Linux

[CaptainPanic]

A quick reply to the original question (post 1). I run Linux on a desktop at home. The desktop has 2 harddrives, which makes my life really easy. One has the operating system(s), and the other has all my data. If I want to (re)install Linux, or try to install a 2nd system next to it, I just physically disconnect the data drive, then reboot to check that I disconnected the correct one, and then proceed in install a new operating system.

[MonDie]

IMO if you want to learn Linux, start relying on it as more than a frivolous virtual box app. Get something really really cheap and used, and Lubuntu it.

Maybe you have been wanting a laptop, or just a spare comp to fall back on. There you go.

 

I am skeptical about whether it imitates the Linux firewall (iptables) and device mounting, or falls back on Windows.

Tell me, are the hard drive stats accurate when you enter:

 

sudo fdisk -l

 

You should get your harddrive size by multiplying the sector size (usually 512 bytes) by the "total xxxxxxxxx sectors".

[CaptainPanic]

IMO if you want to learn Linux, start relying on it as more than a frivolous virtual box app.

 

Just a small side note: You can totally use Linux without knowing anything about the command line, just like you can use windows without understanding the DOS command line.

 

But I realize that this is slightly off topic.

[MonDie]

 

Just a small side note: You can totally use Linux without knowing anything about the command line, just like you can use windows without understanding the DOS command line.

 

But I realize that this is slightly off topic.

 

You can't get around it completely, and there are ways to accelerate the learning process: (a) use the info command, (b) use sources like ubuntu.com and die.net, © rely on Linux more, (d) avoid GUIs and other frontend programs

[Lightmeow]

I am currently running windows 7 on my pc. However a lot of employers are looking for knowledge of the Linux command line. Considering buying a second pc is out of the question I was told it might be possible to partition my hard drive and install Linux on the partition. But I am scared of doing it because if it didn't work properly I would lose my copy of windows 7 and any files I have. Does anybody know how to do this?

 

Sorry for bumping this thread, it seems the OP has accomplished what he needed to do, but for future reference to others, if you install one of the major distros(Ubuntu, Mint, OpenSuse, ect) through the gui installer, it will partion the hard drive, and give you an option to install GRUB. GRUB will make it so you can dual boot the computer, and when you reboot after an install you should get the option to use both OS's. If it doesn't, its easy enough to edit the boot record. You probably would rather do this then run it on the VM.

 

 

If it's Ubuntu, it will ask you during installation, but I would back up your files to be safe.

Or run Lubuntu on any old piece of junk you can find at a garage sale. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lubuntu

 

All linux distributions use mostly the same command line utilities. I recommend starting with Ubuntu. Just remember that the GUIs are just frontends, and you can often do more with the command line utilities. So don't be lazy! Don't learn GParted, learn fdisk. Don't use GUFW, but learn ufw and eventually iptables. Don't use Software Center, but learn apt-get. The deeper you dig, the more similar the different Linux distributions are to eachother.

Most importantly, read the info and man pages! Just type

 

info/man name-of-utility

 

ubuntu.com is an invaluable resource.

 

You don't compile the source code But seriously it is important to learn the terminal. Here are some useful commands to play with:

xkill - (useful if you are programming, if you have a problem(screwed up a pointer or
         something dumb)  Just type that and you should just click on the 
         window and it kills it.(I use this one ALOT!)
nano - a council based text editor
pwd - print working directory
ls  - list directory
cd - change directory
cp  - copy this file to that file
chmod  - basically changes file permissions(I use this ALOT)
mkdir - make directory
whoami - print whos logged on

If you want help on how to use the commands, type command -h

Sometimes its useful to log into the terminal as a different user.  To do this:
type: su - [user]

Also, if you type in the command man, that loads the Ubuntu manual in the council. Oh, and there is a lot of dumb programs in linux. Type this in the steam locomotive.

sudo apt-get install sl  

Then type in sl. So instead of getting an error message when you mistype ls, you get a nice train.

 

Theres so much more to linux, but those are useful things that I use a bunch. Oh, and if I was you, I'd use just the CLI with linux, but if you really need a gui change the desktop enviroment, because Unity is really processer intensive(And thats bad when you use a VM). You can use LXDE,(thats what Lubuntu uses as the DE) but LXDE is really feature lacking, so another good choice is xfce, or openbox.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Lightmeow

[fiveworlds]

Sorry for bumping this thread, it seems the OP has accomplished what he needed to do

 

No problem I have been away from home since Saturday. Since I got home I have had a strange error with my router. Instead of loading my linksys wrt54g I am getting my isp's router.

[MonDie]

my linksys wrt54g

I'm jealous. Look into DD-WRT.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD-WRT

[fiveworlds]

I'm jealous. Look into DD-WRT.

 

Updating the firmware might be the only option. What's happened is really weird. There is now two separate profiles for my linksys router linksys 2 and linksys. linksys 2 has internet access and I can access my isp's router administration page from it but I cannot access the admin page for the linksys router. Linksys on the other hand is only accessable through my wireless card and not through ethernet, it doesn't have internet access but I can access my router's admin page. I also seem to be able to connect to both network profiles at the same time.

 

[fiveworlds]

Fixed in the end I had to delete all my saved networks for the router reinstall the firmware that was already on the router. Then I restarted the router and my pc.