Linuxmint 17 "Qiana" install problem

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Hi all!

I have been attempting to load the Linux Mint 17 "Qiana" OS on my old Packard Bell "Easynote E4710" with an Intel Pentium Processor, 1.40 GHz, 736 MB of Ram, HDD 32 GB, 32 bit. I downloaded the OS from a mirror site in Canada and do an integrity check on the download with the sha256sum.txt file. The sum check was exactly the same, so the download was good. I was not able to do an authenticity check because I do not know how. I burnt the three files (sha256sum.txt.gpg) to a DVD disk in the folder ~:\ISO

Being excited that an old guy like me might be able to set up a Linux OS on an old laptop got me to smile...:) So I go into BIOS on the Packard Bell and change the settings to boot from the DVD drive. I insert the DVD into the drive bay and power up the laptop and wait. Then the smile stopped...:-(. Nothing...message comes up non-bootable disk. I tried it a couple more times, nothing nada, neht.

I searched everywhere online and I could not find anything that would help me understand what had happened. Couldn't find a thing. I am running a version Windows XP Pro. I throw the DVD into the drive to be sure that if was reading the disk, it was, the three files where there.

So what is going on? I am looking for just a basic Linux OS for the old laptop so when I am on the road I am able to use my phone as a hotspot to connect to the internet, read and write e-mails, watch Youtube vids and maybe do some writing. Maybe the OS is not able to run on the old laptop? IDK Maybe I can get some input on which system would work best for me and my limited needs and or what went wrong.

Thank you all so much in advance for helping out.

Oldcarpenterguy
 


Hi all!

I have been attempting to load the Linux Mint 17 "Qiana" OS on my old Packard Bell "Easynote E4710" with an Intel Pentium Processor, 1.40 GHz, 736 MB of Ram, HDD 32 GB, 32 bit. I downloaded the OS from a mirror site in Canada and do an integrity check on the download with the sha256sum.txt file. The sum check was exactly the same, so the download was good. I was not able to do an authenticity check because I do not know how. I burnt the three files (sha256sum.txt.gpg) to a DVD disk in the folder ~:\ISO

Being excited that an old guy like me might be able to set up a Linux OS on an old laptop got me to smile...:) So I go into BIOS on the Packard Bell and change the settings to boot from the DVD drive. I insert the DVD into the drive bay and power up the laptop and wait. Then the smile stopped...:-(. Nothing...message comes up non-bootable disk. I tried it a couple more times, nothing nada, neht.

I searched everywhere online and I could not find anything that would help me understand what had happened. Couldn't find a thing. I am running a version Windows XP Pro. I throw the DVD into the drive to be sure that if was reading the disk, it was, the three files where there.

So what is going on? I am looking for just a basic Linux OS for the old laptop so when I am on the road I am able to use my phone as a hotspot to connect to the internet, read and write e-mails, watch Youtube vids and maybe do some writing. Maybe the OS is not able to run on the old laptop? IDK Maybe I can get some input on which system would work best for me and my limited needs and or what went wrong.

Thank you all so much in advance for helping out.

Oldcarpenterguy

Hey @Old Carpenter Guy, welcome! I think you've made a very common mistake for new users.... you just "copied" the Linux .iso file to your DVD (the other files don't matter and aren't necessary).

You have to use a special feature of the DVD burning software called, "burn image" to make the disk bootable. Not all burning software has this feature, so if it is not available in your program, you can google around for another program that will work. There are many for free, so you don't need to buy anything.

Looking further ahead, be sure that the Linux .iso file is for 32-bit computers... that is a must in your case. Linux Mint is a great version, but it may be a little sluggish since your RAM is a little low, but try it out and see what happens. There are other distros that may work a little better, but they all install the same way.... so it can also be a good learning experience to try one, then try another, until you find what you like best.

Cheers
 
Hi all!

I have been attempting to load the Linux Mint 17 "Qiana" OS on my old Packard Bell "Easynote E4710" with an Intel Pentium Processor, 1.40 GHz, 736 MB of Ram, HDD 32 GB, 32 bit. I downloaded the OS from a mirror site in Canada and do an integrity check on the download with the sha256sum.txt file. The sum check was exactly the same, so the download was good. I was not able to do an authenticity check because I do not know how. I burnt the three files (sha256sum.txt.gpg) to a DVD disk in the folder ~:\ISO

Being excited that an old guy like me might be able to set up a Linux OS on an old laptop got me to smile...:) So I go into BIOS on the Packard Bell and change the settings to boot from the DVD drive. I insert the DVD into the drive bay and power up the laptop and wait. Then the smile stopped...:-(. Nothing...message comes up non-bootable disk. I tried it a couple more times, nothing nada, neht.

