linux installation

[sweet_scent_19]

hi. how to install linux server?? i can't follow the process. please teach me.. thanks!!! sweet_scent_19@yahoo.com

[Mirzabah]

Having done it recently myself, the steps are:

Select your distribution. I chose Ubuntu (http://ubuntulinux.org).
Download the ISO file for the installer.
Burn the ISO to a CD. If you are running windows and don't have something like Nero, you might need this handy utility (http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm).
Insert the CD into the machine you want to install linux on and reboot.
Follow the prompts.


The above assumes you aren't trying to do anything complex like set up a dual-boot system so you can have windows and linux on the same system. If you want to do that, then you should spend some time googling around. Setting up a dual-boot system is very complicated and not something that can be easily answered in these forums.

[patrickpawlowsk]

Mirzabah pretty much said it all. I generally use www.mandrake.org. At one point, everything I was reading said they had the best and easiest installer. www.slackware.org has a pretty popular disto. It's pretty lightweight but you may have to be a bit more advanced to use it. I really learned a alot about Linux when I bought the book Linux Bible. When I bought it,it came with 3 cd's of Red Hat 8.0. The latest version Linux Bible, 2005 Edition, according to Amazon.com

[quote]Includes Fedora Core 3, Debian Linux, SUSE Linux, Knoppix, Gentoo Linux, Slackware Linux, Mandrake Linux, Damn Small Linux, and a Linux firewall and router on DVD. [quote]

Damn, I need to order that book! I have most of those distro's but not the latest versions.

The thing that will make you life more or less easier will be your hardware. Generally, if you have older popular hardware you will probably not run into any problem. I tend to favor ASUS motherboard with the Nvidia chipset and it's always been somewhat of a pain to configure linux to work with the onboard video and NIC. Stick in an old SIS video card and a Dlink or Linksys NIC and Linux recognizes them right off. Another page to bookmark in your quest for Linux knowledge is www.linuxquestions.com.

I hope all this rambling works. I really love my linux box and wish I had more time to work on it.

[Skunkboy]

A lot of it depends on the machine you're using as well. I've got Slackware 10.0, Slackware 10.1, DamnSmall, Feather, and have toyed with Fedora. If you're on an older machine, you may want to look into perhaps a hard drive install of a LiveCD (or even run it from a LiveCD) such as Feather, DamnSmall, Puppy, and many others that are floating around out there.

[bugs]

I would suggest you buy a Linux magazine. They often offer help and Linux distribution on DVD/CD.

But quite frankly, nowadays installing Linux is very easy. Configuring/tuning is another story...
So if you can't even get a basic Linux install then you may need to get a friend living near you to help you.

Start with the easiest distrib around:
Mandrake (now call mandriva)
fedora
suse
(and many other already mentioned in this thread)

download any of those 3, read the help files (RTFM is a word you will hear a lot in the Unix world), install. Then come back with a specific error/problem :)

Good luck, it is worth the effort!
Bugs.

[extras]

Having done it recently myself, the steps are:
.....
Setting up a dual-boot system is very complicated and not something that can be easily answered in these forums.
There are more and more distro that handles dual-boot automatically,
including re-partition of windows hard disk.
New Mandrake supposedly handles it well.

As skunkboy said, there are many Live CD linuxs.
You should play with them by booting from CD-ROM
before to decide which one to install..