Newbie to Linux / Networking

Hi there,
Ok, I'm toying with playing about with Linux on my laptop, mainly as I
don't use it enough, and I fancied getting my hands dirty. I was
thinking of installing Debian, but as the main thing I use the laptop
for is internet access, I wondered how easy it was to setup for this.
I'm currently using an MSI wireless PCMCIA card (an MSI CB54G2 to be
precise), linked to a Belkin F5D7632-4 router, linked to my ADSL line
which is with BTYahoo (1MB). My laptop is an Advent 6416. Now, my queries:

1) Would anyone recommend Debian as a decent installation to go onto a
laptop? I tried an Ubuntu live CD (which I gather is based on Debian)
and liked it a lot, but couldn't for the life of me gather wether my
card would work under Debian, as per above. This fear has put me off
installing Linux on the laptop so far, simply as it's working quite
happily under XP and I don't want to mess the laptop up unless I know I
can fix it :$

2) Is there a nice easy way to get the thing to work. I don't mind
getting my hands dirty, but I'd rather not go recompiling kernels until
I'm a bit more experienced with Linux as a whole. Does anyone have any
experience of doing this or a walk-through I can read?

3) What's the chances of Debian auto-picking up the PCMCIA slot if I
have the card in during install?

4) Will it all work and co-exist with the other PC in the network which
is also a Win XP one (the desktop). The main reason I use wireless is
to avoid the need for cables, and being able to take the laptop out and
sit in a coffee-house browsing the net is very handy.

The eventual plan is to keep the desktop PC as a Windows one and donate
it to my sisters who use it a lot, and get another one for myself, place
Linux on that and the laptop and not have to worry about MS again.
Seeing as I don't use them for games or anything, and there's load of
good software for Linux, I thought it was time I took the plunge and
gave things a try. Can anyone help? It'd be most appreciated if you could!
Regards,
Chris Brennen

Chris Brennen wrote:

>
> 1) Would anyone recommend Debian as a decent installation to go onto a
> laptop? I tried an Ubuntu live CD (which I gather is based on Debian)
> and liked it a lot, but couldn't for the life of me gather wether my
> card would work under Debian, as per above. This fear has put me off
> installing Linux on the laptop so far, simply as it's working quite
> happily under XP and I don't want to mess the laptop up unless I know I
> can fix it :$
>

Any of the www.distrowatch.com "top 15" distributions are a piece of cake to
get on the net. Linux was DESIGNED with the network in mind. I don't
understand why the Ubuntu CD didn't connect to your DSL line? I'm sure it
defaults to DHCP. What errors did you get when you tried to browse or send
e-mail? At the command prompt (via a terminal) post what you get from
ifconfig (need to be in root). I know that Knoppix will connect to the net
out of the box. Personally, I would NOT install Ubuntu because it is still to
immature. You would be better off with Mandrake or Xandros, or SuSE, or
Fedora, IMO.


> 2) Is there a nice easy way to get the thing to work. I don't mind
> getting my hands dirty, but I'd rather not go recompiling kernels until
> I'm a bit more experienced with Linux as a whole. Does anyone have any
> experience of doing this or a walk-through I can read?
>

There are about 10 million Linux sites and walk-throughs on the net, as well
as books at the store. Find one and read it. But if you run something like
Xandros or Mandrake or SuSE or Fedora which defaults to KDE, it will look so
"windows-like" you won't need to read a whole lot.


> 3) What's the chances of Debian auto-picking up the PCMCIA slot if I
> have the card in during install?
>

Probably 90% that Deb will see it. Probably 100% that Mandrake, SuSE, Xandros
will see it. Not sure about Fedora, so I'll give it a 95%

> 4) Will it all work and co-exist with the other PC in the network which
> is also a Win XP one (the desktop). The main reason I use wireless is
> to avoid the need for cables, and being able to take the laptop out and
> sit in a coffee-house browsing the net is very handy.
>

It will co-exist with Macs, PCs, Suns, Amigas. The net is the net. Not an
issue. The issue with wireless is security. Make sure your ports on your
router are closed.



> The eventual plan is to keep the desktop PC as a Windows one and donate
> it to my sisters who use it a lot, and get another one for myself, place
> Linux on that and the laptop and not have to worry about MS again.
> Seeing as I don't use them for games or anything, and there's load of
> good software for Linux, I thought it was time I took the plunge and
> gave things a try. Can anyone help? It'd be most appreciated if you could!

Most every distro makes it very easy to do a dual-boot in that they have
modules that will re-partition your hard drive. However, I don't believe that
Ubuntu has this. You have to use a somewhat arcane command line interface.
Mandrake et. al. shines in this. They have a full GUI installers that will
do all this for you with a few clicks. Piece of cake

If this is your first Linux, forget Ubuntu and/or Deb and just get Xandros
(www.xandros.com). It is hands down the easiest Linux to install... 4 clicks.
And if it does not "see" your hardware, nothing out there will either! They
now have a "community" edition (free). So stop fretting about Deb and just
install Xandros and you will really love Linux.

FYI, I run Slackware. Its very fast, very stable, very modern (unlike Deb
stable) and for the person who has just a wee-bit of understanding of Linux
(usually gained from running Mandrake, Xandros, SuSE, Deb, etc.) it is very
easy (make that "straightforward") to administer. But Slack is your
destination. Right now you have to get on the train... and I think Mandrake
or Xandros or SuSE or Fedora will get you where you want to go.

Enjoy the ride. When you get there, you are not going to look back.

Al Canton, President
__________________________________________________ ________
Adams-Blake Company, Inc.
***
JAYA123 - the web-based total-office system for the
small biz. Order entry, billing, bookkeeping, etc. for $14.95
a month. Perfect for the small business or start-up.
See demo at: http://www.jaya123.com
***

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 04:25:46 +0000, Al. C wrote:

> Chris Brennen wrote:

> Most every distro makes it very easy to do a dual-boot in that they have
> modules that will re-partition your hard drive. However, I don't believe that
> Ubuntu has this. You have to use a somewhat arcane command line interface.

Not to argue with your other points, but you may be mistaken about Ubuntu.
There are two versions, a LiveCD and an InstallCD. You can install from
the LiveCD but you aren't supposed to.

> Mandrake et. al. shines in this. They have a full GUI installers that
> will do all this for you with a few clicks. Piece of cake

Mandrake works well for most things, needs a bit of hand tuning to go at
full speed.

....

> Al Canton, President
> __________________________________________________ ________
> Adams-Blake Company, Inc.
> ***
> JAYA123 - the web-based total-office system for the
> small biz. Order entry, billing, bookkeeping, etc. for $14.95
> a month. Perfect for the small business or start-up.
> See demo at: http://www.jaya123.com
> ***

As you can see, your signature is seriously b0rken.
--
Mark South: World Citizen, Net Denizen

Chris Brennen wrote:

> Hi there,
> Ok, I'm toying with playing about with Linux on my laptop, mainly as I
> don't use it enough, and I fancied getting my hands dirty. I was
> thinking of installing Debian, but as the main thing I use the laptop

There are liveCDs with Debian on it like Knoppix and Mepis
These 200 odd free liveCDs boot from CD, automatically configure without
having to type anything in including network card
and run without having to install.
Many now you can install from them too. Mepis has its own graphical
installer. To install knoppix just open an Konsole and type
sudo knoppix-installer
and follow instructions.
http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php