kevincrookes wrote: >Hello. I do not know if this is for the right mailing list channel, but >i thought that i would post it in here. Bascially i am a total newbie to >Linux. A friend total me about it over the internet and he says the >Debian Linux is a good Linux to start with. Well i have not got any idea >how to install it, or how to set about setting it all up. So this is >where you guys come in. Please could you point me in the right direction >to answering the following questions below:
No problem. All of us started as newbies too. All of us are newbies; the oldies are newbies with experience, and have gone the path you are now before. >1. How do i get a copy of Debian Linux? (The exact place). Try searching at http://www.debian.org. If you have the bandwidth, you can burn the ISO-images (around 3 for the standard stable distribution, and 1 CD for the non-us packages, which are situated in servers outside the US) Perhaps in your locality there's someone who also burns CD's of popular Linux distros, or in your local Linux Users' Group. You can buy from that person or LUG to save you the trouble of downloading the ISO images and burning it yourself. >2. How do i go about installing it? before you install debian, do take note of your hardware (e.g. video card, sound card, others). The installation is much pretty straightforward, but you should check first the installation guide which is inside CD 1 of the 3-CD set, or check at the debian web site. The installation is not as flashy as other distros, with the GUI stuff and everything, but it should be intuitive enough. You can also try searching for Eric S. Raymond's exquisite Linux Installation HOWTO in the internet. It is distribution-agnostic, but very good reading and simple to understand even for the newbie. a summary of the install process goes: Assuming you can boot from your CD drive, install the installation CD. then the install process initiates. The first part of the install would involve installation of the basic operating system like the Linux kernel, some kernel modules to enable the use of some of your hardware, as well as some basic programs the distribution can't live without. Then you'll be asked to reboot the machine. The second part involves creation of a root (which you should only use sparingly) and a normal user account, passwords, and installation of wanted software. There's an advanced install, as well as a simple install. after selecting the install method you want, you select the software you want, software is installed, and that's it. It helps too if you have a friend who is into Linux (and if he uses Debian it's a definite plus) around during the install to give you some tips and help you with the install. Better if you can be a member of your locality's LUG so you can benefit from their experience. >3. Once installed how do i got about setting it up? The software you install have (most of the time) a nice manual either via a HOWTO, a man or info page. Some of the elementary tasks of system administration (such as setting up mail, dial-up or any form of internet connection, X-Window, etc.) have their corresponding HOWTOs usually located inside the /usr/share/doc/HOWTO directory. Or you can always search the Internet, ask your friends or LUGgers, post questions in the mailing list >4. How do i go about using Linux? Try searching the contents of /usr/share/doc/HOWTO/. There are HTML as well as text versions of HOWTO's for almost every task you may need. It would be best devoting some time reading these exquisite HOWTO's (most of them were made with the newbie in mind). There's also the ubiquitous (well.. almost) man and info pages for every program. An elementary knowledge of simple UNIX commands (like ls, cp, rm etc...) is very helpful. You can get this from any UNIX book, as well as there exists a HOWTO for such a task (the DOS/Windows to Linux HOWTO... try looking for it in /usr/share/doc/HOWTO or in the internet). There's a lot of documentation out there in the internet. Try the Linux Documentation project (http://www.ldp.org) for Linux-general HOWTO's. IRC's a good place too to get Linux help. Try #debian at irc.debian.org, or #linuxhelp at undernet. Some great e-books can be found at the Oreilly web site. In particular, there's an e-book on Debian GNU/Linux. Deadtree (printed on paper, that is) editions of UNIX/Linux literature are also available in bookstores (almost) anywhere. Of course, this mailing list too would gladly help anyone who'd want to be free from the grasps of the machinations of the Evil Empire. Those subscribed to the mailing list would give their help, if they can, as well as give suggestions or corrections if you're doing something unsafe/unsound. >Just about it information about me. I am an ex-windows 3.11, 95, 98, and = >ME user. I am also an ex-DOS user as well. I am totally new to all of = >this and i went to get into it ASAP. Just don't lose your patience. Some say Debian is not so newbie-friendly - it isn't newbie friendly only to the newbie who doesn't have the patience. Making the transition from Windows to the better, free alternative OS is somehow like learning a foreign language - you need to condition yourself to be patient despite the hardships you might face. The Debian distribution wouldn't insulate the user from the intricacies of Linux, but you shall soon find out that in the long run, Debian makes maintaining simpler and easier. Don't expect everything to be handed down on a silver platter. [life ain't that way, too] [I also used DOS, win3.10, win95 then. I'm also using win98 (never used the higher windows series - I don't have a sane reason to spend some more large amounts of money for crappy software I don't need). I employ win98 simply because of the mailer program I use (which uses a proprietary protocol, but at the plus side, the people who run it are die-hard Linux users, and it is a free ISP), my undergraduate thesis is for the win9x platform, and most of the games I still have. I've got an open hostility to Microsoft, though essentially I'm system-agnostic. Just prefer the right tools for the right job- like I view running Apache/PHP/MySQL in Windows is utterly stupid when there's a more stable and free tool lying around. Anyway, I like Linux better, and only use Windows when I really need to...] Paolo Alexis Falcone _____________________________________________ I said it is simple. I didn't say it is easy. __________________________________ www.edsamail.com
