What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Quick to answer questions about finding your way around Linux Mint as a new user.
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Elisa

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by Elisa »

trobbins wrote:...
IMO u've forgotten to mention as for VB - only if u have at least 1 GB or more of RAM :idea:
If you have less, so rather use even the on boot from CD like a LiveCD for testing...
Or - simply, don't hesitate to ask how to boot / install it on your hdd.
nanoadmin

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by nanoadmin »

Remember : The linux OS is not windows XP/Vista/7. It is much better. to install just double click the Install button. No tricks.
tatsujin79

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by tatsujin79 »

Lets see, top tips for a newbie

1. know what your getting into before jumping into linux, do research on distros, make sure the programs you NEED have a linux client or atleast similar enough software and expect to have to fiddle with your system a bit.

2. If you are not willing to learn don't even bother

3. Test your distro, you can do a virtual machine, run a live cd off a..well cd or usb, programs like wubi can help too.

4. If you do decide to install linux (dual boot or replace) be patient, rome wasn't built in a day, nor was the kernel created that quick. Spend time getting to know your system from the inside and out. Places such as mint forum, ubuntu forum and even arch or gentoo wiki can be a treasure trove of information.

5. Don't be so quick to cast linux aside because "wine cant play game 'X' that well", If this is the case then you didn't do your research (see point 1)

6. Stay active in the community, you can go from newbie to pro in no time just by reading forum posts

7. Most importantly as stated before don't try to rush. Take a day or two just exploring your system, try out some themes, read how to customize the ui, try out kde - gnome - *box - whatever you want and make it yours.

Could probably think of a ton more but i'ts almost time for me to pack up, these are just some of the major points for someone thinking of switching or for a virgin linuxer.
MerelyJim

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by MerelyJim »

If you do run into trouble, be polite when asking questions. We understand you're frustrated, but the person trying to help you is not your slave, subordinate, or... whathaveyou. If you're unsatisfied with the level of service, demand a refund.
insertnikname

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by insertnikname »

You should just go ahead and give up now. You're in over ya head forgettaboutit . .. :twisted:


Messing round, had to post something different to maintain the moody rebel image I've been cultivating for a lifetime, lol.

Actually new to linux mint myself. Though not a newb in general. After a recent malware incident on my gf's PC. It reminded me of something very important.

1. I HATE Microsoft !!!! Ahhhhhhhh ! :evil:
2. Why would any sane person allow someone they care about to use craptastic proprietary junk software ? When there's software in the world so much better and free to boot ?

This sent me on the hunt for an extremely user friendly distro for da lurve of my life. Which led me here, after a stop off at ubuntu ... That has gotten such great acclaim and press. Distrowatch = linux mint.

Supposed to be even more user friendly than the ubuntu it's based on. How can that be possible folks ? Apparently it is and am overjoyed to have found LM. Look forward to becoming a strictly linux family here. In the very near future and wish ya luck and liberation in getting away from craptastic software makers like M$.

Am humbled and blown away to know there are such unselfish and generous people in this world. Such as the inventor of gnu, linus torvald and the opensource community. It's mind blowing and heart warming, to know there are people who value some things more than $.

Though newb to LM myself atm. Just being a dork and adding some encouragement to the pile. Just think ... never again having to worry about malware, spyware, BSOD ... system crashes for no apparent reason. Imagine, just imagine, a brave new world for a moment. Where a computer actually friggin works for a change !

:wink:
SimonTS

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by SimonTS »

Hi there. I read the first line of your post and just assumed that it was someone playing the April Fool.

Welcome to a new, minty freshness in your (and your gf's) life.
frascati
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:52 pm

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by frascati »

Read, read, and read. That said, I'm as guilty as anyone for getting a little ahead of myself and "tossing the instructions". I do kind of wish there was one good concise "beginner's ABC's to Mint" somewhere. Maybe I've just missed it.
Am humbled and blown away to know there are such unselfish and generous people in this world. Such as the inventor of gnu, linus torvald and the opensource community. It's mind blowing and heart warming, to know there are people who value some things more than $.
Second that.

