Completely new to Linux? Click and read along.

[hellnoire]

First and foremost, I can't stress this enough, BACK UP BACK UP AND BACK UP. Even if you think you've got nothing to loose, Linux is made for people that are willing to tweak and modify. If something doesn't work, I can't assure you of any fix that I could provide. I'm still working on my own Wireless card which isn't supported under Linux... but that's an entirely different story.

Second, and this is a must, please REALIZE that Linux isn't Windows or Mac. Linux is completely different then Windows and Mac. Windows and even Mac were designed for the users that like using the mouse a lot, and is dead simple, with nearly no command line work. Linux, on the other hand, uses the keyboard a lot more, and while not too complex (depends on the distro you choose, covered in a different post), Linux is a change from those that run Windows. If you're switching from Mac, you'll feel at home with GNOME, from Windows, you'll feel more at home with KDE or XFCE. (Different desktop managers, I'll cover them below).

Okay, now that we've got those out of the way, let's get started with some basics. If you like a distro based on it's looks, be forewarned that's the worst way to go for it. I'd stick to a user friendly one until you feel like you can move on. I've been with Ubuntu Linux for over a year, since 7.10, and I'm still loving it enough that I'm keeping it as my Linux of choice.

Under Linux, you've got three 'standard' looks, however, this list isn't inclusive, since there are more then just these. Also keep in mind that the photos are STOCK installs, you can always customize them:

KDE:
Who uses it by default: Kubuntu, Slackware, Suse.
Why would you run it?: It reminds many people of Windows, and has a good amount of packages that come rolled with it by default, like KOffice and amaroK.
Why wouldn't you run it?: If you're like me, the Dolphin interface will drive you batty. Also, if you get annoyed with apps with K in them, KDE's not so good for you. It's also a little heavy on resources.
A picture?:Click Here

GNOME:
Who uses it by default: Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora
Why: Lighter then KDE, it can also be changed to look and act a little like KDE. It comes with Nautilus by default which will remind many users of Windows to a sense. Applies to a universal desktop theme, to make it easier on users.
Why not?: If you're used to Windows, it's going to take a little bit to find everything. It's not the lightest out there on resources, and can be a bit of a hog at times. Not as much so as KDE... but it's still not the lightest that I'm going to cover.
A picture?: Click Here

XFCE:
Who uses it by default: ALTLinux, Xubuntu, Customized Debian, Gentoo.
Why: Compared to KDE and GNOME, it's INSANELY light. I run it on a machine that has 400 mb RAM and it's not crawling, I assure you. It's also very customizable out of the box.
Why not: While light and customizable, it's not as friendly I find. Also, without a standard to rely on until recently, GNOME and KDE have long been keeping to standards.
A picture?:Click Here

Now let's cover Distros or Distributions. Unlike Macintosh and Windows, Linux comes in many sizes and flavours, from Puppy Linux which could fit on a 256 mb flash drive, to Debian which is large enough to span several DVDs. (At my last check the DVD count stood at four PLUS the actual install DVD on top.) Keep in mind, I can't cover everything: it's impossible. There are well over 4000 different types of Linux and it's constantly growing.

If you want something user friendly, and for the most part, 'just works', Linux Mint is by far the best I find for that. It comes with programs that by default, work with exactly what you'd like, with no need to install MP3 playback. If Mint had come out sooner, I might be able to say I use it, but instead, I went with the most popular [by DistroWatch's count], Ubuntu Linux. It is renounced for being very user friendly, and insanely adaptable. Mint seems more designed for desktop use, while Ubuntu is the Jack-of-all-trades, running on servers and desktops both. Since Mint is based of Ubuntu, and Ubuntu's forums provide amazing support, I'd be quick to jump to Ubuntu or Mint. In the first part, you most likely saw me name 'Xubuntu' and 'Kubuntu'. What these are are customized install disks of Ubuntu, which by default comes with GNOME. (Need to know what GNOME is? Scroll up and read) Debian is also apparently user friendly, but no where near as much so as Ubuntu Linux or Linux Mint.

If you prefer customization out of the box before installing, Arch Linux is a great choice. Keep in mind though, it's NOT user friendly. You need to build the OS from scratch (or pretty close last I checked) and would need a second PC to check the manual if you're new. At the same time, this has an advantage to when you get around to installing, because you'll know how to install via Terminal (think Windows' Command Line but for Linux).

If you're just looking for a server, Fedora apparently is the place to go. More stable then the rest, (friend's comment, also, Linux is a rock of stability. Even if you don't want to run Linux, if Windows ever dies on you, bring up a LiveCD and rip those files off your HDD) it takes quite a lot to make it crash. I know very little of Fedora, but what I do know and understand is the fact that it does include all the desktop managers covered above in the DVD plus a few others.

Finally, if you're just wanting to try Linux, see how it's like, Knoppix is a good choice. It comes as a Live CD only, (though it too can be installed to your Hard Drive Disk [if you ever see me write HDD, that's what it means]) with KDE, but is slim enough that you will not notice much of a resource hog unless you've got a weaker computer.

Next up is quite possibly the most complex part: how to get it downloaded and start the install progress. Keep in mind, since Ubuntu's my default OS, I'll be showing how you install it. Configuring it and making it work to your liking will be in a seperate post, due to the size of the 'how-to' install guide that's here.

