Apparently Linux was created by....

LeeRex

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...the Devil! Recently, I performed a clean install of Windows

7. Simply slipped in the disk and followed the prompts. It was

easy enough. After a day or two I had installed all of my

software and downloaded my backed up data. Feeling

confident, I thought I would try installing Linux in a

Virtualbox. Sounded like fun, really. Even though I didn't

need to. Virtualbox was easy enough to install and eventually

understand. But installing Linux Mint is a tale of woe and

frustration. I've now tried to install it eight times and have

failed, you guessed it, eight times! First I ran into the "kernel"

problem. Fixed that by getting rid of the Tara edition and

installed Cinnamon. (I don't like the name Tara anyway. I

know a girl named Tara and I don't like her either!).

Cinnamon (I'm picturing a stripper) seemed to go OK until I

discovered "software rendering mode". So I watched a couple

of videos on Youtube, which solved nothing. No, No wait,

there's more! The keyboard and mouse freeze at the drop of a

hat, I can't type numbers because the numlock key turns itself

on, the program tries to reinstall itself each time I try to fire it

up, and all of my settings are returned to minimums! I'm also

counting the ridiculous number of times that I have to enter

my password and the Handbook For Beginners that contains

200 pages! 200!!! For beginners???? From the outside it

looks as though all the cute names like Mint, Red Hat, Fedora

and the like simply serve to lure us through the gates of, well,

you know, that place where the Devil lives. That's where

arcane terms like GRUB, SUDO, APT and others live

Well, my friends, I'm done with my rant for tonight. Let me

ask a poignant question, though, to finish this off.

Is there any Real World answer as to why Linux even exists?

Does it improve lives in a meaingful way? What are the advantages over Windows or Mac OS?
 


Last edited:
Hi @LeeRex ... and welcome to linux.org :)

Sounds like you should have joined us first, lol? But that can't be predicted, I know - Aussie sense of humour.

This site has 14,439 Members mostly thriving on Linux, so let's see if we can show you a path. I could go on with statistics, like 100% of the world's supercomputers are using it, 40% of the websites you view - if you are one of the 1.3 billion users of Android on phones you are using it. And if there are say 1 billion users of computers, 2.66% (August 2018 figures) ie 26,600,000 are using it.

You get the picture.

VMs are OK as a means of testing the waters, but give you nothing like a real view on performance and capability. If you have a small supply of USB sticks 4GB or so, bigger is better, you can get a better picture, or blank DVDs (slower).

I liked Windows 7, blew away all Windows this time 2014 in favour of a Linux household with 4 computers, networked, running 100 Linux (I'm a glutton) - never looked back.

Got 2 new Dells, Windows 10, shrunk 'em to 50GB the rest is for Linux. Only keeping the Windows to help out here. Lol.

I could go on but you'll see my name around here enough to get sick of it :)

So tell us your computer brand name, model, specs &c and we'll give it a shot at making you a happy chappie.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 
Hi @LeeRex ... and welcome to linux.org :)

Sounds like you should have joined us first, lol? But that can't be predicted, I know - Aussie sense of humour.

This site has 14,439 Members mostly thriving on Linux, so let's see if we can show you a path. I could go on with statistics, like 100% of the world's supercomputers are using it, 40% of the websites you view - if you are one of the 1.3 billion users of Android on phones you are using it. And if there are say 1 billion users of computers, 2.66% (August 2018 figures) ie 26,600,000 are using it.

You get the picture.

VMs are OK as a means of testing the waters, but give you nothing like a real view on performance and capability. If you have a small supply of USB sticks 4GB or so, bigger is better, you can get a better picture, or blank DVDs (slower).

I liked Windows 7, blew away all Windows this time 2014 in favour of a Linux household with 4 computers, networked, running 100 Linux (I'm a glutton) - never looked back.

Got 2 new Dells, Windows 10, shrunk 'em to 50GB the rest is for Linux. Only keeping the Windows to help out here. Lol.

I could go on but you'll see my name around here enough to get sick of it :)

So tell us your computer brand name, model, specs &c and we'll give it a shot at making you a happy chappie.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz



Thanks to all for tolerating my rant last night. So today I've been following the links that were suggested and a few things are clearer now. But clear doesn't mean that the fog has lifted entirely. So a couple of questions in no particular order:

First, Should I just set up a partition and get rid of the Virtualbox? Disc is 1 TB so I have pleanty of space to donate. The computer is a Dell Alienware Aurora R3 with an Nvidea GTX 780 card and 16 GB RAM. It will not accept Windows 10 which is one reason I was looking into Linux. How much space should I give to Linux?

