Help changing the OS from Windows to Linux

[chibicitiberiu]

I'm planning on changing the operating system for my PC, so I need some help.

So I have the following problems:

1. First of all I need to choose a distribution. What is best for me? I do programming (C++), surfing the net, doing all kinds of school work with apps like the office suite and so on...
   I'm thinking about Kubuntu, would another distro be better?
   Also would these distros support the NTFS file system? I have a partition where I keep all my important data so I really don't want to format that one too.
   
2. Which version should I choose? The 64-bit one or the 32-bit one? (My processor does have EM64T).
   
3. Finding drivers. Could that be difficult? I'm a bit worried about this:
   - the graphics card: ATI Radeon 9550 (found driver on the website)
   - sound card: Realtek AC'97
   - webcam: A4TECH CAMERA H
   - printer (including scanner): HP DESKJET F380
   
4. Alternative software; I made a list with some of the programs that I use. What about the rest?
   
   Adobe Master Collection --> GIMP (for Photoshop); what about After Effects, Soundbooth, Premiere Pro?
   Microsoft Visual Studio --> GNU GCC
   Microsoft Office --> Office.org
   CD Burning software --> ???
   VLC Media Player --> ???
   Instant Messenger Software --> ???
   
5. Understanding the linux' file managing. Why are there some weird folders or partitions or whatever they are called like /etc or /swap don't know exactly? What does this mean?

So these are just a part of my problems, any solutions?

 

[chibicitiberiu]

Anyone?

 

[Irishwhistle]

1. I'd personally recommend Ubuntu, and if you're worried about having an ugly interface with Ubuntu, fear no more! Just head over to gnome-look and grab yourself some themes. Ubuntu is just... better than Kubuntu, trust me. Oh, and btw KDE4 (the desktop used in Kubuntu), though it may look pretty, is REALLY buggy. Ubuntu (or Kubuntu for that matter) shouldn't have any trouble reading NTFS.

2. Not absolutely sure, but how much RAM do you have? I'm thinking that if you have under 3GB of RAM there's no need for 64Bit... maybe that's just me though.

3. Now about drivers... try booting the Ubuntu Live CD and see what works. ATI Radeon is fairly common I think so that shouldn't be too much trouble if it doesn't work by default. I would think the sound card would work by default and the printer shouldn't be too hard to configure... not sure about the webcam though.


4. Gimp is good... but about the rest of the software... nothing is gonna be as good as After Affects or Premier Pro, but Ardour might be able to replace SoundBooth... I'm not entirely sure what SoundBooth does though...

For video editing there are quite a few programs, they're just not as good as Premier ... here's some of them: Kdenlive (good, but basic), Cinelerra (very advanced, but difficult interface), PiTiVi (Basic... Kdenlive is better), LIVES (fairly advanced I think, but bad interface)

For effects all that I can think of off the top of my head is Jahshaka... It's a nice program, but the interface is really tricky.

Brasero will do just fine for CD burning... it comes with Ubuntu.

As for a VLC replacement why not just use VLC? Yes, it works on Linux too.

Instant messaging software is no problem except for webcam support... Ubuntu comes with Pidgin and that works pretty darn well... except for the webcam of course.

5. Well, in Ubuntu you're not supposed to have to worry about that, but yeah, it is kinda weird if you're used to Windows. This article might help: http://www.freeos.com/articles/3102/


Hopefully that'll help a bit. Good luck!

 

[chibicitiberiu]

2. Not absolutely sure, but how much RAM do you have? I'm thinking that if you have under 3GB of RAM there's no need for 64Bit... maybe that's just me though.

Thanks for reply. I have 1.5 GB of RAM, so I should head to 32-bit right?

3. Now about drivers... try booting the Ubuntu Live CD and see what works. ATI Radeon is fairly common I think so that shouldn't be too much trouble if it doesn't work by default. I would think the sound card would work by default and the printer shouldn't be too hard to configure... not sure about the webcam though.

