Migrating to Linux thread

[wtburnette]

I'm still waiting for the upgrade to be available for DoggyMama's computer. I did all the prerequisite stuff like converting from 8.0 to 8.1 and "reserved" her copy about a week ago but it's still not there for downloading yet. I'm waiting to see how it is on her machine before I make the decision whether or not to do mine (Win 7). The more I hear though, the less inclined I am to upgrade mine. I'd really like to try Linux, but I know nothing about partitioning my machine and running it in virtual mode, or making a bootable thumb drive, etc., so I don't have to commit to it.

For Linux, you can use something automated, like http://www.linuxliveusb.com/. It's about as easy as it gets and it'll download the ISO and make the boot disk all at the same time if you'd prefer. I'm using Linux Mint on a laptop (have been for almost two year now) and I really like it. I can do everything but game on it without issues and haven't put my mind to making it ready to game on...

 

[DoggyDaddy]

For Linux, you can use something automated, like http://www.linuxliveusb.com/. It's about as easy as it gets and it'll download the ISO and make the boot disk all at the same time if you'd prefer. I'm using Linux Mint on a laptop (have been for almost two year now) and I really like it. I can do everything but game on it without issues and haven't put my mind to making it ready to game on...

What's the risk of me screwing up my laptop? That's my main concern... that I'll try and do something that is simple to folks like you that know what they're doing and then wind up dorking up my machine. Also once I've booted up with Linux (assuming I would know how to do that), does it "know" about my other applications, web browsers, etc., or do I have to download those to the usb drive too?

 

[pudly]

"Live" Linux distributions (DVD or USB) are designed to not harm your existing system at all. It won't write to your hard drive unless you go well out of your way to do it. The idea is that it will run on your system, have the right drivers to run your hardware and allow you to test drive Linux. If/when you decide you like it, you can then install it on your hard drive, either overwriting and replacing your existing OS or creating a dual boot system.

I have a Windows 7 laptop that I initially started with a Linux Mint Live DVD and then went to a dual boot. Now I use it almost exclusively as a Linux system.

As for the other apps, most Linux distributions have a good selection to start with (browsers, office, e-mail, chat, etc) and have software manager software that will allow you to explore a wide range of additional software tools.

Really, feel free to experiment with a Live setup. You won't hurt your existing system and you can explore a different software world.

 

[wtburnette]

To add to what pudly said, you won't have your normal apps available. The Live USB version of the Linux OS you choose to boot with will only see apps it comes with, though you can download more through the Software Manager / Package Manager, whatever they call it, to get open source programs and utilities. Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop is very stable, the UI is similar to Windows XP / 7 and I've found it to be quite a nice OS. Also, Linux is more secure, for various reasons, than Windows. Unless you use the install / setup program to install it on your hard drive, you can run it from the USB without fear. It's a nice "test drive" option to show you the ins and outs of the software on your hardware. After testing it for a couple months, I took my Windows hard drive out and put in an SSD drive in the laptop and installed Mint on the hard drive. Setup was a breeze and I honestly like it better than I did Windows on that laptop.

 

[24Carat]

What's the risk of me screwing up my laptop? That's my main concern... that I'll try and do something that is simple to folks like you that know what they're doing and then wind up dorking up my machine. Also once I've booted up with Linux (assuming I would know how to do that), does it "know" about my other applications, web browsers, etc., or do I have to download those to the usb drive too?

Make a mirror image of your hard drive on an external drive. Easy Peasy to go back then.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Thanks pudly and wtburnette! How much storage would I need on a thumb drive to download a live Linux OS?

 

[pudly]

DD- I used a Live DVD instead of a USB, but the USB is better because you can write to it while running the OS (I had to plug in a USB data drive while running Linux from the DVD).

I haven't used the Linux Live USB Creator software, but I'll take wtburnette's word (and 11+ million downloads) that it works well. Some quick research didn't reveal a hard number, but it looks like 4GB would be minimum space for everything. I'd recommend 8GB for best results. Both of us use Linux Mint with the Cinnamon user interface (unlike Windows, there are several UIs available), so I recommend it. There are many Linux flavors out there, so feel free to try something else if you want, but I'd stick to one of the major ones to start with as it will be easier to find support and get questions answered. You can find which Linux distributions are most popular here.

Once you get it up and running, I'd hit the tutorial right away. There are a number of differences in how things work and the tutorial will make the transition much smoother.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Cool, thanks pudly. What about recognizing my wireless networks? Any setup needed or is that just plug and play?

 

[wtburnette]

Cool, thanks pudly. What about recognizing my wireless networks? Any setup needed or is that just plug and play?

PnP, as long as it's recognized. I've had no issue on several systems.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

PnP, as long as it's recognized. I've had no issue on several systems.

Sweet. Gonna pick up a USB drive today and at least get it downloaded.

 

[wtburnette]

Sweet. Gonna pick up a USB drive today and at least get it downloaded.

You won't be sorry. I had thought to just test it when I used a Live USB, but after a while I realized there wasn't anything I could do on Windows that I really missed on the Linux box. The fact that it's more secure is just a really nice bonus. I do all of my online banking from that machine now.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

You won't be sorry. I had thought to just test it when I used a Live USB, but after a while I realized there wasn't anything I could do on Windows that I really missed on the Linux box. The fact that it's more secure is just a really nice bonus. I do all of my online banking from that machine now.

Okay, just getting ready to download but already have questions. I am going with Mint 17.2, Cinnamon edition, but it appears like it's going to want to create a DVD. Am I looking at the wrong version?

ETA: Okay, I've got it downloaded to my USB drive... Now what?