Second, which "flavor" should I choose? Still confused about the names but I guess I'll figure that out when I go through the tutorials and such.

Had no idea Linux was so pervasive. Impressive!
 
Hi Mate ... yeah, I left out Firefox, which is the world's most popular browser, because of the phones sector. Firefox is not Linux, but it is free and open source software (you'll hear/read of FOSS) built to run cross-platform. Likewise with Thunderbird, the email client. These are made by Mozilla - anything ending in "zilla" means it is FOSS.

So Linus Torvalds wrote the Linux Kernel back in the early 90s, and Richard Stallman, lesser known but just as influential, is the champion of FOSS. They're like Lennon and McCartney to The Beatles.

Curious about the non-acceptance of Windows 10, but won't dally on that now.

How much space should I give to Linux?

Pick a size from 20GB up. Your choice. You can dedicate the entire drive to Linux, wiping all other content, or else dualboot if you had your Windows going.

I'm going to have to go for a bit, but I'll be back asap, and if you are US-based you're catching zzz's anyway.

I can throw a heap of reading at you, to help you wade through and demystify the choices that come with Linux. Let us know if you think you are up to it.

I'll check those specs on your PC and factor that in to anything I have, but on the face of it you should be able to run any Linux known to Man. :D

You are at an ideal age to embrace Linux - 72 was it? - in the time since fellow Aussie Brian (@Condobloke ) aged 70, and I, 61 next month joined here on 1 May 2017, our numbers have grown from 4,600 to the current 14,400 and the percentage of those who are aged 55 to (hold your breath) 82, is impressive. Stan (@atanere ) is about 10 weeks my Senior, and @arochester , the man of few words (unless you start saying you are old, when he comes out with 6 paragraphs) but 1,000 links, is I think clickety-click 66. So, good company. :p

Quick answers to your questions (& take other input on board)

First, Should I just set up a partition and get rid of the Virtualbox?

No and no. Keep the VB might come in useful. Win 7 has support until January 2020, it's good to have for comparisons.

If you know how to use Windows Disk Management, shrink your 1TB housing it back to half or less. For starters. Leave the rest Unallocated. Linux installers will look after the partitioning with an install, and manage the resizing better than "The Dozer". :cool:

Second, which "flavor" should I choose?

Glib answer is anything named Linux, lol. I have not met one yet that did not have something positive going for it.

Ubuntu and Linux Mint are popular choices, these are Debian-based, Fedora is RPM-based, Manjaro is Arch-based, and so on. And we can talk about Slackware and The Puppies at an appropriate time.

Start reading up on Timeshift I have a Tute here https://www.linux.org/threads/timeshift-similar-solutions-safeguard-recover-your-linux.15241/ - it is like Windows Restore but way better. It can be applied to just about any Linux (except OpenSUSE, currently), and over the last 12 months a number of Linux Distros have started shipping it installed. Linux Mint is one of them.

Back when I can.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

Edited - added BTW

BTW - Oracle's VirtualBox is cross-platform, so if you install a Linux with enough space to spare, you can then install VB and try other Linux, if you like. Cheers
 
my two cents worth....
Linux Mint 18.3.... LTS.... as stable as they get. Damn near unbreakable. Reliability with a capital R.

Start with it......learn whatever you need to learn. Then if you want to branch out into others...go for your life.

I would be shrinking win 7, and as Wiz said the Linux installers will look after the partitioning with an install.

You are obviously "drawn" to Linux.....it will take you a month to wrap your head around it.....and then there will be no holding you.
 
my two cents worth....
Linux Mint 18.3.... LTS.... as stable as they get. Damn near unbreakable. Reliability with a capital R.

Start with it......learn whatever you need to learn. Then if you want to branch out into others...go for your life.

I would be shrinking win 7, and as Wiz said the Linux installers will look after the partitioning with an install.

You are obviously "drawn" to Linux.....it will take you a month to wrap your head around it.....and then there will be no holding you.

Hi Mate ... yeah, I left out Firefox, which is the world's most popular browser, because of the phones sector. Firefox is not Linux, but it is free and open source software (you'll hear/read of FOSS) built to run cross-platform. Likewise with Thunderbird, the email client. These are made by Mozilla - anything ending in "zilla" means it is FOSS.

So Linus Torvalds wrote the Linux Kernel back in the early 90s, and Richard Stallman, lesser known but just as influential, is the champion of FOSS. They're like Lennon and McCartney to The Beatles.

Curious about the non-acceptance of Windows 10, but won't dally on that now.



Pick a size from 20GB up. Your choice. You can dedicate the entire drive to Linux, wiping all other content, or else dualboot if you had your Windows going.

