Linux a noobies guide

layke

Lo all,

I've alwys wanted to learn linux however I have had problems in the past. Namely I haven't a clue as to work the OS.

Now I have googled tons of guides and I am quite adept at figuring things out for myself. However, every guide I read that is marked as a begginner's guide expects me to know what the most basic of commands are.

Does anyone have a guide handy, my OS preference is Debian Linux becuase I have heard from many a Guru that it's one of the best builds. Also fairly easy to use (apperently). I'm looking for something that gives you a definitive guide with all the basic commands and what they do.

Any help appreciated.

NutJob

Now I have googled tons of guides and I am quite adept at figuring things out for myself. However, every guide I read that is marked as a begginner's guide expects me to know what the most basic of commands are.

Get a command refrence and O'Reillys do a great pocket refrence of all the commands. Start with the basics.

Does anyone have a guide handy, my OS preference is Debian Linux becuase I have heard from many a Guru that it's one of the best builds. Also fairly easy to use (apperently).

I like it but youll find it tough as a first Linux distro. Kubuntu might be a more user friendly start and is based on Debian. If ur unhappy ur experiences should be relevent to debian later.

Any help appreciated.

Post individual issues and im sure people will point you in the right direction. There seems to be a great pool of linux experience here on boards and have helped me a few times.

Do expect to hit problems though as installing stuff the way you want it can involve alot of pain and alot of googling but my advice is simply jump in and if you install to an old hard drive with no other os on it odds are you wont hurt other os on ur pc.

But ALWYS backup before you begin. If things go horribly wrong (unlikely but it happens) youll be glad you did.

Some other tips for learnin get Vmware player + VMX Builder and play around with a few linux live cds in windows to get used to commands plus youll have a browser for googleing without messing too much with network cards.

Just go for it.

Steveire

I've never been a fan of LiveCDs and I have no idea why they're so popuar.

I'd say download Kubuntu and install it. I guess you can get that far yourself seeing as you've tried Linux a few times.

The open Konversation and you're un the #kubuntu channel on freenode. You can also join #ubuntu. It has more traffic. Ask what you want to do, like for example play mp3s, wmv etc, use aptitude or whatever, and you will get an answer.

For help on the command line, see this: http://linuxcommand.org/

You should also check the ubuntuforums.org and the wiki, but you'll find both very fast from the bot on the irc channels

liamo

If you want to get to grips with Debian then "Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 Bible" (ISBN: 0764576445) might be what you're looking for. It's an introductory level book and it also comes with an installation CD.

I have a copy that you're welcome to. PM me if you want to pick it up.

Regards,

Liam

layke

Wow, thanks for the response guys the help is much appreciated.

I'll slap together a cheapo box to train myself.

Liam, I might take you up on that offer as your only down the road from me (Knocklyon).

May I come back to you on that offer in a week or so when I have this linux box running?

Best,
Pete

Goodshape

I recommend going for K/ubuntu, very easy to install, set-up and use.

And the Ubuntu Forums and unoffical starters guide are extremely handy. Should get you up and running in no time.

(ubuntu uses Debian as its base, so any help you get from a Debian guide should be relevant)

junii

The only way to learn linux is by actually using it... You can't simply read a book and know linux. A book can teach you lots but you have to get your head around the system before you will understand many concepts presented to you in a book. Its the same with everything in life...you learn through experience; technical books are valuable references full of tips and tricks that aren't meant to be read like say a "Charles Dickens" book.

All the commands will have a man page. Simply at the command line type man command or in konqueror you can type man:command for an easier to read format.

If you like to have something printed beside you then you should get a command reference (loads of free ones available) print it out and have the top 200 commands or whatever beside you.

Personally as a beginner distro I would use SUSE. Its will very much make you feel at home if your used to windows...YOU may want to sway away from windows completely and this is understandable but many make this mistake and get completely dismayed by linux so what im trying to say is a transition is easier. SUSE is good for a transition.

Then you will be better prepared to change in the future to something such as debian, gentoo or even slackware but your definitely not ready to use these yet.

Skrynesaver

While the man command is useful if you know what command you wish to use, when called with the -k option, it gives you a list of commands you may wish to use.
eg.
bash_2.5:~$ man -k apple
appletviewer (1) - Java applet viewer
ddp (7) - Linux AppleTalk protocol implementation

The downside is you get to learn the purpose of lots of commands that aren't relavent

Best of luck.

niallb

If people you know are recommending Debian to you,
you may have better advice more easily available to you
if you use a debian based distribution.
Ubuntu/kUbuntu are debian similar or use Liamo's Debian CD.

I've been recommending this little book to people for years.
It's a bit old fashioned, but I think you want to learn the basics
of working with the shell, and it does just that.
Unix is a 4 letter word
It also gives examples and exercises unlike most others I've seen.
Also unlike most others, it's only about 20 pages. It usually includes
a quick introduction to 'vi' as well. Learn the basics. It's worthwhile.

NiallB

layke

Well basically Debian was reccomended to me by my best mate, he however has gone back to Oz for good with his wife and my godchild. So I won't have any teacher to help me out.

I see what you mean about Debian being more difficult, I had a gui installed before but I wasn't learning anything new so I wiped the box put XP on it and now it's a game server in a Data centre. It was frustrating not being able to get help with the most basic of commands.

The setup I will have is two PC's side by side one Linux, one windows.

I hear Vista is going to be loaded with filthy and involuntary DRM management which I don't like so i'm thinking of going alternative and moving away from MS for good.

Question though, can I choose a Dual OS boot for 2 different Linux builds like SuSe and K/ubuntu just to see which I prefer working on?

junii

Hello again,

I actually have a book for sale called Linux complete. It has a 200 page command reference plus lots of other stuff. Its here if your interested and cheap too. Also, like all my books...perfect condition.

http://adverts.ie/3384

liamo

layke wrote:

Liam, I might take you up on that offer as your only down the road from me (Knocklyon).

May I come back to you on that offer in a week or so when I have this linux box running?

Sure you can. PM me when you want to collect it.

Regards,

Liam

Steveire

Yes you can. The grub installer of the second one you install should find the first one you installed, so it's not anything you'll have any difficulty with.

Cormic

I found the best way to learn Linux was to use it. So I got a spare box in work, installed ubuntu and started to use it for telnet, ssh and web browsing. Now I am pretty handy with vi and a lot of other things.