HP Notebook 15 which Linux for me?

asked to choose a hard disk for the New mirtual machine.. tried to cvhoose existing C. that opened explorer. could not download. do not know what to do now. must trry to sleep now.

Take your time, get whatever rest you need.

But, you are jumping ahead of me... I prefer that you "check your download" before you try to install it in VirtualBox. With Linux .iso files, it is really a good idea to always check them so you can be sure that they are not corrupted. The folks who make Linux Mint also provide a "checksum" file that shows SHA256 checksums (or "hashes"). I want you to download a small Windows utility that will verify that checksum when you run it.

So, download the following two files:

1. Click on this link and click the big green Download button to get the utility:
http://download.cnet.com/MD5-SHA-Checksum-Utility/3000-2092_4-10911445.html

2. Right-click on this link and "save as" or "save link as" or whatever to get the Linux Mint checksums:
https://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/linuxmint.com/stable/18.2/sha256sum.txt

The checksum file has 8 different versions of Linux Mint 18.2 listed, but the only one you are interested in is for "linuxmint-18.2-mate-64bit.iso" if you followed my download link above. The utility should be pretty easy to figure out... run it, and first uncheck all the selections on the left except SHA-256 -- keep that checked. Then click the "Browse" button on the top line to locate the Linux Mint .iso file that you downloaded yesterday. When you click the .iso file, the utility will start generating the SHA-256 hash and it will only take a few moments to finish. Next, open the checksum text file and click-and-drag to highlight and copy the long string of gibberish characters that go with the "linuxmint-18.2-mate-64bit.iso" file. Stop highlighting at the end of the gibberish and do not get the ( * ) character that description that follows it. Copy your highlighted text and come back to the utility program and paste it into the bottom box marked "Hash:" and then click the Verify button below. The utility should pop up a small window telling your that the checksums match. If not, make sure you've followed all the steps and copied the correct string from the checksum file into the utility.

If the utility fails to match the checksums, that indicates a bad (corrupted) download. You never want to try to install a corrupted Linux... remember this is an operating system, so if it isn't perfect, your computer may not boot. (Well, you are safe using VirtualBox, but consider if you are replacing Windows instead... this is important stuff.) So if the checksum fails to verify, then you need to download the big Linux Mint .iso file again and then repeat the process of verifying it all over again. Hopefully you won't need to do that and your original download verifies fine.

Next step... we'll go over installing the .iso file into VirtualBox so you have a running Linux system. When you are successfully running Linux, we can bring this thread to a close since that meets your original goal. Then you can open a new thread about installing genealogy software in Linux and we'll pursue that further.

Cheers
 


Hi Livid, and welcome to Linux.org. I don't want to interrupt atanere while he is helping you install a distro in VM, but I have a simple solution for your Office files dilemma. I noticed you have WPS, if it is the latest version you can open your altered files with WPS and select the save as option. Save your files to the Office 2003 format or earlier. You'll be able to open and use them, with all the functions you originally had, in your version of Microsoft Office. Or, you can wait until you get this distro installed in the virtual machine, and if it includes Libre Office you can do the same thing.

Good luck!
 
Hi Livid, and welcome to Linux.org. I don't want to interrupt atanere while he is helping you install a distro in VM, but I have a simple solution for your Office files dilemma. I noticed you have WPS, if it is the latest version you can open your altered files with WPS and select the save as option. Save your files to the Office 2003 format or earlier. You'll be able to open and use them, with all the functions you originally had, in your version of Microsoft Office. Or, you can wait until you get this distro installed in the virtual machine, and if it includes Libre Office you can do the same thing.

Good luck!
 
thanks. i am not very good at using WPS so i have to look for a tutorial. in Excel there is an option to Fill (all the way down a column for example with a formula such as this result (C2) equals the last result (C1) plus this debet (A2) minus this credit (B2). also i do not know how the formula C2=C1+A2-B2 is written in WPS. and it is impossible to find out why suddenly results in one column have been replaced by REF? or why when i had entered a date it instead wondered if i was entering a name. in the file i had made i had formulas for checking that present debet minus present credit equals 0 and checking that the results i had equalled the results in the society's bank account. when microsoft changed my files to office 2013 to try to force me to buy that version so that i had to change to WPS all that work was destroyed. that is the final straw reason i want to change to Linux. though every time windows8 is updated my computer gets more and more difficult to control windows8 was a pain from the start so i am used to it behaving as if my computer had a virus as its driver. i am wary of transferring data in a WPS file to my excel. when i tried to open from my excel the file microsoft had altered to 2013 i found that 9 months book-keeping was missing. only after i opened the file with WPS was i able to see that work. oiffice libre was not permitted to open any of the files microsoft has altered to 2013.
 
