[ernieh]

I would like to know if Linex can be run on any computer or if it is like Mac and needs to be run on an apple computer

or would it work on my system
Mobo: msi k8n neo 4 f
CPU: amd Atholn 3700+
ram corsair value select 1 gb 2*512
GPU powercolor x850 pro
HDD westren Digital 80 GB 7200 rpm

[Advertisements]

yes it can run on anything that windows can be run on

[FuM]

yes it can run on anything that windows can be run on

[Pi rules]

That looks more than sufficient. What distribution (distro) are you planning on using? If you know which one, you should be able to find detailed requirements for it. Just remember that you probably won't be able to find all of your drivers, but everything should work fine despite that.

[ernieh]

I was thinking of lispire (or something i think that is the name of it) Is that a good one to use for someone who has not ever used linux or is ther something else you would recommend. also what do you mean by not finding all the drivers will my system perform to its potential. And will i be able to play my games on it

[Dragon]

generally I recommend Suse for the complete linux newbie, unless you have someone aroudn with insight in whatever distro you are interested in.

Ubuntu is also a good one, great support in their forums as well as here, and for the most part it works out of the box so to say.

[Pi rules]

And will i be able to play my games on it

Probably not if they were designed for Windows. You could try using Wine, but I don't play many games, so hopefully somebody could point some things out.

About the drivers: some Linux distros have problems with certain USB devices, but to use those, you could always dual boot with Windows. Your PC should work fine with whatevery distro you choose. If you have any problems, as Efwis said, you could just post them at G2G or the respective forum for your distro.

Edit: removed the Windows emulator part...sorry for the mistake and thanks Efwis for informing me. I'm fairly new to Linux and can't stop going on XP. I use Ubuntu and USB works fine.
I found this:

Wine...is not an emulator because an emulator simulates full operations of an hardware or software...

Edited by Pi rules, 21 October 2005 - 04:54 PM.

[Dragon]

Probably not if they were designed for Windows. You could try using a Windows emulator, such as Wine, but I don't play many games, so hopefully somebody could point some out.

About the drivers: some Linux distros have problems with certain USB devices, but to use those, you could always dual boot with Windows. Your PC should work fine with whatevery distro you choose. If you have any problems, as Efwis said, you could just post them at G2G or the respective forum for your distro.

just on a side note, Ubuntu notices and uses the USB drivers without any issues.

as for the games yes you can play your games on Linux using Cedega which is (non-free-meaning you pay for the support service $5USD) or like Pi said use Wine. although Wine does not cover as many games as cedega. Which games are you wanting to play???

Also so you know WINE is not a Windows Emulator.

Edited by Efwis, 21 October 2005 - 04:22 PM.

[ernieh]

i was going to play farcry, halo, warcraft 3 maybe some doom3 guild wars things like that

i use a pen drive to transfer files form my school to home would Linux be able to read those files(the school computers use windows xp)

does linux come with a word porssing progarm i think i heard something about it does but i dont know

what are the advantages of using linux? is it better than windows and if so why

i would like to run both linux and windows, will i be able to, will i have to partition my hard drive

how much will whichever distro cost

can i download whichever distro i chose to try and how would i install it, would i have to burn it onto a cd and install it form the cd


can i run both windows and linux at the same time or will i have to reboot every time i want to switch

I know some of my question might sound stupid but i have never used linux or any thing like it

Edited by ernieh, 21 October 2005 - 06:57 PM.

[Pi rules]

I'll try to answer this. If you need a clarification, please ask, and if anyone else finds any errors, please correct me...

i use a pen drive to transfer files form my school to home would Linux be able to read those files(the school computers use windows xp)

If the pen drive is compatible with your distro, then, it probably could. The computers are using Microsoft Word, right? If so, most Linux distros at least have the option to install an Office Suite (normally OpenOffice) when you install Linux, if not, you can always install it yourself. OpenOffice can modify and write .doc documents.

what are the advantages of using linux? is it better than windows and if so why

That would take a while to fully explain. I'll try to hit some of the main points. There is less malicious software for Linux, almost everything for Linux is FREE, and you can modify whatever you want with Linux. Windows is more user-friendly (for the most part) and is on the majority of computers (most software, most compatible, etc.).

i would like to run both linux and windows, will i be able to, will i have to partition my hard drive?

Yes, you can, and yes, you would have to partition your hard drive. What, if any, Operating Systems (OS) do you have installed on your hard drive?

how much will whichever distro cost

Most are free, however, there are "commercial" versions that cost money. These are generally easier to use and more like Windows, but they can cost a lot, plus charge extra to do other things.

can i run both windows and linux at the same time or will i have to reboot every time i want to switch

You will have to reboot.

About the games: Sorry, but I'm not sure about that. I use Linux, but strictly use Linux software with it. Hopefully somebody else can give you some pointers.