I'm worried that the scanner won't work. I have the setup CD for the printer and there is the Windows and the MacOS driver, no linux. In the suite installed from this CD is included scanning software (HP Solution Center). I'll try to look on the HP website maybe I find something...

4. Gimp is good... but about the rest of the software... nothing is gonna be as good as After Affects or Premier Pro, but Ardour might be able to replace SoundBooth... I'm not entirely sure what SoundBooth does though...

For video editing there are quite a few programs, they're just not as good as Premier ... here's some of them: Kdenlive (good, but basic), Cinelerra (very advanced, but difficult interface), PiTiVi (Basic... Kdenlive is better), LIVES (fairly advanced I think, but bad interface)

For effects all that I can think of off the top of my head is Jahshaka... It's a nice program, but the interface is really tricky.

This is the horrible part: video editing. I do video editing, and I'm used to the AfterFX & Premiere interface, and it's really hard to get used to something different (I tried Borris software).
Would AfterFX and Premiere work under WINE?

Brasero will do just fine for CD burning... it comes with Ubuntu.

I shouldn't have trouble with that, but the trouble would be about mounting virtual images. Is there a "Daemon Tools" or "Power ISO" or "MagicDisc" for ubuntu?

Instant messaging software is no problem except for webcam support... Ubuntu comes with Pidgin and that works pretty darn well... except for the webcam of course.

I use Yahoo Messenger as my IM right now, would Pidgin allow file transfers? Image sharing as in Y!M?

5. Well, in Ubuntu you're not supposed to have to worry about that, but yeah, it is kinda weird if you're used to Windows. This article might help: http://www.freeos.com/articles/3102/

I'm worried about this too. Also I'm worried about some other differences between Windows & Ubuntu. For example, using the Terminal or a Run for linux (in windows I use them a lot)... What should I know about this?

 

[chibicitiberiu]

What about Ubuntu Studio to help me for my media editing software?
http://ubuntustudio.org/
Is it better than Ubuntu itself?

 

[tlarkin]

I'm planning on changing the operating system for my PC, so I need some help.

So I have the following problems:

1. First of all I need to choose a distribution. What is best for me? I do programming (C++), surfing the net, doing all kinds of school work with apps like the office suite and so on...
   I'm thinking about Kubuntu, would another distro be better?
   Also would these distros support the NTFS file system? I have a partition where I keep all my important data so I really don't want to format that one too.

1. 
   
   Ubuntu is good one, you may also want to try a redhat based distro (fedora, suse, etc) and play with that as well. Linux OSes can read/write locally to NTFS partitions via Google's NTFS 3G plug in, which will allow full read/write to that file system locally. It is also known as FUSE (file system in user space).
   
   

   [*]Which version should I choose? The 64-bit one or the 32-bit one? (My processor does have EM64T).

   
   Most Linux distros have both full 32bit and 64bit library files in them, so you should have no problem downloading and installing the 64bit version.
   
   [

   *]Finding drivers. Could that be difficult? I'm a bit worried about this:
   - the graphics card: ATI Radeon 9550 (found driver on the website)
   - sound card: Realtek AC'97
   - webcam: A4TECH CAMERA H
   - printer (including scanner): HP DESKJET F380

   
   Before you fully install run a virtual machine and see how well it works. You can try virtual box which is free, or you can try Microsofts Virtual PC which is also free.
   
   

   [*]Alternative software; I made a list with some of the programs that I use. What about the rest?
   
   Adobe Master Collection --> GIMP (for Photoshop); what about After Effects, Soundbooth, Premiere Pro? kino http://www.kinodv.org/
   Microsoft Visual Studio --> GNU GCC
   Microsoft Office --> Office.org
   CD Burning software --> ??? K3B http://k3b.plainblack.com/
   VLC Media Player --> ??? Just use VLC it runs on all platforms
   Instant Messenger Software --> ??? My first thought was adium but I think they may not make a Linux version

   
   

   [*]Understanding the linux' file managing. Why are there some weird folders or partitions or whatever they are called like /etc or /swap don't know exactly? What does this mean?

