Getting Started - New to Linux

@atanere - I had an apprentice named Moribund, caught him stealing from my Book of Spells , now he croaks and hops.

@Lorelei - If you take some of your OO docs and "save as" and just add an LO or "LIbre" to the ends of the names, you could use those to see how compatible they are with Libre Office's swriter (WP) and Calc (spreadsheets). If you have any complicated formulae or macros, they might need some reengineering, but maybe not, the two products are so similar.

Away for a few hours but will check on progress later, and put my Likes on to previous input.

Cheers

Wiz
 


Since I already found (for whatever reason - if it says "game pack" you would think it would run games) that the Linux version I had was not going to work without using Wine and thereby bypassing any security that the system would have - by using a Windows based program.... I am downloading Ubundu 16.04.3 now. I will install the files I need for gaming to see if they work and are supported. At least steam says that distro is. WHY with one that is a derivative thereof (the game pack was 16.04) would not; is beside me. Working with the terminal isn't so bad at all....
 
I am moving on to VirtualBox the Solus Budgie, to check out how it works now; to try a different distro.
 
Ok... I have had nothing but failure and freezing, slow processing etc trying to run ANY of the distros I have done through VirtualBox. I don't know that it is VirtualBox and I know I have enough memory/hd and processing power; but I couldn't even get Solus Budgie to operate. It stated that (with a 100GB hd- fixed) at 5GB I was maxed out on space. This was after fighting with the Ubundu gamepack which wasn't such a much and I couldn't even download games, let alone launch. Believe this.. I was able to actually download through Steam a few games; but none of them load right, or are sized right and never launched with Ubundu 16.04.3. This is regardless of trying to use playOnLinux or Wine. So, it might seem; I am stuck with Windows for the long run. I have no desire to do all my word-processing and browsing on one and still have the other because of the games - long term.

It was my hope I would have a short run of working things out; and things would be great. You know like what wouldn't be better than windows???? I found out of the three I've tried; Ubundu 16.04.3 to be the most forgiving with the attempt to get a game to play; and to have an easier way to navigate around the interface. I guess it just takes someone with lots of experience with Linux and using the terminal a lot to find that working that way is the norm... compared to windows for decades. I felt like I was crawling back in time with the distros..... And not one of them operated properly upon launching. Another example; in Ubundu 16.04.3, the software store didn't work; nothing loaded etc. I had to go online to find the work around for that - which was simply to go into languages and apply english to the entire OS. I mean really? I am really saddened right now; disappointed... :( Maybe my expectations were too high.
I haven't even had the opportunity to look over the word-processing and spreadsheet programs, sigh. Maybe this won't be a bust but it's getting old waiting on downloading ISO files, installing and then having to install all the programs to each new VM and then they not work properly. I will get off my soapbox. Has anyone else tried Linux and felt this way?
 
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Has anyone else tried Linux and felt this way?

Not I, but then I run 65 - 70 Linux typically spread majorly over 2 computers.

@Lorelei :

  1. Can you tell me some of the games you like to play? and
  2. Do you have a supply of USB sticks? 16GB or more might be best, if the games are large.
Cheers

Wizard
 
@wizardfromoz, what do you mean "65 -70" distros? We play RPG games, like NWN1 and 2, Baldurs gate 1 and 2EE , Icewind Dale EE, Planescape Torment (have it but not tried it). The previous (but torment) are all multiplayer and my husband and I play together. Mostly d&d. No on the flash, I have a single 4GB and a 64GB; no extra funds for them. The thing is; HD space isn't the issue, maybe I need more RAM, processing definitely not the issue; nor the video card. I am thinking there are just a bunch of libraries and dependencies that are required to play them on Linux (from reading countless sites) and IDK enough about Linux to code them all in and if that would work. Still searching for chat software too. I think Libre would be fine. My husband still uses Skype, but eh... ms owns them too.

