Let's talk about Linux

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

Ok, I have an old HP Compaq nx8220 which, I think, has 512mb RAM and 60 gb hdd

I'm thinking of trying to install and understand Linux. So, is it worth doing? What flavour of Linux should I go for?

I'm not thinking of doing anything intensive, CD/ DVD ripping, web browsing, etc.

So, any thoughts people?

[Diddums 4,346]

Fantastic news Dave!

 

Linux is awesome. Once you've used it for a bit you soon realise how bogged down Windows is. As for starting, last time I fiddled with Linux was the days when Redhat was king, no idea where that stands now. You'll find that the answer depends on who you ask, everyone has their preferences but Pinguy seems to be the most prevalent. Make sure that whatever one you choose, it's the 64bit version.

 

This is a good read: http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/which-is-the-best-distro-for-beginners--1213490

 

If you use an Android phone, be prepared to be amazed at the similarities, because under all it's fancypants evolved apps and pretty icons, lies a Linux kernel.

 

 

Of course later on you can always buy a Raspberry Pi and install Linux on that, you can do almost anything with it. A combination made in heaven really.

[Sennex 1,903]

Also all Mac's since around 2000 are based off of the Linux Kernel. 

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

I've been wanting to do this with an old laptop too.

[The3rdWalker 1,271]

Once I buy my new PC is love to try Linux

[Sennex 1,903]

If you plan on Gaming, don't jump into Linux. Sure you could do a VM of win 7, but I wouldn't

 

Linux gaming is getting better, but it doesn't compare yet

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

Hi,

 

 

Ubuntu is the one I encounter the most. It's free and you can actually operate an emulator on your PC (windows) to make it look like a linux desktop.

 

You can find the information here.

 

http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop

 

It's also free 

 

The applications that we run on it are rather complex. I've been using unix (which is basically Linux now) forever so I may not be the best to evaluate the worth of that OS but as I said I encounter this one in the working world a lot. Mostly with software companies that want a user to be able to do powerfull stuff on their systems when they are stuck with windows.

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

Thanks for the feedback guys....this will give me a few leads to follow

[Diddums 4,346]

As Bart says, it's definitely not a gaming platform ("yet" - this card is as old as Linux itself). That said, if you want to learn coding or web design / development, it's ridiculously good. I know you've got your retirement coming up Dave, if you're interested in learning any of this stuff (which is great fun, make no mistake) then let me know, I'll paste some link for good resources and whatnot. 

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

Thanks Dave, that would be appreciated and may help Tommy as well

[Sennex 1,903]

I would recommend Mint over Ubuntu.

 

The reason for this is Ubuntu has forked away from the typical Linux development, and it is causing issues in the linux community. 

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

This tread got me thinking a bit

 

1) Can Linux be installed over Win7 on a machine and essentially scrub Win7? In other  words if my laptop is win7, how to I install Linux on it instead. I know that I cannot format or scrub the disk because it is write protected. I suspect there is a way since PCs usually come with win pre-installed. I've never had to re-install in my case

 

2) Diddums mentioned 64 bit linux. Does it actually work on a 32 bit machine? I don't remember where PCs became 64 bits but some older machines may not be.

 

3) Does 32 bit software run on 64 bit linux. A number of Win softwares are still 32 bits and run on a 64 bit machine. Some do not. You actually need 32 bit windows. Those are older programs that were not written well but they still are around. It's usually applications that were never updated. I run into them once in a while. 

 

 

The versions of linux that I am use to seeing supported in my working environment are the following

 

• Red Hat Enterprise Workstation 7.0 (64-bit)

• Red Hat Enterprise Workstation 6.5-6.6 (64-bit)\

• Red Hat Enterprise Workstation 5.10 (64-bit)

• SUSE Linux Enterprise 11.3 and 12.0 (64-bit)

• Cent OS 6.6 and 7.0 (64-bit) 

• Ubuntu Linux 14.04.2 LTS (64-bit)

 

 

But that doesn't mean that the others mentioned here are not good for other applications.

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

Interesting point about getting rid of Windows...mine was preinstalled XP, do you think I will be able to reformat that? Would I be better off trying ti run ,say Mint, from a USB or CD first before trying to wipe the hdd?

[The3rdWalker 1,271]

Well I'll have an older laptop that I would turn into a Guinea pig system, so I'm wondering if you can do a clean wipe and fresh install of Linux.

[Sennex 1,903]

This tread got me thinking a bit

 

1) Can Linux be installed over Win7 on a machine and essentially scrub Win7? In other  words if my laptop is win7, how to I install Linux on it instead. I know that I cannot format or scrub the disk because it is write protected. I suspect there is a way since PCs usually come with win pre-installed. I've never had to re-install in my case

 

2) Diddums mentioned 64 bit linux. Does it actually work on a 32 bit machine? I don't remember where PCs became 64 bits but some older machines may not be.

 

3) Does 32 bit software run on 64 bit linux. A number of Win softwares are still 32 bits and run on a 64 bit machine. Some do not. You actually need 32 bit windows. Those are older programs that were not written well but they still are around. It's usually applications that were never updated. I run into them once in a while. 

 

 

In order of yours:

 

1. Yes, easily
2. When downloading Linux, make sure you grab the x32 image and not the x64 image, in other words. If you chose your options right, then yes.
3. Currently, all x32 packages run under x64 Windows 7 or higher. Regardless, for Linux, when you grab the x32 version, it will install the x32 repositories. So, don't worry about it. 

In some ways Linux is really hard and really easy to fuck up. Installing Linux packages(software) is just like installing something from Steam. You can't really fuck that up. It is when you use the packages, and start setting things up yourself while running it that you can fuck up.