# I have never used Linux but want to try



## trt740 (Jul 8, 2009)

My mother has a crappy copy of windows xp on her HP computer and no money to upgrade.  Can I use linux and is there more than one version? Which version is the best and is it easy to use.


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jul 8, 2009)

Try Ubuntu 9.04 (x86)It's easy...
Several versions


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## Frick (Jul 8, 2009)

Yeah, go for Ubuntu. It's easy, and there's tons of information on teh internets, and that info is often easy too understand and easy to find. There are of course a ton of different distrubutions and Ubuntu might not be the best for your exact needs, but it's very good for beginners. 

There's a few different versions, but the main difference is the desktop environment. Your standard Ubuntu is the most windows-like of them, but I prefer Xubuntu which is lighter.

Just download the live-cd (it's a full OS, but you don't have to install anything so you can play around safely before choosing to install it for real), burn the iso and you're good to go.


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## InnocentCriminal (Jul 8, 2009)

It's definitely worth having a look at the Ubuntu Live CD -however, why not just back up your Mum's data and run the HP recovery on her laptop, remove all the bloatware provided by HP and Microsoft, update accordingly.


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## NastyHabits (Jul 8, 2009)

Ubuntu 9.04 is so easy and contains everything that most users need.  I will never give a windows PC to a newbie again.  It is definitely worth your while to try.


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## h3llb3nd4 (Jul 8, 2009)

go with the above suggestions. ubuntu is a nice os and it also provides good updates.


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## A Cheese Danish (Jul 8, 2009)

InnocentCriminal said:


> It's definitely worth having a look at the Ubuntu Live CD



+1. Try a Ubuntu or Fedora Live CD and see if you like it


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## Wile E (Jul 8, 2009)

I much prefer Fedora over Ubuntu. It's every bit as easy to use, but has more options on install, has a proper root account, and is more compatible with software you may find out in the wild.

That said, just reinstall XP. lol. Her key should be listed on the computer, so all you need to do is find an OEM XP disc of her version.


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## Frick (Jul 8, 2009)

Wile E said:


> and is more compatible with software you may find out in the wild.



It is? When I was on Xubuntu full time I don't think I had problems with any software (except some opengl stuff). Next week or so I'll go linux again and then I think I'm going Fedora. Xfce of course.


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## Wile E (Jul 8, 2009)

Frick said:


> It is? When I was on Xubuntu full time I don't think I had problems with any software (except some opengl stuff). Next week or so I'll go linux again and then I think I'm going Fedora. Xfce of course.



I'm talking about non-repo proggies. Most of the pre-compiled stuff you find in the wild is in rpm. Ubuntu uses deb, and even then, they aren't a standard distro, some some of those debs end up not working properly.


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## Frick (Jul 8, 2009)

Wile E said:


> I'm talking about non-repo proggies. Most of the pre-compiled stuff you find in the wild is in rpm. Ubuntu uses deb, and even then, they aren't a standard distro, some some of those debs end up not working properly.



Oh well, that's true. But you can get most of the stuff to work, if you give it some time and work.


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## MilkyWay (Jul 9, 2009)

fedora is pretty much what people like to use, ubuntu is the first linux distro people use and the most user friendly because normal things are easy to use on it

its not linux friendly tho as most other linux are not like ubuntu

open suse is another easy to use one thats a bit popular like fedora, open suse looks a lot like windows tbh


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## trt740 (Jul 9, 2009)

InnocentCriminal said:


> It's definitely worth having a look at the Ubuntu Live CD -however, why not just back up your Mum's data and run the HP recovery on her laptop, remove all the bloatware provided by HP and Microsoft, update accordingly.



She doesn't have the disks.  I could reinstall from a full version but some of the drivers are not available.


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## NastyHabits (Jul 9, 2009)

Wile E said:


> I much prefer Fedora over Ubuntu. It's every bit as easy to use, but has more options on install, has a proper root account, and is more compatible with software you may find out in the wild.



I'll have to give Fedora a try.


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## Dippyskoodlez (Jul 9, 2009)

trt740 said:


> She doesn't have the disks.  I could reinstall from a full version but some of the drivers are not available.



Most pre-builts come with a seperate partition containing restore information, instead of reinstall CD's.

However, I vote uBuntu. Its more newbie friendly. the terminal will make them cry.


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## trt740 (Jul 9, 2009)

Dippyskoodlez said:


> Most pre-builts come with a seperate partition containing restore information, instead of reinstall CD's.
> 
> However, I vote uBuntu. Its more newbie friendly. the terminal will make them cry.



thats not the case here.


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## Wile E (Jul 10, 2009)

What model HP computer, and what drivers are missing?


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## Dippyskoodlez (Jul 11, 2009)

I would give Mint Linux a try.. Its based off Ubuntu, but its really nice and easy to use 

www.linuxmint.com

It's my new favorite distro.


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## vbx (Jul 11, 2009)

Try wubi.  It installs ubuntu in windows and installs it in the vista bootscreen so you can select ur OS of choice.

On my laptop, I can either boot XP, Win7 or Ubuntu all in 1 bootscreen.  Thanks to Wubi.

http://wubi-installer.org/


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## Deusxmachina (Jul 13, 2009)

Something to remember is Linux is pretty much Linux, just some versions are harder to use than others, some are prettier than others, some are made for older hardware, etc.  So it depends what you need and want.  

There are two main desktops.  Gnome and KDE.  Gnome isn't ugly or anything, but KDE at times looks better than even Windows does.  And with eye candy comes needing decent hardware to run it.

Some easy point-and-click ones I've used lately are PCLOS, Mint, Puppy (small but good!), Mandriva, AntiX, Crunchbang.  My old laptop barely ran Mandriva.  Looks good, though.  

I've used all of the above with basically never needing to type in a command line for anything.  Some people like to use versions of Linux with total control, command terminal lines and all that, while other people just want something plug-and-play that works.

The best part of most Linux versions is you can put them on a thumb drive or CD and boot from that to test them out until you find one that fits you the best.  Your mom could try half a dozen different ones and choose from those.


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## kylzer (Jul 13, 2009)

I like linux slax and Fedroa but Slax is more for a mobile OS.


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