the very very very basic basics

piktsi

I am totally new to this so please bear with me... I have some questions...

Do I need to become proficient in programming to run Linux on my pc?

I currently run Vista (which I hate), would I have to uninstall Vista and all my other programs (GIMP) and my personal files to install and use Linux?

Please respond to these questions as if to someone who just sat down in front of a pc for the first time! Thanks!

jabirali

piktsi wrote:

Do I need to become proficient in programming to run Linux on my pc?

No, that won't be necessary. (From my personal experience, I would actually say it's the other way around; although programming skills are not required, it is easier to get started if you want to learn.)

Many Linux distributions come with graphical installers that ask few technical questions, and configure almost everything automatically. When the system is installed, you have graphical configuration utilities that should replace the Control Panel you're used to in Windows. If you should experience any issues, you can of course just ask here at the forums

I currently run Vista (which I hate), would I have to uninstall Vista and all my other programs (GIMP) and my personal files to install and use Linux?

The installation disk should help you resize your existing Windows partitions, and create new partitions for Linux - so that the two operative systems can coexist on one hard drive. You will then get to choose which system to use when you start your computer.

I would recommend trying out a distribution called Ubuntu if this is your first time installing Linux. There is a short tour of the system here, an installation guide here, downloadable disks here and some guidelines regarding installing Linux and Windows together here.

marc

You don't need to know programming at all to be a Linux user!

You don't need to uninstall anything, don't worry. Whichever Linux distribution you chose (Opensuse, Fedora, Ubuntu, Linux Mint just to name a few of the "user friendly" ones) will guide through the installation process and notify you that you already have an Operation System (Windows Vista). The installer for those Linux distributions kind of expect you to have Windows so they are prepared and will resize your partition table an prepare it to install Linux alongside Windows.

Once everything is done, you'll get to chose on every boot which operating system to run (with one option by default). From Linux you'll be able to access your Windows files (know that maybe not with write capabilities).