Which distro

quotidian · 6 Feb 2013 at 16:16

I'm going to install linux alongside windows on my main pc but I'm not sure what distro to go for.

I don't like ubuntu due to recent changes such as the whole amazon thing and don't like the way its going. Debian is too old (I need linux version 3.5 or later for some of my hardware to work)

I'm tempted to try arch but I remember it was a PITA to get running alongside windows on my laptop, infact I managed to mess up the drive and had to reinstall windows and start again once.

Is there anything like arch or with a similar philosophy but just less hastle?

Essexraptor · 6 Feb 2013 at 16:47

Laptop Spec bruv

normal stuff... age, brand, model, RAM, drive size .....yadda yadda

quotidian · 6 Feb 2013 at 16:51

Essexraptor said:
Laptop Spec bruv

normal stuff... age, brand, model, RAM, drive size .....yadda yadda

No its going on to my desktop, I've just used it before on my laptop.

i5 3570k
1tb HDD
7850
8gb ram

Essexraptor · 6 Feb 2013 at 16:54

quotidian said:
No its going on to my desktop, I've just used it before on my laptop.

i5 3570k
1tb HDD
7850
8gb ram

doh!..... old age... last thread I read was about laptops and that stuck in the old noggin.... sry mate

this

http://manjaro.org/

aln · 6 Feb 2013 at 22:38

quotidian said:
Debian is too old (I need linux version 3.5 or later for some of my hardware to work)

allan@ub3r:~$ uname -a
Linux ub3r 3.7.0-amd64 #1 SMP Sun Dec 16 15:06:03 GMT 2012 x86_64 GNU/Linux

In case you didn't get that, you can install a new kernel.

quotidian · 6 Feb 2013 at 23:01

aln said:
allan@ub3r:~$ uname -a
Linux ub3r 3.7.0-amd64 #1 SMP Sun Dec 16 15:06:03 GMT 2012 x86_64 GNU/Linux

In case you didn't get that, you can install a new kernel.

I would do that but whatever the hardware incompatability is means I can't run the installer from an older kernel live cd or it crashes on boot into the installed system.

Evilpaul · 7 Feb 2013 at 00:24

Debian "wheezy" (testing) uses the 3.5 kernel, so you could try installing it with the beta installer: http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/

boosfuk · 7 Feb 2013 at 15:32

Nobody mention Mint so far? One of the most popular distros, Ubuntu based (but none of the commercial focus) and the option of the Cinnamon desktop.

quotidian · 7 Feb 2013 at 19:37

Evilpaul said:
Debian "wheezy" (testing) uses the 3.5 kernel, so you could try installing it with the beta installer: http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/

I tried that but it didn't recognise my hard drive partitions and also the internet didn't work on it.

What about fedora or is it just like ubuntu but different implementation.

Angst · 7 Feb 2013 at 19:50

boosfuk said:
Nobody mention Mint so far? One of the most popular distros, Ubuntu based (but none of the commercial focus) and the option of the Cinnamon desktop.

Agree with this easiest and a good looking option with cinnamon, prefer the Debian version though.

Essexraptor · 7 Feb 2013 at 21:04

Angst said:
Agree with this easiest and a good looking option with cinnamon, prefer the Debian version though.

64bit Nadia with Cinnamon DT is my choice as well... thing of beauty and picks up my network/Windoze and wireless printer .....a breeze

but the op said

Is there anything like arch or with a similar philosophy but just less hastle?

hence my suggestion of Manjaro... hassle free Arch

quotidian · 7 Feb 2013 at 22:01

Essexraptor said:
64bit Nadia with Cinnamon DT is my choice as well... thing of beauty and picks up my network/Windoze and wireless printer .....a breeze

but the op said

hence my suggestion of Manjaro... hassle free Arch

Thanks, I'll try Manjaro first and if that doesn't work I'll just put Mint on it.

Chrisoldinho · 8 Feb 2013 at 19:47

Steam works as well on Linux, although in my experience it is not yet at the same performance level.