The first time you sign into developerWorks, a profile is created for you. Select information in your developerWorks profile is displayed to the public, but you may edit the information at any time. Your first name, last name (unless you choose to hide them), and display name will accompany the content that you post.

All information submitted is secure.

The first time you sign in to developerWorks, a profile is created for you, so you need to choose a display name. Your display name accompanies the content you post on developerworks.

Please choose a display name between 3-31 characters. Your display name must be unique in the developerWorks community and should not be your email address for privacy reasons.

All information submitted is secure.

My developerWorks:

My notifications:

Sign out

Select a language:

Basic tasks for new Linux users

Help! I got my Linux installed. Now what?

Ian Shields, Senior Programmer, IBM

Ian Shields works on a multitude of Linux projects for the developerWorks Linux zone. He is a Senior Programmer at IBM at the Research Triangle Park, NC. He joined IBM in Canberra, Australia, as a Systems Engineer in 1973, and has since worked on communications systems and pervasive computing in Montreal, Canada, and RTP, NC. He has several patents. His undergraduate degree is in pure mathematics and philosophy from the Australian National University. He has an M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from North Carolina State University. You can contact Ian at ishields@us.ibm.com.

Summary: If you're a Windows user, you may find your new Linux system to be a bit different from what you're used to. One of your first tasks will probably be installing additional software, including some of IBM's extensive software for Linux. In many cases, installing software on a Linux system requires you to log in, become the super user (or root) for some tasks, open a terminal or shell window, and mount a CD-ROM, DVD, or USB drive. This article guides you through these basic first-time user tasks and more.

Tag this!

Date: 19 Nov 2011 (Published 07 Apr 2011)
Level: Introductory
PDF: A4 and Letter (1492 KB | 51 pages)Get Adobe® Reader®

Activity: 145939 views
Comments:

Introduction

If you're a Windows user who wants to try Linux, and you are new to Linux, this tutorial is for you. We'll cover a few basic tasks that may be different from what you are used to. We'll cover these tasks:

Login: Logging in and understanding the Linux desktop
Navigation and settings: Tweaking settings to suit your personal needs
Command line access: When you really need to work at the command line
Becoming superuser (or root): When ordinary user authority isn't enough
Using a GUI application as another user: Getting comfortable with multi-user system capabilities
Removable devices: Using removable media and making sure you don't lose data when you detach removable devices
Logout: When you're done for a while or need a panel icon for logout or other applications
Adding users and groups: Adding more users or user groups to your system

These instructions and examples focus on three popular distributions and their default graphical desktops:

Fedora 14 using a GNOME desktop
OpenSUSE 11.3 using a KDE 4 desktop
Ubuntu 10.10 using a GNOME desktop

Other distributions, desktops, and window managers are available, and we encourage you to explore further on your own. Even if some of the information here is specific to a particular distribution and even a particular version of a distribution, what you learn here should help you navigate a strange distribution. Because this tutorial simply aims to help you get started, you won't find information on more advanced tasks like recompiling your kernel or installing software. We recommend our no-charge Linux (LPI) certification self-study guides for deeper information.

At the time of writing, GNOME 3 is likely to be available soon. Expect changes in that user interface from what is described here.

Before using these instructions, install a Linux system and create at least one non-root user as part of your installation process.

Comments

Close [x]

Help: Update or add to My dW interests

What's this?

This little timesaver lets you update your My developerWorks profile with just one click! The general subject of this content (AIX and UNIX, Information Management, Lotus, Rational, Tivoli, WebSphere, Java, Linux, Open source, SOA and Web services, Web development, or XML) will be added to the interests section of your profile, if it's not there already. You only need to be logged in to My developerWorks.

And what's the point of adding your interests to your profile? That's how you find other users with the same interests as yours, and see what they're reading and contributing to the community. Your interests also help us recommend relevant developerWorks content to you.

View your My developerWorks profile

Return from help

Close [x]

Help: Remove from My dW interests

What's this?

Removing this interest does not alter your profile, but rather removes this piece of content from a list of all content for which you've indicated interest. In a future enhancement to My developerWorks, you'll be able to see a record of that content.

View your My developerWorks profile

Return from help

static.content.url=http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/js/artrating/

SITE_ID=1

Zone=Linux

ArticleID=646126

TutorialTitle=Basic tasks for new Linux users

publish-date=11192011

author1-email=ishields@us.ibm.com

author1-email-cc=