I quick lesson which is basic and each distro does some things different, I will run it down for you

/ is the root, the very base of the filing system that everything is filed under

/etc is typically where configuration files go for devices, boot configs, start up items, disks to be mounted, sometimes web services get stuck in here

/var is where most log files are kept, some databases sometimes, on some distros they will put web services here

/bin /usr/sbin /usr/bin - these are typically referred to as the $PATH, and is where the shell executables are kept. Each distro may be slightly different so in terminal you may want to do this to see the $PATH

echo $PATH

This is where binaries are kept for commands like, ls, grep, cat, mv, cp, rm, du, so on and so forth.

 

[sg1]

I would seriously consider Dual booting with a 2nd HDD until you find out how well you get on with LINUX, or at the very least do a CLONE /disk image of your M$ so you can reinstall in case of a change of heart.

I like Linux and have tried many distros , however- I always come back to M$ in the end as my MAIN OS because of compatability issues and functionality etc.

You could always just build a second hand rig out of spare hardware as Linux is known for running well on older systems, I have a Linux machine K.V.M'd into my setup and so I get the best of both if I need/want it

GOOD LUCK

 

[tlarkin]

I would seriously consider Dual booting with a 2nd HDD until you find out how well you get on with LINUX, or at the very least do a CLONE /disk image of your M$ so you can reinstall in case of a change of heart.

I like Linux and have tried many distros , however- I always come back to M$ in the end as my MAIN OS because of compatability issues and functionality etc.

You could always just build a second hand rig out of spare hardware as Linux is known for running well on older systems, I have a Linux machine K.V.M'd into my setup and so I get the best of both if I need/want it

GOOD LUCK

I seriously disagree with this statement. Virtual machines are way better because you never have to mess with partitioning your drive or actually installing linux on your machine. If you don't like it, you just wipe out the virtual machine and call it a day.

 

[sg1]

because you never have to mess with partitioning your drive or .

Get round this by unplugging the other HDD's during LINUX install, I too use VMWARE etc to run virtual machines but it just aint the same as the real thing !

anyway just my opinion.

 

[Irishwhistle]

First of all, I'm tending to agree with tlarkin... sorry sg1.

Now, as far as I know you should go 32-Bit, but then I've never messed with 64-Bit so I wouldn't really know, I'm just going off of what I've heard on that. Generally printers don't come with Linux drivers, but that doesn't mean it won't work... Ubuntu has fairly good printer support so you'll just have to try it on the Live CD or (as tlarkin said) a virtual PC... both programs tlarkin recommended for that are good. Out of the two I prefer VirtualBox, but that's just personal preference.

I highly doubt that Adobe Master Collection would work fully under Wine, but it's worth a shot. Give it a try on a virtual PC.

I shouldn't have trouble with that, but the trouble would be about mounting virtual images. Is there a "Daemon Tools" or "Power ISO" or "MagicDisc" for ubuntu?

Maybe this would do the trick: https://launchpad.net/gisomount

use Yahoo Messenger as my IM right now, would Pidgin allow file transfers? Image sharing as in Y!M?

File transfers and image sharing should be no problem, I've done it before and it worked just fine.

I'm worried about this too. Also I'm worried about some other differences between Windows & Ubuntu. For example, using the Terminal or a Run for linux (in windows I use them a lot)... What should I know about this?

In Ubuntu there's not a huge need to do work in the terminal, but it definitely is good to know how to use. The most important command is "sudo" that mean "do as root" or, in windows language "run as an administrator." Another important one is "apt-get"... you use that for program management (install uninstall, etc, etc), but you have to be root to do that. In order to install something you have to type "apt-get install" followed by the program name. So basically, say you want to install Blender ( 3D modelling, animation, and rendering suite) you would type:

sudo apt-get install blender

There are also file commands like "cp"... that means copy. So if you wanted to copy something (we'll call it "picture.png") from your desktop to you pictures folder we'd do this:

cp /home/chibicitiberiu/Desktop/picture.png /home/chibicitiberiu/Pictures/

There's loads of other commands like that that I could tell you, but there's really no reason... you learn commands as you go along and when you need them... that's what I did and it worked pretty well. I think.........