Take your time, get whatever rest you need.

But, you are jumping ahead of me... I prefer that you "check your download" before you try to install it in VirtualBox. With Linux .iso files, it is really a good idea to always check them so you can be sure that they are not corrupted. The folks who make Linux Mint also provide a "checksum" file that shows SHA256 checksums (or "hashes"). I want you to download a small Windows utility that will verify that checksum when you run it.

So, download the following two files:

1. Click on this link and click the big green Download button to get the utility:
http://download.cnet.com/MD5-SHA-Checksum-Utility/3000-2092_4-10911445.html

2. Right-click on this link and "save as" or "save link as" or whatever to get the Linux Mint checksums:
https://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/linuxmint.com/stable/18.2/sha256sum.txt

The checksum file has 8 different versions of Linux Mint 18.2 listed, but the only one you are interested in is for "linuxmint-18.2-mate-64bit.iso" if you followed my download link above. The utility should be pretty easy to figure out... run it, and first uncheck all the selections on the left except SHA-256 -- keep that checked. Then click the "Browse" button on the top line to locate the Linux Mint .iso file that you downloaded yesterday. When you click the .iso file, the utility will start generating the SHA-256 hash and it will only take a few moments to finish. Next, open the checksum text file and click-and-drag to highlight and copy the long string of gibberish characters that go with the "linuxmint-18.2-mate-64bit.iso" file. Stop highlighting at the end of the gibberish and do not get the ( * ) character that description that follows it. Copy your highlighted text and come back to the utility program and paste it into the bottom box marked "Hash:" and then click the Verify button below. The utility should pop up a small window telling your that the checksums match. If not, make sure you've followed all the steps and copied the correct string from the checksum file into the utility.

If the utility fails to match the checksums, that indicates a bad (corrupted) download. You never want to try to install a corrupted Linux... remember this is an operating system, so if it isn't perfect, your computer may not boot. (Well, you are safe using VirtualBox, but consider if you are replacing Windows instead... this is important stuff.) So if the checksum fails to verify, then you need to download the big Linux Mint .iso file again and then repeat the process of verifying it all over again. Hopefully you won't need to do that and your original download verifies fine.

Next step... we'll go over installing the .iso file into VirtualBox so you have a running Linux system. When you are successfully running Linux, we can bring this thread to a close since that meets your original goal. Then you can open a new thread about installing genealogy software in Linux and we'll pursue that further.

Cheers
Hi Livid, and welcome to Linux.org. I don't want to interrupt atanere while he is helping you install a distro in VM, but I have a simple solution for your Office files dilemma. I noticed you have WPS, if it is the latest version you can open your altered files with WPS and select the save as option. Save your files to the Office 2003 format or earlier. You'll be able to open and use them, with all the functions you originally had, in your version of Microsoft Office. Or, you can wait until you get this distro installed in the virtual machine, and if it includes Libre Office you can do the same thing.

Good luck!
hello again. i did not have the flu but cystitus after spectroscopy so about a week later i was taken by ambulance to hospital with pyelonephritis. after the catheter was removed i have had a lot to catch up with. now i shall try to continue where we left off.
in my downloaded files i have Virtual Box 5.20.1 18431.Win.exe
also i have downloaded the MDS thing you mentioned
and i have done save as to get the Linux checksums
i have done all you said about Hash and verifying and the checksums match.
so now i would like you to guide me so i can install the .iso file into VirtualBox so that i have a running Linux system. also should the MDS utility stay open or should i click on the cross to close it?
i am most grateful for your help.
 
Last edited:
hello again. i did not have the flu but cystitus after spectroscopy so about a week later i was taken by ambulance to hospital with pyelonephritis. after the catheter was removed i have had a lot to catch up with. now i shall try to continue where we left off.
in my downloaded files i have Virtual Box 5.20.1 18431.Win.exe
also i have downloaded the MDS thing you mentioned
and i have done save as to get the Linux checksums
i have done all you said about Hash and verifying and the checksums match.
so now i would like you to guide me so i can install the .iso file into VirtualBox so that i have a running Linux system. also should the MDS utility stay open or should i click on the cross to close it?
i am most grateful for your help.