I'm going to have to go for a bit, but I'll be back asap, and if you are US-based you're catching zzz's anyway.

I can throw a heap of reading at you, to help you wade through and demystify the choices that come with Linux. Let us know if you think you are up to it.

I'll check those specs on your PC and factor that in to anything I have, but on the face of it you should be able to run any Linux known to Man. :D

You are at an ideal age to embrace Linux - 72 was it? - in the time since fellow Aussie Brian (@Condobloke ) aged 70, and I, 61 next month joined here on 1 May 2017, our numbers have grown from 4,600 to the current 14,400 and the percentage of those who are aged 55 to (hold your breath) 82, is impressive. Stan (@atanere ) is about 10 weeks my Senior, and @arochester , the man of few words (unless you start saying you are old, when he comes out with 6 paragraphs) but 1,000 links, is I think clickety-click 66. So, good company. :p

Quick answers to your questions (& take other input on board)



No and no. Keep the VB might come in useful. Win 7 has support until January 2020, it's good to have for comparisons.

If you know how to use Windows Disk Management, shrink your 1TB housing it back to half or less. For starters. Leave the rest Unallocated. Linux installers will look after the partitioning with an install, and manage the resizing better than "The Dozer". :cool:



Glib answer is anything named Linux, lol. I have not met one yet that did not have something positive going for it.

Ubuntu and Linux Mint are popular choices, these are Debian-based, Fedora is RPM-based, Manjaro is Arch-based, and so on. And we can talk about Slackware and The Puppies at an appropriate time.

Start reading up on Timeshift I have a Tute here https://www.linux.org/threads/timeshift-similar-solutions-safeguard-recover-your-linux.15241/ - it is like Windows Restore but way better. It can be applied to just about any Linux (except OpenSUSE, currently), and over the last 12 months a number of Linux Distros have started shipping it installed. Linux Mint is one of them.

Back when I can.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

Edited - added BTW

BTW - Oracle's VirtualBox is cross-platform, so if you install a Linux with enough space to spare, you can then install VB and try other Linux, if you like. Cheers


G'day, Chris...Greetings from the Heartland of America...Australia, you say? Never heard of it. It must be on a map somewhere. I'll look it up! Well, obviously I'm awake even though it's after 4AM here. BTW, I have relatives in Perth. Never met them, though.

Been using both Firefox and Thunderbird for years now, so that's already an advantage. I noticed that it's included with Mint. And I play games on Steam which recommends Linux. Another plus!

So if I section off a partition and install a boot manager then I can dispense with the virtualbox altogether, can't I? Just seems more convenient. What's the downside? Feel free to talk me out of it. Frankly, Virtualbox seems a little iffy to me. Can't help but wonder if it's at least partially responsible for some of the problems I've had getting Linux installed. Maybe just my imagination.

Well, the sun will be coming up soon here in the northern hemisphere. Time to jump back into my coffin for a good day's sleep.

Lee
 
my two cents worth....
Linux Mint 18.3.... LTS.... as stable as they get. Damn near unbreakable. Reliability with a capital R.

Start with it......learn whatever you need to learn. Then if you want to branch out into others...go for your life.

I would be shrinking win 7, and as Wiz said the Linux installers will look after the partitioning with an install.

You are obviously "drawn" to Linux.....it will take you a month to wrap your head around it.....and then there will be no holding you.

I have an old IBM Thinkpad R31 lying around. I don't suppose there's a version of Linux that will make it useful again, is there?
 
So a 40gb hard drive and an amazing 256mb ram...?
 
not laughing....maybe a slight chuckle....

I believe that is possible.....probably puppy...

Wiz will have good info as far as a likely fit is concerned.

He has likely gone for tea etc around this time in Oz...(nearly 8pm)

If no reply immediately following this....then he will be around in approx 12 hours.

Atanere may also have some thoughts
 
Yawn ... still awake, just ;)

Big bonus with the FF & T-bird Lee - been usin' 'em meself since their inception in the early Noughties, also a Productivity Suite called Open Office, now owned by Apache, the Server people, but it also forked to LibreOffice 6 - 7 years ago, & LO ships with most Linux. There's not a lot that can't be done with it that MS Office can, unless you have complex macros and formulae that need adjusting.

I was using FF, T-bird and OO with XP and then Win 7.

I ain't laughing on the Thinkpad, sounds like either a Puppy, perhaps a Porteus, or a Damn Small Linux, there are more around than you might guess.

My wife's Compaq-Presario lappie that we are just retiring (to be my plaything for testing low-spec Linux for others) has 512MB RAM and a 60GB HDD, I run 4 Linux on it and could fit at least 6 if I was ambitious.

