Wiping everything and putting in a new hard drive

[TNSadie]

I've either been virused, or my hard drive has gone bad. I am good with hardware, so rather than spending an outrageous fortune by letting someone else work on my system, I am going to replace the drive myself. The situation I have run up against is that I do not have a recover disk or a Windows 2000 disk. I am sick of paying loads of money for anything else Windows, but don't know what to do about an OS. IF I replace my hard drive, and just put Ubuntu (or a variant thereof) on as my OS without anything Windows, will my other software (all Windows compatible, of course) be able to load and run???

I'm not a software guru. The only thing I've ever used, my entire life has been Windows. How different is Ubuntu? Will it be like having to learn a whole new language?

I'm willing to go with the Ubuntu, I just need a starting point and some advice....

[petegreenhorn]

Well you could start by , going here " http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download " and download a copy to install and give it a try. cant see why you wouldnt like it . if you dont you can always try one of the other distros they are free

[MrWES]

I've either been virused, or my hard drive has gone bad. I am good with hardware, so rather than spending an outrageous fortune by letting someone else work on my system, I am going to replace the drive myself. The situation I have run up against is that I do not have a recover disk or a Windows 2000 disk. I am sick of paying loads of money for anything else Windows, but don't know what to do about an OS. IF I replace my hard drive, and just put Ubuntu (or a variant thereof) on as my OS without anything Windows, will my other software (all Windows compatible, of course) be able to load and run???

I'm not a software guru. The only thing I've ever used, my entire life has been Windows. How different is Ubuntu? Will it be like having to learn a whole new language?

I'm willing to go with the Ubuntu, I just need a starting point and some advice....

You could put Windows 7 RC on it, it'll run until next year for free.

Bill

[oldos2er]

I'm not a software guru. The only thing I've ever used, my entire life has been Windows. How different is Ubuntu? Will it be like having to learn a whole new language?

I'm willing to go with the Ubuntu, I just need a starting point and some advice....

Linux does not run Win* software natively. That said, there is Wine, a software "compatibility" layer that allows some Win* apps to run under Ubuntu (see http://www.winehq.org/). You can check the database at winehq.org for particular apps you're interested in.

For the most part, you'll want to find Linux equivalents, because, in my opinion, if you're going to run Win* apps you might as well run Windows.

Yes, Ubuntu will seem like learning a whole new language. See http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

[Merk42]

I'd also like to go further in depth with your specific case. What software is it that you run?

[Windows Nerd]

Hey TNSadie,

As a longtime Windows user myself (I grew up using windows 95) I can understand where you are coming from. It must suck that a virus destroyed your hard drive. Since you said you know what you are doing when it comes to hardware, I will leave it to you to replace your harddrive.

What you have to do first after replacing your harddrive is to make an Ubuntu Live CD: This is an Ubuntu "Boot Disk". It contains everything you need to install the OS. You can pop it into the CD drive of a computer, and load the OS from the CD at no change to your Operating system, to try it out. If you like the interface and all that, you can install it to your drive through an easy to use installer that is simple to understand.

Most all windows applications are not compatible with Linux, though there are plenty of Linux-Only Alternatives for windows programs like MSN, Microsoft office and such.

As far as learning how Linux works and all that, yes, it is sort of like learning a new language. But with time, it starts to make sense and you will love Linux. It all depends on how comitted you are to Linux and how patient you are, because believe me, Linux is difficult to learn straight away.

All the best,

Scot

[Bartender]

What Windows software do you have?
What Windows software do you absolutely need to have?

Please list the things you do with your PC and we can throw some suggestions at you for Linux apps that do roughly the same things.

But the quick answer is, no, software written for WIndows does not run on Linux. You pop the install CD in and nothing's gonna happen.

[Keen101]

It will be equivalent to switching to a mac. There will be a small learning curve, but it will be fun.

Your windows software just wont run. (maybe with WINE, but dont count on it)

Most of the things you need will have equivalent replacements though.

Microsoft Office = Open Office
Photoshop = GIMP
Instant messenger program = Pidgin

also lots of new software is becoming linux compatible.
Skype is avalable for Linux
Firefox is avalable for Linux
Adobe Flash ""
Adobe Reader ""


Unless your an Engineer who need Soldworks or some fancy proprietary 3D program, then Linux will fit your needs just fine.

[murderslastcrow]

I feel like I should intervene a bit here.

Linux is unfamiliar, but it largely uses the same concepts as any operating system. It just simplifies the process for the things people usually do these days with computers (getting around to your settings, installing applications, etc. all made simple).

It's not a lot like Windows, but the interface only takes a few moments to learn. Also, even though Windows programs don't run without Wine, many programs have been ported to Linux. Also, Wine isn't half-bad. I'd say that the majority of Windows software works with it, and the programs I use (3d modelling suites and video production) run faster than they did in Windows.

Of course, majority doesn't mean everything, so you really wanna' check how good the compatibility is first at the AppDB on Wine's website.

While it's true that you can modify the interface to work just like Windows, I must admit that the default interface is more quick and useful than having a consolidated start menu. But just be aware that the option is there if you get frustrated. Everything's really easy to customize and play around with.

So my main message to you is, if you're prepared to learn something new, using Linux and Linux programs will be a great experience. There are many benefits to using Linux, too many to count.

But if you really need Windows programs that won't function with Wine, I would fully suggest dual-booting so you could get used to it. The best way to do this is to do a clean install of Windows, then use the Ubuntu install CD (it can automatically partition the hard drive during installation to set up a dual-booting system).

[theicyj]

If you decide to make the switch, www.osalt.com is fairly good at finding open-source software that is equivalent to proprietary software you may be using. Even if you decide to stay with windows, it is still worth a look, as many programs made to run on linux have been ported to run on windows. Good luck!