I've only been converted to Linux for three weeks.
Since my introduction is yet fresh, I have just a couple of general notes.

Don't expect the worst. LInux's association with geek poses a psychogical hurdle on it's own, but should be less the case with a distro like Mint. I downloaded, installed, took a deep breath, and then expected the worst... since I'm ham-handed when it comes to technical details. Because of that I literally overlooked what was right in front of me while expecting that it would be much harder. I spent hours tracking down and attempting to install the drivers for my external wireless device before learning that they were already installed in mint and waiting for me to just invoke them by plugging in my device. After that lesson I just plugged in my printer usb cable and was printing within 30 seconds! I wasted time all over other linux forums and in this forum searching for ways to install various tools when they, or perfectly acceptable versions of them, were already available for easy GUI installation via the Package Manager.

Spend some time browsing through the applications .. menu>applications>all. I noticed that a really nice little screen-capture utility was right there waiting for use! Then go and look around the menu>system>softwaremanager. There is a wealth of tools in there.

Much of the information returned from google searches for getting started in linux on the net, while not literally outdated (it still applies of course and can be applied to Mint if you want to learn more fundamentals or just like doing things the 'hard' way) has been made MUCH easier to do for you in Mint. Take the time to search for the simplest solutions here in the forum and it will often reveal something surprising in Mint.

For someone as only basically competent as myself to be this comfortable, and not missing windows even a little, within three weeks, is pretty remarkable.

Good luck!
cannae

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by cannae »

Before you even consider Linux or any distro's read. A lot. As much as you can. Linux can be complex and it can be simple. You can build your own distro from scratch, choose a minimal installer such as Debian's netinstall or install a full fat distro such as Mint which has most of the stuff you need or something in between. Again, read. Then when you do switch, run a live CD/DVD, such as Mint and ensure your hardware works. Personally, I would murder any version of Windows and start afresh, but you might not want to. Hmm, this thread has inspired me to create some thorough .pdf tutorials . . .
SimonTS

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by SimonTS »

Frascati,

I think that you will find exactly what you are talking about here;-

http://www.linuxmint.com/documentation.php

There is always a decent user guide with Mint that will explain the basics, download, install, packages etc
frascati
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:52 pm

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by frascati »

I think that you will find exactly what you are talking about here;-

http://www.linuxmint.com/documentation.php
Simon that's an excellent example of the perils of impatience. I actually have opened that. I followed it to install Mint and when I had the installation 98 percent complete I noticed that the document was more than half read. Foolishly I assumed that the remainder of the document dealt with further installation instructions and I closed it and went on. I just reopened it and started reading again from the halfway point and realized my error.

Yeah, that needs to be read top to bottom before any beginner starts wading in. Thank you for the reminder.
SimonTS

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by SimonTS »

8)
MrCleanWithHair

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by MrCleanWithHair »

I think the best thing for a user at any level to master is using google. For instance I want to learn about bash scripting, more specifically for-loops.

I would ask google for: for loop + bash.
OldManHook

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by OldManHook »

A lot of posts say read,Read-But What :?:
You might want to check out the "Ubuntupocketguide" (PDF download)
The glossary of terms is good , Great for new users to Understand some of the words used in Linux 8)
Forthright

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by Forthright »

Top tips:

1) Use your time wisely: Don't be afraid to ask questions!

...After a quick google of course :) If you think it's going to take hours to find an answer you think others know then go on irc or forums. life's short.

2) You will meet rude people somewhere along the line: Ignore them.

Don't feed the trolls. And definitely don't let rude folk dissuade you.

Best of luck!
Manuel

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by Manuel »

If you have a dual boot system, or a system where there's data that you want to preserve:

BACK UP before ANY experiments! Create Windows recovery discs! Make sure you can restore everything if you totally screw up your machine. Don't proceed unless you are sure that you can restore everything that you want to restore.

Then, learn by doing! With a little technical understanding, you most likely will arrive where you want, because the Linux (Mint) desktop is not so much different from the Windows one. Double clicks, windows, menus, ... all similar. And I'm sure you have heard of OpenOffice.