I searched everywhere online and I could not find anything that would help me understand what had happened. Couldn't find a thing. I am running a version Windows XP Pro. I throw the DVD into the drive to be sure that if was reading the disk, it was, the three files where there.

So what is going on? I am looking for just a basic Linux OS for the old laptop so when I am on the road I am able to use my phone as a hotspot to connect to the internet, read and write e-mails, watch Youtube vids and maybe do some writing. Maybe the OS is not able to run on the old laptop? IDK Maybe I can get some input on which system would work best for me and my limited needs and or what went wrong.

Thank you all so much in advance for helping out.

Oldcarpenterguy
Welcome to the group, mate.:) As Atanere, also known as Stan, said, that may run a bit sluggish on older hardware. You may consider Linux Lite, or something like Puppy Linux. Check out the web site "Distrowatch". You will find information on the newest releases. There is also, on the right side, links to the top 100 distros according to the number of hits. Each will show the system requirements, so you can see what will fit the best. Have fun, and if you have any questions feel free to ask. :D:D

P.S. Don't feel badly, I have a large collection of coasters that strangely resemble CDs. Nyuk, Nyuk

Happy Trails,
Paul
 
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@Old Carpenter Guy

Ditto's on the welcomes. :D

You are two days older than me, so watch it on the "old" o_O. That also makes you a few months younger than Stan, and we won't tell you Paul's age, he's bashful :rolleyes:.

One of our newer Members turns 82 in December, so "Old Rocks".

Business - Below are two sites both Wikipedia, which I use frequently as a reference and to assist those new to Linux.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_Linux_distribution

The first article provides a broad picture of the different "Families" within Linux, and can appear somewhat daunting with the wide diversity. However it will give you an idea of eg "Debian-based" (Ubuntu, Linux Mint & the like) and RPM-based (Fedora, CentOS, Mageia &c, all based on RedHat), so maybe bookmark it for when the milk and cookies won't help you sleep?

The second article may be of particular use to you, with the table where at the right-hand side, system requirements are listed, that can better help you find a Distro that suits your computer.
 
Oops, a glitch published my Post before I was finished.

Another area which can be influenced by your computer specs is Desktop Environment aka DE.

Think of a DE as being like the differences between the desktop appearances of Windows 3.1 vs Windows 95 vs Windows XP vs ... you get the idea? Different menu setups, different spots to point and click, different whistles and bells.

So too, with Linux, and each one puts a different load on your computer.

The most popular ones are GNOME, Cinnamon, MATE (pron. "mar-tay"), Xfce and KDE-Plasma, but there are numerous others.

The article from Wordpress listed below can provide an idea, in particular on system requirements.

https://renewablepcs.wordpress.com/about-linux/kde-gnome-or-xfce/

Note that Unity (an Ubuntu spin, as Cinnamon is a Linux Mint spin) is as of last month on its way out, no longer being shipped, but still supported until April 2021.

Confused? Couldn't blame you :confused:

I am guessing that that

...736 MB of Ram...

... is actually 768 MB comprised of 3 x 256 sticks with one bay left. If you can get a hold of a compatible 256 stick to increase to 1GB of RAM that would be to your advantage. That is the maximum for that unit.

If not, then my wife has a Compaq Presario C300 with only 512 MB of RAM, and a 60GB HDD running 3 32-bit Linux, of which two are:

  1. Peach OSI BB (Bare Bones) available here http://www.peachosi.com/Doors/DonateDownloadPageFluid.html and
  2. LXLE (uses the LXDE DE described in that article I listed) here http://www.lxle.net/download/
I cut my Linux Mint teeth on Qiana (with the MATE DE) over 3 years ago, a fine Distro. So if you wish to stick with that, then I would advocate the 32-bit of the MATE here https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=159 or the 32-bit of the Xfce here https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=169

It is said they only require 512MB RAM, but I cannot verify.

Cheers

Wizard
 
@Old Carpenter Guy

Ditto's on the welcomes. :D

You are two days older than me, so watch it on the "old" o_O. That also makes you a few months younger than Stan, and we won't tell you Paul's age, he's bashful :rolleyes:.

One of our newer Members turns 82 in December, so "Old Rocks".

Business - Below are two sites both Wikipedia, which I use frequently as a reference and to assist those new to Linux.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_Linux_distribution

The first article provides a broad picture of the different "Families" within Linux, and can appear somewhat daunting with the wide diversity. However it will give you an idea of eg "Debian-based" (Ubuntu, Linux Mint & the like) and RPM-based (Fedora, CentOS, Mageia &c, all based on RedHat), so maybe bookmark it for when the milk and cookies won't help you sleep?

