Hi,

I've just lashed out on the very expensive Linux program. I know nothing about it, except that my BIL who has a Mac said it's supposed to be really good & simple, relatively virus free, based on Apple o/s.... & it was the right price & I'm sick of Microsoft issues.

So... a few questions.... Myself & most people I deal with have Windows XP, MS Office, etc. I am wondering if word & other programs is compatible with the Linux stuff? Eg. can I open/save docs in Word or Linux?

One of my computers also has boot issues at present & I can't make it work on Windows. I'm wondering if I install Linux, whether I'll be able to get my files off it?

Also wondering if files & settings can be transferred between the existing Windows & Linux when I load it, or will I have to manually save everything to CD or such, then reload it all again on the new system?

Hello Loosie, Welcome back to the forum!

I have marked your thread as open so someone with experience with Linux will be along as soon as possible to assist you

Regards,

Smokeycheech

Hi Loosie,

There are lots of flavours of Linux, called distributions. Do you know which distribution of Linux you have installed?

If you are very new to the OS I would definitely recommend you start with Ubuntu, which is probably the most user friendly distribution. Their user guides and documentation are extremely valuable to new users of Linux:
https://help.ubuntu.com/9.04/index.html

Open Office Org should come with most modern Linux distributions, and can open older Microsoft Office formats, such as .doc or .xls, but has trouble with the newer Office 2007 formats like .docx and .xlsx

Programs written for windows will, generally speaking, not run on Linux. A project called WINE exists that can make some windows programs run, but it can take allot of tinkering and knowledge to do, so I wouldn't count on it as an option.

For the computer with boot issues, if the problem is hardware related then installing a new operating system won't help; in fact it may erase all of the data on the hard disk. If you really want this looked at you could create a new thread detailing the problem, and I'm sure some knowledgeable folks will help you out

Loosie,

I'll leave you in Snow's capable hands as I have no knowledge of Linux. I will subscribe to your thread so I can learn a bit as well as take care of any non-Linux questions you might have.

Hi, thanks for your help!

The 'distribution' is Linux XP 2009. I have it ordered, haven't received it yet.

I have a couple of computers networked, so was going to try it on one first, or as a seperate partition(?) so I'll still have necessary Windows progs & files on the other if I have a problem.... assuming I can recover that other computer!

With regards to the problem computer, I have another thread under Windows XP 'Can't boot up' if you have any suggestions for me. I've tried to do a repair install but it wouldn't let me, so up to the next step...

No problem,

I'd like you to know that this distribution is one of the only ones that charges people to use it. The Linux kernel and practically all of its other distributions are free software licensed under the GLP.

What this means is you can just go and download a fully copy of Ubuntu, and install it without paying anything whatsoever. Linux XP 2009 is a custom distribution made by TrustVerse, a Russian software company based in Moscow. They have chosen to charge users for a product key in order to use their distribution, which is fine, but the main thing you get for your money is a custom user interface made to look as close as possible to windows.

From reading their site they seem to have automated some tasks to make using the OS easier, and they have pre-configured a few common windows programs running on WINE, so you will be able to use them without the tinkering I mentioned earlier.

Apparently the English branch of the company no longer responds to e-mails, and don't allow access to download the disto any more. Did you order a CD from them with the distro on it?

The Russian version of their site lets you download it, so if you can't get a CD just say and I'll try to find the link.

It comes with Open office Org, which is again completely free software, so the compatibility I mentioned with Microsoft office is what you will find.

It also uses the Anaconda installer for Linux, so you will be able to partition your hard disk and install it alongside windows if you want.

Thanks for that. Yep, I should have looked into it first, but only paid $4 on Ebay for the program, so wasn't too fussed if I ripped myself off.

Regarding live CD downloads, I've done that now, while waiting to receive the program I ordered. But the CD won't work. The ISO file has burned to the CD but I'm wondering if there's a different way you have to do it? I've downloaded 'Free Easy Burner' after my Nero program wouldn't work(if it's not one thing...) & this gives me the option to 'save as image' but not 'burn image' as Nero has.