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Originally posted by Ilander:
...So...I'm okay with Windows. It mostly suits my needs---it is reliable as far as playing media goes, and all of the games I own are "Windows only." But, always, in the back of my mind, there's a little imp telling me to try out Linux, so that I can be versed in it. "It's easy to install as a dual boot," the imp says, "and it will run without a hitch for a long long time..."
So, I turn around, and I ask the imp these questions, and he usually just shrugs and has nothing to offer.
1)Where do I find a distribution of Linux?
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See my signiature
Or check out the
Distro chooser.
You can try Linux without even installing, check out the Knoppix live CD/DVD.
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2)Is it compatible with my hardware? RAID 5 array? ATI x800 graphics card? Intel CPU? ABit motherboard?
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The only thing you'll have a hitch with is getting decent 3d acceleration to work with your ATI card as ATI don't give a sh*te about their Linux users. Your mileage will likely vary depending on your distribution.
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3)Can I get a 64-bit version? Does my 64 bit processor support the right extensions for a 64-bit OS? What ARE 64-bit extensions???
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Yes. There have been Linux 64-bit distributions long before equivalent MS offerings. You'll need a little fiddling to get things like Windows codecs working though (as they are binary and 32-bit).
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4)What file system does Linux use? How much of the windows parts of my computer am I going to be able to access?
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Many - there is a huge selection to choose from, and the main ones are extremely robust, fast and stable. You will want to use either ext3 or reiserfs - your distro will pick a sensible default. Reiserfs is my personal choice.
Microsoft refuses to allow other operating systems to interact with NTFS. It is now possible to do so safely, but it's a pain. I would resign yourself to read-only access (which works flawlessly) or make a FAT32 partition to share.
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5)How lenient is the GUI? I don't know command-line code at all....
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Depends on the distro. Don't touch something like Slackware. Ubuntu will be great if everything works (and it usually does). Check out Suse 10.1 if you want a fully-fledged control panel (more control than the windows one).
You will get the most out of Linux accepting that the command line is your friend though
We don't use it for some things because we're masochists, it's damn useful.
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6)Will I have to partition my hard disk? Will that screw up in any way my Windows installation?
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Yes. No. Make sure you defragment your windows drive first however. You don't need to defragment in Linux incidentally as it stores its files sensibly in the first place.
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7)Does electrical shock kill imps?
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Maybe.
Do report back for further clarification etc. If you have any wireless cards in particular it may be worth mentioning that here
[ 04-19-2006, 10:51 AM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]