Raspberry Pi Forums

Hi All!
I am an absolute beginner to Linux. (P.S. I have no idea how Linux works)
I am yet to receive my RaspberryPi.

In the mean time, I wish to learn more about the Linux distribution I'll be using on raspberrypi.
Can I install it on my PC (with x86 processor)? If yes, please tell me how and where can I get it.

I plan to be expert with RaspberryPi's Linux distribution before I receive one!

Please Help!

you can used qemu and greate virtual mshine with architecture whats you need.
http://wiki.qemu.org/Manual

There are many versions (distros = distrobutions) of Linux nearly all can be downloaded for free as iso image files from these files you can create an install CD/DVD (which depends on size) you can install most to run from the a bootable CD/DVD and then install in a sub directory of your windows drive.

You can let this install a modification to the master boot record that will allow a dual boot.

Alternativly download and install Oracle VM (Oracle Virtual Machine also free download) this will allow you to build a virtual machine on your PC on which you can build and install with any operating system your processor chip will support and you have an itall CD for (ie you can't build a64 bit machine on a pc with a 32bit processor (quart in a pint pot)

Jim JKla wrote:There are many versions (distros = distrobutions) of Linux nearly all can be downloaded for free as iso image files from these files you can create an install CD/DVD (which depends on size) you can install most to run from the a bootable CD/DVD and then install in a sub directory of your windows drive.

You can let this install a modification to the master boot record that will allow a dual boot.

Alternativly download and install Oracle VM (Oracle Virtual Machine also free download) this will allow you to build a virtual machine on your PC on which you can build and install with any operating system your processor chip will support and you have an itall CD for (ie you can't build a64 bit machine on a pc with a 32bit processor (quart in a pint pot)

Hm.. in Oracle VM i dont see how to create VM with ARM arch....

You can use any version to learn Linux

The recommended distribution for Raspberry Pi is (closely) based on Debian Wheezy, so if that's the one you plan on using I'd suggest you install that on an old computer if you have one around, or a VM. Then it's just to get cracking.

You can try the raspian image in Qemu, you don´t need to install anything for that, everything you need is in the zip file.
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewt ... =26&t=5743
Download:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/rpiqemuwindows/

P.S: works without admin rights and starts from an USB Stick so you can test it as "normal" user at school or work.

Oracle VM doesn't emulate processor architechture where Qemu does. That way, qemu will be nice to run Raspbian on virtual ARM.
I am an 'absolute beginer' to Linux. Should I start to learn Linux using Raspbian over Qemu or first try Debian / Ubuntu over my PC? What do you think?

Please give your opinions!

sarkar wrote: I am an 'absolute beginer' to Linux. Should I start to learn Linux using Raspbian over Qemu or first try Debian / Ubuntu over my PC? What do you think?

Please give your opinions!

I'm totally new also and the only advice I can give you is to install something and get cracking. I tried the Oracle and Debian Squeeze image just to see how it all sort of works. There are lots of tutorials on the web, plenty of video tutorials on Youtube also. Reading, watching these tutorials and trying things out on your virtual machine is good.

The directory structure is different and hopping between the file manager on the Linux GUI and command line will help you navigate around your machine.
I also searched for "most useful Linux commands" and found many sites listing commands with basic interpretations. Remember that you can use man <any command> to get a full "User Manual" for that particular command.

Once my Pi arrived, I had one of the usual newbie hurdles to tackle... wireless networking. Thankfully one of the video tutorials showed a text file being modified using nano, a built in text editor. It also showed how to use sudo nano to make superuser privileged changes to text files which allowed me to setup networking onto my wireless router.

Fixing problems like this is great teaching and as a total novice, plenty of reading or watching videos will help you to tackle this sort of problem.

Hope that helps

G