Linux + Vista

[Cagedconnerman]

Hey all, I'm new to Linux and would like to start tinkering with it, maybe next reformat i'll go just linux, no vista. But i have some questions first. First, Which one should i get? theres SO MANY different versions, I do alot of gaming, and browse a few forums every now and then. Second, I already have Vista 32 bit installed, and I have a bunch of games and such installed, my HDD isnt partitioned at all, can i even install it? Third, If i can get it working, what are some primary differences between whatever Linux u suggest and Vista?

[Airbozo]

Biggest difference is that you will not be able to play your games in linux. There are few that were released for linux and the emulation software (WINE) requires a REALLY powerful computer to deal with the emulation layer. I gave up after a few long nights with no success.

The distro with the most compatibility is Fedora (actually what many distro's are based on, including RedHat's flagship OS; Redhat Enterprise Server) . The best _user_ distro has got to be Ubuntu. The best server distro, CentOS.

The name escapes me at the moment but there are utilities that will allow you to repartition your HD on the fly without destroying any data. That said never take chances and back it up if it is important to you. If you intend on dual booting, you must install Windows first, then linux.

[SgtM]

Biggest difference is that you will not be able to play your games in linux. There are few that were released for linux and the emulation software (WINE) requires a REALLY powerful computer to deal with the emulation layer. I gave up after a few long nights with no success.

The distro with the most compatibility is Fedora (actually what many distro's are based on, including RedHat's flagship OS; Redhat Enterprise Server) . The best _user_ distro has got to be Ubuntu. The best server distro, CentOS.

The name escapes me at the moment but there are utilities that will allow you to repartition your HD on the fly without destroying any data. That said never take chances and back it up if it is important to you. If you intend on dual booting, you must install Windows first, then linux.

I'll have to agree with Everything AB said. BTW, the software you're thinking of is partition magic. Good stuff.

[moon111]

Or you could get a harddrive switch and put Linux on another harddrive.

http://www.industechnologies.com/products/176/400B-s.jpg

You can find these switches from Indus Technologies (http://www.industechnologies.com/). I have one and it's a very well built unit. The concept isn't new, but other companies built crummy products so the concept hasn't been used much. These units aren't cheap... $180 to $260 bucks.

[Commando]

Linux rocks. It totally got me through a "I'm broke" stage when I still needed to graphic design and web development stuff.

I used Gimp for graphic design, Inkscape for vector graphics, NVU for web page design. They're all awesome and free.

I'm back to Windows for now. But Linux has alway been out there as an awesome alternative. If you want some motivation for going linux check out www.KDE-look.org I used to love going there and tricking out my KDE desktop to look wicked.

[.Maleficus.]

Like Airbozo said, you won't be doing much gaming. Games that are released for Linux are few and far between, with the most coming from id Software because they develop on Linux. I'm using Fedora right now and it's very nice, I had Ubuntu first and it's great if you don't want to screw with the command line much, and I had Gentoo in there because I wanted to learn something.

You'll probably want either Fedora or Ubuntu. Both can use the Gnome or KDE environment, so you'll need to look at screenshots to see what you like best. I really hate KDE, I've never found a good theme for it, and Gnome is much simpler and cleaner (to me).

For a few places to look around, go to Gnome-Look.org (http://www.gnome-look.org), KDE-Look.org (http://www.kde-look.org), and deviantART (http://www.deviantart.com). If you need any help, there are a bunch of people here who can help.

[Cagedconnerman]

thx for the advice guys, +reps...thinking i'll format with that tool and mess around with linux a bit

[.Maleficus.]

thx for the advice guys, +reps...thinking i'll format with that tool and mess around with linux a bit
If I remember right, Partition Magic costs $$$. Check out System Rescue CD (http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page) instead, it has a built in partitioner called GParted that works just as good.

To use GParted, pop in the CD, when you get a command prompt, type "startx", then you'll get a desktop like thing. Type "gparted" in the box and you're good to go.

[Cagedconnerman]

oh cool, ty maleficus, i'd +rep but i gotta spread it around some more :)

[.Maleficus.]

oh cool, ty maleficus, i'd +rep but i gotta spread it around some more :)
No problem, it's a great tool that has come in handy for me on multiple occasions.