I would test to see if the fax modem works when running from the CD before installing to the hard drive. There are several open source fax programs. I am not familiar with Uberyl beta, but I would discourage installing a beta version of any distro to be your primary OS. I would consider installing one of the better known and easy to use Linux distros for several reasons, the biggest being support. When you use a lesser known distro you are frequently venturing into uncharted waters and nobody may be able to supply the answers that you seek.
When asking advice make sure that you give all of the information. In this case the make of the fax modem. That way someone who has used that particular piece of hardware on Linux can comment. I commend you on looking for alternatives to Windows, if that is what you truly want. You need to first figure out if you will retain Vista and dual boot. This is your first option to consider. Next you will have to go through the installation process. Not all distros are equal when it comes to installers. Most give you the option the let the OS choose the best option (automatic) which can be dangerous if you do not understand what you are agreeing to. Almost all give you the option to install manually which is what I always choose. To install over Vista is the simplest option, but you lose Windows and since you have paid for a license this is an expensive option. If you have a large hard drive and, I suspect that this is the case, then I would recommend a dual boot. Vista is different from XP in this respect and you will need specific information to dual booting Vista. There are people here who can help you because this crops up from time to time. To do a manual install you need some rudimentary knowledge of partitioning and mount points. Partitioning will reduce the size of your Windows drive and create a new drive from the freed up space. Since it will be formatted in Linux format (usually ext3), Windows will not know of its existence. Linux will see both drives and most new distros allow you to at least read the Vista drive and some will allow you to read and write to it by default. With a little bit of effort you can do this later, if it isn't working right away. Mount points are the indexes which mark specific places in the file system. In Linux / is used instead of the MS \. The mount points you will need to know are root (/), home (/home), and swap (optional). Many people like me prefer separate root partitions and home partitions. If you decide to do this then you will need to partition your new drive into three partitions: root which is designated by just / and home which is designated as /home and swap which is tiny and is formatted as a swap drive. The advantage of a separate home and root partition is that if you decide to change distros or upgrade you can reformat the root partition which erases all of the OS but retain your data and settings which reside on the separate home drive. The sizes of the partitions are up to you. You can get by with a small partition of only a couple of GBs for most distros, but this does not give you much room to grow. If you set aside 20 GB for the root partition then you can install any distro including Sabayon which tanks out at a whopping 14 GB or install lots of applications, which reside on your root drive. The home partition size depends on your habits. Some things such as file sharing, storing music, photos and videos eat up a lot of space quickly. These are all things to think about. I would go back to the beginning though and first reconsider your choice of distro. Later you can install this distro when it goes into its final release. Good beginning distros to consider are: PCLinuxOS which is much discussed here and has many fans, Ubuntu which is the most widely used distro today and which has the biggest respositories, and SimplyMEPIS which is new and stable based on Debian Sarge. All three install from a live CD which give you an opportunity to try before you install. MEPIS is a KDE distro, PCLinuxOS is primarily a KDE distro, but just recently released a Gnome version, Ubuntu is Gnome, but has a KDE version called Kubuntu. There are many other version of Ubuntu. One called Freespire is very much like Windows and software installation is a breeze. Another called Linux Mint is getting lots of praise. It is really a question of personal preference. When the OS is free you can try as many before you install as you want. Welcome to the world of open source where it is all about having choice and ownership of your own computer! ----- Original Message ---- From: jasper135 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2008 12:30:22 