Is installing linux a good idea for me

[TheeOrical]

Hi,
Could someone tell me if installing linux is a good idea for me?
I have a laptop with windows 7 on, but it has a "Trojan Horse pached_c.lxt "virus & i can't remove it. Would uninstalling windows & putting Linux on work still or would the virus give me problems( like to move over to linux, if it's a possibility & if i had to pay to get the virus removed, i'd only be switching to Linux after anyway)
If someone can help me out it would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[oz]

Is installing linux a good idea for me

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Installing Linux over Windows should remove any virus unless it is a BIOS infection. However, only you can decide for sure if installing Linux is a good idea for you. If you determine that you do want to try Linux, you can check out our HowTo article for properly downloading and burning a Linux ISO file to disc:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/ins...ll-cd-dvd.html

Let us know how it goes if you try it.

[Irithori]

Installing linux -and (re-)installing windows for that matter- will provide a fresh start, your virus will be gone.
So are all your files and data, if you dont back them up beforehand.

The question is: What do you intend to do with that laptop?
Are you relying on applications, that are windows only?
Games would also fall in that category.

[TheeOrical]

Would i use the normal method of installing linux in my case?

P.S would programs like this work on Linux ? neckdiagrams from neckdiagrams.com.

[Irithori]

Sorry, but I have no idea what your case is, nor what you mean by normal install method.

[TheeOrical]

Sorry, i mean would installing Linux when my window7 laptop has a virus. Would it install Linux ok?

[oz]

Having a virus under Windows shouldn't change the way the you would need to install Linux. You can check the WINE apps database to see which Windows applications may or may not work well under Linux:

WineHQ - Wine Application Database

[Irithori]

Yes, technically it should install on your laptop.

But again:
- This will overwrite *anything* on the harddisc of this laptop. So safe your data.
- Be sure, that you do not rely on windows only applications for your work and/or home.

[oz]

The best thing about Linux is that if you find you don't like it, the experience didn't cost anything but some of your time and a blank disk or two. Good luck with whatever route you choose to take!

[floydechoes2000]

If you've ever installed windows xp you'll have no trouble installing most any major Linux distro. If you are sick of windows problems I highly recommend at least trying it out. I can tell you I run Ultimate Edition 3.2 and I just downloaded the trial version of neckdiagrams and it installed and ran ok under Wine. As far as I could tell everything seemed to be working fine but it may take you some time to get used to wine's file system and how to save your files where you can find them. You can find out more about Ultimate Edition here:

Sorry, I don't have enough posts on this site to post a link here yet. Just Google Ultimate Edition