Easiest linux to install ?

Question

i was wondering what is the easiest version of linux to install

Answer 1

I would recommend Ubuntu.  I have used Red Hat Enterprise, Fedora Core, d**n small linux (don't ask), and some weird linux someone installed on one of my machines, and by far I've had the least problems with Ubuntu, both for install and getting things to work in general.  In fact, I think I ended up killing both my Fedora Cores =)

Ubuntu Hardy (8.04) is the latest version of Ubuntu and will dual boot your machine for you =)  If you already have Windows installed on it, it will automatically add it to your boot and give you the choice when you boot up.  I just did it on my laptop with Vista and it worked like a charm.  If you are going to dual boot, I highly recommend choosing the "grub" option over the MBR as you can change the boot file configuration easily.  Anyway here's a good guide to dual booting:

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_windo...

Lastly, I also highly recommend dual booting over a Linux only machine.  I love Linux, and wouldn't consider working on anything else.  But I have to admit that a lot of hardware/software developers tend to forget about Linux users.  Be prepared to have lots software that comes in Windows/Mac only, and to be tweaking a whole lot to get some of the hardware to work.  Everything on my desktop worked right off the bat, so you may not have problems.  However, on my laptop I had (or still have) problems with my wireless card, touchscreen, integrated webcam and sleep mode (nvidia graphics card).

Answer 2

I would say Ubuntu. It has some of the best hardware support, and works well out of the box. It is a bit more bloated than other distros, but is great for beginners. Xubuntu, Kubuntu, and Linux Mint are all derivatives of Ubuntu, and are also easy to install.

Answer 3

Unbuntu, Kubuntu, Mint, Fedora Core are some of the easier linux distro's that can be installed with no headaches unless you plan to dual boot and so it becomes a bit more trickier unless you know what your doing.

Answer 4

any that loads from a live CD they mostly work the same  

Answer 5

The last time Windows became unusable I used a PCLinuxOS live cd to save my irreplaceable data to an external device. Since Windows was shot I went ahead and installed it. It was much faster and easier to install than windows.

It took about 20 minutes, updating it the first time however took quite a while, mostly due to downloading a new version of OpenOffice I think.

It had step by step instructions right on the desktop for me to refer to while I set up the install. It gives you a clear warning that once you click install there is no going back. Twenty minutes after that I was up and running.

It was two days later before I managed to get Windows fully updated and usable on the partition that I had set aside for it

Answer 6

I have installed just about every popular distro out there, and ubuntu (and it's cousins kubuntu, etc.) are by far the easiest to install.

I wouldn't think you'd have a terrible time installing any of the most popular distros though.

Answer 7

Ubuntu if you're running it on a real machine. However, another option is the Knoppix live CD. Nothing to install - just download and burn, then boot from the CD.