The second article may be of particular use to you, with the table where at the right-hand side, system requirements are listed, that can better help you find a Distro that suits your computer.
I don't know, mate. Whenever I tell my wife that I'm shy, she rolls her eyes for hours.:p I just don't understand it:D:D. I turned 65 in July, and I'm looking forward to retiring next year, FINALLY! Anyway, most of the time I feel like I'm in my 30s, it's just a state of mind, don't ya know.:rolleyes::p

Happy Trails,
Paul
 
Oops, a glitch published my Post before I was finished.

Another area which can be influenced by your computer specs is Desktop Environment aka DE.

Think of a DE as being like the differences between the desktop appearances of Windows 3.1 vs Windows 95 vs Windows XP vs ... you get the idea? Different menu setups, different spots to point and click, different whistles and bells.

So too, with Linux, and each one puts a different load on your computer.

The most popular ones are GNOME, Cinnamon, MATE (pron. "mar-tay"), Xfce and KDE-Plasma, but there are numerous others.

The article from Wordpress listed below can provide an idea, in particular on system requirements.

https://renewablepcs.wordpress.com/about-linux/kde-gnome-or-xfce/

Note that Unity (an Ubuntu spin, as Cinnamon is a Linux Mint spin) is as of last month on its way out, no longer being shipped, but still supported until April 2021.

Confused? Couldn't blame you :confused:

I am guessing that that



... is actually 768 MB comprised of 3 x 256 sticks with one bay left. If you can get a hold of a compatible 256 stick to increase to 1GB of RAM that would be to your advantage. That is the maximum for that unit.

If not, then my wife has a Compaq Presario C300 with only 512 MB of RAM, and a 60GB HDD running 3 32-bit Linux, of which two are:

  1. Peach OSI BB (Bare Bones) available here http://www.peachosi.com/Doors/DonateDownloadPageFluid.html and
  2. LXLE (uses the LXDE DE described in that article I listed) here http://www.lxle.net/download/
I cut my Linux Mint teeth on Qiana (with the MATE DE) over 3 years ago, a fine Distro. So if you wish to stick with that, then I would advocate the 32-bit of the MATE here https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=159 or the 32-bit of the Xfce here https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=169

It is said they only require 512MB RAM, but I cannot verify.

Cheers

Wizard
Wiz,
I just noticed your thought for the week. Good on ya, mate!:cool::D
 
Thanks so much. I do have my work cut out for me.

I post a screenshot of what I have "burned" to disk.

How do I know if it is done properly? I am using WIN 7 pro with the built in Windows Disc Image Burner.
Linux screenshot.PNG


I have attached a copy of what pops up when I double click the Disc Image Files. Maybe I need a third party disc burner?

Disc Burner Image.PNG


I did have some type of Linux Distro on different Laptop. I installed it many years ago and worked great. Very Stable. Kali comes to mind. I can't access it anymore the screen is dead so I cannot find out what system it was. Looks like a great bunch going to be fun getting to know you guys.
 
Hi @Old Carpenter Guy :)

Windows Disk Image Burner is fine, but you only need the one file ending in .iso that is about 1.2GB, so you'll need another disk I expect.

...Looks like a great bunch going to be fun getting to know you guys....

Very kind of you & of course we totally agree :rolleyes:.

Looking forward to working with you (& of course playing with Linux)

Wizard
 
Hi Guys back with more IDK what going on. Figured out how to burn an ISO, really quite simple. But I really did need a few coaster around the house.:oops::oops: They look great BTW. So I throw the Linuxmint 17 mate 32 bit in and boot her up. Well it froze when I entered start Linuxmint, so I did a start in compatibility mode. Well I get this coming up.
20171107_204316.jpg


Then I thought ok I am getting the hang of this burn image to disk stuff. Lets try a different OS that is using less cpu, memory etc. So I try out Lxle 32 bit : Well then I get this message.
20171107_203730.jpg


So I figure, I will try one more OS so I burn xubuntu-16.04.3-desktop-i386. Same messages pops up. Do I need to turn on something in the Bios? Or? gonna get this dang thing running yet.o_O:( MOst thankful for the help
Oldcarpenterguy.
 
If I were Oliver Hardy, I would say (to @atanere) "Stanley, that's another fine mess you have got us into" ... we've been made redundant. :)

Wonderful news, now put us out of our suspense and tell us which one you installed?

Wiz
 
If I were Oliver Hardy, I would say (to @atanere) "Stanley, that's another fine mess you have got us into" ... we've been made redundant. :)

Wonderful news, now put us out of our suspense and tell us which one you installed?

Wiz
And the winner is........wait for it....Xubuntu-16.04.3-desktop-i386. Selected for it's light use of hardware and because I was able to "forcepae" Really easy to set up. The wifi kicked right in. Now I am trying to figure out how to get my printer driver loaded. Might just enjoy my victory and set up the printer tomorrow. :cool::cool::)
 
OK just before you hit the sack, revisit this post tomorrow, I'll edit it soon, and amongst other things it will suggest you start a new thread, eg "Xubuntu 16.04 ... how do I set it up?"

