getting back into linux

[EricRP]

Maybe about 19 years ago I was using Linux once before, it worked great until I changed a internet log on pass word then I could not go back on to Internet no matter how hard I tried. in the end I did a reinstall and it was a reinstall that I lost my work, I was so cheesed off I lost my work I went back to windows

What I would keen to have is a separate home partition, what would be the best version that could offer the best help just while I am getting back into it.

I was thinking maybe I should put the linux on a USB flash drive and pick the linux option on a dual boot, I hope you are not confused by my request.

 

[KGIII]

I think every distro offers you the chance to manually partition and to keep /home on its own partition. (The system doesn't much care where you put it, so long as it has enough room among a few other limitations.)

So, recommending a distro is pretty hard with that as the requirement. My suggestion would be to stick to a more mainstream distro where you can get the most information and support. Beyond that, the sky's the limit.

The following may interest you:

Finally, an Answer to What is The Best Linux Distro? • Linux Tips

Finally, an attempt to answer to the age old question: Which Linux distro is the best? Read on to find out which distro is the best Linux distro.

linuxtips.gq

If you think of the Linux distros as a tree, the closer you get to the root the better off you're likely to be - but that's not always true. Ubuntu is closer to the than Mint, and Debian even closer still - but Ubuntu is more popular than Debian and has far more support options.

(The above is just an example to show how very personal the decision is to pick your distro.)

I definitely like the idea of putting Linux on a USB and tinkering. You can easily swap distros and experiment until you find the one you're most happy with. It being the one you're most happy with is important, as that will mean you're more likely to continue using it instead of giving up and booting into Windows.

I also love virtual machines. The trick is to make 'em full screen so that you use it.

 

[Alexzee]

I recommend Linux Mint.

Home - Linux Mint

Linux Mint is an elegant, easy to use, up to date and comfortable desktop operating system.

linuxmint.com

The install only takes about 15 minutes and the package manager is easy to run to keep the system up to date.

You could manually make all of your partitions but you will have to know what you're doing when creating each partition.

For a root partition I recommend at least 20 gig's. For the boot partition you'll need at least 100 to 500 megabytes, for the swap partition 1 gig is enough. Than assign the rest of the unallocated space to /home. Below is a link that explains manual partitioning during installation.

itectec.com - itectec Resources and Information.

itectec.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, itectec.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

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I have 16 gig's of RAM so I don't make swap partitions anymore.

If you install Linux in a dual boot with Windows keep in mind that the first time you boot your pc after your Linux installation you may not see Windows in the Grub Menu.

To have Windows show up in the Grub Menu you will have to update Grub with this command while booted into Linux.
Run this command as root like so:

sudo update-grub

Computer Requirements for Ubuntu:

Installation/SystemRequirements - Community Help Wiki

What other os would you be dual booting with?

 

[captain-sensible]

with slackware i always manually partition HD i don't bother with a home partition on HD.
The way Slackware works is that user space can be allocated within main root install.

Also my laterally thinking is that my detachable SD card of 32 gig works as my home back up ; that way no matter what.. its just a question of putting that Sd card into any other laptop to get access to home stuff. yes i know Sd cards are not infallible

 

[EricRP]

Looks like not a lot of people know the theory about the home partition.

You keep all your work in the home partition, and let the install make up its own partitions, (to put in system files) that way when you install either a update or a new or different system or a reinstall you do not lose any of your work

But anyway thank you for you comments I will go and get another flush drive and see if I can make a reply from hopefully linux os

 

[Vrai]

Looks like not a lot of people know the theory about the home partition.

Perhaps.
But 15 (or 19) years ago partitioning a Linux install was a bit different that nowadays.
Many distros no longer require a user to manually partition the disk although that option is still available. They tend to just put everything in one big partition. I have noticed that many, more experienced, Linux users still recommend a separate Home partition as well as a separate boot, swap, and other partitions. A separate Home partition makes a lot of sense for the reasons you stated.

I think some of the more popular 'main- stream' distros have moved away from the separate partitions scheme just to simplify things for users.

What I would keen to have is a separate home partition, what would be the best version that could offer the best help just while I am getting back into it.

Most of the Linux distros I have tried will afford the user the opportunity to partition the disk, as they see fit, at installation time (a few require partitioning prior to installation).

The 'best help' would probably be afforded by the most active and popular distros. Any of the top 5 on the Distrowatch listing. Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Manjaro, and Arch all have good to very good user forums and documentation.

 

[stan]

I think some of the more popular 'main- stream' distros have moved away from the separate partitions scheme just to simplify things for users.

Exactly. I have seen a number of cases here where new users followed manual partitioning instructions... leaving their root ( / ) partition at about 20 GB. Linux often only needs about 6-8 GB with a fresh install, so you'd think that would be plenty. But new users neglect to maintain their system and clean out old kernels, etc... so their root fills up and their system complains when booting.

I just responded to another thread earlier today here with this very situation. Luckily, this user has free space to expand his root partition into, but sometimes it is not so easy to fix. While there are advantages to using a separate /home... I've never (or rarely) done so in more than 20 years of using Linux. I always recommend new users to install to just a single ( / ) partition to avoid problems like this.

But, we all get to decide for ourselves what will be best in our own cases.

What I would keen to have is a separate home partition, what would be the best version that could offer the best help just while I am getting back into it.

Any distro that you like. The only "best distro" is the one that you like and use. Any of them will allow you to set up a separate /home partition.

 

[stan]

You keep all your work in the home partition, and let the install make up its own partitions, (to put in system files) that way when you install either a update or a new or different system or a reinstall you do not lose any of your work

If you do proper backups, it doesn't matter if /home is a partition or a folder. If your hard drive dies, it is a backup that saves your butt, not a partition. I think that was the lesson you didn't learn 19 years ago.

 

[wizardfromoz]

Good morning Eric from Australia and welcome to linux.org

Looks like not a lot of people know the theory about the home partition.

Thanks, I think most of us do know that theory, Some here have been around since the Linux kernel was written in 1992. I have been involved since 2010.

I run 67 Distros on this rig - no separate Home partition, no Swap, no separate /sys, /var, /boot &c.

My key to success is with Timeshift, which was written in 2014. If you change its default to include your Home, then wherever you have your Timeshift partition (preferably on an external hard drive) you can have a safeguard for your Home that can be rolled back in minutes.

Timeshift ships installed with all Linux Mint, Linux Lite and some Manjaroes, but can be installed manually on every Distro I know and use.

Any of the top 5 on the Distrowatch listing.

And the top one of those for the last 2 years plus is actually MX-Linux now at MX-19.3, it is based directly on Debian.

Cheers all and Friday in Oz, so

Avagudweegend

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

 

[Vrai]

While there are advantages to using a separate /home... I've never (or rarely) done so in more than 20 years of using Linux.

I used to do the separate /home thingy but have not done so in quite some time. I agree that having good backups makes having everything under /root less onerous.