Getting Started - New to Linux

I can see I am going to have to play catch up after I get back from an excursion :D

@wizardfromoz, what do you mean "65 -70" distros?

@Lorelei

When you get to use a couple of Linuxes (Distros) you will likely make the acquaintance of a very useful tool called the GNOME Partition Editor aka GParted. We use it to manipulate the size of different partitions, create, delete, recover &c. All this must be done from a Distro other than the one you are working on, or from a Live CD/DVD/USB containing GParted Live. There is also usually a GParted on your live install medium.

Here's a GParted shot from my Toshiba Satellite laptop, which I am currently reorganising.

taX62vt.png


Where the forward slash near my cursor under Mount Point is, indicates the root partition I am working from, namely, Debian 9.1 'Stretch' with the Cinnamon DE (Desktop Environment). My other computer usually has 40 - 45 Linux on it, it has a 2TB HDD, this one is 1TB.

Back before long.

Cheers

Wizard
 


@atanere, yeah, I didn't understand what I was doing, and pathing through the files in terminal. I didn't even know the ./ meant the "current folder". I guess I was trying to path out to where it was folder by folder. I am sorry, I am very new at all of this. I got the game running fine but can't get the window sized bigger than like 8 inches. Made some changes to wine and then the game wouldn't open at all.. so I had to scratch it all; reinstall and now I am trying again. I have made progress though. Thanks for all your help.
 
Well guys it looks like I might be calling it quits. I can't get any games to function fully and I have indeed spent the entire day trying. One thing that has stopped me up was simply (after downloading a file) installing a file on the Linux system. I couldn't figure out how to do it right and that was part of my problem. So much for finding file folders easily like in Windows. I have gotten tired of trying to figure it out and give up for now. I won't delete the VirtualBox or the Linux distros I have; just in case I want to go back. The steep learning curve is the biggest problem.
Blessings, LR
 
Totally understand, @Lorelei :oops:

Over the next 24 - 48, I'll put together a bit of a summary of your situation and brainstorming, a fact sheet so to speak, and I'll post it up to this thread in both LibreOffice format for others, and in MS Word for you.

Have a read of it if you like, and it may help you out a little.

Cheers and good luck.

Wizard
 
Well guys it looks like I might be calling it quits. I can't get any games to function fully and I have indeed spent the entire day trying. One thing that has stopped me up was simply (after downloading a file) installing a file on the Linux system. I couldn't figure out how to do it right and that was part of my problem. So much for finding file folders easily like in Windows. I have gotten tired of trying to figure it out and give up for now. I won't delete the VirtualBox or the Linux distros I have; just in case I want to go back. The steep learning curve is the biggest problem.
Blessings, LR

Hi @Lorelei.... Linux it is a different universe, to be sure. And it is easy to get frustrated.... there are many differences you haven't even begun to touch upon yet. That's really a good example of why it is usually better to go slowly instead of the pace you have tried to set for yourself. Imagine, if you can, that you knew absolutely NOTHING about Windows, but you expected to master it in two days time... such that you could install complicated software (games) that perhaps were not meant to run natively in that system. That notion might not lessen your frustration, but maybe it can help put in perspective.

Of course we don't blame you if you give up on it. You will certainly not be alone... many people are overcome by the frustrations they find in the beginning. Some come back to Linux later, and some never return. And maybe Linux will never perform the tasks that you expect of it. But the capabilities of the future are unknown to all of us.

I mentioned early on that my only experience with an Alienware computer was a nightmare to make Linux run on it. And I am not blaming your computer now, but perhaps there is something there after all.... some incompatibility that we have not recognized yet. But even if that is the case, that isn't helping you... like we would like to do. So, if you move on from here and give up for now, I can only suggest that maybe you can look around at a yard sale, or find some friend willing to sell cheap (or give away) an older computer... more of a standard stock PC (laptop or desktop) rather than the highly specialized gaming computer that Alienware produces... and maybe give Linux another try sometime on such a standard machine so that you can erase whatever is on it and do a full Linux installation without any reservations. Anything with a fair amount of RAM (2 GB or more) should run Linux nicely.... but the compatibility of games might still be a battle for you. Some further Google research might help you to know what will, and what will not, work in a Linux system. If other people can make Gog games work, then you should be able to also. While VirtualBox has been a good test environment, it is still not the same as a full fledged installation and dedicating full system resources to the Linux operating system.