Bed beckons, back with more ideas, but we want to check when you download something that it is kosher, and know what to do so you don't get a repeat of the VM episodes. Not being control freaks, just helpful.

Cheers

Wiz
 
The computer is a Dell Alienware Aurora R3 with an Nvidea GTX 780 card and 16 GB RAM. It will not accept Windows 10
Hi @LeeRex, and welcome! My only experience with Dell Alienware was bad.... very bad. Horrible, in fact. The laptop was Windows XP era, and it did not survive my attempts to put Linux on it. I'm not lying... it died (overheated, I think). I had no luck with modern Linux and was resorting to using older distros from the same era to try to get the hardware to work. Installing, reinstalling, lather, rinse, repeat.... then POP! It was over. (And not just a fuse.)

When you said yours "will not accept Windows 10".... and with your descriptions of the problems with Linux and Virtual Box.... it brought back these memories (actually from not that long ago, maybe a year or so that I was trying to make the old Alienware laptop useful again). I don't know if there is anything peculiar about Alienware, but I just thought I'd share this little story and advise you to take your time and go slowly. Yours is obviously a newer model and has plenty of hardware specs to be able to run just about any Linux distro, but it seems that it should take Win 10 without much trouble too. So, who knows what's going on?!?!? :confused::eek::D

So, your Dell came with Windows 7, right? Depending on timing of manufacture, your motherboard may have an older style "BIOS" or the newer style "UEFI" (especially if it was sold as "Windows 8 Ready"). Are you aware of these things? They will make some difference as to what Linux distros will work better for you. If you go into the computer "Setup" (usually by hitting DEL or some F-key when booting) you can poke around in there and determine what you have. It may say "BIOS" on the main screen or top menu, but that can be deceiving and it still may be UEFI... look in the Boot Options for details there. A UEFI system will have options like UEFI mode, or Legacy Mode, or CSM (Compatibility Support Module), or BIOS mode.... and you would also see a reference in there about "Secure Boot" (to enable or disable that). If none of those are present, then it should be the older style BIOS.

It's really a good idea to test out some Linux distros first by installing them on DVD or USB and booting/running your computer off of them before installing. That lets you test them out for hardware compatibility to make sure your wireless, sound, video, bluetooth... whatever... make sure they are all recognized and work with that distro that you are testing. They don't run on DVD/USB as well as on the hard drive, but it may help to recognize problems earlier instead of later. But you may need some special tools to "burn the Linux image" to these media.... you don't just copy the Linux .iso file over, or else it won't boot. Did you learn these steps when you were trying to install into VirtualBox?

Cheers
 
Yawn ... still awake, just ;)

Big bonus with the FF & T-bird Lee - been usin' 'em meself since their inception in the early Noughties, also a Productivity Suite called Open Office, now owned by Apache, the Server people, but it also forked to LibreOffice 6 - 7 years ago, & LO ships with most Linux. There's not a lot that can't be done with it that MS Office can, unless you have complex macros and formulae that need adjusting.

I was using FF, T-bird and OO with XP and then Win 7.

I ain't laughing on the Thinkpad, sounds like either a Puppy, perhaps a Porteus, or a Damn Small Linux, there are more around than you might guess.

My wife's Compaq-Presario lappie that we are just retiring (to be my plaything for testing low-spec Linux for others) has 512MB RAM and a 60GB HDD, I run 4 Linux on it and could fit at least 6 if I was ambitious.

Bed beckons, back with more ideas, but we want to check when you download something that it is kosher, and know what to do so you don't get a repeat of the VM episodes. Not being control freaks, just helpful.

Cheers

G'day Wiz.... not going to do the Thinkpad thing...it has XP on it now so I'll just use it for emergencies. Besides, it would just complicate things. It was just a passing thought
Yawn ... still awake, just ;)

Big bonus with the FF & T-bird Lee - been usin' 'em meself since their inception in the early Noughties, also a Productivity Suite called Open Office, now owned by Apache, the Server people, but it also forked to LibreOffice 6 - 7 years ago, & LO ships with most Linux. There's not a lot that can't be done with it that MS Office can, unless you have complex macros and formulae that need adjusting.

I was using FF, T-bird and OO with XP and then Win 7.

I ain't laughing on the Thinkpad, sounds like either a Puppy, perhaps a Porteus, or a Damn Small Linux, there are more around than you might guess.

My wife's Compaq-Presario lappie that we are just retiring (to be my plaything for testing low-spec Linux for others) has 512MB RAM and a 60GB HDD, I run 4 Linux on it and could fit at least 6 if I was ambitious.

