice though, as it's extremely fast and good looking.

is Wine a free program?

 

[LethalBargi]

the only thing that is stopping me from using linux is
1. the drivers for my comp
2. i need to train first for it
but other than that linux is a very good OS in my opinion the best.
and for your information it is virus free and is Unix-like (more or less a user friendly unix).
anyway if you got the drivers and the time i say go for it, it would be a great move instead of the god forsaken vista(damn u microsoft)

 

[DeusFps]

You could just keep windows and stop dlin porn

 

[garmat]

"...Linux was completely virus free..."

You're absolutely correct that it is too good to be true. I know that there are viruses for linux, they're just far less common than Windows viruses. I have three computers running linux connected directly to the internet without any virus protection, and have not had any problems with viruses so far.

"he also said that linux tho sometimes requires a bit of computer knowledge, but he thought i could probably figure out how to use the linux code stuff within a day"

I've been using linux for two years now, and am still learning new things daily. You can start using linux without knowing very much, but you'll learn as you use it. There is a large community online who are willing to help people who want to learn linux.

"he also claimed that many programs and games for windows don't work on Linux, but that many ppl convert a lot of these programs into linux and let u download them for free off the web."

Many windows programs can run in linux in a program called wine, which is sort of like an emulator. You can check to see if your programs will work by looking through http://appdb.winehq.org/, although there are free linux programs to do most common tasks.

I would recommend a dual-boot, or running linux on another computer, so that you have Windows as a backup system in case of an emergency. I use linux 99% of the time, but I've configured my laptop as a dual boot for just a couple of programs that don't run any other way. Linux can even run well on older computers that may have been discarded because new versions of Windows are more demanding on hardware.

Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/ ) is one of the most popular linux distributions, because it is easy to set up and use for most people.

 

[Skizle]

put both windows and linux on you computer. there are a few games that cant run on linux (mostly downloadable games) so keep windows as an insurance policy

 

[tthor]

put both windows and linux on you computer. there are a few games that cant run on linux (mostly downloadable games) so keep windows as an insurance policy

wait, how do u put both on?
i thought u could only of have 1 of these things on a computer at a time?

 

[TheSanityAssassin]

as far as ubuntu goes it's actually really simple to use, i'd say easier than windows.
but if you want to play games than forget it.
and if you have any special hardware - like a external sound card - you're probably going to have a driver problem.

 

[tthor]

... if you want to play games than forget it.

why's that?
i thought Wine could run a lot of windows programs just fine?

 

[Skizle]

put both windows and linux on you computer. there are a few games that cant run on linux (mostly downloadable games) so keep windows as an insurance policy

wait, how do u put both on?
i thought u could only of have 1 of these things on a computer at a time?

yes you can have both. you select which OS you want to use when you boot your computer.

EDIT:
i dont know how to explain how to do it, but if your buddy's a big computer nerd then he should know

 

[tthor]

put both windows and linux on you computer. there are a few games that cant run on linux (mostly downloadable games) so keep windows as an insurance policy

wait, how do u put both on?
i thought u could only of have 1 of these things on a computer at a time?

yes you can have both. you select which OS you want to use when you boot your computer.

would putting both on cause any problems, or require any special configuration?

 

[Vordark]

Yeah, don't do this. There are a number of different distros of Linux (with Ubuntu arguably being the best for non-techies) but every one of them requires you to know far more about your machine than the average mortal. There are many different "solutions" to running Windows software (Wine, Cedega, Crossover, etc.) but every one of them is essentially a beta that is just as likely as to eat away at your time and patience than it is to save the day.

I've used some flavor of Linux since 1998 and there are STILL major issues if your interests lie in anything other than surfing the web, checking your mail and sending photos to grandma.

If you enjoy gaming, want hardware to JUST WORK and don't feel like re-installing the entire OS just because you said "OKAY" when the system asked you to update something and then shat itself inside out, just use Windows. XP still works for 99% of what you probably want to do, and Windows 7 will be out by the end of the year.

 

[garmat]

A dual-boot is actually very easy, if you know what you're doing. The easiest way for someone new to linux is to add a second hard drive. Alternatively, one can repartition a hard drive and either resize the existing Windows partition or install Windows from the cd on a smaller partition, then install a linux distribution such as ubuntu or debian in the free space. Linux should be installed last, because the installer cd will usually detect Windows set up the boot loader for you.

A google search is a quick way to find detailed instructions, just make sure the instructions are no more than a few months old, since linux is undergoing rapid development.