And no, your questions don't seem stupid, they are perfectly legit. I just recently started using Linux and I wondered some of the same stuff.

Edited by Pi rules, 21 October 2005 - 07:43 PM.

[Dragon]

i was going to play farcry, halo, warcraft 3 maybe some doom3 guild wars things like that

to play Farcry,Halo, and doom3 guild, you will have to use a program like Cedega, those three were specifically designed to be used on Windows machines. Warcraft 3 has been successfully ported to Linux if I recall correctly, however most peopel that i know of play it on cedega also.

i use a pen drive to transfer files form my school to home would Linux be able to read those files(the school computers use windows xp)

yes. although on some distros if the files came from a computer formatted with NTSF when Windows XP was installed you might run into some slight problems that are easily overcome.

does linux come with a word porssing progarm i think i heard something about it does but i dont know

out of all the distros I have seen they all come with OpenOffice. If the files are from Microsoft works then you have to save them in the excel format to work, otherwise its compatible with 90% of the software out there like MS word, Lotus, Excel, etc.....

can i download whichever distro i chose to try and how would i install it, would i have to burn it onto a cd and install it form the cd

yes you can download whatever distro your interested in. Yes you will have to burn them onto a cd as they are cd image ISO that your downloading.

how much will whichever distro cost

Almost all the distros are free, unlike windows where you pay for everything except the updates. Like Pi said there are some distros out there that you pay for, a total of 3 I think, but all you are paying fro really is the support that is available. you can find more info on free distros from http://www.linux.org you can also find out information regarding specific distros from there, i.e. whether or not they are for a novice user.

what are the advantages of using linux? is it better than windows and if so why

There are advantages and disadvantages to Linux. so I will make a very brief pro vs con list. Please note these are not all the pros and cons to consider, it would be best to make your own pros and cons list to weigh your options.

Pros

• over 90% of all linux distros are free
• there are only about 50 viruses to date that affect Linux
• its a learning environment
• you can make the system do what you want and look the way you want.

cons

• not everything will "work out of the box" so be prepared to learn a little programming
• Most computer modems now are called winsoft modems. you can get free driver from linuxant.com but if you need fax capability you have to pay $15 USD for the licensed version
• some programs are distro specific. in other words, you might see a program you like on one distro but it won't install on another distro
• not all distros have good/any support available without paying for it. to name a few Suse, Mandiva(formerly Mandrake), Red Hat, These are the ones I know of.

I hope this helps. feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

Edited by Efwis, 21 October 2005 - 11:17 PM.

[j0ke]

Its Linux btw

[j0ke]

Its Linux btw

[ernieh]

i have found out a lot about linux now and i feel that i am ready to try to use it.

i have found a site on the net that will send me a free copy of ubuntu (if i ask them to) so i think i will try useing that at first if i dont like it i can try another

but before i order it i want to know step by step how to install it, i do not want to install it over my windows xp OS, i would like to be able to use both. I will have to partion my HDD

does that office suite come w/ ubuntu?

does ubuntu have good USB device drivers

the school use Microsoft Office so would linux's office suite be able to open them

Edited by ernieh, 22 October 2005 - 06:12 AM.

[Pi rules]

i have found a site on the net that will send me a free copy of ubuntu (if i ask them to) so i think i will try useing that at first if i dont like it i can try another

Ubuntu is a fine distro. You may want to consider a LiveCD (bootable CD that shows you how the OS looks and runs without installing anything), which I should have mentioned earlier. Ubuntu has a LiveCD, but I think you would have to download it.

does that office suite come w/ ubuntu?

The newest version comes with OpenOffice.org 2.0 beta 2 (newer version released, it will probably come with an update)

does ubuntu have good USB device drivers

Yes, I haven't had any USB problems. If you somehow run into one, you can ask for help here or at Ubuntu's forum.

the school use Microsoft Office so would linux's office suite be able to open them

It should. It isn't 100% compatible, but it works very well with MS Office documents. The formatting may not always work, but it should >90% of the time. If it doesn't, you can always fix it.

but before i order it i want to know step by step how to install it, i do not want to install it over my windows xp OS, i would like to be able to use both. I will have to partion my HDD

The Ubuntu installer can shrink existing partitions, I believe.

There is an extremely useful Ubuntu guide here that you can use to help install and use Ubuntu, although this is for the previous version (5.04), I think that it should still work for the installation and many other things.

[Dragon]

as pi has already stated liveCD's are a great thing to use. ubuntu now ships as one disk, an installable liveCD. In the meantime another place to look for advice on installing Ubuntu is the official Ubuntu Forums and the official Ubuntu Wiki

the installation will help you partition your harddrive. This is a non-graphical installer, so it won't look like windows.

Edited by Efwis, 22 October 2005 - 08:28 AM.