Linux

Bate · Post by **Bate** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:52 pm

Hey everybody,

since I'm a bloody nitwit concerning Linux I would appreciate some advice on how to get started. Mostly, I want it to be installed for testing purpose with Irrlicht apps. So, everyone talks about Ubuntu, is that what I should go for or is there something better for beginners?

CuteAlien · Post by **CuteAlien** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:53 pm

Ubuntu is said to be pretty good for beginners. It has also the big advantage that most software made for the Linux desktop gets tested on Ubuntu.

If you want to invest a little more time, then look for live-dvd's. They allow you booting distributions from DVD. So you can use those to test different Linux distributions without having to install anything. Also very practical to have one of those around when you have managed to shoot your system.

chris_heyes · Post by **chris_heyes** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 11:09 pm

Have a look at the "Linux Mint" live CD. It's based on Ubuntu but is even more user friendly.

strale · Post by **strale** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 7:35 am

I have experienced that ubuntu does not came with the library for developper
so may be you will notice library errors when compiling
but it is very easy to install them throught the pakagemanager

bye

kazymjir · Post by **kazymjir** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 4:10 pm

I am working now at Linux Mint and Irrlicht is working perfectly.
This distro is perfect for new GNU/Linux users, everything you can do
via friendly GUI, without editing any files in /etc/

Mel · Post by **Mel** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:22 pm

I am thinking on installing Linux on my machine, i will need it to complete some university practices, so, i guess it is the perfect time to ask this.

I have 2 hard drives, a primary master, and a secondary master. In the primary master, i have 3 partitions, 1 basic, and 1 extended with 2 logic partitions. (i.e. it appears to me like 3 hard drives)

The basic partition contains Windows XP SP1, and the other hard drive has Win XPSP3.

I wish to keep the Win XPSP3 boot, i don't care what happens to Win XPSP1, but i want to be able to boot WinXPSp3 (for 3D modelling purposes, and DX development) And boot Linux for the rest of tasks.

How would i go to get it? I tested a Live CD and it froze my computer :S

CuteAlien · Post by **CuteAlien** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:40 pm

Most Live-CD's have cheat-codes which can be used to work around problematic hardware. But this depends on the vendor and you will generally get better help for that on the vendor forums or IRC chats. Or get another Live-CD from another distro and try that. Having a working Live-CD around is always useful anyway.

Most modern Linux distributions have tools to show and resize partitions (usually "gparted"). Doing a backup first still never hurts. On installing the distribution will install a boot loader (usually "grub" these days) which will allow you to decide on boot-time which OS gets booted (and you can configure those a lot, like for example automatic booting of a certain OS after X seconds and you can change the configuration also later on). Unlike some other OS the Linux distributions generally care about already installed operating sytems and make sure you can still boot those after installing the boot-loader.

Maybe take a look at Open Suse. The last time I installed a bunch of different distributions their install tools worked better than those of all other distributions I tried (although the only troubles I had was that each distro cared a lot about Windows, but most other Distros where not that good when it came to careing about other installed Linux distributions *sigh*).

kazymjir · Post by **kazymjir** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 5:03 am

Linux Mint will automatically partition your hard drive without deleting win partition if you select relevant option and automatically configure GRUB.

Live CD may not work if you don't have enough free memory (RAM),
I remember that on my 368MB live cd won't work.

n00b · Post by **n00b** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 5:22 am

I highly recommend Linux Mint for beginners. It is based on Ubuntu and is very easy to install.

Valmond · Post by **Valmond** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 8:33 pm

You might want to try different Linux(es?) in VirtualBox before making a dual boot etc.
Virtual box has it all except 3D acceleration (hence the 'testing').

I'm compiling my server in it (with Ubuntu), VirtualBox works like a charm,
Ububntu ... well it takes some time to get used to things (the 'Linux' things)
but it's really user friendly for a Unix/Linux.

Anyway just my 5 cents

onesixtyfourth · Post by **onesixtyfourth** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:17 pm

Ubuntu is a good distro but Irrlicht isn't in the reposotries yet so you have to download it yourself.