Which Linux????

[eagle1]

Hey guys! Happy Millenium... 2001 Space Oddysey... etc.. Anyway I wanted to ask which linux works the best. There are several companies like Corel, Red Hat, etc. and I wanted to know what piece of software should I get.

Keep in mind this will be my first time installing this OS so I'm looking for one with the easiest setup, compatibility, etc.!
I have use it before but never install it.

Any suggestion appreciated!

P.S. How much space does it eats out of my HD? I'm thinking of partitioning my HD or should I buy another drive?

[Savant]

I'd have to recommend Mandrake 7.2, especially since you're new to it. whether you need a second hd really depends on how big your hd is, and what you intend to install. An installation can run from 100MB - 2.5GB depending on what you install, of course this includes aplications as well as the os. I've found that you can get everything you need for daily use in less than 500MB, this includes browser, mp3 players, editors, C and C++ libs, documentation, kernel source, etc.
Savant

[eagle1]

Yep.. I heard about that one too!
How about stability?
Also I don't know if what I have in my system is compatible so, duh, high compatibility is a must!!

System specs:

AMD K6-2 500
128 PC133 Ram
Voodoo 3 2000
Integrated Sound card (C-Media 8738)
integrated modem
Generic 48x CDROM Drive
Toshiba DVD/CDRW combo
10 GB HD
4.8 GB HD

[wilbur]

that should do it, mandrake 7.2 powerpack deluxe should run in your system.

[Savant]

looks OK to me, as far as stability it's a heck of a lot more stable than Windows. But I've run linux on at least one machine, pretty much 24x7 and it's crashed... 3 times.
Beat that ona windows system http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif
Savant

[DemonKnight]

Wouldent that intergrated modem be a win modem? which more than likly would not work. I' have mandrake 7.2 my self and I love it. except it doesnt work with my exisiting ISA modem. (I looked through a list of modems that are compatable and not compatable and it was lsited as not compatable. damnit. So I'm using my win98 partiton right now.) Also though I'm the type of person who dont read manuals much so it took me a wile to get my sound working. I Think though I have my partioning and other settings set up wrong cause my system dont like to play sound files once they are off the CD.

[CMonster]

I too recommend Mandrake 7.2, but get the "Complete" package - it is cheaper than the Deluxe, which contains a lot of extras that you will probably never use.

Although the coveted 2.4 kernel is included in the Deluxe, it is a beta kernel and incomplete. You can download kernel updates when you are comfortable enough to configure, compile, and install them.

[eagle1]

Thanks guys. I wanted to know these things because of my integrated stuff in the motherboard. So, Mandrake is the winner??

okie dokie...

Also, what about kernel updates? Isn't kernel like the "director of the os"? and you can change it? I mean you can't do that in windows right?

[bugfix]

The kernel is the very base of the o/s it controls all system devices, i/o calls and scheduling. The Linux kernel is modular so you can build in support for different devices such as IDE hardrives or SCSI depending on what you have. In Windows these are all controlled by drivers - Windows simply looks for and calls a driver as-and-when it is needed.

There has recently been a new kernel released - 2.4 which has more support for devices such as USB which were only previously supported by 3rd party kernel patches.

[This message has been edited by bugfix (edited 01-08-2001).]

[eagle1]

Thanks for the suggestions guys..!!