 

[Irishwhistle]

What about Ubuntu Studio to help me for my media editing software?
http://ubuntustudio.org/
Is it better than Ubuntu itself?

UbuntuStudio doesn't come with any software you can't get on Ubuntu and since Ubuntu is a more widely used distro with better support you should probably stick with it.

 

[tlarkin]

Get round this by unplugging the other HDD's during LINUX install, I too use VMWARE etc to run virtual machines but it just aint the same as the real thing !

anyway just my opinion.

No, that is totally a valid option and you are right that it will run a bit better natively over a VM, but VM technology has come such a long way I recommend it first for trying it out. That way if you try it and like it, then you can move forward and install it for real on your system. I also don't like rebooting, and VMs you lose the need to reboot.

Your opinion is valid, and you are right, I just have my opinion and it differs is all. Either way would be acceptable to get the job done.

 

[TrainTrackHack]

1. First of all I need to choose a distribution. What is best for me? I do programming (C++), surfing the net, doing all kinds of school work with apps like the office suite and so on...
I'm thinking about Kubuntu, would another distro be better?

Ubuntu & its derivatives (Kubuntu, Linux Mint) are good choices for beginners and extremely easy to use. Kubuntu is basically Ubuntu, but with KDE desktop and a little different set of bundled software. In the end, any program for Linux will work on pretty much any distro, so apps-wise it doesn't really matter which one you get...

Also would these distros support the NTFS file system? I have a partition where I keep all my important data so I really don't want to format that one too.

As long as its not encrypted, you'll have no problems accessing NTFS drives.

2. Which version should I choose? The 64-bit one or the 32-bit one? (My processor does have EM64T).

Just like when deciding between 32-bit and 64-bit Vista, it mainly depends on the memory available... if you have 3GB or less, 32-bit is fine, if more, 64-bit recommended.

3. Finding drivers. Could that be difficult? I'm a bit worried about this:
- the graphics card: ATI Radeon 9550 (found driver on the website)
- sound card: Realtek AC'97
- webcam: A4TECH CAMERA H
- printer (including scanner): HP DESKJET F380

No. In most cases, getting your devices to work is a lot easier than in Windows (and in some cases, it's a pain in the butt...*cough*MadWiFi*cough*). In general, everything will be installed for you, and usually after installing the distro it will ask if you'd like to download (proprietary) drivers for devices that don't have drivers installed; very few components will cuase trouble, if something will its usually wireless, which doesn't really apply if you have a desktop.

4. Alternative software; I made a list with some of the programs that I use. What about the rest?

Adobe Master Collection --> GIMP (for Photoshop); what about After Effects, Soundbooth, Premiere Pro?
Microsoft Visual Studio --> GNU GCC
Microsoft Office --> Office.org
CD Burning software --> ???
VLC Media Player --> ???
Instant Messenger Software --> ???

CD Burning software? Ubuntu comes with a built-in piece of software by default, it let me burn images on discs (that's all I used it for) but I'd assume it does... everything a normal burning software is supposed to.

As for VLC, VLC works for Linux as well, but I found Amarok a lot better than VLC (that's just an opinion, of course).

IM software? For AIM, MSN, what? Ubuntu comes with Pidgin by default, it's a really popular multi-protocol IM client, but I personally use emesene for MSN (still looking for a MSN client more like WLM, though).

5. Understanding the linux' file managing. Why are there some weird folders or partitions or whatever they are called like /etc or /swap don't know exactly? What does this mean?

