Which Linux? and Dual Boot

B

broken flyer

New Member
Hi, I have a couple Linux/dual boot questions. First off what linux based operating system appears to work the best and is the easiest to transition to for someone used to using either windows 7 or windows xp? I was looking at trying either zorin os 5 64bit or ubuntu 11.10 64bit for myself in dual boot on my brand new computer. My computer has a ga-880 usb3 mobo, 8gb of ram, amd fx4100, and a radeon 6850 and right now im running windows 7. So i guess the first question is which linux for that and then how would i set it up for dual boot between windows and linux on a single 1tb internal hard drive. i wanna use my computer for gaming so ill probably need to keep windows as well as linux but it would be nice to not need anti virus when im just doing everyday tasks. My next question is which linux would be best for some older computers. my father has 3 older machines and he wants to get away from windows for multiple reasons but one of them being he doesnt like running anti virus, and the other being the oldest of the 3 machines is running windows 98 and there is no drivers available for it/starting to have major compatibility issues. He wants something very very simple to use/stripped down so it doesnt constantly have programs running in the backround and so it doesnt have piles of updates it says it need all the time. i would really appretiate some help with this. Thanks...
 
Linux for you? Linux Mint. Hands down, best choice imo.
Install for dual boot? Easy. Install windows, If you haven't already. Then install mint. Mint will let you pick a size for it, and then install itself, as well as grub, which is a bootloader. grub will pick up your windows OS and let you choose between it and mint on startup. It's all pretty automated these days.

Linux for older machine? Crunchbang, Xbuntu, or Peppermint are all good choices.
 
Alright thanks... Ill definitively give mint a try. i downloaded mint along with ubuntu and zorin os5 and its the 64bit version of each that i got so ill be burning them to dvd's and trying each one in live mode to see which one i like the most/has the best feel for me. i dont mind adapting to something new/different so i want something that will give me the most customizable/capable operating system as long as its somewhat interactive just as long as i dont need any special skills to run it. That part about wanting something to easily adapt to from windows was for the os id put on the older computers as my father has to be able to use it and he likes simple and easy. Im fine with tooling around in it longer to figure it out if its a better system once i have it figured out. When i get to the point of doing a dual boot how much space will i need to set aside/how much should i? and then later if i decide to get a secondary drive for linux or just decide i want to go back to just windows how hard is it to delete a linux os off my drive? and will i be able to access files i saved when i was in windows when i start it up in linux? Im guessing theres stuff that definitively wont be compatible but is there somethings ill be able to access?
 
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Another question before i make the jump and install a distro on linux. Is there a list somewhere of games for windows that work with linux? plus if i run a defrag in windows will it affect the linux operating system or will it only defrag stuff in windows? and if there is a game/program i want in both windows and linux do i have to install it on both operating systems? and that brings me to my final question i believe. When i install linux and i get to choose how much space to set aside for it is that where it will install programs onto or is that just where it will put linux/can i change that later without re installing linux if i need more space?
 
There is no guarantee on what windows games are WINE compatible. It depends more on the user than the game.

Defrag will only affect the Partition that you run it on. Linux doesn't fragment nearly as bad as windows.

You will have to install it on both operating systems.
 
Alright, thanks. I thought i saw somewhere that someone said one can move software/programs between partitions, but im not sure how one does that.
 
Which linux os is going to be the best balance between customization and ease of use? Linux Mint 12, Zorin OS 5, or Ubuntu 11.10? I put mint on a dvd and ran it in live mode and liked it, and id like to not waste anymore dvds but id hate to install mint and find out after a bit that zorin or ubuntu is better...
 
Zorin is Ubuntu with a different window manager. When you went to the system under Zorin it reads Ubuntu.
Don't go 11.10, if you want ubuntu, go 10.04.3. LTS is more stable than the interim versions.

I personally use Ubuntu, but many here like Mint too. They are about equal.
 
Alright, that helps. Is using an older version of mint a better idea/do they have a LTS version if I dicide to use that? And is mint as customizable visually as Ubuntu? I kinda like that mint is fully ready to go since I'm new to Linux.
 
I am not really informed on Mint, But I think they are on a 1 year release, meaning each one is the LTS.

