Hello guys! You probably get this a lot: I’m a Linux noob but I want to try! Basically the only reason I use Windows is because of Crysis modding and one other program but even that one other program is now Linux compatible I think. Now I hear that Apricot is running about 2-3x faster on Linux so I want to try making an installtion of Linux for my computer.
So basically I use my computer for the basics of web surfing, word processing, blender, Paint.NET and stuff like that. I’ll want to do some rendering and other things and that’s about it!
So I was wondering if you guys could recommend an distro for my 64-bit Q6600 Intel Quad-Core. I read about Linux 2-3 years ago but I think a lot has changed so any help would be useful.
Once you get it installed. Do a search for Envy NG to install you video card drivers. Feel free to post on this forum or on the Ubuntu forum and you will receive plenty of help.
Just wanna chime in and say WUBI is a great way to try it out for sure Very easy to do, and easy to take off if you find its not right for you(or vice versa).
When I started, I installed Gentoo, Ubuntu and Fedora. I was hoping for uber speed with Gentoo and while I learned a lot doing it, the speed wasn’t much faster than Ubuntu or Fedora. The support for Ubuntu is huge and I found it to be (correctly or incorrectly) the face of Linux. There were so many articles and tutorials centered on Ubuntu that I decided to go that route. Fedora was nice too, but I found it was a little more work than Ubuntu to get things going.
actually it can. usually the viruses are contained to a user level is the diference. it can get viruses and it can get hacked. it’s just opensouce so it gets squashed alot quicker, viruses are just reverse engineering, reverse engineere the virus is how you fix it. under windows a very common password is actually password. noobs dont change it. what the most common istall password for linux? i think it’s root. noobs dont change it.
why would you make an antivirus for linux if it was auto immune? because someone will be dumb enough to buy it? then why make it free? the reason some software on windows is free is to install a virus, spyware, trogan etc…but if linux is immune there’s still no reason to make a free linux anti virus. what is the number 1 reason people get viruses? because they think “it only happens to other people, it could never happen to me.” false security is no security.
I’d recommend Ubuntu too. I used it for a while, and tried out a few other distros, but always went back (I’m on a Mac now, but it was Ubuntu that got me to see how much better life can be free of Windows.)
I’m sorry rdo3, but I strongly disagree. You don’t need anti-virus on Linux. Of course there are viruses - you can read about all 20 or so of them on Wikipedia, all of which are harmless or dealt with. I think Avast and AVG make free anti-virus software to encourage people to use it, then some will pay for the paid-for version. But people just don’t target Linux.
You can read up on all this in places like the Ubuntu forums. I’d really recommend going there, as everyone’s really helpful and friendly, and it’s what makes Ubuntu great.
Enjoy not using Windows!
Hey guys I did as you suggested and installed ubuntu and envy ng, however I can’t seem to change my screen resolution. I went to System, Preferences, but it won’t go above 640x480.
I can see the EnvyNG icon in my Applications System tools and I’ve installed it and rebooted and still I can’t raise the resolution.
Have you installed your video driver yet? ubuntus’ default install doesn’t include proprietary stuff like video drivers, but they are all in the repositories.
Look through the system menu and start up “Synaptic Package Manager”. At the top is ‘settings’, go to ‘repositories’, Under ‘Ubuntu software’, make sure the top 4 boxes are checked. Close that menu, and press the ‘reload’ button on Synaptic.
Once that updates, use the search button on synaptic, search for the name of your video card, eg: Nvidia.
If you are not sure what to pick, google " ubuntu 8.04 nvidia 7300 driver (or 7.10 or ATI or whatever), or you can ask here or on Ubuntu forums.
After you install the driver, restart and xorg should give you the right resolution.
I hope it goes well.
To get your video card going under the latest Ubuntu go to System->Administration->Hardware Drivers on the top menu. If your video card is recognised then you should be able to just tick “Enabled” after which the driver will be installed.
Alternatively, if you have any problems with the default driver not working and you are using an nVidia or ATI graphics card then try using Envy which tends to work better with “difficult” video cards. Go to albertomilone.com for more info. It’s in the Universe repository.
Thanks for the help but it isn’t working. I’m a fairly tech savvy individual however I in 2 hours I can’t get the video to work - especially considering the fact that it’s running in uber low resolution mode giving me all of 4 inches of desktop space to work in.
Well perhaps it’s my monitor. The refresh rate seems to be locked in at 61Mhz, but my LCD only displays 59Mhz and no more or no less. It’s a Viewsonic and Vista also doesn’t work with it. Seems like XP is the only thing that works with this monitor.
Regardless, the only reason I care to install Linux is because I hear blender game engine can perform better under Linux than windows, is there any truth to this anyone know?
Looking at the other thread you’ve got a quad core system with a 8800GT, is that what you are trying to run Ubuntu on?
I’m running Ubuntu 8.04 64 bit on a dual core AMD system with an 8600GT. I couldn’t get the video card to work with the default installer. I had to use Envy, which was pretty easy. Just add the Universe repository in Synaptic, reload the package list then search for and install envyng-gtk (and a couple of other packages it needs). An icon should appear under the Applications->System Tools menu. Start EnvyNG, choose nVidia from the list and let it do the hardware detection.
Run EnvyNG and install the drivers for your card if you haven’t already.
Then to change the resolution type ‘sudo nvidia-settings’ in the terminal. If you have an nVidia card, that is. That will take you to the nVidia control panel for all that sort of thing.
Very easy to do, and easy to take off if you find its not right for you(or vice versa).