Anyway, anytime you want help, please jump right on in. Or just stop in and say hi. There are many nice and knowledgeable folks here, and we all wish you success!

Cheers
Stan
 
Okay, well I have done some of my own research; reviewed all the "beginner" tutorial info and have downloaded Solus Budgie and put the ISO on a USB drive and have ubuntu gamepack downloading from the net now. I have no idea what I will do if I can actually get the second dl done and actually boot from USB and see if Solus works; but I have made it this far. :) I have been reading countless pages about how to dl packages and even 3rd party and dl by the command line. I want to ensure that I can install what I need for gaming and regular pc use. So, I guess I have made it farther than I thought. Just thought, if anyone read this; they might be interested.
I, too, am frustrated with Windows 10 for numerous reasons. Never tried linux and know pretty much nothing about it. What did you find out that prompted you to choose Linux? Wanting to know how it compares to Windows -- what's good about it and what's not. Any info would be appreciated.
 
Hi @Lorelei.... Linux it is a different universe, to be sure. And it is easy to get frustrated.... there are many differences you haven't even begun to touch upon yet. That's really a good example of why it is usually better to go slowly instead of the pace you have tried to set for yourself. Imagine, if you can, that you knew absolutely NOTHING about Windows, but you expected to master it in two days time... such that you could install complicated software (games) that perhaps were not meant to run natively in that system. That notion might not lessen your frustration, but maybe it can help put in perspective.

Of course we don't blame you if you give up on it. You will certainly not be alone... many people are overcome by the frustrations they find in the beginning. Some come back to Linux later, and some never return. And maybe Linux will never perform the tasks that you expect of it. But the capabilities of the future are unknown to all of us.

I mentioned early on that my only experience with an Alienware computer was a nightmare to make Linux run on it. And I am not blaming your computer now, but perhaps there is something there after all.... some incompatibility that we have not recognized yet. But even if that is the case, that isn't helping you... like we would like to do. So, if you move on from here and give up for now, I can only suggest that maybe you can look around at a yard sale, or find some friend willing to sell cheap (or give away) an older computer... more of a standard stock PC (laptop or desktop) rather than the highly specialized gaming computer that Alienware produces... and maybe give Linux another try sometime on such a standard machine so that you can erase whatever is on it and do a full Linux installation without any reservations. Anything with a fair amount of RAM (2 GB or more) should run Linux nicely.... but the compatibility of games might still be a battle for you. Some further Google research might help you to know what will, and what will not, work in a Linux system. If other people can make Gog games work, then you should be able to also. While VirtualBox has been a good test environment, it is still not the same as a full fledged installation and dedicating full system resources to the Linux operating system.

Anyway, anytime you want help, please jump right on in. Or just stop in and say hi. There are many nice and knowledgeable folks here, and we all wish you success!

Cheers
Stan
 
What's best about Linux? Compared to Windows 10, how different is it?
 
What's best about Linux? Compared to Windows 10, how different is it?

Hi @Suezbell, and welcome to the site! Your question is already partly answered here in this thread, and in others as well. But please feel free to open up a new thread in the Getting Started forum and post your question again there. We will gladly explore the differences with you between the operating systems and try to help you get started using Linux if you decide you want to try it out.

Cheers
 
@atanere - thanks so much - I do have an older (not toss-away though) laptop running win 7, but I have it in case of work needing to be done on this one. I don't have another one to try. I am not completely giving up.. I am just not going to spend full days off (as I did the last 4 days) trying to figure out what to do. VirtualBox doesn't seem to be an issue now; I have worked through those problems. Maybe it is something about my Alienware, but I know the technical systems aspects are easily capable to run games. Now if you are talking about like proprietary hardware or something, I guess that is possible. I don't know much about that.
@Suezbell, IDK that any of the gaming issues has anything to do with windows 10. I have stripped my windows 10 down in the pro edition to shut out most of microsoft spying but I wanted to jump in and see what Linux had. I am not completely turned away; I just haven't found in a few days dedicated time how to get any games to play on it correctly.