LR
 
I think it would also be important to note, we create/edit players and games and I have no idea if that could incorporate into Linuxs' filing system at all. In windows... we can just msg the files to one another and put them in the corresponding folder and reload the game....
 
Ok - here is where I am at with running Ubuntu 16.04.3 in VirtualBox on a host Windows 10:
I have successfully added a wireless printer and USB 3.0 capabilities (though I didn't quite understand everything - but it works). I have downloaded shell script files for a game and intending on seeing how to get it transferred to .deb (I believe that is the extension my Linux is using) and trying to make it run.
I realize that I have to use terminal for this and figure that out so this ALL might be for a different forum. I don't know - what do you all think?
And then I am going to try and figure out windows file sharing across Linux without frying my host system. Maybe.
It is my intention to completely understand or accomplish (to the best Linux allows) all I can while in VirtualBox before I install along side windows. I also realize I might have to start this whole process again when I do because of removing the VM component in the equation. (and that it might be all different processes) I might buy some more memory (have 8GB). It would be helpful if I understood Linux file systems etc better; but that can only come with time.
 
I think it would also be important to note, we create/edit players and games and I have no idea if that could incorporate into Linuxs' filing system at all. In windows... we can just msg the files to one another and put them in the corresponding folder and reload the game....

That would mostly depend on the type of file that it is.... text is text and shouldn't matter, but a proprietary format might be another story.

Since Wizard didn't respond himself yet, I will comment that.... yes, he runs over 30 different complete Linux distributions on each of two computers. Each has to have it's own partition, and the boot menu must be a nightmare! :eek::confused: But he is obviously wel-versed in multi-booting, even though none of his installs contain Windows. I've had up to 4 distros at one time, but Wizard is amazing at what he is doing! :cool::D

Your Solus Budgie may not have worked if you did not change the Secure Boot setting that was mentioned earlier. VirtualBox cannot mask something as important as that. And there may be other UEFI settings that need changing. Windows should still boot without Secure Boot enabled, but changing things in UEFI settings is where you can get into trouble... take notes and make sure you can go back.

It seems that VirtualBox, in general, is not working out too well for you. Have you tried to boot any of the USB sticks directly and running that way... in "live" mode? They would also be slower that a full hard drive install, but they should not be intolerable. Well, they might be intolerable trying to run high end games though... I don't know. Solus will still have the same issue I just mentioned... I don't think it will boot unless you change the Secure Boot setting as a minimum, and maybe more.

I'm not sure I'd suggest a dual-boot installation with all the trouble you're having though. If you're gung-ho to do it, you might try, but things could go from bad to worse... and I always hate to see that happen.

Cheers
 
@atanere, no, I haven't tried any of the dual boot options or live modes. VirtualBox isn't really a problem; as I have found instruction for everything. I say this, because even a dual boot; I would have to learn how to share files etc. I believe at this time; running as a VM is the safest for me; being so new at this. The majority of my problems seemed that the distros had portions of the OS not working for general purposes. You are probably right about the Solus; though I didn't know I had to change the BIOS for the secure boot using a VM (thought just for live boot along side my current OS). VIrtualBox read directly from the ISO file to install. Ubuntu 16.04.3 is working now and I am using it as VM to learn more about the Linux system. I decided that was the best and safest place to start. Yesterday was just a long, trying day. I do apologize for speaking down about the systems you all most love.
 
Ok - here is where I am at with running Ubuntu 16.04.3 in VirtualBox on a host Windows 10:
I have successfully added a wireless printer and USB 3.0 capabilities (though I didn't quite understand everything - but it works). I have downloaded shell script files for a game and intending on seeing how to get it transferred to .deb (I believe that is the extension my Linux is using) and trying to make it run.
I realize that I have to use terminal for this and figure that out so this ALL might be for a different forum. I don't know - what do you all think?
And then I am going to try and figure out windows file sharing across Linux without frying my host system. Maybe.
It is my intention to completely understand or accomplish (to the best Linux allows) all I can while in VirtualBox before I install along side windows. I also realize I might have to start this whole process again when I do because of removing the VM component in the equation. (and that it might be all different processes) I might buy some more memory (have 8GB). It would be helpful if I understood Linux file systems etc better; but that can only come with time.

