Want to learn Linux/Decide which Version to Install. Help?

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Carpathian

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Feb 3, 2014
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Hey all,

I've been taking courses in IT and have recently enrolled in a Security Specialist program. As such I am going to need to know Linux pretty well and figured the best way to do so would be to actually USE the OS as much as possible. I found an old laptop of mine that has a broken screen and track pad, but still functions. I plan on replacing the screen and just using a regular mouse, but I also want to use this laptop as my Linux machine. Which Version of the Linux OS should I use? Obviously Ubuntu is very popular, but I have also heard GNOME, Cinnamon, and Kali are great as well. Any help is greatly appreciated.

P.S. this laptop has some manufacturer partitions on it. I can completely wipe those partitions by going into command line and entering dskpart > Select drive 0 > Clean all, correct?

Thank you very much.
 
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A

Alabalcho

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Jan 13, 2011
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How old is this laptop?

Before you spend money on replacement screen: Connect an external monitor to it, and install a Linux, jsut to make sure you can do it.

For beginners - stick to Ubuntu, or Mint. Don't fall into "Kali is for hackers, I am hacker, too" trap.

As for partitiions: Most modern Linux distros, during installation, will ask you how to use your hard drive, and you will have an option to "allocate all for Linux". You don't have to do anything beforehand.
 
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dmroeder

dmroeder

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So Ubuntu is a Linux Distribution and so is Kali. Gnome and Cinnamon are desktop environments, the user interface component of a distribution. You can install a distribution like Linux Mint and install a variety of desktop environments on it (Gnome, Cinnamon, KDE, LXDE, XFCE, MATE and so on).

Personally, I use Mint, the KDE edition specifically. But without the specs of the laptop, it's kind of hard to suggest so I'll go safe and say try Mint 17.3 XFCE or Xubuntu (which is Ubuntu with the XFCE desktop).

Stay away from Kali, this is meant for security professionals.

As far as the partitions go, you can wipe them during the install process of the distribution that you choose.

One tip, If you try something like Mint, Ubuntu or Fedora (many others as well), you can run them "live" in order to test them out before installing. This will allow you to kick the tires on many of them.
 
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Carpathian

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The laptop is probably about 6-7 years old. I connected it to an external monitor and it appears to work just fine, but this is with windows.

 
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Carpathian

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See, I had no idea there was even a difference. As you can tell I am incredibly green with Linux. So basically Ubuntu would be the base operating system and something like Gnome would just be the interface that you lay on top of it? Also, this is the machine I plan on using.
https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-A505-S6005-i3-330M-Dual-Core-2-13GHz/dp/B003ITLU54

 
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Carpathian

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I honestly don't even really know the difference between the distributions. What is the difference between Ubuntu, Linux Mint, SUSE, etc? What makes one more desirable than the other?
 
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Samer1970

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They are originally the same OS , but they differ in Package management , User interface , Ese of use (on GUI level not command prompt level) , Updating , Desktop Environment , built in Drivers , Multimedia ready or not (you can make any inux Multimedia ready but takes alot of time , stability , etc

look at it as different customization of linux
 
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dmroeder

dmroeder

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Don't worry, we were all green at one point. I'm probably one shade away from green! Good for you for taking interest. There will be a learning curve, but stick with it and don't be afraid to ask.

I think the best thing for you is to just throw a dart at one and try it. Everyone has an opinion on their favorite but it may not end up being yours. Try as many as you can stand to tinker with. Part of the fun is discovering what is best for you.
 
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Carpathian

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Thanks for all of your help, guys. I truly appreciate it. I did some research and I think I'm gonna go with either Xubuntu or Ubuntu GNOME. They seem pretty simple and good for a beginner. Also, if anybody has some good resources for learning the OS better or just having a better overall understanding of Linux feel free to send them my way.
 
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dexxterlab97

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Even official website of Ubuntu would have all the beginners guide/info. Not sure if local library will have specific book on linux or even ubuntu
 
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