Linux- General Information and Resources

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Welcome to the wonderful world of linux! This thread is dedicated to helping answer your questions about linux and give you a firm grasp on the subject. If you are new to linux and just trying to find out what it is it would be best to start at the begining of this thread with the FAQ's and general information. If you have some knowledge of linux and just need to find that one link to the GNU archives then scroll on down to resources and be on your way.

Basic Linux FAQ

What is linux?
Linux can refer to the linux kernal, the linux operating system and linux distributions. The linux kernal includes all the features that are needed to run a modern operating system. Build upon this kernal is the GNU/linux operating system. This system includes a shell and various programs and utilities. These are the things that allow the computer to get things done at a user level. Essentially the linux kernal fits inside the GNU system and this is what most of todays linux distributions are built from. The distributions or commonly called distros are what the average linux user interacts with. When you hear of Ubuntu or Fedora that is a linux distro. These will be discussed in depth further.

Where did linux come from?
In 1991 a Finn named Linus Torvalds along with a loosely knit group of programmers started a project that would become the linux kernal. Torvalds based his kernal off the UNIX kernal which was a very popular computer system at the time and one which is still in use today in Apple's operating systems. Originally Torvalds published linux under his own license but in 1992 he proposed releasing it under the GNU general public license which would allow the projects development to explode because the code behind the program was free for anyone to use, modify and distribute as they like. In time projects grew and transformed into the distributions we have today.

So linux is free?
As stated above linux systems are distributed under the GNU general public license making it available to anyone. A majority of linux systems are free to download use and modify without charge. A select few distributions have hit a corporate market and a majority of the cost for these distributions revolves around the services provided rather than use of the software.

What are some popular distros?
Currently the most popular and widely know distribution is Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an incredibly user friendly operating system that most users who have had experience with windows and macintosh will easily be able to navigate. Ubuntu even has many spin off projects like Mint which is designed to be even more similar to windows. Ubuntu and its sister systems along with many other systems are based on Debian. There are other distributions like Fedora that came to be distributed by parent companies in this case being Red Hat. Fedora is another very popular distribution that is quite user friendly. Moving on to the more advanced distributions you have things like Gentoo and specialized distributions. Specialized distributions can range from video editing to network penetration so unless you have some experience in linux or a need for a specialized distro its better to lay off these but doesnt hurt to learn about them.

Do I have to install it on my computer? Wont I lose my files?
Testing linux is incredibly easy since entire distributions can be booted from a cd/dvd or flash drive without the need to install linux on to your system. If you find you like linux and want to install it on your machine you can easily partition your hard drive which basically allows you to have linux on one side and windows on the other and you choose which to boot.

Downloading, burning a disk, making a live usb and booting

Downloading:
There are two basic ways to download linux. You can download it normally though your browser or you can torrent it. I prefer torrenting my distributions as it is faster. Just download a program like utorrent and go to the download page of your specific distro. Linux distributions are downloaded in the format .iso. This is what is called a disk image and it must be burned onto a cd/dvd or specially formatted usb in order for it to be loaded onto the computer.

Burning:
If you are using windows you can use a simple program like this to burn your ISO to the disk. Using the program in the link provided you simply open the file you want to use, select the cd/dvd drive you want to use and make sure there is a blank disk in there then press burn. You can name the disk if you want but it isnt exactly necessary.

usb install:
If you want to use a USB port to test out linux then do the following. Go to this site and download the Universal USB installer program. This is the program that installs linux onto the usb stick. It is very straight forward. Simply select the distribution you will be using. Then select the .iso file on your computer. Finally select the USB port you want to use and weather you want the program to format the usb stick before hand. Then click create.

booting:
Booting from a disk or usb is the same process. What you have to do is access your computers BIOS screen. BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System and it is the system your computer runs before windows or your alternative boots. Ususally this can be accessed by pressing f11 when you turn on your computer. I have had the bios access button be f2 and f12 as well so it is a good idea to google the exact button for your computer. When you are at the BIOS screen tab over to boot options and make boot from cd or usb the primary boot method. Save and exit.

Resources

News and links:
News and updates about various distros: http://distrowatch.com/
Free Software Directory: http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Main_Page
Excellent link directory: http://www.linuxlinks.com/

Popular archives & docs:
Official Kernel Archives: https://www.kernel.org/
Gnu docs: https://www.gnu.org/doc/
Debian docs: https://www.debian.org/doc/
Ubuntu docs: https://help.ubuntu.com/
Fedora docs: http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/index.html

Tutorials, guides and shortcuts:
Beginner community tutorials & info: http://www.linux.org/forums/beginner-tutorials.53/
Intermediate community tutorials & info: http://www.linux.org/forums/intermediate-tutorials.54/
In depth guide: http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Teaching/Unix/
More tutorials: http://www.linux-tutorial.info/
Shortcuts and commands: http://www.unixguide.net/linux/linuxshortcuts.shtml
More command: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Linux_Guide/Linux_commands
Learning the shell: http://linuxcommand.org/learning_the_shell.php

[aldra]

most of the popular iso->USB applications for windows aren't a pure sector to sector ISO copy; they basically create a bootable USB with their own custom bootloader and copy the contained files to the now-bootable device. I've had issues with this setup in the past, so the two things I'd recommend are:

from windows, get PhysDiskWrite from the m0n0wall site (http://m0n0.ch/wall/physdiskwrite.php) - from the command line, run physdiskwrite -u <iso-file>, then select the usb drive from the prompts.
in lunix, you don't need external software - the dd command will do it very well. usage:

dd if=<iso-file> of=/dev/<usb-device> bs=4MB

where the bs is the block size - 4MB is the largest for most filesystems, and will speed up reads and writes significantly.

[stdio.h]

Should mention that you may need to use isohybrid to make the image bootable if you're using dd to copy it onto a USB. And yeah, programs like Unetbootin tend to suck.

[aldra]

thanks... I've never had problems with booting lunix isos written to USB, but I'll try isohybrid next time I need to write a Windows installer - none of the standard methods have ever worked for me.

[Σ]

Should mention that you may need to use isohybrid to make the image bootable if you're using dd to copy it onto a USB. And yeah, programs like Unetbootin tend to suck.

For whatever reason I have had fantastic luck with unetbootin but ill certainly check out those other programs and see how they fare in comparison.