Bed beckons, back with more ideas, but we want to check when you download something that it is kosher, and know what to do so you don't get a repeat of the VM episodes. Not being control freaks, just helpful.

Cheers

Wiz

It's OK to laugh about the Thinkpad. Just a playful train of thought passing through, then disappearing up the tracks. My main job is to get Linux up and running and not being distracted. The Thinkpad has XP on it now and connects to the net, so I'll just use it for emergencies.

What would be the best Linux version in 2011? Maybe that would help solve my problems. I feel like Linux may be resisting installation just as Windows 10 did. I wonder if I've run into a wall of sorts.

Best to you...Lee
Lee
 
Hi @LeeRex, and welcome! My only experience with Dell Alienware was bad.... very bad. Horrible, in fact. The laptop was Windows XP era, and it did not survive my attempts to put Linux on it. I'm not lying... it died (overheated, I think). I had no luck with modern Linux and was resorting to using older distros from the same era to try to get the hardware to work. Installing, reinstalling, lather, rinse, repeat.... then POP! It was over. (And not just a fuse.)

When you said yours "will not accept Windows 10".... and with your descriptions of the problems with Linux and Virtual Box.... it brought back these memories (actually from not that long ago, maybe a year or so that I was trying to make the old Alienware laptop useful again). I don't know if there is anything peculiar about Alienware, but I just thought I'd share this little story and advise you to take your time and go slowly. Yours is obviously a newer model and has plenty of hardware specs to be able to run just about any Linux distro, but it seems that it should take Win 10 without much trouble too. So, who knows what's going on?!?!? :confused::eek::D

So, your Dell came with Windows 7, right? Depending on timing of manufacture, your motherboard may have an older style "BIOS" or the newer style "UEFI" (especially if it was sold as "Windows 8 Ready"). Are you aware of these things? They will make some difference as to what Linux distros will work better for you. If you go into the computer "Setup" (usually by hitting DEL or some F-key when booting) you can poke around in there and determine what you have. It may say "BIOS" on the main screen or top menu, but that can be deceiving and it still may be UEFI... look in the Boot Options for details there. A UEFI system will have options like UEFI mode, or Legacy Mode, or CSM (Compatibility Support Module), or BIOS mode.... and you would also see a reference in there about "Secure Boot" (to enable or disable that). If none of those are present, then it should be the older style BIOS.

It's really a good idea to test out some Linux distros first by installing them on DVD or USB and booting/running your computer off of them before installing. That lets you test them out for hardware compatibility to make sure your wireless, sound, video, bluetooth... whatever... make sure they are all recognized and work with that distro that you are testing. They don't run on DVD/USB as well as on the hard drive, but it may help to recognize problems earlier instead of later. But you may need some special tools to "burn the Linux image" to these media.... you don't just copy the Linux .iso file over, or else it won't boot. Did you learn these steps when you were trying to install into VirtualBox?

Cheers

I'll check on the UEFI thing. If I have the option for UEFI should I choose it? Or will that REALLY mess things up? Current BIOS is A06.

Folks on the internet swear they are easily running Win 10 on an R3 like mine. But when I try to install, it gets to about 95% then freezes. I got it to install ONCE but it was very fragile. Most of it didn't work properly so I went back to Win7. With Win10 and the Linux problems, I'm wondering if my computer has gone around the bend a bit. Since it is open source I was looking to Linux to carry me into the future.
 
For the Thinkpad look here: https://fossbytes.com/best-lightweight-linux-distros/

Pay particular attention to the "Minimum Requirements"

It can take a maximum of 1Gb of RAM, but old memory tends to cost more than new memory.

It cannot boot from USB.

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad x200s which cost me about £30 from eBay. I recently purchased a Thinkcentre M91 for the same price from eBay. You need to watch and wait patiently. Ok, I might add a Hard Drive or increase RAM, but they are not expensive.

The R31is a Pentium3, 32 bit and it is never going to fly.
 
For the Thinkpad look here: https://fossbytes.com/best-lightweight-linux-distros/

Pay particular attention to the "Minimum Requirements"

It can take a maximum of 1Gb of RAM, but old memory tends to cost more than new memory.

It cannot boot from USB.

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad x200s which cost me about £30 from eBay. I recently purchased a Thinkcentre M91 for the same price from eBay. You need to watch and wait patiently. Ok, I might add a Hard Drive or increase RAM, but they are not expensive.

The R31is a Pentium3, 32 bit and it is never going to fly.

I'm not going to investigate the Thinkpad idea again. It's history. Also giving up on the R31/Windows 10 thing.
 

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