Linux questions
By gantwick
@gantwick (849)
United States
March 18, 2008 9:23pm CST
I am toying with the idea of turning an old desktop computer, currently running Windows 98, into a Linux box. Which distro would be the best to use? Should I go with a LiveCD? Or should I do the whole partition thing and make it bootable to Linux, or dual-boot (plenty of room on the hard drive)?
5 responses
@bayernfan (1430)
• Canada
19 Mar 08
Why not fill out the Linux Distribution questionnaire from ZegenieStudios? It should help you make the right choice. You can find the questionnaire here:
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/
1 person likes this
@Guardian208 (1095)
• United States
19 Mar 08
Most of the distros mentioned are good though Slackware is really for people who know what they are doing. There is a lot of buzz about Ubuntu right now. A few of them give you a LiveCD version like Knoppix does.
I set up a file server at home by converting and old Win98 box to Mandrake. It was pretty cool to experiment with. It could do most everything I needed to do on it except run some of the proprietary software I use for work.
Give it a try and let us know what you think.
@bayernfan (1430)
• Canada
19 Mar 08
I am running Kubuntu 7.1 64-bit on one of my computers right now. It's a great OS and the LiveCD is very helpful even for diagnostic purposes. Installation was a breeze and would be easy for Linux newbies.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
20 Mar 08
Linux distributions tend to be a personal choice, so I would suggest trying a few to see which suits you. A live CD is the obvious start because you can change between distributions easily and try several with very little effort.
I am a great fan of Mandriva, with Ubuntu being another favourite of mine, but recommend that you stick to Windows and use live CDs for Linux until you are sure that you are happy with it.
@michelyn (717)
• United States
19 Mar 08
If you have a need for another operating system aside of Linux, then I would do a dual boot option with whatever OS you need as well. If not, then I would just build it as a Linux box by itself. We are partial to Fedora and Red Hat ourselves. But as one stated, definitely make sure you don't have any oddball hardware in the machine or else you will have a nightmare on your hands. And that is regardless of which distro you choose to use. Good luck and have fun! 
