snminc Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Greetings to the Great and the Good, I'd appreciate any views/comments etc on the best Distro to try out on my self built Tower system, specs as follows:Asus A7N8X-VM 400 SKT A moboAMD Sempron 3000+1024mb PC3200 DDRPioneer DVR-108Netgear WG311 WiFi Card linked by WiFi to a Netgear DG834GT Broadband RouterCanon I320 Printerand the inevitable Ipod (mini)I'm hoping to find a Distro that will install and recognise most/all of the above "out of the box" as although I've tried a couple of mainstream distros in the past, it feels like I'm at the beginning of a pretty extreme learning curve.Ideally I'd like to replicate what we do on windows using a Linux OS i.e Open office, run the Ipod, surf the web & email, "backup" DVD's using DVD shrink or it's Linux equivalent and download the odd tune of the net.I tried Mandrake 8.1 when I had the infamous Alcatel Speedtouch Modem that was a none starter despite Brunos strenuous efforts to help a friend of mine in the same boat, I then tried Suse 9.2 also a no go because of the modem. Having gone wi-fi I tried Suse 10 which enable us to get on line but various postings here and elsewhere are making me a tad nervous.In closing I'd like to thank you for reading this far and as always any advice would be greatly appreciated.S & M Inc.PS Is there any strong views Re: Gnome or KDE, My PC has KDE which I've played about with a bit on line, I installed Suse 10 with Gnome on my better halfs Laptop (but as it can only get on line via a patch cable to the router I haven't played with gnome as much) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mthompso Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 I'd recommend either PCLinuxOS or MEPIS. You can find links to them and many more Linux distributions at DistroWatch. Both distributions are installable Live CDs. Both run from CD. If one works for you, then you can choose to install it to the hard drive.There are 100's of different Linux distributions and picking one can be difficult. So (:^tuxs.org) has devised the "Linux Distribution Chooser" to help you find a good distribution to try for the first time. -Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
striker Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 (edited) Hello snminc,Using an Asus A7N8X-X here. Distros using succesfully on this machine : PCLinuxOS P92,Mandriva 2006 Free and SuSE 9.3. I've got a counter question for ya : do you intend to use your set up with a LCD ? If yes, how do you intend to connect it? (meaning : through DVI or VGA) Edited March 12, 2006 by striker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 LOL . . . so you ditched the speedtouch 330 USB modem did you ?? Good call !!! That Netgear DG834GT Broadband Router looks like a better way to connect anytime ! My first choice for novices these days is the PCLos too . . . . try it "Live" and install it if you decide you like it. That will give you time to learn more about Linux, and concentrate on the FUN part of running this OS. Bruno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Is that card a built in or a pcmcia card for wifi? If it is pcmcia then we will need to go through a few hoops to get it running before you can use it. You might want to take note of those first. Let me know and I will post them tonight when I get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyro Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 MEPIS is one of the better ones for the beginner or Kanotix is quite easy to work with once you get more adventurous and they are both livecds - you can make sure they work with your kit before you install. and PCLOS and ....Tyro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snminc Posted March 12, 2006 Author Share Posted March 12, 2006 (edited) Thanks to all those who've taken the time to reply, I'm currently downloading PCLinuxOS (52 minutes to completion so fingers, toes and everything else is crossed)I'm currently using a 15" CRT (apologies for not mentioning that earlier), a 19" LCD screen is on the to do list ones sufficient funds have been accumulated For future reference does DVI or VGA make any difference?My wi-fi connection is a PCI card. When I installed Suse it ask for my network name and pass phrase then configured the connection itself, if that helps.PS can anyone please advise what's the difference between Suse 9.2 & 9.3 as I've read a few threads plugging 9.3 as the last stable platform released by Suse and I've got a 9.2 Professional release.Thanks again to all, S & M Inc Edited March 12, 2006 by snminc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacher Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 I don't think there is a big difference between 9.2 and 9.3. The difference is in how current the packaes are in the distro. To install using the pci card we will have to do some editing. Plug and Play really works best when if you plug, you can then play. To enable PCMCIA and PCMCIA cards on PCLinuxOS, make sure things are set up correctly:1. In PcLinuxOS Control Center >System>Configure Services, make sure that pcmcia is started at boot.2. If using a pcmcia card check out the file: /etc/sysconfig/pcmciaYou might need to edit it. It should hold:PCMCIA=yesPCIC=yenta_socketPCIC_OPTS=do_scan=0CORE_OPTS=CARDMGR_OPTS=-fSave the file Now go to the Configuration->PCLinuxOS Control Center, click the System tab, click "Configure the system services". Set pcmcia to start at boot.Reboot your computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