AM Subject: [LINUX_Newbies] I'm totally new to Linux and want to use a fax modem Hi folks :) So I'm totally new to Linux. I have downloaded and tinkered with Knopix, Sabayon, and lately Uberylbeta. I really like the look of UberylBeta but I have only tried it from CD only. I recently bought an extra desktop that came with Vista but I'm dying to get into Linux. The system is a Pentium D 3ghz dual core with 250g HD and it comes with a bunch of things including a fax modem that I need to use. Unfortunately, even though it came with the fax modem, Vista does not seem to support it etc... the usual windows problems among other things. Needless to say I HATE WINDOWS!!! (I just had to get that off my chest... feel better now) and want to switch over to Linux. Now on the UberylBeta CD it gives me the option of installing it to hard drive and this is what I want to do with the space computer, but... how hard is it to make the fax modem work with Linux? Is it really complicated or just a matter of downloading and installing a Linux fax modem program? I only need to use the fax part of it so my wife can do her faxing at home. If anyone can help make the transition to Linux and help with making the fax modem work, I would REALLY appreciate it so much. Thank you, Jason P.S. is it true you have to be a computer wiz to use Linux???? That is what some of my co-workers have said to me.... I hope not :) <!-- #ygrp-mkp{ border:1px solid #d8d8d8;font-family:Arial;margin:14px 0px;padding:0px 14px;} #ygrp-mkp hr{ border:1px solid #d8d8d8;} #ygrp-mkp #hd{ color:#628c2a;font-size:85%;font-weight:bold;line-height:122%;margin:10px 0px;} #ygrp-mkp #ads{ margin-bottom:10px;} #ygrp-mkp .ad{ padding:0 0;} #ygrp-mkp .ad a{ color:#0000ff;text-decoration:none;} --> <!-- #ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc{ font-family:Arial;} #ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc #hd{ margin:10px 0px;font-weight:bold;font-size:78%;line-height:122%;} #ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc .ad{ margin-bottom:10px;padding:0 0;} --> <!-- #ygrp-mlmsg {font-size:13px;font-family:arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;} #ygrp-mlmsg table {font-size:inherit;font:100%;} #ygrp-mlmsg select, input, textarea {font:99% arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;} #ygrp-mlmsg pre, code {font:115% monospace;} #ygrp-mlmsg * {line-height:1.22em;} #ygrp-text{ font-family:Georgia; } #ygrp-text p{ margin:0 0 1em 0;} #ygrp-tpmsgs{ font-family:Arial; clear:both;} #ygrp-vitnav{ padding-top:10px;font-family:Verdana;font-size:77%;margin:0;} #ygrp-vitnav a{ padding:0 1px;} #ygrp-actbar{ clear:both;margin:25px 0;white-space:nowrap;color:#666;text-align:right;} #ygrp-actbar .left{ float:left;white-space:nowrap;} .bld{font-weight:bold;} #ygrp-grft{ font-family:Verdana;font-size:77%;padding:15px 0;} #ygrp-ft{ font-family:verdana;font-size:77%;border-top:1px solid #666; padding:5px 0; } #ygrp-mlmsg #logo{ padding-bottom:10px;} #ygrp-vital{ background-color:#e0ecee;margin-bottom:20px;padding:2px 0 8px 8px;} #ygrp-vital #vithd{ font-size:77%;font-family:Verdana;font-weight:bold;color:#333;text-transform:uppercase;} #ygrp-vital ul{ padding:0;margin:2px 0;} #ygrp-vital ul li{ list-style-type:none;clear:both;border:1px solid #e0ecee; } #ygrp-vital ul li .ct{ font-weight:bold;color:#ff7900;float:right;width:2em;text-align:right;padding-right:.5em;} #ygrp-vital ul li .cat{ font-weight:bold;} #ygrp-vital a{ text-decoration:none;} #ygrp-vital a:hover{ text-decoration:underline;} #ygrp-sponsor #hd{ color:#999;font-size:77%;} #ygrp-sponsor #ov{ padding:6px 13px;background-color:#e0ecee;margin-bottom:20px;} #ygrp-sponsor #ov ul{ padding:0 0 0 8px;margin:0;} #ygrp-sponsor #ov li{ list-style-type:square;padding:6px 0;font-size:77%;} #ygrp-sponsor #ov li a{ text-decoration:none;font-size:130%;} #ygrp-sponsor #nc{ background-color:#eee;margin-bottom:20px;padding:0 8px;} #ygrp-sponsor .ad{ padding:8px 0;} #ygrp-sponsor .ad #hd1{ font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold;color:#628c2a;font-size:100%;line-height:122%;} #ygrp-sponsor .ad a{ text-decoration:none;} #ygrp-sponsor .ad a:hover{ text-decoration:underline;} #ygrp-sponsor .ad p{ margin:0;} o{font-size:0;} .MsoNormal{ margin:0 0 0 0;} #ygrp-text tt{ font-size:120%;} blockquote{margin:0 0 0 4px;} .replbq{margin:4;} --> Connect with friends from any web browser - no download required. Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger for the Web BETA at http://ca.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To unsubscribe from this list, please email [EMAIL PROTECTED] & you will be removed. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