 

[wtburnette]

Okay, just getting ready to download but already have questions. I am going with Mint 17.2, Cinnamon edition, but it appears like it's going to want to create a DVD. Am I looking at the wrong version?

ETA: Okay, I've got it downloaded to my USB drive... Now what?

So, what did you download? The Live USB creator software or the Linux Mint ISO? I'm assuming the ISO. Good, now download the Linux Live USB Creator software I linked to previously. I don't recall if you install it, or if it runs off just the downloaded executable. Either way, once you have the program up, you point it to your USB drive, in step two, choose ISO and point it to the location where you have the Linux Mint ISO stored. It'll come back saying it's not in the compatibility list and that it'll use the same parameters are Linux Mint 17.1 Rebecca, which should be fine. Give it a certain amount of persistence, if you want to write files to the disk when using the OS, select your options in step 4, then choose create. Once done, you should be able to boot your system from the USB and run Linux Mint. Sounds a lot more difficult than it actually is.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

So, what did you download? The Live USB creator software or the Linux Mint ISO? I'm assuming the ISO. Good, now download the Linux Live USB Creator software I linked to previously. I don't recall if you install it, or if it runs off just the downloaded executable. Either way, once you have the program up, you point it to your USB drive, in step two, choose ISO and point it to the location where you have the Linux Mint ISO stored. It'll come back saying it's not in the compatibility list and that it'll use the same parameters are Linux Mint 17.1 Rebecca, which should be fine. Give it a certain amount of persistence, if you want to write files to the disk when using the OS, select your options in step 4, then choose create. Once done, you should be able to boot your system from the USB and run Linux Mint. Sounds a lot more difficult than it actually is.

I'm on via Linux now! Thanks to pudly for talking me through it. I couldn't use Virtual Box because of a (possible) system incompatibility, but I was able to boot directly from the USB stick. Just going to play around with it now and get a little more comfortable with it. So far, pretty cool!

 

[wtburnette]

I have health issues that involves debilitating pain. I don't sleep much or well. It is 4:00 AM and I have been watching my computer with the new Win 10 install awake from sleep mode, appear to be working feverishly with flickering lights and the modem showing lots of activity. This is the third time I have seen this, and it is despite my making every effort to disable this functionality.

I have followed the instructions found in several articles on taking control of Win 10 yet I still seem to be just a host for a parasitic operating system. Someone else is obliviously making heavy use of my system while it is supposed to be idle. I'm not very impressed by that.

I hear you on the pain thing. Probably not as bad as you, but I'm up most nights with back pain, after tossing and turning all night. Lucky when I get 6 hours of "sleep".

Anyway, I think it's a sad state of affairs, what the OS is becoming. I talked with a coworker yesterday who had upgraded both of his systems and he was less than impressed. I've pretty well decided to stay away from Windows 10. Perhaps they'll patch it down the road and get rid of some of the issues, but I won't be holding my breath. Meanwhile my Windows 7 install on my main rig and Linux Mint on my laptop will be satisfying all my needs

 

[wtburnette]

Pudly says I have plenty of room on my hard drive (Win 7 machine) that I could make it a dual boot - Windows and Linux - and I have a feeling that's the direction I'm going to go. I've only been playing around with the Linux (booting from the USB stick) but really like it so far. It just seems so "clean" compared to all the overhead for Windows.

That's exactly what I thought when I first starting using it from a USB drive. I decided not to dual boot, simply because I have other computers in the house with Windows that I could use. The laptop I put Mint on is in my home office, next to my work computer so I can get on sites that work blocks (like INGO). There are plenty of good articles out there on dual booting, plus plenty of good info in the Mint forums. Or I'm sure Pudly or another Linux guru from this site would be happy to help. Gotta love INGO

 

[DoggyDaddy]

That's exactly what I thought when I first starting using it from a USB drive. I decided not to dual boot, simply because I have other computers in the house with Windows that I could use. The laptop I put Mint on is in my home office, next to my work computer so I can get on sites that work blocks (like INGO). There are plenty of good articles out there on dual booting, plus plenty of good info in the Mint forums. Or I'm sure Pudly or another Linux guru from this site would be happy to help. Gotta love INGO

Amen to that! Pudly was on the phone with me Sunday for probably a good hour and a half "holding my hand" to get me set up with Mint.

 

[wtburnette]

Amen to that! Pudly was on the phone with me Sunday for probably a good hour and a half "holding my hand" to get me set up with Mint.

We have some great members here!

 

[flightsimmer]

I have what used to be a great gaming computer, it's a Dell XPS, running Windows XP with 3 gigs of RAM.
I understand that it won't run the newer operating systems, 7, 8, 8.1 or 10 but would it run some version of Linux successfully?
I'm tired of the problems I've had with Windows and the computer still works to good to get rid of it.
What to do?

 

[wtburnette]

I have what used to be a great gaming computer, it's a Dell XPS, running Windows XP with 3 gigs of RAM.
I understand that it won't run the newer operating systems, 7, 8, 8.1 or 10 but would it run some version of Linux successfully?
I'm tired of the problems I've had with Windows and the computer still works to good to get rid of it.
What to do?

It should run Linux Mint just fine. Look back where Pudly and I were discussing it with DoggyDaddy. I posted a link to a Live USB creator, which will let you create a boot USB drive to run Linux Mint (or another distro) to test it out, no installation required. If you don't like it, you're only out a bit of time. The laptop I'm typing this up on is an old Gateway gaming laptop with 4MB of RAM. It's a little newer than what you have, as it came with Vista. I've been running it with Linux Mint the last couple of years and I've been very happy with it.