Help From A Linux User Please...?

Question

I'm curious to try out the Linux operating system but I'm having trouble getting started. From what I understand, you can keep your operating system and boot-up Linux from your CD drive.  I have a CD/DVD burner but I don't have any blank CDs. Just blank DVDs. That doesn't make any difference does it?  The one time I attempted to burn the Linux image onto a blank DVD I did something wrong because it didn't turn out right.

There is also a booting up problem with my computer. About five years ago I turned on my computer and it started making an annoying loud noise. I couldn't figure it out until I opened my computert. One of fan blades for the main cooling fan snapped off. I disconnected it and I've been using a small heater fan (with the heat turned off of course) to cool off my computer. It works fine but every time I boot up my computer I get this message "Fan not connected. Service computer."  Then I have to press F2 to bypass that.  Will this boot up problem prevent me from booting up to Linux?  Is there a way to completely bypass this interruption?

I bought this computer refurbished in 2006 and it came with XP Pro. I've never been able to find a virus protection program that doesn't slow down my computer substantially. So instead of using a program I've been cleaning up my system with CCleaner and Malware Bytes every two weeks. It would be nice if I didn't have to worry about viruses. Any help (or experience descriptions) in this matter would be appreciated.  Thank you.

Jack · Accepted Answer

Welcome to the world of Linux!

You are correct: Many of the most popular linux distributions have what's called a "Live CD" mode, which means you can run it completely off the CD without installing anything to your hard drive or erasing your current operating system. Please be aware though that running Linux in LiveCD mode it will be very slow - that's a problem with LiveCD itself and I promise it won't be that slow when you decide to install Linux outright.

No, it doesn't matter whether you use a CD or DVD. You could even use a USB thumb drive if you want. I bet you ran in to a problem most new guys have when trying to make a linux CD: you probably just put the ISO file itself on the CD as if it was a regular file. You can't do that - you have to use a special image-burning program to apply the ISO to the disc. If you do it right then when you open the disc you'll see lots of files and folders instead of just the single ISO file. There are plenty of free ISO-burning programs available online, I recommend hitting up download.cnet.com to search for one.

Your fan warning won't effect your ability to boot to CDs at all. You'll still get the warning but just hit F2 like you always do. As for bypassing the warning... that depends on your specific motherboard, but the real way to get rid of it is to spend $10 on a new cooling fan and install it in your computer.

Anonym · Answer

1. It doesn't matter if you burn a CD or DVD. Your computer has to be able to boot up from them.

2. If you open BIOS there should be a setting to turn on or off the function that stops a computer from booting because of a Fan issue not being connected.

3. Install Microsoft Security Essentials. It is Virus and Malware protection and does a very good job at protecting Windows.

4. Cooling Fans for computers do not cost that much money so replace it.

Harley Drive · Answer

comodo and avast don't slow down a computer, only too many processes running can do that , linux is not for beginners or even fairly advanced computer users as you are finding even loading it can be tiresome , using ccleaner will wreck your computer and malwarebytes isn't an antivirus , yahoo users love ccleaner but in many cases it does more harm than good , even having a backup feature is no good if the computer will not boot and there is no clue as to why, new fan would cost $4 on ebay

BigE · Answer

I don't know if Virtual Box supports XP pro, but if you install it you can boot from the ISO image and forego messing with CD/DVD.  Virtual Box is free and allows you to install
many OS's like almost all Linux and Windows.  Now the graphics/mouse are kind of clunky, but it allows you to test most things.

It will take a few gigabyes, like 8-10 for each OS free on your disk.

Anthony · Answer

First things first - I presume it is the case fan.Try and replace the case fan first, then try again with a dvd, may be you had a defective disc or something. It is exactly the same procedure. can your PC boot from USB? Try burning a linux image to it and restarting it to boot from usb, though you may have to alter the boot sequence in the BIOS.

? · Answer

You can also install Linux from a live distro contained in a pen drive using the program Unetbootin

Help From A Linux User Please...?

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