Hi @Livid, and welcome back. I hope that you're feeling well now, or at least better! In your absence, both Linux Mint and VirtualBox have updated, and I would recommend that you get the new versions of both (plus the new checksum file)... I will provide links to them to make it easier. I just returned from Windows where I wrote and followed these instructions that I made for you. They are quite extensive and detailed so hopefully you will not have any mistakes if you follow along carefully. There are about 3 dozen steps... so take your time. You will be installing a new Windows program and a full Linux operating system... this will quite likely take up to an hour at least, and maybe even longer (not counting the download times).

1. Download new version of VirtualBox. Right-click on this link and choose "Save As" to download to your hard drive: http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/5.2.4/VirtualBox-5.2.4-119785-Win.exe

2. Download new version of Linux Mint. Right-click on this link and choose "Save As" to download to your hard drive: http://mirrors.kernel.org/linuxmint/stable/18.3/linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso

3. Download new version of Linux Mint checksum file. Right-click on this link and choose "Save As" to download to your hard drive: https://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/linuxmint.com/stable/18.3/sha256sum.txt

4. Verify the checksum of the new Linux file like you've done before. When finished, close that program.

5. Install VirtualBox (during install, it will prompt to install 3 more helper support apps: USB, Network adaptors, and Network service... install these too)

6. Start VirtualBox, then click the big blue "New" button

7. Give the new virtual machine a name (Linux Mint 18.3 MATE says exactly what it will be, and you can install others later)

8. Change the type from Windows to Linux (it may have done this automatically)

9. Change the version to Ubuntu (64-bit) (again, it may have done this automatically... Mint is Ubuntu-based, so this setting is okay)

10. Click Next

11. Accept the default memory size, click Next

12. Leave the next setting ticked for "Create a virtual hard disk now" and click Create

13. Leave the next setting ticked for VDI (Virtual Disk Image) and click Next

14. Change the next setting to Fixed size, and click Next

15. On the next screen, File Location and size, change the 10.00 GB to 15.00 GB. Linux Mint needs more than 10, so this is important. Click Create (and wait for it to complete the virtual drive creation... takes a couple of minutes)

16. This completes this part of the setup and shows your new Virtual Machine (highlighted in blue) in a "Powered Off" state.

17. Click the Settings button now.

18. In the selections on the left, click on Storage.

19. Then, in the middle, under Storage Devices, it shows a small circle with a + sign and a small square with a + sign. Click on the circle with + sign, and then click on Choose Disk.

20. This opened up in my Downloads folder.... but the important part here is to find your linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso file... then double-click on that file.

21. Back in Storage Devices, it now shows your .iso file under "Controller: IDE"... so click OK at the bottom of this screen.

22. NOW... back at the main screen... click the green Start button.

23. You can let the 10 second timer expire, or you can hit Enter... then hit Enter again for "Start Linux Mint"

24. You can click the little blue boxes marked with X in the banners in the top of the window to close those notifications (give them a quick read too).

25. You are now at at Linux Mint desktop.... double-click on the Install Linux Mint icon.

26. From here on, this is also how you would install to your computer hard drive, instead of a virtual drive... so try to pay close attention if you think you will want to do a full installation later.

27. The first screen wants your language... choose and then click Continue

28. The next screen prompts to install third-party software. You can check this unless it then prompts to disable Secure Boot. If if wants to disable Secure Boot, then do not check this option. Click Continue.

29. The next screen defaults to "Erase disk and install Linux Mint". Yes, you want this! It is only referring to the virtual disk, not your whole hard drive. Click Install Now.

30. A final warning appears about writing changes to disk... click Continue.

31. The next screen is to choose your Time Zone. So pick the appropriate Time Zone and then Continue.

32. The next screen is to choose your keyboard layout. Pick the appropriate keyboard and then Continue.

33. The next step requires you to fill in several items:

a. Your name (First name, or First and Last, whatever is fine)

b. Your computer's name (this is mostly for home networking, a short name is best, like HP, or Dell, or something like that)

c. Pick a username (must be lowercase, it will probably default to the name you picked above, but you can change it)

d. Choose a password and Confirm your password (you have to enter it twice, and its case-sensitive.... DO NOT FORGET THIS PASSWORD!)

e. I recommend to "Log in automatically" and DO NOT Encrypt Home Folder. (This is an experiment and lesson in Linux and VirtualBox... not computer security. At some point later you will probably delete this virtual machine.)