Just as you did with this one, that catches the eye of readers and they can zoom in and learn or help.

Get a good rest - you have earned it. :p

Cheers

Wiz
 
No, I'll do it as a separate post so as not to confuse The Viewers whom might have already read up to here and miss the edit.

In your Xubuntu, you can press Ctrl-Alt-t to launch Terminal, or else you will find it if you tunnel through the Menu, under System Tools or Accessories.

At Terminal, type

Code:
sudo ufw enable

You will be asked for your password, enter it (there will be no movement, for security reasons) and press Enter

This will enable, instantly, your Firewall (UFW is the Uncomplicated Fire Wall), and generate a small startup script that will keep it enabled every time you reboot.

More, at your new thread? And we'll focus first on that printer driver issue.

Cheers

Wizard
 
Thanks so much. I do have my work cut out for me.

I post a screenshot of what I have "burned" to disk.

How do I know if it is done properly? I am using WIN 7 pro with the built in Windows Disc Image Burner.
View attachment 2883

I have attached a copy of what pops up when I double click the Disc Image Files. Maybe I need a third party disc burner?

View attachment 2884

I did have some type of Linux Distro on different Laptop. I installed it many years ago and worked great. Very Stable. Kali comes to mind. I can't access it anymore the screen is dead so I cannot find out what system it was. Looks like a great bunch going to be fun getting to know you guys.
Kali, you say? That has come a long way from years ago. It is nacho average Distro. o_O Mostly used for penetration testing etc. Kinda advanced stuff.

Congrats on getting up and running in Linux.:):) Now the journey will really begin.:p I would recommend that you take notes on what you do, the stuff that works anyway:D, and keep it for future use. It may seem tedious, but you may need to do it again if you have a disk crash. I speak from experience. Just check out what I went through reloading Slackware, after my trusty, rusty drive crashed. I just had a few scribbled notes on various slips of paper, now the notes are in my laptop and archived! (and much more complete, don't ya know!:D) It is also much easier to read typed notes, than my hen scratch. o_O I started a thread on it, in the Slackware section. Hopefully it will help keep others from having to re-invent the wheel some day.

I have heard Linux described as "an all you can eat buffet, minus the stuffed feeling and gas", ( I think that was Darren )so belly up to the buffet and dig in mate.

Happy Trails,
Paul

P.S. Feel free to add your wisdom to any of my threads. I welcome other input:D. After all, we all are here to learn from each other.:cool:
 
Last edited:
No, I'll do it as a separate post so as not to confuse The Viewers whom might have already read up to here and miss the edit.

In your Xubuntu, you can press Ctrl-Alt-t to launch Terminal, or else you will find it if you tunnel through the Menu, under System Tools or Accessories.

At Terminal, type

Code:
sudo ufw enable

You will be asked for your password, enter it (there will be no movement, for security reasons) and press Enter

This will enable, instantly, your Firewall (UFW is the Uncomplicated Fire Wall), and generate a small startup script that will keep it enabled every time you reboot.

More, at your new thread? And we'll focus first on that printer driver issue.

Cheers

Wizard
awesome firewall is good! now I open the terminal window from the drop down menu and enter the line that you gave to me. Then It asks for my password. Well it just says sorry, try again. So I do. I verified that I was entering the correct password with a reboot. ( have the drive encrypted) let me in. when I enter it in the terminal window.. nada nothing. The keyboard although English is not a conventional us 101 board? Any way to find out exactly which keyboard I have up? and how can I find out how much ram I have and can install. Again Thanks so much for the efforts I typed my password before entering the code to make sure it was correct. I was. Am I missing something here? Just ried to use my password to change something else and nothing. It works when I boot but not on anything else. Maybe a reload is in order?
 
Last edited:
Hi Mate ... that is curious. Make sure you haven't got your caps lock on or your numlock on if they are not required for the password.

Can you take a couple of pics like you did in #10 above and post them?

Also, the output of a file you can find in your file manager (likely Thunar under an Xfce environment) might help.

Open your File Manager and click File System or Computer, whichever one shows a list of folders that includes /etc.

Go to /etc/default/ and there will be a file called keyboard. Double-click (it is text so no harm) and it will open, copy the text and show us.

So in summary are we saying that -

  1. Terminal will not recognise your password to use the command "sudo" although it gets you into the computer session, and
  2. Thus you have or have not got your firewall enabled message?
Pardon me being a PITA ... Aspie (Asperger's) & only 3 coffees on my Saturday morning so far, lol.

Back soon

Wizard

Edited - File Manager, not a manger. Jesus was born in a manger.
 

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