Linux noob needs answers

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nu11

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Please don't point and laugh but I'm a total Linux noob. Last time I did anything on linux was when I was studying in 2005 and was Red Hat version "god knows" so my current knowledge on linux and all the different distros are quite lacking.

I'm gonna play around with installing Linux this weekend but just want some advice before I jump in.

If I want to know if I put Linux on my main PC, I use it for Browsing,Downloading,Watching Series/Movies, Music Gaming basically everything, is there going to be any compatibility issues in terms of K-Lite, Daemon Tools, Steam and all that? If not which distro is the best and if so I'd rather continue using Win 7.
 
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Messugga

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nu11 said:
Please don't point and laugh but I'm a total Linux noob. Last time I did anything on linux was when I was studying in 2005 and was Red Hat version "god knows" so my current knowledge on linux and all the different distros are quite lacking.

I'm gonna play around with installing Linux this weekend but just want some advice before I jump in.

If I want to know if I put Linux on my main PC, I use it for Browsing,Downloading,Watching Series/Movies, Music Gaming basically everything, is there going to be any compatibility issues in terms of K-Lite, Daemon Tools, Steam and all that? If not which distro is the best and if so I'd rather continue using Win 7.
Click to expand...

Linux doesn't play along too well with gaming, just so that you know.
 
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nu11

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Messugga said:
Linux doesn't play along too well with gaming, just so that you know.
Click to expand...

Ok that's good to know.

So scrap the idea of putting linux on my main pc but I have a old laptop currently running Win XP that I just use for watching series/movies in the bedroom, note that it connects via Wifi to access all the stuff on the main PC. Just that, nothing else.
 
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Amos_Keeto

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If you just want to play around first, you can either go for a dual boot (and keep Windows as well), or get Ubuntu and do a Wubi installation.

Now before all the Linux guys jump down my throat about Wubi, yes, it's not nearly as ideal as running an actual linux installation, but it _is_ very convenient to just tool around in. You basically get an Ubuntu distro and install it like an application inside Windows. And when you're done, you just "uninstall" it. Yeah, you open yourself up to some other issues (slower performance and sometimes Wubi just conks out), but it's more than good enough to figure out if you _really_ want to go the Linux route.

If you do go full on, I would still recommend having a dual boot with Windows, just for a gaming backup, if nothing else. These days, you can get pretty far with gaming in Linux. Whether with native clients, or running stuff through Wine. WoW works, Starcraft 2 works, Steam works, quite a lot of Steam games work. You'll run into issues with stuff that uses .Net, Games for Windows, or relies heavily on DirectX.

For everyday pc stuff, you'll be fine though. Sure, a lot of your Windows stuff won't translate directly into being installable on Linux, but you should be able to find Linux alternatives without too much hassle.
 
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MyWorld

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Linux does not use Windows apps natively, so to answer question:

K-Lite - not needed, just install the codecs for your relevant distro, there is oodles of information on this and a simple "Ubuntu DVD playback" or "Ubuntu codecs" ins Google should set you straight. If you download the Linux Mint DVD then everything gets install by default.
Daemon Tools - not needed, you can mount an ISO with mount -o loop /path/to/iso /path/to/mountpoint. I have not searched for a gui tool to do this but there is bound to be plenty to choose from.
Steam - steam works with wine (emulator) and some games will work flawlessly in Linux. I think as a rule of thumb, if the game can be installed on Mac it will run well under wine, don't quote me on that since I only play CS and TF on steam.

With all the rest there should be no problem, if you use a specific app in Windows you can just search for an alternative in Linux. It is a learning curve you will just have to commit to if you want to use Linux. Shut down the Windows part of your brain and start afresh.
:D
 
AstroTurf

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Install VLC media player, plays everything.
gmountiso is a gui for mount -o loop (but there are many many iso mounters and gui's available).
Go to the wine website and see if the games you want to play are compatible with wine.

