SOLVED Hardware/driver support for Linux- need help

Ok, first off, Im a complete n00b to Linux, I dont even have it, so this may be an extremely stupid question/issue (just lemme kno, k? )

Im gonna use linux (probably redhat 7.3) on my new system that Im gonna build, it'll be dual boot, so I can learn it first, but I hope to not have to reboot seeing that I now fold 24/7, and its just a hassle. The only problem is some of the components Im looking at dont seem to have linux driver support, specifically, any printers scanners and joysticks I look at, leadtek tv 2000 xp tv tuner, and the turtle beach santa cruz. Now, for joysticks, some Ive seen say there are no drivers requried, but use microsoft's HID compliant game device ones, is there some sort of emulator for Linux for this? (like WineX for directx etc). and for the others, or for windows driver-based hardware in general, is there some way to get it to work for Linux?

And if you guys have recommendations for things that can fill the gaps, Id appreciate it too

Could you post your computer specs please? We need to see what hardware you have in order to help you out. Thanks.

-DarkArctic

umm...Im sorry that I didnt make it clear, I dont actually have this stuff, Im going to, Im just going on what stats I see on manufacturer's websites. The questions I had were on:

Turtle Beach Santa Cruz
Leadtek Winfast TV 2000XP
Printers
Scanners
Joysticks

Because I dont think you can just go install windows drivers in linux and get things to work

Don't bother with any manufacturer's web site for Linux drivers except nVidia's. Here's a serch form for RedHat's compatibily list. Use that to look to see if your hardware is compatible. Chances are that it is. If not see if RedHat will autodetect it and use a compatible driver.

http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/genpage2.cgi?pagename=hcl&view=advsearch#form

-DarkArctic

Thanks mightily, Linux is the only thing where I have absolutely no idea WTF Im doing (of course it doesnt help that I havent used it, Im just talkin about what to get etc), this'll help a lot

If the Joystick is HID compliant, then it should work fine, because that is a standard thing.

Look at http://www.linuxprinting.org for Printer compatiblity.

Look at http://www.mostang.com/sane/sane-backends.html for Scanner compatibility.

I don't know about the Leadtek TVtuner thing, it depends on what TV decoder they put on it. If its a pretty standard one, it could work. Probably be a good idea to research that one and find out. I've got a dedicated TV tuner for my computer, it works fine.

Not sure on the Turtle Beach either, apparently, it has "limited Alsa support", whatever that will amount to (Alsa is a project to write sound drivers for Linux). I don't know about in kernel drivers, it has some cirrus logic thingamabob on it.

Google is the second greatest thing on earth (to this place of course- and I mean that)

I already found linuxprinting

Im in the process of lookin up tv tuners, found some drivers and an alternative tuner, gotta find the leadtek chip and Im set

and www.opensound.com provides turtle beach drivers

good thing to hear about them joysticks

and the scanner site looks just like what I was hopin for, and saves some more searching...

Thanks for everything, now I can officially retire Winbl0zes

Just so you know... last time I checked, OpenSound charges money for their drivers.

Yes, 4front-tech (opensound) does charge for their drivers, but I must interject that they are well worth it.

I just so happen to have a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, and it sounds terriffic in Linux using the OSS drivers. I paid $35 for the drivers and I consider it a good investment. I get free upgrades for life and full support for a couple of years. Not bad.

The installation of the drivers was a snap. Even a total linux newbie should have no problem following the directions on the site.

You can download and try the drivers out. The trial period is 3 hours; so it should be ample time to figure out if the drivers are worth the investment.

If you have any questions or problems http://www.4front-tech.com/ has a forum that should help you out. If they're not of help feel free to post a question to this forum. I will do what I can to point you in the right direction.

Wow thanks everyone for all the help