What are your top tips for a Newbie?

[mintybits]

Try linux...it's a revelation!

But...
It is going to take a lot more of your time at first to understand how to use it and overcome teething difficulties. You will get this time back many times over once you have "learned to drive" linux. It isn't as hard as it looks but it is not a piece of cake like Windows.

Learning requires a lot of web searches and forum discussions.

If possible, install linux on a separate disk drive from other OS's that you depend on such as Windows. This will make your life much easier.

The linux kernel is like the engine and chassis of a top sports car. The various distributions approximately share the same engine and chassis but add different bodywork, interiors and accessories. Some have obvious controls and some don't. Some stereos are better than others. Sometimes you have trouble finding the steering wheel! Some are controlled by mad despots and have bizarre features that can be perplexing (naming no names ). Mint is sane and friendly, in my experience, and has been crafted to be easy to use and logical. It also doesn't give a wet slap what the "source" of an app is as long as it is the best for the user. I would recommend either LXDE or Cinnamon desktops for a newbie,

linux distributions are largely DIY efforts with a patchwork of applications from all over the world. Don't expect everything to work the same way, look the same or be of a consistent quality. Most of linux apps are good quality, some excellent and some poor. Much of the documentation is awful. Microsoft has better office apps and Windows is better suited to serious gaming. In my experience, trying to run Microsoft apps on linux is doomed unless you install Windows using VirtualBox.

Linux's benefits over Windows are reliability and speed of the basic OS (the engine and chassis), no virus problems, free, much better networking, huge flexibility, vast variety of applications, community support, no secrecy, and it makes computing fun again!

[faustino]

Start with the basics then read all the way

[realitykid]

Another good idea might be to install future releases of Mint with a USB flash drive. That is, if you can download the ISO file on your current internet connection. There are a few good guides on how to do this on the internet.

[RobC]

Advice from me would be to have a live copy of your OS either on a USB drive or in a Virtual Machine.

My reasoning for this is that it's always good to have a 'sandbox' of your OS to play in, that way, you can practice any changes you want to make without bodging anything up!

[3fRI]

Testing a distro with a live CD iso image or via Virtual Box or VM is a great way to get a sense how the distro works, but it's not the same as an actual hard drive install. Like most others have already posted, "read, read, read" and then explore by testing different distros. By the time you've found your favorite, full-time distro, you'll have learned a great deal about Linux.

[Lord Burghley]

Speaking as an utter noob myself (less than 1 month experience)...

I can only give reinforcement to what has already been said...READ BEFORE YOU DO! I went into this saying "Oh, I'll figure this out fine on my own. How hard can it be?" I quickly had to change my tack, as it were.
Also, as has been previously stated, live disks are a godsend! Try it out for a bit before you buy (or install rather). The software is free! Woot!!
One last thing...having an old machine to use exclusively for experimentation is tremendously helpful. Oh the mistakes I have made! So nice to be able to wipe the slate clean and start over again. Learn some partitioning basics and it makes it even easier.

[zoli62]

Read, experiment, ask, help to other users.

[Scott65]

$ top
q
$ kill [locked up app PID]

[breaker]

Please read the release notes for your distro. Search the forums before asking a question.

Ask questions, but by all means, use the standard litany http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jonathan.deboynepollard/FGA/problem-report-standard-litany.html

man pages are good to get more info about commands used in a terminal;

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man man

also info pages

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info

[chelsearason]

This thread is a huge help for a newbie like me. It's been days since I started reading all the posts and I learned so much about linux mint and how I can maximize its use. A huge thanks to you guys!

[oobetimer]

Linux is not Windows. I have noticed that those users who have long experience in the use of Windows, they have the greatest difficulty learning to use Linux.

Curiosity and an open mind are the key to success ..

[wm_commercial]

i'm a noob who's progressed through enough reading to officially be dangerous to his os lol.

although i didn't read every post, i agree with the reading and 'don't be afraid to crash it(provided you can)" suggestions, my helpful hint (if not already in here) is to prefix your google or bing search with:

site:forums.linuxmint.com linux mint <debian xfce> (your question)

use your mint version of course and don't use the <, >, (, or ). never found any difference with actually adding the ?

i also can not recall any solution that was completely right AND fully functional that originated outside this forum! so don't forget to thank them on your way out please.

