Linux installation help (Ubuntu Linux distribution)

[dodecahedron]

OK got TeX and LaTeX installed! hooray!
i'll feel better once i've compiled a document in LaTeX, but all seems fine now.

Socheat, you've been enormous help. i can't say thank you enough.

[socheat]

My guess would be that those w/ Ubuntu icons next to them are from the official ubuntu repositories. Synaptic says those with the logo are supported, which I guess would only really matters if you paid for support.

Glad to be of help. I will say you hit more bumps than even most people.

Wicked1, I used Mandrake for a couple years when I started learning Linux. The company I work for now, we develop server software for RedHat based distro's (CentOS, Fedora, RedHat Enterprise). Maybe I didn't know enough about Linux back then, and am so used to Debian now... but I never got comfortable with how RedHat-based distros are organized. However, I do like how CentOS 4 now installs SELinux by default.

[dodecahedron]

i'm re-reading the entire topic..
a few comments that may come in useful if anyone needs this topic for help in Linux instllation.

since this system is also my windows system and i need both, which do you recommend - LILO or Grub ?

I only recently switched to Grub, so I don't really know how to configure it yet. I know it's possible with LILO because I have that exact setup on my laptop and one of my desktops (Linux on one hard drive, Windows on another). Grub is supposed to be really nice, in that if you screw up the configuration, you can reconfigure it right there. With LILO, you configure it, reboot, hope it works. If it doesn't, you'll need to either boot an old configuration (that you left as an option in the config file), or pull out a boot or rescue disk.

I think w/ Debian and definitely Ubuntu, you'll have to use the 'expert' install option to be able to tell it to install LILO and NOT to install Grub.

i don't know how the default installation works, i think it's automated and uses Grub.
but i typed at the boot prompt 'linux debconf/priority=medium' and that (in Debian at least) gives you more control over the installation procedure (according to Debian Installation Guide, this lets you for example choose which kernel will be installed, instead of the installer choosing one on its own). anyway there definitely was an option for which boot program to install - Grub, Lilo or a different one.

[dodecahedron]

Boot from your Windows XP CD and go into the Recovery Console. You will need the Administrators password for that. Run FixMBR and that will get rid of LILO.

OK i did that and it worked.
my HD has 2 partitions, C - WinXP system, D - data.
i was worried that fixmbr will leave me with C only and i'll lose access to my data (all backed up of course), but no. did fixmbr (1 second long) and rebooted. Grub was gone of course and booted into Windows, both partitions are there, my data intact.
of course i've no access to Linux now, but nothing a quick re-install won't fix.
yeah, i'm sure there's a cleverer way of doing all this stuff but i've no time to research/learn it.

thanks again.