Help Wanted

Installing Linux as a secondary OS – Ereon

Ereon

Member

Posts: 1018
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: 04-12-2005
I tried installing it as a replacement once, but I couldn't figure it out. What version/distro do you suggest for a newbie? Is there any way to run windows program that require DirectX and hardware acceleration in Linux, and what are the steps in as much simple detail as possible for installing it as a secondary OS.

P.S. It would also be nice if the distro looked really cool as well That's optional though.

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"I am very good at hiding, so if you don't see me, that's where I am." Orc Outlaw, TES III Morrowind

Jari

Member

Posts: 1471
From: Helsinki, Finland
Registered: 03-11-2005
I was about to answer but then I found this article, maybe you should read it, I don't know, haven't read it my self but looks like pretty comprehensive guide: http://linux.about.com/od/linux101/l/blnewbie1_1.htm

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2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

[VoHW] (Help needed) [Blog] - Truedisciple (mp3)

[This message has been edited by jari (edited April 27, 2006).]

Jari

Member

Posts: 1471
From: Helsinki, Finland
Registered: 03-11-2005
Oh and yes and wine can be used to run some windows programs in linux.

Do you plan to have dual boot btw? that's windows and linux side-by-side in same HD. If yes that's going to make things bit harder for you (though some distros help alot in this area) and I recommend you start reading from here: http://linux.about.com/library/bl/open/newbie/blnewbie1.8.htm

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2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

[VoHW] (Help needed) [Blog] - Truedisciple (mp3)

[This message has been edited by jari (edited April 27, 2006).]

Ereon

Member

Posts: 1018
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: 04-12-2005
Yes, I was planning a dual-boot, shouldn't be too horribly difficult, I hardly ever go past half my harddrive with Windows anyway. It's just the logistics that I need to work on. What about DirectX and hardware acceleration for Windows programs? Does that work?

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"I am very good at hiding, so if you don't see me, that's where I am." Orc Outlaw, TES III Morrowind

Ereon

Member

Posts: 1018
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: 04-12-2005
Ok, I think I've decided on Debian with a GNOME GUI. Any commects, warning, "DON'T DO IT!"s before I finish the download, burn, and install?

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"I am very good at hiding, so if you don't see me, that's where I am." Orc Outlaw, TES III Morrowind

Jari

Member

Posts: 1471
From: Helsinki, Finland
Registered: 03-11-2005
quote:
Originally posted by Ereon:
What about DirectX and hardware acceleration for Windows programs? Does that work?

wine does that.

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2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

[VoHW] (Help needed) [Blog] - Truedisciple (mp3)

CPUFreak91

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Posts: 2337
From:
Registered: 02-01-2005
Eroeon: GNOME does not look cool! I say: Try kubuntu it has KDE and is very newbie friendly!
You may have to pay $5 and buy cedega for good DirectX support in windows games. Yes, if you have a ATI or nVidia video card, you can download a kernel module which will greatly improve your hardware aceleration.

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All Your Base Are Belong To Us!!! chown -r us ./base
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Ereon

Member

Posts: 1018
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: 04-12-2005
What are the features of Kubuntu?

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"I am very good at hiding, so if you don't see me, that's where I am." Orc Outlaw, TES III Morrowind

CPUFreak91

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Posts: 2337
From:
Registered: 02-01-2005
quote:
Originally posted by Ereon:
What are the features of Kubuntu?


quote:
Kubuntu is a user friendly operating system based on KDE, the K Desktop Environment. With a predictable 6 month release cycle and part of the Ubuntu project, Kubuntu is the GNU/Linux distribution for everyone.

My experience: Ease of use, good documentation, good forum, easy to install stuff, very popular (so other people must like it too!) and up to date.

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All Your Base Are Belong To Us!!! chown -r us ./base
"After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless.'' -- Tao of Programming Book 2

HanClinto

Administrator

Posts: 1828
From: Indiana
Registered: 10-11-2004
I think Debian is my favorite installation of Linux. Kubuntu is built on top of Debian, and it makes it easier to use for newbies.

I personally like to use Gnome more than KDE -- but that's mainly because I like supporting the LGPL more than the GPL (just differing philosophies of open-source software). There's really not too much difference -- you'll be happy with whatever you choose.