striker Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Only a couple of distros are able to handle a DVI connected LCD properly, meaning that they are able to drive it. Analog is not the problem. DVI + nvidia drivers is the biggest hurdle.See here what I meant: http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/index.php?showtopic=14598 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snminc Posted March 16, 2006 Author Share Posted March 16, 2006 My thanks to everyone who offered their advice.I installed PCLinuxOS on my desktop last night, after a brief hiccup "seeing the router", We now have LIFT OFF Well happy bunny!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 That is great news !! Glad it worked . . . . . . beyond doubt PCLos is the best for Novices but also for advanced users it is a distro they are really fond of.Let me take the opertunity to point you to: The Linux Counter ( get yourself counted my friend ! ) Bruno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 My thanks to everyone who offered their advice.I installed PCLinuxOS on my desktop last night, after a brief hiccup "seeing the router", We now have LIFT OFF Well happy bunny!!hi Snminc i am glad that you like Pclos its a great distro and one that i do recommend to everyone as well ... i also have a ipod nano, well the second one .... the first one i install debian on it just for fun and the poor hd couldnt take it too long and shorten the life span of it .... but you cant go wrong with pclos or mephis as someone else suggested .. if you have time you can also download mephis the live cd and see if you like it... but my first recom is always pclos cos it just works .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
striker Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 :"> Welcome in PCLinuxOS land and Have fun! exploring it ! You won't be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Welome aboard..to both Linux and PCLinuxOS...I think you'll find the adventure with Linux well worth the effort (if not down right addictive!!!!!!!! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryder Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 PCLOS. Very user friendly, they seem to go out of their way to ensure that everything works as it is supposed to. I keep installing distro after distro on my nix test machine and none of them ever do well enough to bump PCLOS off my main nix machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolanaj Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 PS Is there any strong views Re: Gnome or KDE, My PC has KDE which I've played about with a bit on line, I installed Suse 10 with Gnome on my better halfs Laptop (but as it can only get on line via a patch cable to the router I haven't played with gnome as much)I'll tackle this one seeing as everyone else seems to have avoided it. This question can be just as volatile as "which is the best distro?" It really is a matter of personal choice, KDE is probably closer to what you are used to with windows, only better. It is customizeable in every way imagineable practically. Gnome has a really big following too, but I am not as familiar with it as I prefer KDE. Both have their own websites with lots of wallpaper and forums and other goodies. http://art.gnome.org for gnome and http://www.kde-look.org/ for KDE.Welcome to linux and PCLos it is one of the favorites around here, but there are a whole lot of other favorites as well. Some of us cant settle on one distro so we multiboot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havnblast Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 The only thing I like about KDE is that I can Administrate things better in KDE. I'm getting better with XFCE which is my 2nd favorite gui. I have no clue how you can become open file manager in super user mode with gnome.So it boils down to how comfortable you are at getting around in the gui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snminc Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 Once again my thanks to all that have contributed. I think I'll stick with KDE while I'm finding my feet after that I fancy trying Ubuntu but lets not run before I've mastered the art of walking!Bruno, Thanks for the link. I now have a rather groovy addition to my signature I'm Linux user 412438Although "I'm not a number I'm a FREE man"Taken from The Prisoner an Obscure 60's cult series which I still haven't figured out.Hasta La Vista, S&M Inc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I now have a rather groovy addition to my signature I'm Linux user 412438Good call my friend !!! :DB) Bruno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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