The ubuntu cd (http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download ) is a livecd, which means you can boot your computer directly from the cd, and get to a linux desktop and try it out without touching anything you already have on your computer. The installer also allows you to shrink a partition without losing and data, so you can separate your hard drive into two parts, without having to reinstall Windows. The CD will allow you to install linux in the freed space. Linux requires far less space than Windows, so you could get by with 8-20 GB for linux, depending on the features you want to install.

I would recommend finding someone who knows linux in case you run into troublle. There are many "Linux Users Groups" worldwide (I happen to be vice president of one) that are glad to help new users start using linux.

 

[Skizle]

A dual-boot is actually very easy, if you know what you're doing. The easiest way for someone new to linux is to add a second hard drive. Alternatively, one can repartition a hard drive and either resize the existing Windows partition or install Windows from the cd on a smaller partition, then install a linux distribution such as ubuntu or debian in the free space. Linux should be installed last, because the installer cd will usually detect Windows set up the boot loader for you.

A google search is a quick way to find detailed instructions, just make sure the instructions are no more than a few months old, since linux is undergoing rapid development.

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_windows_xp_and_linux_xp_installed_first.htm?page=1
here(sorry im no good with HTML)

 

[tthor]

"...Linux was completely virus free..."

You're absolutely correct that it is too good to be true. I know that there are viruses for linux, they're just far less common than Windows viruses. I have three computers running linux connected directly to the internet without any virus protection, and have not had any problems with viruses so far.

"he also said that linux tho sometimes requires a bit of computer knowledge, but he thought i could probably figure out how to use the linux code stuff within a day"

I've been using linux for two years now, and am still learning new things daily. You can start using linux without knowing very much, but you'll learn as you use it. There is a large community online who are willing to help people who want to learn linux.

"he also claimed that many programs and games for windows don't work on Linux, but that many ppl convert a lot of these programs into linux and let u download them for free off the web."

Many windows programs can run in linux in a program called wine, which is sort of like an emulator. You can check to see if your programs will work by looking through http://appdb.winehq.org/, although there are free linux programs to do most common tasks.

I would recommend a dual-boot, or running linux on another computer, so that you have Windows as a backup system in case of an emergency. I use linux 99% of the time, but I've configured my laptop as a dual boot for just a couple of programs that don't run any other way. Linux can even run well on older computers that may have been discarded because new versions of Windows are more demanding on hardware.

Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/ ) is one of the most popular linux distributions, because it is easy to set up and use for most people.

ty for the advice
if u have any more tips or info on Linux, feel free to share

 

[garmat]

http://www.linux.org/groups/ may be help you find people near you who can help if you have problems.

 

[Baneat]

Why does my Windows computer without any AV software never get a virus? I dunno, maybe it's that people do dumb things. Chances are, you're gonna run into a lot of problems with Linux. You don't just run an installer, you have to do this stuff manually, with a command terminal. Linux geeks, please stop pushing something so complicated onto unsuspecting bystanders.

 

[watchman 2353]

I would dual boot. I do that at home on the computer I am currently using. I would subjest 3/4 Vista (or XP depending on your systems) and 1/4 Ubuntu.

 

[DirkGently]

Why does my Windows computer without any AV software never get a virus? I dunno, maybe it's that people do dumb things. Chances are, you're gonna run into a lot of problems with Linux. You don't just run an installer, you have to do this stuff manually, with a command terminal. Linux geeks, please stop pushing something so complicated onto unsuspecting bystanders.

Really, it's not that complicated. Maybe if you stopped and thought to learn to use a powerful piece of technology instead of expecting it to do everything for you, the concept of using a terminal for all three seconds wouldn't seem that complicated.

As was already said, Ubuntu is easy pie and one of the most common distros amongst your average computer user. Secondly, you can dual boot your HD; so you can choose to boot into windows or Linux on start up. That way if something happens to your windows setp, you can recover the data off of it and re-install it. You could also consider virtualization, though I"m not sure how smoothly it will run games.

 

[garmat]

Why does my Windows computer without any AV software never get a virus? I dunno, maybe it's that people do dumb things. Chances are, you're gonna run into a lot of problems with Linux. You don't just run an installer, you have to do this stuff manually, with a command terminal. Linux geeks, please stop pushing something so complicated onto unsuspecting bystanders.

Actually, this is all changing. If you run the new ubuntu CD, you can set up your system without using a terminal at all. Hardware support now is better than ever. Also, most viruses can affect computers without any obvious signs. You may be fairly protected from viruses by using a router.

Welcome to the 21st century!