Opinion about Debian?

**fvs** · 06-22-2006

I have had Fedora Core 5 for about 2 months, I just started using linux for the first time and found that FD5 was very user friendly and very easy to install and has a very friendly community to get help from.
Now I've tried Debian for the first time about a week ago and have nothing but a hard time, from trying to install it as a second distro on (hdb) and getting Grub configured on the master (hda) and booting it up then trying to get my printer to work. How is the Debian community is it very helpful? Just curious to have some feed back as to whether it's worth it?

**antidrugue** · 06-22-2006

Debian is great, but for a desktop you might find Debian Sarge a little outdated. Etch is perfect for standard desktop use.

It is a matter of taste which distro you like the best. Some people like the stability, the easiness of customization (kernel-package, module-assistant, etc.) and the package management system of Debian.

You can find here all the help you need to install and configure it.

**Zelmo** · 06-22-2006

I tried Debian after using a bunch of other distros, and I have nothing but love for it. Even now I occasionally throw something new at my laptop (Ubuntu, Mepis, PC-BSD) but I always come back to Debian because I like how it works.

That being said, when I first started using Linux I was afraid to even try Debian, and for good reason. It can be hard to get Debian working right if you're not already used to a Unix-like environment. But after easing in with RedHat, SuSE, and Fedora, and then going through Gentoo's school of hard knocks, Debian became easy to use and suits me quite nicely.

As for the community, you'll probably find that Debian users are fairly knowledgeable, just because using Debian comfortably takes a bit of experience.

**Kojak** · 06-22-2006

Debian is nice, rock solid, but I don't recommend it to newcomers to Linux. It's a bit frightening and overwhelming for many people. But when you know your way around in Linux, a Debian install is not extremely complicated.

**fvs** · 06-22-2006

[QUOTE=antidrugue]Debian is great, but for a desktop you might find Debian Sarge a little outdated. Etch is perfect for standard desktop use.

How do I get Etch iso? I went to Debian site but I can't find Etch, point me to it.
Thanks. fvs

***Dapper Dan*** · 06-22-2006

I like Debian.

**antidrugue** · 06-22-2006

Etch is also called "testing" for now :
http://www.us.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/

The "netinst" CD is always a good choice.

**fvs** · 06-22-2006

Downloading now, This version "netinst" CD is only 125mb, After I burn the iso and try to install it on the 20gig slave (hdb) How do i boot it from the master (hda) i had problems with this part. It will install but when i go to reboot, Bingo lost grub from my Fedora (master) Is there a right proceedure on how to load a second distro on a second drive and get it to boot after rebooting?

**antidrugue** · 06-22-2006

Originally Posted by fvs

Is there a right proceedure on how to load a second distro on a second drive and get it to boot after rebooting?

You might want to search the forum for this issue, as it has been discussed before :
http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/ins...iple-boot.html
http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/ins...iple-boot.html
etc.

or else start a new thread on this.

**fvs** · 06-22-2006

Hi antidrugue, Got it installed and can boot from fedora 5 with grub configuration, Nice, Ok but don't have printer going or any of my favorites to get going, need the printer bad (first thing) any help?
Thanks again. I'll try it all this week and get back to this thread.
fvs

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