And your full question - would probably best be answered by a moderator or someone with lots of Linux experience. I am not an every day windows user in that I run a stock system regarding software- I like to know how to edit my drives or files etc and I found that depending on the distro you get for Linux; you do have to do editing in the terminal (command prompt in windows) to get things done. If you don't care about gaming; then there are many Linux distros that will work. I researched online and found several sites recommending several distros - none of which I have tried.

I would say the BIGGEST difference is at ground zero. Finding FIRST the distro that you like because there are 100s I believe and each are different in their own way. If you are wanting an experience similar to windows, I read that Linux Mint is good... Like I said - checking with the moderators would be good or following their lead and posting a new thread asking.
 
My Toshiba 55b has no ROM drive and the OS is wiped clean so I'll have to load a new OS through BIOS from a thumb drive. Ubuntu sticks costs a lot more than ROM disks. Can I pay a lower price to download Ubuntu onto a thumb drive and then load it through BIOS?
 
My Toshiba 55b has no ROM drive and the OS is wiped clean so I'll have to load a new OS through BIOS from a thumb drive. Ubuntu sticks costs a lot more than ROM disks. Can I pay a lower price to download Ubuntu onto a thumb drive and then load it through BIOS?

Hi @SFPic, and welcome to the site. Please don't try to take over another person's thread with your question... just open up a new thread of your own in the Getting Started forum and we will try to answer your questions there. Thanks!
 
@atanere, You are 100% right in that I can't have the expectation that I will know and be able to run what I want on Linux just three days into it. I guess I was going with the expectation that I was smarter than the average bear and could figure it out quickly. Ha! I don't plan on giving up. I will indeed keep this thread (or create a new if subject matter changes) going with my progress and questions. I have realized that I have mounds of things to learn. I have went over some of the tutorials, but my concern is that they haven't been updated for 5 years so things might have changed. I think I have tracked down another 64GB flash here that I can use if needed too. I might want to install just a couple more distros in my VirtualBox and run to check differences too. Might do that today too.
 
Ha ha... you ARE smarter than the average bear!!! :cool::D:D And I'm happy to hear that you'll keep after it. Of course I hope that you will find ways to make it work for you, at least in some capacities, even if not in all (games). VirtualBox is still a good testing ground to experiment, but if you later decide you want to try a "dual-boot" with a favorite distro, I think I'd recommend that you try it on your Windows 7 machine instead. If it is original Windows 7 era, then it probably has the old style BIOS instead of UEFI, and if so then it won't have Secure Boot and all that other nonsense. But no rush for you to think about that yet anyway. Just enjoy what you're doing and what you're learning in the present.

Looking forward to more questions from you... hang in there! :D

Cheers
 
@atanere, I didn't even THINK about doing the dual boot on the windows 7, instead of this one... interesting. Yeah, once I decided on a distro I would like to stick with and work with, I might do that. Thanks again and don't worrry; you will. :)
 
Oh, I should have expanded on that Windows 7 machine a little more. If it is old style BIOS, you should be able to boot up that Solus Budgie USB with it. Or any other distro that interests you. Secure Boot is a hurdle that some distros just can't get over yet... but with time they will probably all get there. So you might even want to put VirtualBox on that one for your future experiments with Linux.

Cheers
 
@atanere, ok, I have to first charge it, get the dust off it, and find the IP address it uses so it can even have internet access... our router is locked down to just what we are currently using. THEN, I can see about that. I want to check and see what the system has for memory etc.
 
Argghhh.... I can't shut up. Or finish my thoughts in one post! LOL. :D

Check your Windows 7... if it is a 32-bit or 64-bit version.... if you want to use VirtualBox on it. I think I mentioned this awhile back.... that if Windows is 32-bit, then VirtualBox will probably only allow you to install 32-bit Linux distros on it. That's a pain, but it's because basically Linux is looking at Windows as the computer (and CPU) since it is the host. A lot of companies put 32-bit Windows on them even when the CPU is actually 64-bit.

So, if this issue applies to you.... then thing to do is download 64-bit Linux distros and boot up the USB in "live mode" instead of using VirtualBox. The USB is really looking at your hardware then, and it will use the 64-bit CPU that you likely have inside.

Of course, if you really have a 32-bit CPU, well, then, you would be stuck with 32-bit Linux distros on it too.

Cheers
 

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