CentOS newbie

General support questions
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tarazed
Posts: 2
Joined: 2017/11/16 13:13:33

CentOS newbie

Post by tarazed » 2017/11/16 13:21:35

Hello everyone,
I'm thinking of installing CentOS on my home PC instead of upgrading from Windows XP that I'm still using. Is CentOS suitable for home users (I've used it once in a library and liked it)? Is there documentation aimed at people moving over from Windows, and also some way of checking hardware compatibility (I'm mostly worried about my PCI wifi receiver which needs a proprietary driver)?

Thanks for your help,
Tarazed

stevemowbray
Posts: 519
Joined: 2012/06/26 14:20:47

Re: CentOS newbie

Post by stevemowbray » 2017/11/16 16:16:54

I suspect you'd be much happier with a distribution aimed at new people and people moving from Windows, such as Linux Mint.

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TrevorH
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Re: CentOS newbie

Post by TrevorH » 2017/11/16 16:27:49

You'll also want to list the things you need to do and run and see what linux alternatives there are, if any. Not everything in the Windows world can be done in linux and especially not if "easy" is at the top of your list of requirements :-)
The future appears to be RHEL or Debian. I think I'm going Debian.
Info for USB installs on http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/InstallFromUSBkey
CentOS 5 and 6 are deadest, do not use them.
Use the FAQ Luke

tarazed
Posts: 2
Joined: 2017/11/16 13:13:33

Re: CentOS newbie

Post by tarazed » 2017/11/16 17:53:48

Ok thanks I will take that advice. The only app I need is Skype and I know that a Linux version exists. I considered CentOS because it looked polished, but if it's not the most user friendly implementation then I will see what alternatives exist.

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TrevorH
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Re: CentOS newbie

Post by TrevorH » 2017/11/16 18:31:32

Skype does exist for CentOS but the most recent version is only in their "unstable" repo as they broke it with an update about 2 weeks ago.
The future appears to be RHEL or Debian. I think I'm going Debian.
Info for USB installs on http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/InstallFromUSBkey
CentOS 5 and 6 are deadest, do not use them.
Use the FAQ Luke

desertcat
Posts: 843
Joined: 2014/08/07 02:17:29
Location: Tucson, AZ

Re: CentOS newbie

Post by desertcat » 2017/11/16 23:18:47

tarazed wrote:Hello everyone,
I'm thinking of installing CentOS on my home PC instead of upgrading from Windows XP that I'm still using. Is CentOS suitable for home users (I've used it once in a library and liked it)? Is there documentation aimed at people moving over from Windows, and also some way of checking hardware compatibility (I'm mostly worried about my PCI wifi receiver which needs a proprietary driver)?

Thanks for your help,
Tarazed

Hummmmm I noticed you said, "upgrading from Windows XP". Win XP is ANCIENT. How old is your computer and do you know whether it is 32 bit or 64 bit processing?!? If you are not sure can you tell us what type of CPU is in the machine, and how much RAM is installed? There are some 100 or so distros out there and some are better for some type of machines than others. CentOS 7.4 (and RHEL 7.4 from which it descends) are Enterprise grade OS's, and is more or less restricted to 64 bit machines though there is a 32 bit version available. CentOS does have some limitations and while very flexible it does require some knowledge to use. OTOH CentOS 6.x comes in both 32 bit and 64 bit versions.

Second what do you plan to do with your Linux computer? If it is just to surf the net, answer emails, etc. or do you plan to do several thing all at the same time? If you plan on a Light Duty Machine I can tell you that Linux Mint is a very nice OS, very user friendly, and one I was seriously considering putting on gateway sever that I am currently working on. A more Windows-like Linux ditro that is very popular is Kubuntu and Ubuntu Linux. If your big concern is does it run Skype... welll.... M$ the company most Linux users love to hate has "Official" distros that it supports, and some that it does not. RHEL/CentOS is a distro is not one of its "officially" supported ditros though almost all linux distros can run Skype. Having just upgraded my workstation from Skype 4.3 for Linux to 8.11.76.3 after a rather brief pass through Skype 8.10.0.4 within the past 48 hours this is where knowledge becomes important. This was very EASY to do, but in no way trivial.

Best advice: First determine if you have a 32bit or a 64bit processor and how much memory you have installed, and how much memory potentially can be installed. Second determine what you plan to do with the computer light duty or heavy duty work. Third determine what premium you put on Easy of Use. Fourth, how much effort are you willing to put into learning Linux. Once you have answered those questions go out and download several different distros and simply try them, many have "Live" versions that allow you to "kick the tires" as it were for those distros.

Here are ones I recommend you put on that list:

Linux Mint
Kubuntu
Ubuntu
Knoppix
CentOS 6 (A guess given you're running Win XP)
Mandriva Linux

Happy Computing. Please keep us posted.

desertcat

CarlRestor
Posts: 19
Joined: 2017/10/31 16:48:13

Re: CentOS newbie

Post by CarlRestor » 2017/11/17 18:48:27

tarazed wrote:Ok thanks I will take that advice. The only app I need is Skype and I know that a Linux version exists. I considered CentOS because it looked polished, but if it's not the most user friendly implementation then I will see what alternatives exist.
centos is good, but you should check altenatives too. :)
"Username" T. - Always Preferred

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