I would if I were you install a dualboot system on your main pc, you can do it from windows with ubuntu and uninstall it from add remove if you don't like what you see. Just keep in mind if Linux is not running on the right file system it is not as fast as it would be if running on ext4.

What graphics card does the laptop have? Made the mistake of installing on my wife's laptop and it has an old ati (no longer supported so no drivers). She uses it anyway and it still works well, just not for movies...
 
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nu11

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Thanks guys, I'll keep my main PC on Win 7 cause I can't stand to have to dual boot but will take the plunge with my extra laptop and mess around and learn all that Linux has to offer.
 
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nu11

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AstroTurf said:
What graphics card does the laptop have? Made the mistake of installing on my wife's laptop and it has an old ati (no longer supported so no drivers). She uses it anyway and it still works well, just not for movies...
Click to expand...

Oh nooooo. It also has an old ATI, no idea what it is. Ag I'll mess around anyway, if I break it there is no worries.
 
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Amos_Keeto

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On Ubuntu 11.04, I didn't need to install any extra stuff to mount ISOs.
 
AstroTurf

AstroTurf

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Amos_Keeto said:
On Ubuntu 11.04, I didn't need to install any extra stuff to mount ISOs.
Click to expand...

Just install dualboot on the ntfs partition on your main pc, try it, if you like it make an apt-on cd to save any downloads and updates you may have made then repartition the drive so that ubuntu and windows can run on it's own native filesystems.
 
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nu11

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Can I install Ubuntu from USB boot? What do I need to do to achieve this?
 
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Amos_Keeto

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AstroTurf said:
Just install dualboot on the ntfs partition on your main pc, try it, if you like it make an apt-on cd to save any downloads and updates you may have made then repartition the drive so that ubuntu and windows can run on it's own native filesystems.
Click to expand...

Errr, was this aimed at me? Cause I do run a native install =]

AstroTurf said:
It's just a gui.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was a daft post on my part. What I meant was, that with the default install, on right clicking an ISO, it had a "mount ISO thingy (tm)" option in the context menu.
 
AstroTurf

AstroTurf

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Amos_Keeto said:
Errr, was this aimed at me? Cause I do run a native install =]



Yeah, it was a daft post on my part. What I meant was, that with the default install, on right clicking an ISO, it had a "mount ISO thingy (tm)" option in the context menu.
Click to expand...


LOL, no it wasn't meant for you.
 
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Elimentals

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Messugga said:
Linux doesn't play along too well with gaming, just so that you know.
Click to expand...

But if you work on it a lot of games have no problems.

I have Steam running on my Ubuntu 10.10 with using wine with http://www.playonlinux.com/en/ to sort out my installs. Only need to boot Windows on certain games that is not properly supported or needs DX 11 to play.

I would still recommend a Dual boot System just so you can play games like above as for running Windows Applications(Not Games)you can always load http://www.virtualbox.org/ with Windows as well.
 
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ponder

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nu11, use the laptop to play around with and get a feel for things.

Can you give us the make & model# of your laptop please?
Also provide us with the details of the wireless card, you should be able to get that from Windows device manager. Wifi can be a biatch sometimes with linux.
 
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nu11

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ponder said:
nu11, use the laptop to play around with and get a feel for things.

Can you give us the make & model# of your laptop please?
Also provide us with the details of the wireless card, you should be able to get that from Windows device manager. Wifi can be a biatch sometimes with linux.
Click to expand...

I'm not home until tomorrow and I can't remember what model HP it is, the wireless adapter is actually a USB Belkin one, cause no built in wireless.

If I need to find/look for drivers where's a good place to start except for Google?
 
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ponder

ponder

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nu11 said:
I'm not home until tomorrow and I can't remember what model HP it is, the wireless adapter is actually a USS Belkin one, cause no built in wireless.

If I need to find/look for drivers where's a good place to start except for Google?
Click to expand...

Post the details on that Belkin regardless.

Don't worry about drivers for now as it's probably in the kernel or can be found in the repositories.
 
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