HellNoire

[Odie]

Finally I will learn Linux. Waited for someone for a year now to do this. Thanks HellNoire

[hellnoire]

Thanks Odie. Hope you learn something

Now, for downloading it's an easy task. If it's a cost free distro, like Ubuntu, you will need to hit the official website at:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

and hit Get Ubuntu. Once there, you will get a screen, asking you how you'd like to get it. I'm showing the high speed way here, which is to download it, but for those of us that still have dial up or don't have a CD burner, rather then kill your connection, there is an offer though ShipIt that will ship it free right to your door. If you have high speed, hit Download Now and choose the version you'd like. I'm going with 8.04 which is the Long Term Release one, but truth be told, both work and work well. It all depends on how long you want support from the official channels. Then, select a country, one close to you. This will make your life so much easier, believe me. It makes your download go much faster. In my case, it's Canada. But in yours, it will be where you live. If you use Firefox, I'd recommend installing DownThemAll! add-on, but it's not needed. It might make your download faster.

Once it's on the desktop, we'll need to burn it. Since it's an ISO or Image file, burning it as a DataCD makes it useless, and we would waste a perfectly good CD. There is CDBurnerXP (which despite it's name, runs on Vista too) and IMGBurn that is freeware to burn ISO Images. I'm going to show you how to do it in IMGBurn, since Starburn needs me to reboot, and I'd rather not at the moment It's also a small download too. (1.2 meg) These burners are available off Softpedia which is where I recommend you download them from.

Okay, once downloaded and installed, how do we burn an image? Well, first and foremost, if you don't do this, you can't use Linux. Open your burner of choice. Nero, Roxio, IMGBurn, CDBurnerXP, Starburn, K3B, whatever. Just open it. You should see something like this with ImgBurn. Once up, hit the Write Image File To Disk. For any other CD burners, look for an option to burn Image files, but make sure it's not for JPEGs or the like, because that's not the images we want today. Then, click the little folder and you should pop up with a window to look for the file. If this just made no sense, click here. Once there, go to where you downloaded the ISO, and hit Open while selecting it. Then hit the button down below, that when you hover over it, it says ready, making sure there is a disk in there. Let it burn and then get ready... for next stop is installing it!

[YuMeng]

Hellnoire can you make a tutorial how to make a wireless connection work on Ubuntu?

[hellnoire]

Certainly YuMeng, but keep in mind not every wireless works in Ubuntu. First I'll get this done, then cover other things.

Now that you've downloaded and burned Ubuntu to a disk, this is another complicated step for newbies: how to boot from a Live CD. Now, most computers these days boot directly from the CD drive first, then to the Hard Drive, because that is how many get their recovery disks working. If this is not the case for you, then poking around in your bios to find your Boot Order is highly recommended. There is no way I could give step by step instructions for a bios, but I can say that Google is your friend here, and take a look to see how to change it. Once you change it to boot from CD, put the CD in the drive and load from it, you should get something that looks like so. Choose your language, then hit on the next menu, 'Start LiveCD'. You should see a loading screen that looks like such though actively moving.

Keep in mind, I'm assuming you all have a good amount of RAM. If you don't, I'd highly recommend going back and downloading the alternate CD, but it will not be as easy or let you try it, which is why I'm covering it here. I'll cover the alternative installer one day. I promise.

Once it has booted and gone though everything, you should see the desktop. Once on the desktop, you can play around with it, or if you're like me, install it right away. Since it's in this guide's best interest to keep going... you know exactly what I'm going to say. Double click the Install on the desktop and right away, it should throw you into some new screens. This is the first install screen, it's self apparent that it's asking you what language you'd like to install. Choose your mother language and go onto the next screen. Next is a 'Where Are You' screen. This gets your timezone set up and more often then not, they are spot on with the clock. If they aren't, don't worry, we'll set that later. Then you set up your keyboard. Again, it's self apparent, and you can test your keyboard there, so I'm not screenshotting it. It's something you can mess around with yourself and still manage to get right On the next screen, we get to one of the more complex steps of the installer: How would you like it partitioned. If you want to run a dual boot, then I'd highly recommend giving 50% to Linux, and 50% to Windows. If that's not good enough, then give more space to Linux or Ubuntu as you wish. Since my install is on a virgin disk, it didn't come up, but it would look something like this. Do NOT select Manual unless you know what you're doing. Next is the password screen, which you fill out in your info. (keep in mind, the username you use MUST be lowercase. It threw up an error when I hit next, because I did caps in it.) It finally asks you a 'Are You Sure?' type question, and after that, it actually installs. After it's done installing, remove the disk and do a single reboot... and welcome to Linux! You've installed Ubuntu Linux, one of the easiest distros out there!

[smalldog]

I must learn Linux now . Thanks Hellnoire! Maybe enjoy

[YuMeng]

smalldog, if you want to use WIndows program be sure use Wine

[xje4bv]

Yeah. Now that I've got my bro's old laptop, maybe I might install Linux on it. Btw, just a thought, maybe all the tutorials should be locked, to avoid unnecessary clutter and hijacking?

[hellnoire]

well, it's also not done I'm writing up the next part as we speak.

[xje4bv]

Awesome work. Now, you've got me tempted..