New linux user


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After contracting a nasty virus and spending around 2 days saving what I can, I figured I'd dual boot ubuntu linux so I still have easy access to my media files. A few things I was wondering:

As i'm using this as an XP backup so to speak, I'm not to bothered about using it as my primary. I want the ability to read/write ntfs without issue and for my linux install to be able to fix my XP set up (if thats possible). I want:

Virus scanning (free, can't stand subscription services)

Decent media player (support for all the standard formats)

I will install firefox, can I simply copy my favourites across from the XP install?

An MSN compatible messenger client

I'm a complete linux novice, I'm still learning the basics so I only want the simple stuff please.

Thanks in advance!

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I will install firefox, can I simply copy my favourites across from the XP install?

Only one I can help with. (I've used Ubuntu a bit but not comfortable enough to offer advice)

Get Foxmarks on every instalation of Firefox you have. I've got a few computers I use (work, desktop and laptop, and home, desktop and laptop) with this if you update one it updates all.

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Only one I can help with. (I've used Ubuntu a bit but not comfortable enough to offer advice)

Get Foxmarks on every instalation of Firefox you have. I've got work, desktop and laptop, and home, desktop and laptop, with this if you update one it updates all.

Sweet, is that on the firefox addons site? I'll have a look at that.

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I'm not sure there is a real need for virus scanning in Linux, others may feel different.

VLC is available for Linux and is one of the best media players. There is also Mplayer.

Simply export your bookmarks to a flash drive or another partition and then import them in Linux.

Sorry can't help with the IM client.

Check the Unbuntu site and maybe http://www.ubuntugeek.com/ for NTFS, but I believe it's a simple add-on if not out of the box. You also might consider Wubi to test out which disrto of *buntu you like best. There are three - X, K and U, there are also 64bit versions.

Good Luck.

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Pidgin is the messenger I use in LInux- It allows me to connect to MSN/YAHOO/IRC/ICQ/AOL. I don't know about the writting to NTFS in UBUNTU ( I use Puppy LInux and it has a built in application) all reccomend that before you even attempt to write an NTF drive that you defragment the drive in windows. I have heard that Avast or F-Prot will scan the windows files to remove viruses.

With Ubuntu - you possibly could use their update feature and see if there is something listed for that. But on mine I can read and write to a Win2k.

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If you only want a Linux distro to save Windows XP... then use a Live CD instead of dual booting.

For proper NTFS compatibility you should be using NTFS-3g instead of the integrated crippled version on the kernel.

Most distros have their own port system, so it should be simple enough to scan for whatever products you need and install them.

For greater ease with the Desktop environment, I'd recommend installing Kubuntu instead of Ubuntu..... not only is KDE 4 easier to navigate, but it's less bloated than gnome.

There are plenty of messengers that can handle the windows live messenger protocol i.e. pidgin or amsn.

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My intention is to have a permanent install of linux so that I can jump into it should XP get a virus again, and move my files without further infections. I found the live cd's too sluggish and I kinda need an excuse to have linux installed and have a bit of fun with it.

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Virus scanning (free, can't stand subscription services)
As markjensen said, avast has a free version, even a linux one (but it has a horrible GTK interface).
Decent media player (support for all the standard formats)
I would say use SMPlayer (with the w32codecs)
An MSN compatible messenger client
aMSN is the best one there is right now for msn in terms of features available and most like the official client although it's nowhere near as bloated. There are some newcomers that are progressing nicely you may be interested in but check amsn first.
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It still sounds like you only need a livecd..... bootup into the cd fix and go back....

You are contradicting yourself.... you said you'll only use linux to fix xp.... and yet you'll say you want a permanent install to mess around with linux.... well if you're just fixing it... there won't be time to mess around....

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