best free operateing system.

marc512

marc512

marc512

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Need a good free operateing system to replace a beta version of W7. I have bought w7 but i want a change.

Also theres lots of stuff i want to keep on the pc. So is there anyway of installing another OS without deleting all the files/programs ?


i already have downloaded urbuntu because of good reviews. But i dont wanna install if it will delete all my non backed up files.
 
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None of your programs will work on linux..

You should have your files backed up anyway.

Chuck ubuntu on a cd and test it out in live mode (just boot from the cd)

It won't install itself, it'll just run from the cd


ubuntu
linuxmint

^good ones to start off with
 
If your coming from windows to linux it will wipe your HDD. Why not backup your data and move it across after the format?

Alternatively just install ubuntu using wubi, it will install ubuntu within the windows partition.
 
Or install it on a partition, the bootloader (probably GRUB) will give you the option to choose which OS to boot into when you power up. Is a good idea to defragment it first though, use Smart Defrag on the most advanced setting.

On your original question, Mint is a great distro for people coming from Windows.
 
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Iv put it on a USB stick and ran it from that.
Sadly im not loving it :( due to graphic driver issues. All else works appart from my 5770
:(
anyone got any ideas? when i click activate it downloads drivers, i reboot and it doesnt install. It just comes up with a error after it extracts or something. Iv tried drivers 9.11 and 10.1 (current because its the only one that displays 1280x1024 but i want 1920x1080 or similar.)

I understand that my ati 5770 is abit new and all and drivers arnt perfect especially for ubuntu but is there away around it? make ubuntu run 3d effects anyway without latest drivers or 3dcard?
 
It'll wipe your other partition if you tell it to, but if you read the installation screens properly - and ask questions if you get stuck - then you'll be fine.
 
oh forgot to add, you may need to shrink your partition first ... to free up space. Windows 7 actually supports this... well sometimes (I have found it is a bit fussy about when it will and will not shrink a partition).

Whatever you decide to do - backup your files first. You can end up with an unbootable Windows system pretty easily whenever you install Linux - even if you do preserve the partition.
 
Personally, I find the idea of Linux more appealing than the reality. I always struggle with some driver or other... of dual screen support ... or missing some Windows App or Game.

You can (legally) install windows 7 without a serial for a grace period and then re-arm it a couple of times. This might give you enough time to decide on a longer term solution.
 
Ubuntu

If you don't get on with that just pay for windows. i say windows for this reason:

deaglecat said:
Personally, I find the idea of Linux more appealing than the reality. I always struggle with some driver or other... of dual screen support ... or missing some Windows App or Game.

You can (legally) install windows 7 without a serial for a grace period and then re-arm it a couple of times. This might give you enough time to decide on a longer term solution.
Click to expand...
 
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marc512 said:
Need a good free operateing system to replace a beta version of W7. I have bought w7 but i want a change.
Click to expand...

Just interested to know what your reasons are for not wanting to use Windows 7? Ubuntu might be suitable, but might not, it all depends on what your requirements are really...
 
I had far more problems with Windows than i ever have with Linux, i was constantly getting 'a device driver has stopped working and was terminated' error messages and freezing, perhaps traits you don't notice because you've paid for it and it can't possible be unreliable. If something is free then you're constantly looking for 'the catch' and so pick up on every little thing, when really the only thing that Windows 'beats' Linux on at the minute is the number of programs available. And i've said this time and time again, but that's only because it's more popular. If people decided to use Linux instead of Windows then that advantage would just disappear as developers moved platform.

There's no reason for everybody to not be at least dual booting Windows and a Linux distribution of their choice. For most people (myself included) you can be just as productive with Linux alone.
 
Superewza said:
There's no reason for everybody to not be at least dual booting Windows and a Linux distribution of their choice. For most people (myself included) you can be just as productive with Linux alone.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Linux, but also of Windows too, but for the typical non-techie user, I don't think it would be practical to have 2 operating systems installed. Surely users would prefer to do everythng from one OS rather than use 2 OSs.

As you state Windows has a much larger number of applications, but also a bigger installed user-base, both in the corporate/business desktop environment and educational instuctions, so I'm sure that familiarity plays a part in the choice of OS to use at home too.
 
Oxy said:
If your that retarded at computers are you really able to find what you want program wise on googlez?

Linux package managers are awesome!
Click to expand...

Don't understand what point you are trying to make, both the above involving searching for the program you require.
 
BlueMhz said:
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Linux, but also of Windows too, but for the typical non-techie user, I don't think it would be practical to have 2 operating systems installed. Surely users would prefer to do everythng from one OS rather than use 2 OSs.

As you state Windows has a much larger number of applications, but also a bigger installed user-base, both in the corporate/business desktop environment and educational instuctions, so I'm sure that familiarity plays a part in the choice of OS to use at home too.
Click to expand...

Most users can, since all they want to do is browse the internet, play music, word processing and other stuff like that. What possible reason would you have for using Windows? If you need a specialist program then dual booting is probably your best bet.

But that's just what i'm saying, the only advantages it has (apart from perhaps those of a microkernel) are a direct result of its popularity. And for familiarity to play a part you're assuming that the user is relatively untechnological. So they wouldn't really be good with Windows anyway, and have less habbits to drop when you switch to Linux. Or better still, if you haven't used Windows at all then Linux is a much better starting point. Advanced users might find it a bit alienating but can generally figure it out.
 
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