# What is Linux?



## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

I must sound really stupid here, but I am having trouble understanding what Linux is. Could someone please explain what it is in a simple way. :wave:


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## Go The Power (Mar 5, 2007)

It is another operating system like windows, and most versions of Linux are free


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## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

So do you need to uninstall windows to get linux?


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## Joefireline (Apr 2, 2006)

Linux is like a operating system family, like Microsoft Windows. You have different distro's, such as PCLinuxOS, Mint, Fedora Core, Redhat etc. Most distros are free, and there is no such thing as viruses and malware in it.
The biggest problem with it, is running software and drivers designed for Windows OSs.



thrillriderdan said:


> So do you need to uninstall windows to get linux?


No, you can install it on a serperate partition, and use a boot loader like grub so you can chose the OS you want to use.


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## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

> No, you can install it on a serperate partition, and use a boot loader like grub so you can chose the OS you want to use.


Sorry to sound novice but what is a seperate partion and how do I go about creating one?


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## Bartender (Jun 10, 2005)

dan -
Welcome to the forum. 
Please feel free to seacrch back thru the last few weeks and months. There are numerous threads where folks new to Linux are asking questions and others are answering, or trying to answer.
This is a whole new concept, and nobody can respond to your post in a manner that's going to get you up to speed. Spend a few hours reading threads, seeing what sort of problems cropped up, absorbing some idea of what's going on. 
I'm very excited about the Linux movement. Did you hear that Dell is going to start offering LInux pre-installed to consumers? I'm guessing other vendors won't be far behind.


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## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

Thanks Bartender and I will definately get on to doing that. But before I do what is a seperate partion?


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## Joefireline (Apr 2, 2006)

thrillriderdan said:


> Thanks Bartender and I will definately get on to doing that. But before I do what is a seperate partion?


You know how in XP, you have C:, and your drive may be D:, it is basicly another one of those, just part of your hard drive.

Such as, you have a 80GB hard drive, you want 60GB for XP and 20GB for linux, so what you can do, is split the hard drive into 2 - C: being the 60GB, and D: being the 20GB. You can use various programs to do this, or you can do it when you are installing linux.

The definition of partition is "a vertical structure that divides or separates (as a wall divides one room from another)", and the same applies with hard drives.


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## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

Ahh right I get you now. What programmes do I need to do this?


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## Joefireline (Apr 2, 2006)

You can use http://partitionlogic.org.uk/ which is free, but I prefer Partition Magic 8, though costs quite a bit.


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## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

Thanks. This has been useful!


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## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

I have downloaded the partion logic file. What must I do with it now? (I downloaded the ISO one)


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## Joefireline (Apr 2, 2006)

Well, that is a CD image, you need to burn it to disc. When you burn it to disc, you must be careful not to just burn it straight to disc, you need to use a program like NTI CD & DVD maker, to burn the image correctly. You can use the trial, which only lasts 30 days, but should do the job. http://www.ntius.com/shadow_downloads.asp

I would advice you use about 20GB for Linux, dependent on the distro you use. I would recomend PCLinuxOS: http://www.pclinuxos.com/

I don't know exactly how to use Partion logic, as I have never used it, so maybe someome else could help you here.


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## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

Can I do this with Nero?


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## Joefireline (Apr 2, 2006)

Yup, use this to help you: http://www.wizardskeep.org/mainhall/tutor/neroiso.html


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## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

I have it burned onto a disk. Now what do I do?


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## Joefireline (Apr 2, 2006)

Restart, with the disc in. Then when you boot again, instead of loading to XP, it will load the program, just make sure that CD is set to boot first. Infact, just see if it boots the CD, if it doesn't, I'll explain the part about booting from CD first instead of Hard drive.


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## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

The computer has booted from this disk at startup. Also my Hard Disk is only 37gb is this an advisable thing to do?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Hi Dan :wave:

Depending on how much space you need for Windows, you may get by with that amount. I would seriously consider though getting an external hard disk and moving your My Documents contents there so you will have more disk space. You can install linux on 10 GB of disk space, but you will be limited on how many programs you can install.

Have you selected a distro yet? Take a look at this page to help you choose.
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php


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## K-B (Oct 24, 2005)

thrillriderdan said:


> The computer has booted from this disk at startup. *Also my Hard Disk is only 37gb is this an advisable thing to do?*


How much of that is free space?


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## thrillriderdan (May 11, 2007)

I resized the C:// drive and there was an error that occured. Due to this I can no longer boot the computer and Windows and all the recovery files have been wiped off. I do not have a recovery disk as it was not supplied with the computer from PC World. Is it fair that I should have recieved this disk? Also no Windows CD was supplied as it was pre-installed.

When I now start the computer it says:

Error detecting operating system. What should I do now? I have formatted the C:// drive in Partion Logic and I now need to start from scratch. But I need these disks and I have no money. Please help!!!


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## Bartender (Jun 10, 2005)

I hate it when this sort of thing happens - :sigh:
trd, do you mean that everything got wiped when you ran the partitioner disc?

The first rule before hacking on your HDD is to back everything up and assess your ability to start from scratch. I've written that a hundred times on this forum and so has everyone else. In your case nobody expressly told you to do that, so it wouldn't be fair to beat you over the head with it. Too late now anyway.

Your profile says that you run Windows XP and Vista. The brain-dead PC - was it Vista or XP? How recently did you buy it? I'm just wondering if PCWorld would be able/willing to help you out with a new disc image. If the same PC is still on the shelves you might be able to get help.
I've also heard of people getting Recovery CD's from the manufacturer for a small fee. 

Could someone else confirm or refute the following for me please? I was going to say "borrow a friend's genuine Windows CD" but it seems I remember reading something about key codes that came with "Recovery CD" PC's not working with a genuine Windows CD. Is that right, or am I trippin'?

Did you download/burn any Linux CD's before this happened?


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## PureEvilDan (May 26, 2005)

Genuine XP disc's and OEM (pre-installed) have a different range of CD keys, its incredible annoying. We have a load of Legal cd keys at work, but when I tried to use them with a valid XP disc they don't work. 

Right, 
If you purchased "extended" warranty at PC World, phone MasterCare, and explain your situation (bought the pc, and you never rec the Win32 disc's), they are likely to say something about the recovery disks being on the hard drive, but, unless they explained that when you got the pc its not your fault.
(don't take this bit personally)
Alot of new computer users are not all that great with computers, there a "new" thing to most people, with the event of the internet, email, broadband, voip etc more and more people are getting pc's. Not everyone will know you have to go out "purchase" a cd burner to burn the disc images.

If you didn't purchase warranty you maybe a bit screwed.


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## kinbard (Jul 1, 2006)

It's a really good idea to defrag your windows OS before partitioning. I have seen not doing so causing problems with windows.


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## kinbard (Jul 1, 2006)

Sorry, looks like I jumped in too late. Don't know what happened there. Glitch in the matrix, I guess...


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