[TriLUG] A true newbie

[Jeremy P]

On Tue, 30 Apr 2002, Lisa C. Boyd wrote:

> I figured I'd jump in here. I've monitored this list for a few days, and I 
> have to say most of the stuff that ya'll have been talking about is over my 
> head. However, I love a challenge and I'm extremely interested in Installfest.

No problem, we do tend to cover some more advanced topics, but we always
welcome newbies.

> My newbie questions: I have a nice computer (PIII/750) that is running 
> Win2k. From what I've read so far, there's a way to have both running on 
> the same machine. Can I keep my current installation and load Linux under 
> it's own partition or do I need to wipe out everything and start fresh? How 
> much disk space (optimally) does Linux use? I guess I need to share that I 
> would like to also eventually install Apache/PHP/MySQL under Linux for web 
> development if that makes a difference. I also have no clue what 
> installation version would be best for me to use.

There are two primary ways to setup a "dual boot" system -- which means
both are OS's installed on one computer.  You choose between them when you
boot up.  The easiest method is to install Linux on a second hard drive;
if you have one or are willing to invest in one (under $100).

The second method involves installing Linux on a separate partition.  If
for some reason your hard drive is already split into partitions, this
might be easy, if you can get all your Windows-related data onto one
partition, and leave the other one for Linux.  

If you only have one partition, there is software that allows you to
shrink your Windows partition and add a Linux partition without damaging
your files; however you should always have plenty of backups.  I believe
this partitioning software will be available at the installfest.

You'll probably want at least 2 GB of free space for Linux; I would
recommend considerably more if you can afford the space.

> Any web sites you could point me to would be greatly appreciated.

Here's a link to Red Hat's installation guide, which goes over
partitioning options.  Read the "Steps to Get You Started" section; I
think it will help out a lot.  Red Hat Linux 7.2 is probably the best
choice of distribution for a beginner.

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.2-Manual/install-guide/

Hope this helps,

Jeremy