TOTAL newbie migrating to Linux

[bizres]

Hi,

I'm TOTALLY new to Linux and have decided to migrate to this because I have just had yet another crash with my previous operating system and am not ready to reinstall that one again.

I would like to shift TOTALLY to Linux and would like some guidance on the same:

• Which distribution should I go for
• how do I format my hard drive to have it dedicated to use Linux as it's 'standard' operating system
• etc.,

Regards.

[devils casper]

hi bizres,

Welcome to the LinuxForums.

* Which distribution should I go for

nobody can tell you exactly. there are thousands of distros and selection depends on lot of things like hardware compatibility, your likes/dislikes and the purpose... check this Distro Look thread... try as many as you can and find out which one suites you most.

* how do I format my hard drive to have it dedicated to use Linux as it's 'standard' operating system

Linux installer will create/format partitions itself. leave unpartitioned free space.

* etc.,

hmmm... this is a very tough question.. :joking:

feel free to ask anything related to Linux. we will try our best to help you.

* please dont ask 'which distro' question again. check above link.





Casper

[bizres]

I'm a web designer and usually just do the following (besides designing web pages - I currently use Macromedia apps like Dreamweaver, Flash & for e-commerce & database development I use Agora cart which is totally online):
Browsing
E-mail
and other day to day stuff

I hope Linux would not pause any limitations to usual browsing, e-mail and using online database & e-commerce development tools like Agora cart.

Is there any way I can use all or most Windows apps on Linux?

What would you recomend

Regards.

[tvilkov]

Hi there!
You can try to run windows programs under WINE, but not all apps are supported, and those that are some may run with bugs. However, check this link for windows programs replacements - http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html
Hope this helps!

[bizres]

I tried downloading Damn Small Linux (DSL) and got the following files with which I made a bootable CD:

• DSL.vmx
• DSL-3.2.iso
• bootfloppy-grub.img

My PC has a corrupt version on Win2k
I tried to boot this pc with this CD, but get the following message:
-----
GRUB veriosn 0.91 ( 639k lower / 97216k upper memory )
DSL ( frugal on hda2 )
DSL ( traditional hard drive on hda4 )

Use the ↑ and ↓ keys to select which which entry is highlighted.
Press enter to boot the selected OS, 'e' to edit the commands before booting, or 'c' for a command-line
-----

Whichever of the options I choose, a message similar to this is displayed:
-----
Booting 'DSL ( frugal on hda2 )

root ( hd0,1 )

Error 22: No such partition

Press any key to continue...
-----

How do get to format my hard drive to use DSL as the 'standard' operating & file system?

How do I go about with all this?

Just one more thing...
I have another pc with WinXP (working OK) and I put in my DSL cd into the drive. All I got was an error:
@SVB_RS_NO_START_NO_INST
In Windows Explorer, I see all the different files and folders for this DSL cd I have made - 3 folders (boot, knoppix, lost + found) and one file (index.html) on the root of the cd.

How do I load the DSL in WinXP?

Regards.

[techieMoe]

I tried downloading Damn Small Linux (DSL) and got the following files with which I made a bootable CD:

• DSL.vmx
• DSL-3.2.iso
• bootfloppy-grub.img

You shouldn't have to do anything special to make a bootable DSL disc. Take the ISO file only and burn it to a disc using a CD burning app of some sort. If you're using Nero, make sure NOT to check "make CD burnable". Then reboot with the disc and you should be brought to a LiveCD environment. Those other two files (.VMX and .IMG) are a VMWare virtual machine and a floppy bootable disc, respectively. Only the ISO is needed.

How do I load the DSL in WinXP?

In short: you don't. Damn Small Linux is a completely separate operating system from Microsoft Windows and cannot be simply "run" like an application. You have to either boot it from CD media or run it inside of a virtual machine program like VMWare.

[bizres]

If you're using Nero, make sure NOT to check "make CD burnable".

but Nero asks for a boot image from a floppy disk.
When I select Bootable Data Disk from the main option screen (What would you like to burn ?), it says at the top, "Add data to your disk. Then click on 'Next' to add the boot image from a bootable floppy disk."
and when I add the DSL-3.2.iso file and click on Next, I get a screen saying
-----
Please insert a bootable disk into the selected drive and click 'Next' to make your medium bootable the same way your floppy is.

To make a bootable disk for your operating system, right click your floppy drive and select 'Format' in the pop up menu. Make sure the option 'Copy system files' is checked.

Read bootdisk in drive:
A:\ Unknown size
-----

And if I click on Next without any bootable floppy in the drive, it says:
-----
No floppy was found in the drive.
Please insert a bootable floppy disk
in the selected drive and try again.
-----

For the record, I'm using 'Nero Express version 5.5.10.26 Bundled'

How would I go about with Infra Recorder?

Regards.

[techieMoe]

but Nero asks for a boot image from a floppy disk.
When I select Bootable Data Disk from the main option screen (What would you like to burn ?), it says at the top, "Add data to your disk. Then click on 'Next' to add the boot image from a bootable floppy disk."
and when I add the DSL-3.2.iso file...

Sorry, I should have been more clear. Do not create a new disc project in Nero. Simply open Nero, exit out of the little wizard that pops up, and go to Open. In the bottom drop-down menu called "Files of type:" choose "Image files (*.nrg;*.iso;*.cue)", then select your ISO file. This should allow you to just burn the file as an image.

[rasch15]

but Nero asks for a boot image from a floppy disk.
When I select Bootable Data Disk from the main option screen (What would you like to burn ?), it says at the top, "Add data to your disk. Then click on 'Next' to add the boot image from a bootable floppy disk."
and when I add the DSL-3.2.iso file...

@techieMoe
Dang it! I was about to say the same thing as you, but my internet freaked out and wouldn't do anything (probably because i'm on windows right now).

@bizres
anyway, techieMoe is completely correct. You want to burn the iso image onto a disc. When you create a bootable cd with the boot image from a floppy disk, you're just creating the Windows boot disk and it will boot to MSDOS. When you burn the .iso image, it will create DSL's bootable cd, which should allow you to install the linux OS.


PS @techieMoe - How do you put the box around quotes when you post?

[techieMoe]

PS @techieMoe - How do you put the box around quotes when you post?

I just hit the "Quote" button at the bottom right of the post I want to quote.