So yeah, Kubuntu is just Ubuntu with a KDE desktop manager. If you don't care about KDE, Ubuntu is the original, and probably has more support.

In conclusion, my recommendation is any of Debian/Ubuntu/Kubuntu, with my top recommendation being Ubuntu, then Kubuntu, then plain Debian (only because plain Debian can be harder for new users to get up and running with).

Cheers!

--clint

Ereon

Member

Posts: 1018
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: 04-12-2005
So, what are the advantages of KDE, and is Debian more powerful/versatile than Kubuntu? What are the differences in functionality? I don't mind harder to use provided it allows more bang and hopefully more functionality and intercompatability with DirectX and such (Because DarkBasic requires DirectX)

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"I am very good at hiding, so if you don't see me, that's where I am." Orc Outlaw, TES III Morrowind

CPUFreak91

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Posts: 2337
From:
Registered: 02-01-2005
quote:
Originally posted by Ereon:
(Because DarkBasic requires DirectX)

Dark basic may not work in Linux.

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All Your Base Are Belong To Us!!! chown -r us ./base
"After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless.'' -- Tao of Programming Book 2

luke

Member

Posts: 311
From: I use your computer as my second Linux box
Registered: 10-30-2005
*sorry, cant help you and I dont really want to 'hijak' this thread but*
I hear that linux is a nice program developing environment, is this true and if so why?

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Omnia Vos Estis Cordatis

HanClinto

Administrator

Posts: 1828
From: Indiana
Registered: 10-11-2004
quote:
Originally posted by Ereon:
So, what are the advantages of KDE

Many people think it looks nicer. Its libraries have a more restrictive license (GPL) than Gnome does (LGPL), so that's why I prefer Gnome, but I think just about everyone agrees that KDE looks better and is probably more new-user-friendly.

quote:
Originally posted by Ereon:
Is Debian more powerful/versatile than Kubuntu? What are the differences in functionality? I don't mind harder to use provided it allows more bang and hopefully more functionality and intercompatability with DirectX and such (Because DarkBasic requires DirectX)

Plain Debian is certainly more widely used than Kubuntu, so may likely be more support for doing out-of-the-ordinary stuff with just plain Debian. That said, Kubuntu is built on Debian, and many/most of the resources for Debian should apply to Ubuntu/Kubuntu.

From what I hear, Kubuntu/Ubuntu is great for getting one's feet wet in Linux. I would recommend that you start out with one of those, and if you feel restricted (I don't think you will), then you can go to Debian.

I just don't want to see you get overwhelmed by the complex beast that is Linux -- you'll likely have an easier time getting up-and-running with your first Linux install if you use Kubuntu/Ubuntu, and I consider that top-priority.

Ultimately, you'll just have to choose one and roll with it, and it may not matter which you choose -- it's like eating an apple or an orange for a snack -- it matters in small ways but ultimately they're both healthy fruit snacks.

I hope I've been of some help -- if I've just confused you more, I apologize.

--clint

CPUFreak91

Member

Posts: 2337
From:
Registered: 02-01-2005
quote:
Originally posted by luke:
*sorry, cant help you and I dont really want to 'hijak' this thread but*
I hear that linux is a nice program developing environment, is this true and if so why?

Check your PM messages.

quote:
Many people think it looks nicer. Its libraries have a more restrictive license (GPL) than Gnome does (LGPL), so that's why I prefer Gnome, but I think just about everyone agrees that KDE looks better and is probably more new-user-friendly.

But when you're an anti-closed source freak like me KDE's liscence is more apealing because it restricts closed source development. But in your case, either is acceptable for use as long as your don't create closed source QT apps.

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All Your Base Are Belong To Us!!! chown -r us ./base
"After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless.'' -- Tao of Programming Book 2

bennythebear

Member

Posts: 1225
From: kentucky,usa
Registered: 12-13-2003
has anyone here ran dungeon siege(1 or 2), or freelancer on linux? if i could those working on linux then i would be set to hold lan parties, that would knock off $100 a computer(most expensive item is xp!!!) .

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CPUFreak91

Member

Posts: 2337
From:
Registered: 02-01-2005
quote:
Originally posted by bennythebear:
has anyone here ran dungeon siege(1 or 2), or freelancer on linux? if i could those working on linux then i would be set to hold lan parties, that would knock off $100 a computer(most expensive item is xp!!!) .


