What Distribution will be right for me?

[WayneGiese]

My computer is 2x 64 ADM with 4 Megs of ram on a acer laptop
Currently I am running windows home premium. The salesman talked me into an extra 2 Megs of ram. It was not until later that I found out I was only using 32bits and 2megs. I would like to take advantage of my hardware.

In the past I tried installing umbuntu on some older machine and had trobule with installing drivers. Then I came across gos and it has been running better than anything I have seen on my older machines. I wanted to install it on my acer but wanted to make sure it would be the best fit.

I mostly work with tons of tabs open in my browser
need to go back and forth from windows and Linux like tab browsing if possible
Use both 64bit processor and all 4megs of ram
I use the computer for internet marketing and would love to hear you ideas. I really love gos but want to know if this is the best for my top machine

[dk92123]

Many people prefer to start with Ubuntu and there is a lot of community support & documentation for people new to Linux.

There are many to choose from and I think the best way to know which you will like best is to try them out using a 'Live CD' .

About Live CDs:
You can run a variety of Linux distro's from a 'Live CD' and you don't need to install it, it runs from your RAM (memory) and doesn't change your computer unless you choose to install it or unless you modify files manually.

Basically you can try before you commit.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_CD
================================================== ===

Only you can decide what is right for you but Ubuntu is a popular distro for people new to Linux.

Other resources to help you decide:

zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

tuxs.org/chooser/

distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

Have Fun

[Lakshmipathi]

I found out I was only using 32bits and 2megs. I would like to take advantage of my hardware.

You could try 64-bit version - If a distro uses less RAM than that really great.
So that you can use applications with ease.

4 Megs of ram on a acer laptop

is it 4GB? If it's 4MB the you could try something like DSL information

[reed9]

need to go back and forth from windows and Linux like tab browsing if possible

You would have to either install linux in a virtual machine with Windows as the host, or vice verse, Windows in a virtual machine with a Linux host.
The Beginner's Guide to Creating Virtual Machines with VirtualBox - Virtual Machine - Lifehacker

[WayneGiese]

Thanks for all the information.
Its 4GB not 4megs sorry.

I am leaning towards Umbuntu but had trouble installing drivers last time it tried it.
I wanted gos but looks like they don't support 64x. Does anybody know if this is true?

Thanks for the info on virtual box it looks perfect for what I want to do the only thing is It looks as if Linux would have to be the host because the windows processors running 32X window won't support hosting a 64X Linux OS.
My questions is can I move my current setup of windows programs and all into a guest position being hosted by my new Linux OS.

[techieMoe]

Thanks for all the information.
Its 4GB not 4megs sorry.

I am leaning towards Umbuntu but had trouble installing drivers last time it tried it.
I wanted gos but looks like they don't support 64x. Does anybody know if this is true?

If by "64X" you mean 64-bit computer processors, then no, that is demonstrably false. Ubuntu and basically every major distribution on the planet supports 64-bit processors.

On your first statement, you shouldn't have had to install many drivers (if any) on a default install of Ubuntu, but a list of your hardware setup would be helpful. What video card do you have? Network card? Those are the two most common hurdles.

My questions is can I move my current setup of windows programs and all into a guest position being hosted by my new Linux OS.

Some virtual machines will allow you to boot an existing partition into the virtual machine software, but honestly I've never done it this way myself.

[reed9]

I wanted gos but looks like they don't support 64x.

gOS does not have a 64 bit version to my knowledge, no.

My questions is can I move my current setup of windows programs and all into a guest position being hosted by my new Linux OS.

I've never done anything like this either, but this might do what you need.
Create A Virtual Machine Clone of Your Existing Hard Drive [Windows]

Might be able to do something like that with Clonezilla? Anyone know?

[WayneGiese]

Yes I mean 64-bit sorry.
I was not able to install a nvida card last time I tried umbuntu
this time it will be a 7100 nvida and a aroes(spelled something like that) card

Thanks on the help about 64-bit for gos I would have been up set if I installed another os that did not run on 64x.
Reason why?
I don't know just hopping for faster smother experience I guess.
What should I expect?
Every body Ive talked to running windows 64 in stead of 32 complains. Programs aren't compatible(the only reason for running windows), and they don't notice the difference.

[reed9]

this time it will be a 7100 nvida and a aroes(spelled something like that) card

There is an easy GUI tool for hardware drivers.
How to install Nvidia drivers in Ubuntu

I think your wireless card is probably an Atheros chipset. Some of these are well supported, some are not. I've seen a lot people reporting trouble with cards using the ath9k driver and Ubuntu Karmic. But no way to say without knowing the chipset of the card.

[techieMoe]

Yes I mean 64-bit sorry.
I was not able to install a nvida card last time I tried umbuntu
this time it will be a 7100 nvida and a aroes(spelled something like that) card

Thanks on the help about 64-bit for gos I would have been up set if I installed another os that did not run on 64x.
Reason why?

The Hardware Drivers tool reed9 mentioned should work fine in either 32-bit or 64-bit (I've tried both on my Nvidia machine). Just a note: depending on the speed of your internet connection it may look like it's not working, but it's really just taking a while to retrieve the files. Let it sit there for ten minutes or so and all should be fine.

Every body Ive talked to running windows 64 in stead of 32 complains. Programs aren't compatible(the only reason for running windows), and they don't notice the difference.

I've run both, and currently run 64-bit. I haven't had any compatibility issues because of it. Now, if you're talking about compatibility with MS Windows software, then of course. That's going to be a problem regardless of 32/64-bit.

On that last point, sadly, I agree. There's not really a noticeable difference in performance between 32 and 64 at the moment, except when it comes to RAM handling. You mentioned earlier that you have 4GB of RAM? A standard 32-bit Linux kernel cannot address more than about 3.2GB of that, whereas the upper limit for a 64-bit kernel is in the terabytes (16TB if I'm not mistaken). In that case there is a compelling argument for you to run 64-bit.