im new to this linux stuff so not realy up to scratch i was told linux mint is best, so can i load it straight on not deleating ubuntu 11.10 first?
im sort of thinking is this a up date or totally different os
oh yes ill add this it would be loaded via a cd my (internet card duff on the pc )
I don’t understand the question ?
Do you mean "can I set up a dual boot system, where I’m asked whether I want to boot Ubuntu or Mint at bootup ?
or
Do you mean “will the Mint installer delete Ubuntu for me” ?
Who told you Mint was “best” … Mint is based n Ubuntu, so don’t expect it to be hugely different … just Green instead of Purple and a few layout differences … Oh and it doesn’t have the Unity desktop, it has gnome-session-fallback as the default desktop … which can easily be installed in Ubuntu.
It does also come with some codecs, etc. pre-installed … but these are easy enough to install in Ubuntu too.
WHAT! Who told you that?? Arch is the best! 
Only joking, it is down to personal preference. There are so many distros and they are so diverse it’s difficult to compare them all and say one is best.
I’ll forgive you as you are new! 
LinuxMint is a totally different distribution of Linux. If you don’t install Ubuntu first you could dual boot the two systems but if you are wanting to get rid of Ubuntu there are a number of ways.
Firstly you could format your drive and start from scratch. If you need any help with that then just ask.
Secondly, and probably the easiest way, is to boot LinuxMint from the LiveDVD (Mint probably won’t fit on a CD) and click the ‘Install’ icon on the desktop. During the installation it will ask where you want the system to be installed so you can overwrite the Ubuntu installation that is currently there.
It is fairly straight forward but if you have any questions then please let us know.
Hope this helps!
Really … to Ubuntu … are you joking ? … Linux Mint IS Ubuntu, just in Green, but with gnome-session-fallback as the default desktop 
I meant the fact that it isn’t an update of Ubuntu.
I know what you mean though, it’s a ‘fresher’ version of Ubuntu (pun intended)
Ahh … My apologies
They should put Mint on “Eco” disks … then it REALLY would be a “green” Ubuntu
I am surprised that Ubuntu is still being recommended for users new to the linux world.
With it’s Unity desktop it is like test driving Windows 8.
I would recommend Mint as a newb. friendly distro any time, not because it is the best but
due to it’s more traditional approach to the desktop.
You are still getting the Ubuntu ‘goodness’ without the look and feel.
I agree to a certain extent … but considering all the Gnome/gtk distros seem to be going down the Gnome3 or Unity route, I’m not sure telling new users to get used to a desktop that may disappear is necessarily a good idea.
Which is why I’m more inclined to suggest Ubuntu, and talk them through installing Gnome3 and gnome-session-fallback as options … not because you can’t do that in Mint, but because there are more helpful tutorials out there for Ubuntu.
Yes, “I” understand most tutorials for Ubuntu are directly transferable to Mint, but new users don’t necessarily know that, and there ARE sometimes subtle differences.
They can (and may) switch distros whenever they like, but IMHO the sheer amount of Ubuntu tutorials is a HUGE help whilst learning … and one of the best ways “to” learn
That’s just “my” opinion … and won’t be right for everyone … YMMV, as they say :o
ah im sort of getting it now mint is from the same stable it got confusing on the net to people were saying upgrades all the time and there was mint talked about and ubuntu but no one pulled the other apart. just this is good thats good ect. and mint was different as if it was like 2 companies using linux. so if i delete 11.10 and add mint/… 11.10 wont leave any nasties behind to mess mint up. it was stepson who said mint was best he meant in good one to learn on.
oh yes on a lighter not my wife says she likes it not for the system not because its free. just for the pretty desck top colour, mmmm
Yup, the Mint installer will give you the option to “replace” Ubuntu during the installation.
or
You could boot to the Mint LiveCD, then use gparted to format the hard drive … then install Mint.
Either way is pretty straight forward, and if you get stuck … come back here and we’ll walk you through it
Just picking up on what Mark mentioned, Ubuntu does have a really big and helpful community so it is easier for newbies to find answers and ultimately stick with Linux long enough to move on to another distro. I’ve spoke to people who try to jump in, are unable to solve a problem quickly and walk away.
It maybe easy for some of us to use tutorials from other distros and modify them to fit our own but it isn’t always that clear.
Hi to all,
I have never meet an operating system that worked out of the box with no issues. The PC environment is to diverse. I have never had the money to try a Mac but I am told by those who own one that it is an out of the box system.
All this talk of strange desktops is getting me worried as I use both Ubuntu 11.4 classic desktop and Mint 10 when support stops will I still be able to use a classic desktop in a newer version of there systems?
Kind of … Gnome 2.x is dead, full stop … but Gnome 3 comes with a “fallback” desktop (gnome-session-fallback) that looks and feels VERY similar to the Gnome 2.x desktop, as I said Mint are using this (with a few of their own minty tweaks) as the default desktop.
Mint considered sticking with Gnome 2.x, but eventually considered it a bad move as all the new apps will be built with/for gtk3.
So nothing to really get worked up about … if you want the Gnome 2.x “look and feel”, just use gnome-session-fallback
I have never wanted to pay that much money for a Mac but my evil twin, hctilg, runs Mac OSX on a virtual machine and I he would say it is an out of the box system…
…but! It only has eveything working from the off because everything is Apples. Admittedly they are allowing third party applications, such as Steam and Skype, but Apple have all native applications. This means they can ensure everything works before the OS is released.
I’m sure if you looked through some Mac forums you’d find that they still have problems but there probably won’t be as many. Where is the fun in that!
I don’t mind having to deal with problems in Linux though, it gives me the oppurtunity to get to know how the system actually works, down in the depths of the code, getting my ‘hands dirty’ so to speak.
What I wish to know is… Why would you want 2 Ubuntu distros? o.o
Mint is Ubuntu with some tweaks, so why change? There are no real differences between the two. So saying one is best, is just ones opinion, and in all honesty, they are really just saying “Ubuntu is best” which Mark was trying to convey in earlier posts.
Unless you have the NEED to switch, then why risk your system? Yes the Linux community is all about choice, but as a member of it, I’m just expressing a deep concern as to why you may want to your full functional Ubuntu system at risk of corruption?
I’d recommend you stay with Ubuntu as is. Support is most definitely easier to come by.