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Thread ID: 59165	2005-06-23 17:43:00	Wish to give Linux a try, what are the steps?	Renmoo (66)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
366559	2005-06-24 16:03:00	I'm lost in the FTP. Can someone tell me where do I go (ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/mepis/released/) from here? Why there are 2 iso different date and file size? Cheers :)	Renmoo (66)
366560	2005-06-24 16:12:00	ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/mepis/released/SimplyMEPIS-3.3.1-1.iso	Rob99 (151)
366561	2005-06-24 16:19:00	After downloading it, I just have to burn it into a cd and double-click that iso file, right? Thanks Rob for pinpointing out the URL for me! Cheers :)	Renmoo (66)
366562	2005-06-24 16:25:00	Use burning software to put the image on a disc, this will extract everything in the iso and write it on the disc . Boot from the disc . An iso file is simmilar to a zip, one main file that hold lots of others	Rob99 (151)
366563	2005-06-24 20:34:00	When in Windows, I use Nero to burn ISO images to burn to CD. NIce and easy :D In Linux, I use K3b; if you have it (not sure if Mepis does have K3b). Its free, and very user friendly	Myth (110)
366564	2005-06-24 20:56:00	If people here actually read the original question you will (I think) find that Jameskan actually wants to use WinXP as the main operating system and also wants to install a version of Linux on one hard drive. Probably dual boot with *A* version of Linux and WinXP. It may be helpful if all the Linux peple here can show Him/Her how to keep all the data already on the hard drive and partition the one hard drive to dual boot WinXP home and your favourite version of Linux. The way I see it is that Linux will need 3 - 4 partions on a hard drive. WinXP will need one at least. If you decide to install a version of Linux to dual boot with Windows, I have it set up like so: Windows C: (called hda1 in Linux) is set on the master drive (40GB) in the active partition. I also have a D: partition (called hda2) on the same drive (both are formatted as NTFS though FAT32 will suffice). On the slave drive (80GB) I have a FAT32 partition (hdb1) for file swapping between Windows and Linux (mp3s, text docs, bookmarks for firefox etc). I then have a 10GB partition (hdb2) which uses the / mount point (similar to C:, its the main file area for system files). Next is a swap file (hdb3) which is user defined during setup. Mine is 1GB in size (the experts recommend 2* your memory, and I have 512 MB; hence 1GB swap). I think the maximum swap file size should be 2GB (but I may be wrong) The final partition (hdb4) is the /home mount point (This is similar to My Documents in Windows... an area you can store user created, or downloaded files). My setup is not perfect at this stage (still learning I am :)) and I will probably need to repartition (hopefully it can be done non-destructively using QPart) but it should give you an idea of how Linux is setup All this applies if you decide to install only, not if you just want to run 'live CD' in memory only. This guide was also based on FC4, so Mepis may be different.	Myth (110)
366565	2005-06-24 22:14:00	The final partition (hdb4) is the /home mount point (This is similar to My Documents in Windows... an area you can store user created, or downloaded files)./home is also where user preferences, and indeed anything particular to that user live. (not sure if Mepis does have K3b) Yes Mepis has K3B, and what a great wee bit of burning software it is! The way I see it is that Linux will need 3 - 4 partions on a hard drive. WinXP will need one at least. Mepis, and just about all other distros will want to have "/" (a general system patition) /home (personal files and settings) /swap (self explanatory, and often optional) Dont worry, Its own install program will sort all that out if you decide to install, which will of course increase preformance as you get the use of your RAM back that way. You could quite safely press OK blindly all the way, and it will create a partition holding your windows data, and additional partitions for *nix	personthingy (1670)
366566	2005-06-24 22:25:00	If the 3 partitions seem confusing, consider this. Earlier versions of most Linux distros also wanted a partition for "/etc" which is where all the non user specific settings and preferences lived. The advantage with that was that if you did a format and replace type upgrade, you would only touch "/" and the new set up would hopefully honour the settings defined in files found in /etc, so it would still know your IP, how your servers behaved and all that sort of thing. While /etc is still used, it is usually by default housed in the generic "/" partition, and therefore lost if you format in order to try a different distro.	personthingy (1670)
366567	2005-06-25 01:25:00	Very good guy’s, I too have nearly plucked up enough courage to give it a go . However, yet another question . Can Knoppix and or Morphix handle old DOS programmes? The reason I ask is I have a very old (in computer terms) DOS database & word processor programme called Q&A . Now this programme contains quite an extensive amount of data accumulated over many years . The wonderful thing about it is you can simply copy the whole programme complete with data from one computer or Hard Drive to another without having to run an installation programme . Whilst the programme is perfectly legit (it cost a fortune at the time) the installation disks are the old 5 ¼ inch floppies, which makes things a little tricky when you don’t have a 5 ¼ inch drive . :lol: On reflection, it was nice to have programmes that stood alone and didn’t need fancy registry entries etc . Do Linux programmes stand-alone or have they followed the windows path?	B.M. (505)
366568	2005-06-25 02:01:00	/home is also where user preferences, and indeed anything particular to that user live. Yes Mepis has K3B, and what a great wee bit of burning software it is! Mepis, and just about all other distros will want to have "/" (a general system patition) /home (personal files and settings) /swap (self explanatory, and often optional) Dont worry, Its own install program will sort all that out if you decide to install, which will of course increase preformance as you get the use of your RAM back that way. You could quite safely press OK blindly all the way, and it will create a partition holding your windows data, and additional partitions for *nix It is generally a bad idea to use the "/" as a general system partition. You should separate "/" from anything else - it is almost always read only, and if this partition is damaged, you cannot boot the system. At most, "/" needs 150MB, and should be "read-only". For a 10GB disk, you should allocate it thus, in this order from the outside in: "/" - 150MB, swap - 600MB, etc - 200MB, var - 200MB, usr - 5GB, home - the balance of the disk.	vinref (6194)
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