I have not but many other people elsewhere have.
Works with Cedega (Click on Link for more details):
Dungeon Seige
Dungeon Seige II
Freelancer


You can probably get it to work much more easily with cedega than with wine. Unfortunately it costs $5 for a 3 month subscription (you can keep the program after the first 3 months but tech support goes elseware). I'm going to get a subscription... definitely worth it!

@ Other people. These games alos work under Linux and Cedega:
Elder Scrolls IV, The: Oblivion
Guild Wars
World Of Warcraft (EDIT. WOW is officially supported by Transgaming)

Be warned that some of these games's multiplayer versions don't work well (unless like WoW which is Multi only) with linux.

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All Your Base Are Belong To Us!!! chown -r us ./base
"After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless.'' -- Tao of Programming Book 2

[This message has been edited by CPUFreak91 (edited April 27, 2006).]

[This message has been edited by CPUFreak91 (edited April 27, 2006).]

buddboy

Member

Posts: 2220
From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S.
Registered: 10-08-2004
*also hate to hijack this thread but don't want to start a new one as we're sort of on the topic*

i can't figure out how to install wine. when i add the repository in Adept or Synaptic, i add it, and hit ok... then the repository disappears after i reload the repositories! what am i supposed to do?

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In the stock market, you must buy high and sell low...Wait! That's not right!
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Yes, I can be intelligent at times!!

Jari

Member

Posts: 1471
From: Helsinki, Finland
Registered: 03-11-2005
quote:
Originally posted by buddboy:
*also hate to hijack this thread but don't want to start a new one as we're sort of on the topic*

i can't figure out how to install wine. when i add the repository in Adept or Synaptic, i add it, and hit ok... then the repository disappears after i reload the repositories! what am i supposed to do?


That may be a bug, it has happen to me a couple of times. Do you have backup of your sources.list (or whatever) file?
If not I suggest you to remove the wine lines from the current and see if that helps.

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2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

[VoHW] (Help needed) [Blog] - Truedisciple (mp3)

[This message has been edited by jari (edited April 28, 2006).]

c0oL l33tZ

Member

Posts: 26
From:
Registered: 09-15-2005
Your best bet is to get the source from the WINE HQ and compile it. That's what I did.

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Ignorance is Bliss

Ereon

Member

Posts: 1018
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: 04-12-2005
Ok, concerning repartitioning my harddrive for Linux, is it possible to add a partition for Linux without losing my data in Windows? I'm going to back up anyway, I was just wondering if there was any way to make them work together with little or no risk of losing my data and therefore avoiding an entire reformat.

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"I am very good at hiding, so if you don't see me, that's where I am." Orc Outlaw, TES III Morrowind

Jari

Member

Posts: 1471
From: Helsinki, Finland
Registered: 03-11-2005
quote:
Originally posted by Ereon:
Ok, concerning repartitioning my harddrive for Linux, is it possible to add a partition for Linux without losing my data in Windows?



In theory it's possible But I once got my windows partition unsusable when I had to resize it - which is what you have to do too - and I had to reinstall windows on it. Fortunately I was able to read the windows partition in linux and salvage all my files.

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2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

[VoHW] (Help needed) [Blog] - Truedisciple (mp3)

Ereon

Member

Posts: 1018
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: 04-12-2005
What programs/methods do you use, btw I chose Debian, so if you have anything specific to that It'd help.

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"I am very good at hiding, so if you don't see me, that's where I am." Orc Outlaw, TES III Morrowind

CPUFreak91

Member

Posts: 2337
From:
Registered: 02-01-2005
Ereon: Concerning the Debian/Kubuntu question.
There really is not a great difference installation wise, both use the same type of package, Kubuntu is easier to use for most new-to-linux-people. I suggest you try each one for a week then choose the one you like best.
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All Your Base Are Belong To Us!!! chown -r us ./base
"After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless.'' -- Tao of Programming Book 2

[This message has been edited by CPUFreak91 (edited April 28, 2006).]

buddboy

Member

Posts: 2220
From: New Albany, Indiana, U.S.
Registered: 10-08-2004
um... in order to get the source, you have to add the repository... and it's not working... lol...

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In the stock market, you must buy high and sell low...Wait! That's not right!
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Yes, I can be intelligent at times!!