Re: help in getting started
On Mon, Mar 19, 2001 at 09:08:58AM -0800, Nate Amsden wrote:
> > Amit Ganpule wrote:
> >
> > Dear Sir,
> > I have recently purchased a computer magazine along with that two CDs of
> > Debian were given, now I bought the magazine for the Linux CDs, but I can't
> > make head or tail of how to install, run or do anything with the CDs. I do
> > not know how to partition the hard disc, I am very much interested in
> > switching over to Linux OS.
>
> if you don't know how to partition a hard disk i strongly, honestly
> reccomend against using linux at this point in time unless there is someone
> local to you that can hold your hand. i have helped many many people
> in person from knowing nothing about linux to being able to use it everyday
> but many of them i don't think would of made it on their own(before giving up)
> without a lot of help.
>
> especially debian. debian is not a userfriendly system to install. if your
> ready to spend days/weeks configuring it then post your specific questions
> here. in your case i would suggest getting a dedicated PC and using something
> like mandrake until you get the hang of linux. then move to debian later.
> setting up a dual boot can be dangerous unless you know exactly what your
> doing(honestly the first time i tried with slackware ~5 years ago i wiped
> out my C: so i speak from experience).
>
> i don't mean to discourage you but to save you a lot of effort, your post
> suggests you are not ready for debian(yet).
>
I disagree with much that is said here. I see this time and time again
on many different forums that debian is not for newbies. I installed
debian hamm after one year of using W95. Slink is much easier to
install than hamm. I didn't even know which disk to use for
installation. I posted to the list, asking if I use the binary or
source disk. I read and understood as much as I could and posted to the
list about that which I did not know. People were great and helped me
immensely, still do.
A few months after installing hamm I tried Redhat. The install was
easier but I couldn't get ppp working for two weeks, there were many
frustrating bugs and shortly thereafter I went back to debian.
Installing a dual boot system can be done relatively safely by installing
a second hard drive. A cheap 1 or 2 Gig drive will do nicely. Unhook
your drive containing windows and install debian. Hook up both drives and
use a boot floppy to access debian till your confident enough to use a
boot-loader.
Amit, if you would like to give debian a try there are people on the list
that will help. I would suggest you start out by reading the
documentation at -
http://www.debian.org/
especially the installation instructions -
http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/#new-inst
I spent a considerable amount of time choosing the first distro I
installed. I chose it because I wanted a bit of a challenge, in order to
learn and because debian is created and run by volunteers. I've tried
several distributions since and always come back to debian.
hth,
kent
--
From seeing and seeing the seeing has become so exhausted
First line of "The Panther" - R. M. Rilke
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