Mint is as customizable as ubuntu. They are based off the same core.

Ubuntu is easy to get fully ready to go.

Since your new to Linux, you may want to give the guide in my sig a read. It will explain some simple Linux operations.
 
wolfeking said:
I am not really informed on Mint, But I think they are on a 1 year release, meaning each one is the LTS.

Mint is as customizable as ubuntu. They are based off the same core.

Ubuntu is easy to get fully ready to go.

Since your new to Linux, you may want to give the guide in my sig a read. It will explain some simple Linux operations.
Click to expand...

Mint are 6 month releases. They do offer a LTS which is coming out this year and I believe the LTS is good for 3 years. There last LTS was Linux Mint 9 Isadora. Remember Linux Mint is a remix of Ubuntu so it will share it's release cycle and build design. It is a little more customizable considering it U/I is gnome 2.xx that they are continuing the development on.

I know Ubuntu 10.04.3 is the best recomendation right now but lets all remember that it loses development in four months. Time to look at the new Ubuntu or find a new distro.
 
DMGrier said:
Mint are 6 month releases. They do offer a LTS which is coming out this year and I believe the LTS is good for 3 years. There last LTS was Linux Mint 9 Isadora. Remember Linux Mint is a remix of Ubuntu so it will share it's release cycle and build design. It is a little more customizable considering it U/I is gnome 2.xx that they are continuing the development on.

I know Ubuntu 10.04.3 is the best recomendation right now but lets all remember that it loses development in four months. Time to look at the new Ubuntu or find a new distro.
Click to expand...

ah, ok. I will remember this.

I do believe that Ubuntu will stop being my recommendation in April, because I don't like the Unity style. I may just make a step by step guide amendment to the linux guide on how to change it to Gnome or some other WM.
 
I installed mint and iv got issues. Everything seemed fine then i installed the driver for my graphics card and everything was still fine. Then i went to the update manager and installed the current updates. That screwed something up and im not sure how to proceed. im back on windows 7 right now but what is wrong is that after the updates installed the top and bottom bar got all screwed up. They'r funky ripped/pickelated colors/partial letters to the point i cant even read what they say. i think everything is still functioning its just impossible to use the way it looks as i cant tell what the icons r/where they are on the bars and it look really bad. help please...
 
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I tried to get used to Unity, I just could not do it. Unity was not the only reason, I read a article on OMG Ubuntu where Mark Shuttleworth said that users would have to get used to Unity, very M$ of him.

I am currently testing openSuse 12.1, Fedora 16 and Linux Mint 12. openSuse is nice but the gnome edition seems a little glitchy and I am not a fan of KDE but Yahst is amazing. Fedora is stable and fast but comes very stripped down. It is not a huge issue cause Fedora has great on line documentation and using terminal is not hard for the end user cause you can literally copy and paste from there for the user base who is not familiar with the command line. Linux Mint is very nice and from what I read is on it's way to being the 3rd largest OS. It is basically Ubuntu remix but it does use a little less memory and a better on line community. It is running gnome 2.xx (MATE) on top of gnome 3 which means it still has a lot of customization that it is capable of. The only think I find annoying is you have gnome 2.xx and 3 so there are two ways to do everything which can get a little annoying.

Right now Fedora does it for me but still considering Linux Mint since it comes better packaged and in may it will be a LTS which I prefer.
 
broken flyer said:
I installed mint and iv got issues. Everything seemed fine then i installed the driver for my graphics card and everything was still fine. Then i went to the update manager and installed the current updates. That screwed something up and im not sure how to proceed. im back on windows 7 right now but what is wrong is that after the updates installed the top and bottom bar got all screwed up. They'r funky ripped/pickelated colors/partial letters to the point i cant even read what they say. i think everything is still functioning its just impossible to use the way it looks as i cant tell what the icons r/where they are on the bars and it look really bad. help please...
Click to expand...

Which GPU do you have? Nvidia and Radeon both offer drivers at there site for Linux .deb so I would go download and re-install.
 
Radeon 6850 and i already installed the driver. I dont think its that as its only the top and bottom bars/the sub folders on the bars that are messed up. Is there a way to undo the update or something so i can start over without having to delete the partition and reinstall mint?
 
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