zachtheterrible

i'm contemplating it. im getting scared of wut microsoft is gonna do next, like somehow ban music downloading, or somethin like that. and bill gates is startin to piss me off too. ive read quite a bit of the threads in this forum about linux and theyve answered my questions quite well, but i got a couple that i didnt see.

1. im sure that there are programs that i will need from windows if i switch to linux (limewire, some CAD programs, games). so how hard is it to have a dual boot? linux and windows xp?

2. is it possible to transfer files from windows to linux, vica versa, or do they use a different encoding system (i dont no wut to call it )

3. will my printer and scanner work w/ linux?

thanx

brainiac

Hi. A dual boot is the way to go. LimeWire works great for me, I like QCad, it works well. I don't know to what depth you want in games, but there are worlds of threads on howto run Windoze games under Linux. If you are new at it, Mandrake is a good choice for ease of crossover. Fedora Core 3 isn't too bad, a little buggy and quirky, but they are definately headed in the right direction. Slackware is the most stable and most difficult. I run all 3, plus Windoze 98SE, ME, and XP Pro, some dual boot, some standalone Linux machines all networked together. Standard files like mp3, jpg, don't know the difference. As far as documents and things, Open Office will handle MS files just fine. QCad does dxf.
You need to install XP first and then your version of Linux. Please do a little searching as there are some quirks involved with XP and NTFS and Linux dual booting. Better to do your homework and have everything ready to minimize crashing your machine and shutting you clear down. Check some of the hardware compatibility lists for the distro you are looking at and see if your printer, scanner, video card (if you have a high end card), and other hardware are all going to work. My 8 year old daughter gets along with Linux as well as she does Windoze so it is not an impossible transition..
Also, don't let a little bit of a learning curve deter you. It isn't hard it is just different than what you are used to, and it is worth it. Sorry about getting long winded on you. The best of luck with whatever Linux choice you make.

zachtheterrible

thanx brainiac. the more longwinded the better!

yup, im quite sure that ill hav 2 be doin my hwork!

as for games, actualy im not a big gamer (even tho im 16). i just play this one star wars game every once in a wile.

o yeah, one question: say i have a song that is on linux. i then boot to windows. will i be able to access that song from both linux and windows?

thanx!

brainiac

You sure can. Right now I am using LimeWire with Fedora Core 3 for my downloads of mp3 files because it is so much faster on a dialup than anything I use under Widoze. I can share any of the mp3 files with any of the Linux or assorted MS machines on my network. I can move them to a local directory or I can just play them from the hard drive on my XP box using XMMS on my Mandrake box. They actually all play quite nice together. It is always nice to see someone who isn't afraid to try something new.

Skie

1. You may be able to run some Windows programs under Linux using Wine or even Crossover Office (Wine is free, Crossover Office is not, but seems to have better support for certain Windows programs). However, if you'll be dual booting, then this shouldn't be an issue.

2. Linux can see Windows partitions, but can only write to FAT/FAT32. It can't write to NTFS partitions. Also, Windows can't see Linux partitions. If you're using NTFS, you'll need to format to go to FAT32 (to my knowledge). If you're using FAT32, you can easily switch to NTFS. If you're using NTFS, it can be a bit tricky to transfer files back and forth. Either a seperate computer, or a seperate FAT32 partition would be the way to go. I don't know how big of a hard drive you have, nor how much you want to dedicate to both, but it's something to look into.

3. What make/model of printer/scanner do you have? I'll look it up for you.

Make sure you have proper backups before you do the install. Also, know how you want to repartition your hard drive before you start. Most distros should be able to automatically repartition the drive for you, without losing any data. But have backups just in case.

zachtheterrible

thanx skie. actually, i was just thinking that there really wont be any need to transfer between the two. the only thing that i would use windows for would be things like if my scanner and printer dont work w/ linux, or if certain programs dont work w/ linux.

here's the programs that i am wondering if they will work:

adobe acrobat
nero (cd burning)
msn messenger (i can always use a diferent one)
limewire

those are the only programs that i really want to work.

Skie

Adobe creates a Linux version of Acrobat. There are also several community built clones, so you don't have to use just Adobe's version. Personally, I think Adobe's version isn't as good as some of the community built clones.

I don't think Nero works on Linux, but there are alternatives. If you'll be using KDE, you can use K3B, which is a wonderful burning application. I'm not sure what the default burning app for Gnome is, but there's Gnome Toaster, X-CD-Roast, and a number of others. Whatever distro you install should include at least 1 burning app.

For MSN and other IM's, you can use Kopete (KDE) or Gaim (Gnome). Both are "all in one" IM clients (they work with MSN, Yahoo, AIM, etc). Just because one is for KDE doesn't mean it can't be used Gnome, and vise versa. As long as you have the proper libraries installed, you can use just about any software. I primarily use Kopete.

For Limewire, they make a version for Linux as well. You can download it here: http://freshmeat.net/projects/limewire/.

As far as printers/scanners, most *should* work with Linux. To some degree or another.

gotissues68

I use gnome and k3b, k3b is the best burning software I've ever used... plain and simple :) Gaim is excellent as well, I haven't used Kopete but I might have to give it a try. Most scanners and printers work but you should do your homework... If you've got an HP printer dollars to donuts its supported, same with Epson, Lexmark is somewhat supported :( I have a lexmark heh... its not supported but oh well.

batty_professor

Hi Zach, you sound like you're really ready to take a serious look into the Linux world. So therefore we welcome you and hope the switch works out for you so you will stay a Linux user. If you would rather just get a taste of Linux before you make any drastic changes you can download the Knoppix ISO file to your hard drive and burn it to CD. The CD will run as a live version without any permanent installation to your system. I think someone suggested Fedora Core3 which is good, but is still in the beta stage to my knowledge, if this is still true there could be some bugs. Even if there are they may not affect you. I myself run Mandrake 10 and like it quite well. There is also SuSe, which I'm seeing a lot of in the forum, and a host of others. You can find them all, including Knoppix, available for free download here.
http://linuxiso.org/
With the exception of the games you play, I don't really see anything you were wanting to do that could not be done using Linux with some patience, so long as your hardware is supported. You may find some things a little frustrating, but you'll find the results much rewarding, especially if you like your system to have speed and reliability. ( spyware?, what spyware?) And don't be afraid to ask questions.

gotissues68

Yes! Please ask questions Zach :) I forgot to say that too

zachtheterrible

yea, im definitely lookin into this

i just dont like microsoft. its not that its a bad program, its just that i hate the conformity of it, and as i sed, who knows wut theyre gonna do next.

alright, so im gonna download knoppix wen i get a change w/ my 56k modem

batty_professor

Do you have a friend with a high speed connection? Dialup is going to need 18 hours or more. If you must do it with the dialup, be sure you have resume enabled so if interrupted you don't start over from the beginning.

zachtheterrible

oh dear.

ya, ill hav 2 go 2 someone else's house n donwload it.
i was a bunch of versions to download. wich one? if i only have to donwload the one cd version, i think i can swing it on my 56k. just forward the calls 2 my mom's cell fone.

Skie

Just download this version: ftp://csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/pu...4-08-16-EN.iso. It's a 700MB download though.

zachtheterrible

i havent given up!! it wasnt a passing interest, I WANT LINUX!!

just waiting to get on a broadband computer. skie, that link u gave me had pathetic download speed. 12k/s gggaaaghh! i just went to the linuxiso.org and started downloading downloading knopix from there, but my cousin's stupid computer kept freezing on me

Skie

If you think it would be faster, I could mail you a CD with Knoppix on it. Yeah, it'll take a few days in the mail, but it'll get there. :D