File sharing between Linux and Windows can be fun too. (Uh, just kidding.) But it can be done. Here is a pretty good introduction on it... hopefully enough to get you going.

Getting a printer to work is good.... you know that printer is compatible. Not sure what you mean about "transferring script files to .deb". A .deb file is a package.... something you should download and install (whatever it is you're doing). Perhaps the script files are intending to download/install that .deb package for you.

Just a quick warning: downloading stray stuff off the internet (unknown packages and/or scripts) can be just as dangerous on Linux as it is on Windows. There is not as much danger as Windows, but still, you should think about what you're doing and realize the risk. I would always advise new users to stick to downloading software from the standard repositories for each distribution. I realize that you aren't going to be satisfied with the standard repository stuff though... that isn't where all the cool games are at. Just wanted to give you the customary caution though. :eek:
 
@atanere - The script files I was talking about was downloaded directly from Gog gaming site from my account with them. They end in .sh. They have to be converted (best I understand) to executable files within Linux system. This is something that I am working on reviewing. I was able to download the file for the game to my distro; just can't use it yet. This might all be something not possible ultimately; but I am not one to give up easily. :) I really like the idea of pushing windows out of the picture completely. Thanks for the warning, well noted. I do appreciate the concern.
 
@atanere, no, I haven't tried any of the dual boot options or live modes. VirtualBox isn't really a problem; as I have found instruction for everything. I say this, because even a dual boot; I would have to learn how to share files etc. I believe at this time; running as a VM is the safest for me; being so new at this. The majority of my problems seemed that the distros had portions of the OS not working for general purposes. You are probably right about the Solus; though I didn't know I had to change the BIOS for the secure boot using a VM (thought just for live boot along side my current OS). VIrtualBox read directly from the ISO file to install. Ubuntu 16.04.3 is working now and I am using it as VM to learn more about the Linux system. I decided that was the best and safest place to start. Yesterday was just a long, trying day. I do apologize for speaking down about the systems you all most love.

Hey, no harm, no foul. Linux may or may not work out for you... be we are glad to try to help you get started with it. It's not for everyone, and we get that. Gaming is especially one of those things that Linux is not famous for... but Steam has been a big boost in recent years to make at least more things possible. You and your husband may be on a level that just can't be reached from Linux.... but you'll determine that before long, I think.

So, VirtualBox is working a little better, which is great. You're absolutely right... it's a great way for you to test out what you can and cannot do as long as it will work. But no, it will not pretend to change BIOS settings.... you really have to do that for the distros that need it. We also learned that if VirtualBox is installed in a 32-bit version of Windows, then it will not let a 64-bit version of Linux install (even if the CPU truly is 64-bit). There are still actually a lot of 32-bit Windows versions out there running on 64-bit processors.... seems crazy, but it's true.

UEFI has been a big problem for Linux over the past few years, but many of the distros have worked it out now.... Ubuntu is one of them. For example, you didn't need to change Secure Boot for it... it was good. Others are too, but its just one of the things to consider in choosing a distro and evaluating the hardware and firmware (BIOS/UEFI is firmware).

You're learning a lot... really fast! :cool::D
 
@atanere - The script files I was talking about was downloaded directly from Gog gaming site from my account with them. They end in .sh. They have to be converted (best I understand) to executable files within Linux system. This is something that I am working on reviewing. I was able to download the file for the game to my distro; just can't use it yet. This might all be something not possible ultimately; but I am not one to give up easily. :) I really like the idea of pushing windows out of the picture completely. Thanks for the warning, well noted. I do appreciate the concern.