Do your first installation with a friend who did it before. Getting help from someone else will spare you time consuming reading. I think to read, read, read, is rather time consuming. Especially, you won't really know where to start as a beginner.

So replace "read, read, read" by "ask, ask, ask"! Of course, you still will have to read.
conservativetroll

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by conservativetroll »

I have an older laptop
Processor AMD Turion(tm) 64 Mobile Technology ML-32
Memory 1931MB (324MB used)
Operating System Linux Mint 9 Isadora

it seems that Mint is tooo much! If i run video it rapidly ramps up to 90% and more system resources. There have been times i had to simply reboot because i couldn't get it to relax. Installed it the first time thought maybe an update had conflicted with some of the hardware. Reinstalled, cutting off all level 3 and below updates. No or nearly no help! My buddy who has done hundreds of installs said to talk to you guys, and see what you think!

We tried installing a light edition of Zorin. Couldn't seem to control it like he wanted. What say ye, really could use some help. Been wanting to be shed of Bill Gates for years. But i have to be really careful at least with this edition of mint!!
cannae

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by cannae »

conservativetroll wrote:I have an older laptop
Processor AMD Turion(tm) 64 Mobile Technology ML-32
Memory 1931MB (324MB used)
Operating System Linux Mint 9 Isadora

it seems that Mint is tooo much! If i run video it rapidly ramps up to 90% and more system resources. There have been times i had to simply reboot because i couldn't get it to relax. Installed it the first time thought maybe an update had conflicted with some of the hardware. Reinstalled, cutting off all level 3 and below updates. No or nearly no help! My buddy who has done hundreds of installs said to talk to you guys, and see what you think!

We tried installing a light edition of Zorin. Couldn't seem to control it like he wanted. What say ye, really could use some help. Been wanting to be shed of Bill Gates for years. But i have to be really careful at least with this edition of mint!!
I would skip Mint, and install Debian testing from a net install. Then install XFCE or IceWM.
casey972oo

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by casey972oo »

Hi there ! ... to everybody ! ...

now ! ... after I have read .. all those comments .. and ' tips for a newbie ' ...
I'll give you mine too ! ... even when I'm still a ' newbie ' myself ! ... I'll give you some ' warnings ' ! ...

first ! ... when you install your ' LINUX-Distri ' ... don't ' dual-boot ' it ! ... ' alongside ' of ' Windows ' ! .... (Microsaft Corporation don't like this at all !) ...
finaly .. after two hard-disks were messed up ... I choosed to install ' LINUX ' on hard-disk entirely ! ... (and this will work just fine !) ...

think of the past ! ... about the history of ' cold war ' ... CIA against KGB ! ...
' Microsoft Corporation ' was alied with CIA ! ... and did develope .. ' Virus & Worms ' ... ' Spy- & Malware ' ... for to fight the enemy KGB ! ...
THAT's what they know ... how to do ! ... is their business ... it's there ! ... where all those trash is comming from ! ...

Bill Gates became millionaire ... with the money from CIA ... nowadays is called NSA ! ...

to make things short ! ... just forget about ' Windows ' ! ... that's it ! ...


GOOD Luck ! ... with ' LINUX ' ! ... GOOD Luck ! ... with ' LINUX Mint ' ! ... of course it works ! ...

sinecerly yours .... casey972oo

.
linuxfanatik

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by linuxfanatik »

Always, always, read the Linux (Mint) guide if there is one, and print it out so you can use it at your elbow when you get stuck. No question is simple because it can lead you down really diverse paths to what you might achieve if you put your mind to it - Think where the Doctorate lead Linus Torwald who invented the Linux Kernel. Its lead him in some strange places (from studying Minix (a Unix-based System)) and now he is still updating that system he started with - with hundreds of Distributions of Linux, across the world - following the Linux Cause. linuxfanatik
cjsnow1

Re: What are your top tips for a Newbie?

Post by cjsnow1 »

paulo.delavega wrote:and remember to have fun with it

+1

Linux is fun, and learning how to properly use it is amazing.
Linux is awesome, fun, and SO much better than Wind<insert profane language here>! :D
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