Want To Get A Brandnew Start On Linux

[Sir_Siddy]

I want to get a brandnew start on linux. I didnt really enjoy my last try with the dual boot with ubuntu. I couldnt get it to boot windows first and it seemed a bit slow etc etc etc.

Ok i want a new start. Whats something I can easily start out with? How do I get windows to boot first? Most importantly my real question is this. The last time I had ubuntu I couldnt go on the internet. Ubuntu wouldnt recognize my ralink rt2500 wireless lan card. I looked online for some guides but the ones I read got so confusing at time or needed an existing connection at the time. Is there a good linux distro out there that can read my wireless card and is good for beginners?

[Honda_Boy]

i've always heard ubuntu was the best for beginners but I started with Fedora Core 4 and it has dang good hardware support. irecently figured out how to get it online today but that was hard wired. have you ever tried going onto ralink's website for the linux drivers. here's the link to their drivers. Ralink Drivers

[naraku9333]

I want to get a brandnew start on linux. I didnt really enjoy my last try with the dual boot with ubuntu. I couldnt get it to boot windows first and it seemed a bit slow etc etc etc.

Ok i want a new start. Whats something I can easily start out with? How do I get windows to boot first? Most importantly my real question is this. The last time I had ubuntu I couldnt go on the internet. Ubuntu wouldnt recognize my ralink rt2500 wireless lan card. I looked online for some guides but the ones I read got so confusing at time or needed an existing connection at the time. Is there a good linux distro out there that can read my wireless card and is good for beginners?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ubuntu really is one of if not the easiest, but Fedora, Xandros, Vida, Suse and Mandrake are all geared toward being userfriendly. I would suggest sticking with Ubuntu if you still have it installed. To get windows to boot first all you need to do is edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and change the

default 0

line, change the 0 (meaning the first boot entry) to the corresponding windows entry(count the title= lines).

The driver that Honda_Boy linked to should work, but its over a year old. There is an open source project for your wireless card here that looks actively developed. Download the driver and we can help you get it set up.

Edited October 11, 2005 by naraku9333

[TheLetterK]

I want to get a brandnew start on linux. I didnt really enjoy my last try with the dual boot with ubuntu. I couldnt get it to boot windows first and it seemed a bit slow etc etc etc.

Ok i want a new start. Whats something I can easily start out with? How do I get windows to boot first? Most importantly my real question is this. The last time I had ubuntu I couldnt go on the internet. Ubuntu wouldnt recognize my ralink rt2500 wireless lan card. I looked online for some guides but the ones I read got so confusing at time or needed an existing connection at the time. Is there a good linux distro out there that can read my wireless card and is good for beginners?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There is a driver: http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/wiki/index.php/Downloads

You'll need some sort of comperehensive distro, with both standard and QT dev tools installed OOTB from the install disks. Fedora would work.

Unpack the archive, change to the Modules direstory and follow the instructions in the README file (read the *entire* file before working, there are Fedora-specific directions at the bottom).

As far as I know, there is no distribution that contains the driver OOTB. Your going to have to build it.

[Sir_Siddy]

well i still have ubuntu so im going to try to go with that first. Illl update once i try it.

[TheLetterK]

well i still have ubuntu so im going to try to go with that first. Illl update once i try it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't think Ubuntu defaults with the nessesary libraries to build that driver.

[naraku9333]

well i still have ubuntu so im going to try to go with that first. Illl update once i try it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't think Ubuntu defaults with the nessesary libraries to build that driver.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-<KERNVER>

where <KERNVER> = the output of uname -r should solve that. Or is there somethng else that driver requires?

[Sir_Siddy]

ok ok now im lost.... would the drivers from ralink website be easier to install untill i get a handle on linux?

I downloaded the fedora core just incase but i have the live Cd and the install disk for Ubuntu

CODE

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-<KERNVER>

where <KERNVER> = the output of uname -r should solve that. Or is there somethng else that driver requires?

Uhh yea what does that mean? Sorry if I am asking some really stupid questions but i truely dont know anything about linux.

Edited October 15, 2005 by Sir_Siddy

[naraku9333]

ok ok now im lost.... would the drivers from ralink website be easier to install untill i get a handle on linux?

I don't think one will be easier than the other (install process should be same for both), I think you should use the open source driver because it's a newer version than the Ralink driver and is actively developed.

I downloaded the fedora core just incase but i have the live Cd and the install disk for Ubuntu

What distro you use is entirely u to you. I don't have any experiance with Fedora so I don't know if it comes with kernel sources. I would just stick with whatever you have installed now (assuming you do). Both are user friendly distros.

CODE

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-<KERNVER>

where <KERNVER> = the output of uname -r should solve that. Or is there somethng else that driver requires?

Uhh yea what does that mean? Sorry if I am asking some really stupid questions but i truely dont know anything about linux.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You have to install the the compiler and its related tools (build-essential) and the kernel headers package (source code required to build drivers) that coresponds with your running kernel(KERNVER in my example would be the version number of your running kernel). To get the version number you type

uname -r

in a terminal. The output would be like 2.6.11, so the command you would type if that was the version is

  sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-2.6.11

I hope that helps.

[shanenin]

I have nothing to useful to add, if you want to combine the two steps into one. this is called command substitution. the output of the command "uname -r" is substitituted in the following two commands. This is a feature of bash. You can do command substitution using backtics(not reccomended anymore) `command here` or like this $(command here)

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`

or, they both do the same thing

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Edited October 15, 2005 by shanenin

[Sir_Siddy]

Ok im going to try making this work with my Live CD before I install either of them. I think im going to go with unbuntu anyways

[GML3G0]

To make Windows boot first, you're going to have to edit your boot loader, LILO or GRUB, the latter being the one Ubuntu uses by default.

Open up a terminal and type in

sudo nano -w /boot/grub/grub.conf

or, if you prefer a GUI to edit it. type in

sudo gedit /boot/grub/grub.conf

enter your password and note the order of the OS entries. The first OS listed is "0", the second, "1", the third, "2", and so on.

then there should be an entry that says "default x", where x is the number of the entry you want to be the default to boot.

timeout 30
# This is what you want to change. When set to 1, it will boot Windows first,
# and when set to 0, it will boot Linux first.
# Warning: Change nothing else, or your system may not boot!!!
default 0

title=Linux
root(hd0,2)
kernel /kernel-2.6.13-gentoo-r3 root=/dev/sda3

title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1

Edited October 16, 2005 by GML3G0

[Sir_Siddy]

ok thanks

[tictoc5150]

To make Windows boot first, you're going to have to edit your boot loader, LILO or GRUB, the latter being the one Ubuntu uses by default.

Open up a terminal and type in

sudo nano -w /boot/grub/grub.conf

or, if you prefer a GUI to edit it. type in

sudo gedit /boot/grub/grub.conf

enter your password and note the order of the OS entries. The first OS listed is "0", the second, "1", the third, "2", and so on.

then there should be an entry that says "default x", where x is the number of the entry you want to be the default to boot.

timeout 30
# This is what you want to change. When set to 1, it will boot Windows first,
# and when set to 0, it will boot Linux first.
# Warning: Change nothing else, or your system may not boot!!!
default 0

title=Linux
root(hd0,2)
kernel /kernel-2.6.13-gentoo-r3 root=/dev/sda3

title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

FYI, there is no grub.conf in ubuntu..the correct file to edit would be menu.lst, otherwise the instructions are correct