I do not know where to start

abdelrahmanashour

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I have used windows all my life and I really want to start learning linux and i do not know where to start. I applied to a course on coursera and all they talk about is that it's open source and the history of linux etc. There are millions of books out there and i dont know which one to choose. I am even scared to ask the wrong questions. I dont know which distro to use and i do not know where to start. If anybody started out like me could you please give me some tips?
 


There are a million ways to start, but that doesn't help so let's narrow things down. First of all answer a few questions:
- do you have a computer to install linux onto? If so, then please list its attributes (laptop?, cpu, amount of RAM, hard disk size).
- do you have a separate computer (windows or mac) that you can use to prepare and installation image for your install?
- you'll need a USB thumb drive to use for the install image, do you have one of those?

keith
 
There are a million ways to start, but that doesn't help so let's narrow things down. First of all answer a few questions:
- do you have a computer to install linux onto? If so, then please list its attributes (laptop?, cpu, amount of RAM, hard disk size).
- do you have a separate computer (windows or mac) that you can use to prepare and installation image for your install?
- you'll need a USB thumb drive to use for the install image, do you have one of those?

keith
I only have one pc but i installed ubuntu on vm to try it out. I also installed tails on a bootable usb before so this isnt a problem. I just need to know the next step after installation
 
Okay, so my question to you is what do you want to do with Linux? Do you want to use it solely from the desktop, like windows and do things like browse the web, read and send email, message, etc? If so, then start using the apps that are installed by default to do these things. If an app isn't there, then research and find out what app you need to install and how to install it (people here can answer questions once you've done the basic reasearch).
Or are you asking how to get to the lower level and do things like using the terminal and shell, learning to administer the system (users, disks, network stuff, etc.), or program? For that, the first thing I'd recommend is a good linux book - this is a good one https://www.amazon.com/How-Linux-Works-Brian-Ward-ebook/dp/B07X7S1JMB/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&
keywords=how+linux+works&qid=1603876000&s=books&sr=1-2


keith
 
Okay, so my question to you is what do you want to do with Linux? Do you want to use it solely from the desktop, like windows and do things like browse the web, read and send email, message, etc? If so, then start using the apps that are installed by default to do these things. If an app isn't there, then research and find out what app you need to install and how to install it (people here can answer questions once you've done the basic reasearch).
Or are you asking how to get to the lower level and do things like using the terminal and shell, learning to administer the system (users, disks, network stuff, etc.), or program? For that, the first thing I'd recommend is a good linux book - this is a good one https://www.amazon.com/How-Linux-Works-Brian-Ward-ebook/dp/B07X7S1JMB/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&
keywords=how+linux+works&qid=1603876000&s=books&sr=1-2


keith
I totally want to get to the lower level and use the terminal and shell. Im considering a career in either IT support or computer science or network security. not saying im familiar with alot of things in these subjects but i sure love it and want to learn it. im still in high school and i speak english as a 2nd language so please forgive my mistakes. thank you for recommending a book i also wanted to ask about another book i was going to buy. its called the linux command line the complete introduction by william e. shotts jr. Is it also good enough to start learning?
 
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i do not know where to start

Lao Tzu says it starts with a single step; if you take a single step and you trip up , you learn something if not you keep going until the next carpet pulled from under your feet, when you learn something else.
 
I totally want to get to the lower level and use the terminal and shell. Im considering a career in either IT support or computer science or network security. not saying im familiar with alot of things in these subjects but i sure love it and want to learn it. im still in high school and i speak english as a 2nd language so please forgive my mistakes. thank you for recommending a book i also wanted to ask about another book i was going to buy. its called the linux command line the complete introduction by william e. shotts jr. Is it also good enough to start learning?
Welcome abdelrahmanashour!
You are making a wonderful choice by learning Linux.
I would heartily recommend the book by William Shotts - complete introduction to the command line. I have read it and have learned much about the terminal.
You have a great opportunity in front of you.
Enjoy your Linux journey.
Old Geezer
Tango Charlie
 
Welcome abdelrahmanashour!
You are making a wonderful choice by learning Linux.
I would heartily recommend the book by William Shotts - complete introduction to the command line. I have read it and have learned much about the terminal.
You have a great opportunity in front of you.
Enjoy your Linux journey.
Old Geezer
Tango Charlie
Thank you sir.
 
So once you do some reading, I would suggest that you frequent this and any other forums you can find on Linux and review the threads. Seeing the questions AND the answers will help to build your knowledge.
Also, you might want to build a list of tasks for yourself to familiarize yourself with how to do things in Linux - system administration type stuff:
  • how disks and filesystems are managed
  • how users and passwords are managed
  • how networking is managed
  • Linux startup and shutdown
  • How to manage services (webservers, DBMS, etc.)
  • How to manage the desktop environment (Xorg, various desktop technologies, etc.)
  • The shell (Bash, Bourne, whichever you choose to use)
  • scripting (PERL, Python, etc.)
And your English seems very good to me! :cool:

keith
 
We all have to start somewhere, for me I downloaded a Linux Distro and installed it in Virtualbox. I did this with several Distros over time and went from there.

I then found one I really liked (Linux Mint) and got the feel of it, I installed it on a spare HDD and experimented with it some more. Youtube and Linux Forums are a great way to learn and get help with problems you may have because not everyone knows how to install an OS. ;)
 

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