OK on the scripts.... that makes more sense now. And I might be able to give a little advice on that, but feel free to double check on me here since I don't do a lot of this.

If the script came in any kind of a compressed file (zip, tar, tgz extensions, for example).... then besides the .sh files you may have got other files, very often a README and maybe an INSTALL file (and other files too). Definitely open and view the README and INSTALL files if you have them as they should detail the steps clearly for their programs.

From a terminal, inside the folder where the .sh files are located, you need to use the chmod command to make them executable. If the file is called install.sh as an example, you would make it executable by entering this command:

Code:
chmod +x install.sh

Then, if your instructions say to run this file, you need to add a ./ (dot and slash) before the command.... so, like this:

Code:
./install.sh

And that should actually execute the script file.

But there may be other things described that you will need to do.... sometimes installing other software first, called "dependencies." This is really an old-school way of installing software, but as you have found, it is still in use sometimes.

Turning you into quite the geek though, isn't it? :cool::D

Cheers
 
@atanere, thanks! It might be the case about us being on a level beyond what Linux can provide but I am trying to get at least one game operating. One thing at a time :) I am glad Ubuntu has UEFI worked out; one less thing to deal with. I appreciate all of your help. I will be reading the link you sent and seeing if I can accomplish that task. File sharing (and where Linux can read them) is probably the biggest thing right now - or if the files could be copied to USB and can be converted to something Linux can read. I might be way ahead of myself, but worth giving a try.

At the very least, I am running a host system that is pretty awesome for doing something like this. At least I don't have that issue to fix.
 
Edit: Of course, compressed files would need to be uncompressed, or unzipped, or whatever. You can view files inside the compressed file, but you'll need to extract them before using chmod and trying to execute the scripts.
 
Yes, in my search yesterday; I found that added dependencies and libraries are quite often needed to run games on Linux. Never even heard of the word "dependencies" until yesterday. I was a partial geek to start with. I have a degree in CIS but am not wanting to use it as in for a job. My husband and I have an LLC and he is the sole owner and coder, soon to be for multiple companies. SO, I get my share of it, but it is all on me to get this to function in Linux. He won't be changing his system over ever to the best of my knowledge.
 
Yeah, some people stay in the Windows universe.... my work is like that too, everything is Microsoft. But there are other alternate universes... that's where I like to play. :D

The copying of files via USB or networked file shares is not a problem.... it just depends on what type of file you have. If it's, say, an HTML file, both Linux and Windows will open it with a web browser. Both have text editors to open text files, and we're pretty sure LibreOffice will open your old OpenOffice files (but opening Microsoft Office files may or may not work perfectly, especially those with the "x" addition, like docx and xlsx). If your games create a specially formatted file type, it should be fine if you are both running the same game.

A thought about Skype... yes, Microsoft owns it now. But they make a Linux version too. Don't forget that when you run Wine or PlayOnLinux, you are using a special Linux environment made just to help you run Microsoft-type executable files. I also avoid Microsoft products, but the lines are sometimes blurry. I do use Wine/PlayOnLinux for a couple of programs, and I dual-boot into Windows 7 for one program that is just too stubborn to run any other way. If you find another messenger app, that will be great.... but if Skype is the best thing to keep compatibility with friends and family, at least it's an option too.

Cheers
 
@atanere, I think I have settled on Wire for a messaging app and believe it or not, after adding some themes (error in terminal prompted research on the subject) and lots of dependencies; I have a game installing. I don't know much about the install process but what is the difference between what you did and say (pretend file is named "gamename.sh":
chmod +x ~/Downloads/gamename.sh
execute:
~/Downloads/gamename.sh

I haven't ran the game yet, but terminal says its installed :)
 
Your alternate commands would not work if your file was not located in the /Downloads folder. My instruction was to go into the folder where the files were stored to begin... you might have stored them anywhere. The ./ (dot slash) I used was needed to specify "the current folder."

Good luck on the new game! Hope that it works! :D
 

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