Newbie with install question

[TanBrae]

Hi all! I am VERY new to Linux, and it was suggested by a class mate.
I am working on a friend's computer for which he "lost" the operating system. This friend has very little extra money right now, so my classmate suggested I try loading Linux on my friend's PC.
I am wondering if it will work. The PC is a Compaq Presario SR5610F with an AMD processor. I have been told that Linux doesn't care much for AMD.
Does anybody know if it will be possible to use Linux as an OS on this PC?
I'm looking for a cheap(er) alternative than Windows. Friend is balking at Windows 7. The machine had Vista loaded in it when purchased, then the son loaded XP on it, without removing Vista. They have been having issues with crashing for some time now. The recovery disks are supposed to have XP on them, but I don't think that is so, and when I tried running those disks, the computer balked. I finally worked around and got XP to install, using a disk from an old computer, but the code would not work, and nobody could remember the computer's password and user name. *sigh*
I want to start fresh with this machine, and install a basic, working OS. Am leary about XP on eBay or some such, but they really don't have the funds to purchase anything over $100.00.
Suggestions???

[reed9]

Linux has no trouble with AMD processors.

The most common area of difficulty is with wireless cards. Many do not work out of the box, but require some extra firmware or, in rarer occasions, you may need to build the driver from source. So if you have access to a wired internet connection after the install, it can be helpful.

Otherwise it's likely everything will work fine. Best thing is to boot up a live CD and test it out though.

I generally recommend Linux Mint to new comers, but ultimately it's up to personal preferences.

[jerrag]

Hi, If you are seeking an OS that looks and acts a lot like Windows you can't go wrong with Mint, but there is a variant of Mint that I like a lot better and it looks a lot more like Windows, it is super fast at loading and runs nearly trouble free. It has the latest wireless drivers built in so that shouldn't be too much of a problem

Just my 2 cents, I have been a Linux lover since college in '94 but not an expert by any means, I do, however use it on most of my machines as a second OS and normally boot to the Linux partition unless there is something that I desperately need to do in windows.

[previso]

First off, what purpose will the computer serve? Must it be networked to Microsoft PCs? I suggest to start with a Live CD and test different flavors before commiting to any one variant. These versions have been specifically designed to run off the CD drive without installation. Once a choice is made, the full version can then be downloaded and installed. Check out this website: The LiveCD List. It lists versions (distros) and their main purpose. For first time users I've always been partial to Knoppix or Mepis.
Regarding the wifi, there are two choices with Compaq. Due to their obstinate insistence in using propietary wifi cards (no one else uses theirs), any off the shelf usb wifi will work. The other choice, and I do not recommed this for newbies, is to use the Windows driver with NDISWRAPPER.
I congratulate you and your friend for considering Linux as a primary OS. Once you learn it (and remember, you did have to learn Windows), you will be hard pressed to use Windows at all.

[sheff]

It may have a recovery partition that can re-install the Vista if it hasn't been deleted .
try turning it on and pressing F8 and look for a repair option in the list (usually the fist one at the top) that one will try to fix the Vista.
for the recovery option you need to press a key or a key combination at start up to get to it like F11 or Esc F10 .
look in the manual that came with the pc or look on the pc's website for the manual .

If all of those options don't work then a Linux is the best option for it.
there are many to chose from and i have tried out a lot of them.
The LinuxMint OS is a good chose as is the Peppermint One OS is .
I am about to redo my pc with one that is a Ubuntu re-master with parts from Mint added to it called PinguyOS.
The .ios file is over a gig in size so it will need to be burned to a dvd ,or use a program called Unetbootin to make a bootable usb flash drive with it on it.
As with all the major Linux distros they are "live cd's" (can boot up to a working pc environment to see if it works with your hardware and check out how it looks and if you like it)
and you should be able to get all of your files from the windows like pics,music and documents and copy them to a cd /flash drive/usb drive before you try to fix/install the Windows.

[MASONTX]

Welcome to the forum. If you go to distrowatch.com, you will find hundreds of linux distro's to choose from. Ubuntu is the most downloaded, with Mint 2nd. If you want all the extra codecs, drivers, etc out of the box, try Ultimate (Ubuntu with the extra's thrown in). You will see the top 100 on the right side of the page, but "select distribution" box has many more. Download the ISO of the ones you want to try and burn them to CD or DVD rw media (that way you don't waste disks if you want to try a different distro). Try the disk as a live cd and see which ones you prefer. Try some from each of the main desktops, Gnome, KDE, LXDE, and XFCE. Play around with it and have fun.

