thou you shall never install OS other than XP (because WLAN)

[Psychcf]

SO WHICH DISTRO IS THE BEST FOR ME????

I would suggest some of the mainstream distros first. Ubuntu (and it's many spin-offs) IMO are the easiest, then there's fedora. Further down the line there's PCLinuxOS, SUSE, Debian, etc. Since you are a newish user of linux I would suggest Ubuntu or Fedora.

[ai]

Since you are a newish user of linux I would suggest Ubuntu or Fedora.

Yeah that's the thing. I tried Fedora but for some reason I had a really hard time trying to install the Nvidia drivers for GF4 Ti 4800. In Ubuntu they are automatically detected and installed (once you engage the installer), but with Fedora it didn't detect it so I went to the Nvidias site.
Fortunately they have a half-good description on how to do it, but there were some more problems and something I had to compile with gcc to make it work. The unfortunate part was that I wasn't able to make it work, and I'm not a Linux guru either.
So I went back to Ubuntu and that works just great for me.

[Psychcf]

what you should probably do first is check the distro's wiki on how to do things instead of going to nvidia's site. I know it sounds weird, but they will probably have better information.

Now, I can tell you now you should have used some 3rd party repo to install the nvidia drivers on fedora (I forgot the name of the repo), but if ubuntu works for you, go for it.

[Zico]

I admit I have not read the whole thread right now but I wish some ppl would see some facts (the might be subjective):

- If you want to use Linux - do you really WANT/NEED it? Linux is no "Windows without bugs". Both systems have completly different aims.
Maybe this is too general but Windows is (in my opinion) a system that is good for maximum usability and user friendly. Linux is just like building your own house and make it work EXACTLY as you want it. But you need to spend work in it. So make yourself clear about what you want and need. You cannot solve everything with two clicks.

- You cannot force a provider of Hardware/Software to make it Linux compatible. Same way you cannot expect to let this Hardware or Software work on Linux. In many situations you can, in other would need to spend some work on it, in others you can not.

- Read the documentations. Every distribution comes with a large documentation, online WIKIs and dozends of manpages - one for every program. If you do not really feel to dig into it, you are definetly on the wrong boat.

Maybe this was too general but that is just my opinion. There is no "better" system in my opinion. I use Linux and done. I am happy with it but I also see the limits and restrictions you have with BOTH systems).

[Blµb]

WLAN is one of the few things that can give you a headache. Usually, when you want to install linux, you first - before buying the notebook/computer/whatever - make sure that its WLAN is supported
simply google for the modelname and you'll find either drivers or complaints, where as the first is good, the latter rather bad

i never had problems with my wlan :>

But well, sure, windows does have hardwareproblems as well...
when I bought my PC, i couldn't install win XP because it couldn't find the HDDs..
i had to f' up my hdd settings in bios to make it work

linux worked with -any- settings

but sure, I had hardware problems with linux too: the "Cinergy XS" video thingy
that one: http://tven.terratec.net/modules.php?op ... le&sid=236

well, guess what, you don't find linux drivers there, click on "driver" on the right side...

but you can be sure that for many - not all, but many - things, there are unsupported third party drivers, i use them, and it worked

But of course, it takes time to find them, and to get them to work - hell, that one was a PITA since it was incompatible with the sound drivers I was using... it gave me a kernel crash - solution: I mixed kernel alsa and alsa-project alsa drivers... and it worked
(div said it's a bug that it actually works and i should report it as such XD)

So here's what I'm trying to show you:
Linux is not windows - There are distros where everything runs automatically, where you just choose what you want and get it - but with no guarantee that -everything- works. (Most things do though!)

[PinkRobot]

A couple of weeks ago I switched from Windows to Linux because I was still on win98se [... yeah true ! But I have always refused to have any XP or Vista crap on my PC] So I asked some friends their advice on the best distro for a Linux newbie like me and they almost in chorus said Ubuntu. So I went with Ubuntu. As with any change, it takes some time to get comfortable with everything new but so far I am loving it. I have found replacements for every program I needed and I did not play any windows only games either so for me it wasn't so difficult. I need some old DOS stuff but DOSemu is perfect for that.

I have had a great help in my clan brother FruitieX who has helped me with a lot of stuff. There is also the internet to help you out when you are stuck. But I only really use Ubuntu as a Windows replacement. At some point you need or want something that needs some more work and if you really want or need it you will work out the way to get it. My reason for switching was getting away from MS products as best as I could, not to be cool.

My advice ? Make sure your hardware runs Linux well [I had to buy a new graphics card to even load a GUI ] and it helps to have somebody who knows a lot about Linux to give you a hand. And reading a lot of course, that's what the internet was for remember ?



Pink Robot recommends Windows Vista Home Premium.

[Urbanshenkie]

I also worked with linux but forgot most of it ,for gaming xp isnt bad , but sure i would go linux , mabye i go cedega when i have the cash for it
i know cedaga are a bunch of betraders. but i want play my directx10 and get some fast updates for some games go go go wine

whats the best distro for nvidia stuff ? like new cards and mainboards ?

http://appdb.winehq.org/screenshots.php ... ionId=9583