[InkKnife]

Something I learned that has helped me was that you can do root things in the GUI by using the "gksudo" command to elevate privileges.
I am coming from a Mac background so doing things like file management is just a lot easier in the gui.
gksudo nautilus is something I use all the time now, makes things easy.

[mgarrett007]

i did a install of linux mint 13 cinnimon. everything is great so far i got the Classic Menu, but i want it to look like my friends looks on mate.

http://cinnamon-spices.linuxmint.com/applets/view/46

is thier a quick install to get it with breaks. customizing it and having it being all clusterd is driving me insane.

any help would be great.

[hoppimike]

I find that Mint works so well my biggest tip would be to choose it over other distros lol

[minty33]

tdockery97 said it right off the bat. read read read. even if you don't read first just know the answers are there and really not that far off. this forum is indispenable. plus i never had a problem a google search didn't solve easily for a linux/open source qquestion. stick with it also. for every day use its really fairly straightforward once you understand packages and package managers i.e synaptic and the file system. this makes it easy to get started then progress to compiling and customizing as you desire. again i'll say when you get an error google the error you get ect... the sky is the limit and so is your imagination and motivation. FREEDOM

[mysoomro]

Hi
I'm thinking of trying Mint for the first time, and have no experience of using any Linux distros. What are your top tips for me BEFORE my DVD arrives?
Possible topics:
Installation
Connecting to the Internet
Problem Solving
Please note that technical instructions will need to be pretty basic.
Thanks

Deano
Lincolnshire
England

Hi deanom!!
1 -> For installing Linux Mint, follow this tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhnLk3gviWY. Don't worry if it says it's for Ubuntu.. Linux Mint is also installed the same way.. I also installed Linux Mint following this tutorial.
If you wanna run a dual boot, this tutorial shows you how to do that as well.. If you're going to use just Linux mint, then you don't have to worry about anything.. Just make three basic partitions, (swap) /SWAP, (home) /Home and (root) / . as shown in this tutorial.
2 -> I'm not that savvy with internet connections too.. But I didn't have to worry about anything. Linux Mint handled it all for me.. Very elegantly..
3 -> You can get help for problem solving from this forum and/or Xchat help channel for instant help..

Hope you have great time with Linux Mint.. All the best..

[mintrampage]

My tip and where i learned about every thing i know about linux to date..
-
1st go to http://www.distrowatch.com and read and download lots of Linux distros till you find one that suits you... (or skip straight to linux mint)
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2nd = i like youtube tutorials.. it's easier to see some one doing it.. rather than reading about it...
here is one of my favorite resources for linux knowledge http://www.youtube.com/user/linuxspatry?feature=results_main
I've learned a lot from this guy's channel
-
3rd = Experiment .. try compiz .. figure out effects and what they do.. and why and how to tweek them.. and windows decorations .. themes and effects taught me how to get into adding ppa's and terminal commands ... just researching effects and how to use them is a learning process but once you're though.. you feel like you can master anything
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4th = Once you install there is a welcome screen... read the .pdf and help files to a point.. there is good info in there.. but a bit techy that's why i started with distro watch... then You Tube.. i find it's easier to see videos rather than read.... it's a lot to take in.. but once you get it down .... it's so very worth it..

-

5th and last = Don't feel bad about asking someone who is been there before... this forum is a treasure trove of information and people willing to supply that information in layman's terms ... linux has a community of people willing to help you ..

--

that's my 5 tips

[realitykid]

thanks all the gurus for posting the tips here for the newbies like me

Welcome to Linux! Remember, Linux is a learning experience. So, stay open to new ways of doing some things. You don't need to be a master coder, but, Linux is not like Windows. If you keep that in mind, then you shouldn't have too many problems using Linux Mint. In my opinion, Mint is as easy as Linux gets.

[Pikachu6708]

Read into Mint as much as you can and experiment as much as you can.