[srdorothy]

Hi all! I am VERY new to Linux, and it was suggested by a class mate.
I am working on a friend's computer for which he "lost" the operating system. This friend has very little extra money right now, so my classmate suggested I try loading Linux on my friend's PC.
I am wondering if it will work. The PC is a Compaq Presario SR5610F with an AMD processor. I have been told that Linux doesn't care much for AMD.
Does anybody know if it will be possible to use Linux as an OS on this PC?
I'm looking for a cheap(er) alternative than Windows. Friend is balking at Windows 7. The machine had Vista loaded in it when purchased, then the son loaded XP on it, without removing Vista. They have been having issues with crashing for some time now. The recovery disks are supposed to have XP on them, but I don't think that is so, and when I tried running those disks, the computer balked. I finally worked around and got XP to install, using a disk from an old computer, but the code would not work, and nobody could remember the computer's password and user name. *sigh*
I want to start fresh with this machine, and install a basic, working OS. Am leary about XP on eBay or some such, but they really don't have the funds to purchase anything over $100.00.
Suggestions???

I like AMD processors; the only trouble I've had was if I forgot to defragment a Windows volume before attempting a linux install--and that was fixed by doing the defrag.

As others have said: many distros to choose from. For someone wanting something that feels similar to Windows, Ubuntu is a good all around choice with large number of applications (programs) to choose from. Another favorite of mine for ease of everything working (wireless, modem, etc) is Puppy Linux 5. Very fast and easy to run from disk too (whereas heftier "live cds" like Ubuntu are slower until you actually do an install to the hard drive. And Puppy has a larger than ever selection of apps too. I only have recourse to Windows once in a while when there is a particular piece of Win. software I have to use....not very often any more.

good luck on this project...
Sr. Dorothy

[reljoy]

I have been "playing" with Linux for a couple of years. Now with Linux Mint 10 I am making it my "main" OS. The Mint community is fantastic and I always get help on the forums when I need it. Be prepared for some learning! Look forward to not having to have an antivirus program or an antispyware program. By installing using the install software that comes with Mint, you never get a program with a virus. My Mint computer is heaps faster in starting up and shutting down than when I boot it up into WinXP (I have a dual boot system). Download a "live" CD or DVD and boot up on it. It will be slow because it is a CD but if it works, then you can be pretty sure that it will work fine if you wipe the hard disk and install Mint. Give it a try and you'll probably like it. I particularly like the "wobbly windows" effect that I get when I use Compiz in Linux Mint.

[tausay]

Hello TanBrae,
1. First of all you can not install the lower version of Win OS on its higher counter-part. So, please make habit not to do that again.
2. Now you have to remove all the OS's you have installed on the PC by formatting it. So, that you can get the whole space free for loading the new OS.
3. As you are newbie try to install the Mandriva or Open Suse as there environment is very much like Windows.
4. Please be careful while formatting as Linux requires different type of Filesystem mainly ext3 and while assigning the swap space (which must be 2*RAM_SIZE).

Tau

[Xheralt]

Hello TanBrae,
1. First of all you can not install the lower version of Win OS on its higher counter-part. So, please make habit not to do that again.
2. Now you have to remove all the OS's you have installed on the PC by formatting it. So, that you can get the whole space free for loading the new OS.
3. As you are newbie try to install the Mandriva or Open Suse as there environment is very much like Windows.
4. Please be careful while formatting as Linux requires different type of Filesystem mainly ext3 and while assigning the swap space (which must be 2*RAM_SIZE).

Tau

Remember that before you do the install, booting with the LiveCD and using that environment will allow to you backup all personal data (even if you have to do it piecemeal, DO IT) -- remember, doing the full install wipes everything!

The only (minor) quibble I would offer to Tau's 4th point is that swap space (while necessary) doesn't necessarily have to be that much. 2xRAM is a decent rule of thumb, but there are exceptions. If you have an older machine with less than 1GB of RAM, bump it up to swap=3x(total_RAM). 1 or so GB of RAM, swap=2x(total_RAM) is perfect. But if you've got a really hot new machine with 4 or more GB, swap merely equal to RAM will probably suffice. You will ALWAYS need swap at least equal to RAM, however!