/swap is the swap partition, it works just like the swapfile/pagefile in Windows. As for all the others, dunno, /home is some sort of equivalent of the Documents and Settings folder in Windows, that's where all profiles and associated settings & files (Documents, Pictures, Music, la le la...etc) will be save. I've been told it's best to have '/' and '/home' as two separate partitions (makes upgrading/changing distros a lot easier AFAIK), and not worry about anything else when I was a noobie.

 

[chibicitiberiu]

Thanks for help...

Now is there a table to compare the MS-DOS and the linux (this case Ubuntu) Terminal commands?
For example:

MS-DOS - Ubuntu
copy - cp

and many more


And I'm not going to install on another hard drive (don't have one), or another computer (have one, too old to even boot ubuntu 'cause I tried).
On a virtual machine I could try (with wmware), but the problem is that the virtual hardware used does not match the real hardware: for example, I don't think I can use USB devices like my A4Tech camera or my HP F380 printer; the sound card used in virtual machines is sound blaster 16.
I could try the live CD, but after I'll finish downloading it .

 

[chibicitiberiu]

IM software? For AIM, MSN, what? Ubuntu comes with Pidgin by default, it's a really popular multi-protocol IM client, but I personally use emesene for MSN (still looking for a MSN client more like WLM, though).

As I said it's Yahoo Messenger.

 

[chibicitiberiu]

I forgot about audio player... VLC sort of sucks when it has to play audio because it is not playlist-based, it just plays a single file and that's all.

Is there Winamp for linux?

 

[patrickv]

Is there Winamp for linux?

No man.
but i suggest you try Amarok (though it's KDE based) it won't be a problem. There are other players too

 

[chibicitiberiu]

Okay today I tried the Live-CD version and it worked perfect:
- the printer was recognized, and the scanner too
- I heard sound
- I could connect to the Internet (with username & password) very easily without ever trying to do so in linux, so that's good news for me

But there were problems:
- the camera did not work
- couldn't launch GNU GCC for some reason.... how do I launch it? On the website says that I have to ?compile? it or something like that...
- can't use WINE, don't know how. Any ideas?

 

[patrickv]

the camera did not work

probably not supported, check for drivers on the manufacturers site, if not then... no luck.

couldn't launch GNU GCC for some reason.... how do I launch it? On the website says that I have to ?compile? it or something like that...

oh yeah downoad it (in tar.gz) format and compile , that is where terminal comes into play.
Compiling is just a word don't let it fool you, most packages are in one go like "./configure" -> "make" ->"make install"....
Synaptic Package manager is your best friend

can't use WINE, don't know how. Any ideas?

Not sure about this one on a live cd, you need to install ubuntu for most stuff to work. not all programs work live.
Go to synpatics and search for "wine". install that

 

[Irishwhistle]

Okay today I tried the Live-CD version and it worked perfect:
- the printer was recognized, and the scanner too
- I heard sound
- I could connect to the Internet (with username & password) very easily without ever trying to do so in linux, so that's good news for me

But there were problems:
- the camera did not work
- couldn't launch GNU GCC for some reason.... how do I launch it? On the website says that I have to ?compile? it or something like that...
- can't use WINE, don't know how. Any ideas?

Not sure about the webcam, but I don't think Ubuntu comes with GNU GCC and I know it doesn't come with Wine. You would have to install them (sudo apt-get install wine)... I'm not sure about how you install GNU GCC. You just can't install on the Live CD as the only place stuff can get saved to is your RAM and that will slow things down like crazy until you run out of RAM... or at least so I've been told.

EDIT: OK, I just checked on GCC... apparently you just run the command "

sudo apt-get install build-essential" and it will install... once again DON'T DO THIS ON THE LIVE CD, only do it on a native Ubuntu installation, a Wubi installation, or a virtual machine.

One more thing, if you decide to make the switch make sure you join UbuntuForums... CF is great, but there aren't a ton of Ubuntu users here... I'm one of the few here who uses Linux as my main OS.