f. Click Continue

34. It will now install Linux Mint into the virtual hard disk... takes about 10-15 minutes

35. When finished, choose Restart Now

36. It will prompt to remove the installation media... just hit Enter

On my computer, after it restarts... it comes up in full-screen. You can untick the box to "Show at startup" and then close the "Welcome Screen" that first appears. One of the very first things you should do is open a Terminal (the little black square box in the lower left of the panel (Linux name for taskbar). You may or may not have much need for the command line, but it is extremely helpful and folks on the forum will use it to give you assistance, if needed. You will notice the "command prompt" shows your username@computer-name ~ $ -- from there, type sudo ufw enable and hit Enter. It will prompt you for a password, but you will not see anything type, not even ****, so type carefully and hit Enter. It will then report that your Firewall is active and enabled. After that, if you are connected by ethernet you should already be on the internet... if not, you will need to look at the icons on the right side of the panel... one of them will show wireless connections and allow you to access your home WiFi.

Whew! I hope you're up and running! I installed Mint 18.3 MATE myself to create these instructions, so they should be fairly accurate. Installing other Linux distros will follow along about the same way, but you have to be able to adjust on the fly if something is a little different. Some distros may not run full screen, but you can still get an idea of how they work if/when you install any others.

To shut down Linux Mint, just choose the Menu button in the far left corner of the panel, and choose Quit. After that, you can then exit VirtualBox. If you want some help with Linux Mint, they have a User Manual that may help here: https://linuxmint.com/documentation/user-guide/MATE/english_17.3.pdf

Cheers
 
Hi @Livid, and welcome back. I hope that you're feeling well now, or at least better! In your absence, both Linux Mint and VirtualBox have updated, and I would recommend that you get the new versions of both (plus the new checksum file)... I will provide links to them to make it easier. I just returned from Windows where I wrote and followed these instructions that I made for you. They are quite extensive and detailed so hopefully you will not have any mistakes if you follow along carefully. There are about 3 dozen steps... so take your time. You will be installing a new Windows program and a full Linux operating system... this will quite likely take up to an hour at least, and maybe even longer (not counting the download times).

1. Download new version of VirtualBox. Right-click on this link and choose "Save As" to download to your hard drive: http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/5.2.4/VirtualBox-5.2.4-119785-Win.exe

2. Download new version of Linux Mint. Right-click on this link and choose "Save As" to download to your hard drive: http://mirrors.kernel.org/linuxmint/stable/18.3/linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso

3. Download new version of Linux Mint checksum file. Right-click on this link and choose "Save As" to download to your hard drive: https://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/linuxmint.com/stable/18.3/sha256sum.txt

4. Verify the checksum of the new Linux file like you've done before. When finished, close that program.

5. Install VirtualBox (during install, it will prompt to install 3 more helper support apps: USB, Network adaptors, and Network service... install these too)

6. Start VirtualBox, then click the big blue "New" button

7. Give the new virtual machine a name (Linux Mint 18.3 MATE says exactly what it will be, and you can install others later)

8. Change the type from Windows to Linux (it may have done this automatically)

9. Change the version to Ubuntu (64-bit) (again, it may have done this automatically... Mint is Ubuntu-based, so this setting is okay)

10. Click Next

11. Accept the default memory size, click Next

12. Leave the next setting ticked for "Create a virtual hard disk now" and click Create

13. Leave the next setting ticked for VDI (Virtual Disk Image) and click Next

14. Change the next setting to Fixed size, and click Next

15. On the next screen, File Location and size, change the 10.00 GB to 15.00 GB. Linux Mint needs more than 10, so this is important. Click Create (and wait for it to complete the virtual drive creation... takes a couple of minutes)

16. This completes this part of the setup and shows your new Virtual Machine (highlighted in blue) in a "Powered Off" state.

17. Click the Settings button now.

18. In the selections on the left, click on Storage.

19. Then, in the middle, under Storage Devices, it shows a small circle with a + sign and a small square with a + sign. Click on the circle with + sign, and then click on Choose Disk.

20. This opened up in my Downloads folder.... but the important part here is to find your linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso file... then double-click on that file.

21. Back in Storage Devices, it now shows your .iso file under "Controller: IDE"... so click OK at the bottom of this screen.

22. NOW... back at the main screen... click the green Start button.

23. You can let the 10 second timer expire, or you can hit Enter... then hit Enter again for "Start Linux Mint"

24. You can click the little blue boxes marked with X in the banners in the top of the window to close those notifications (give them a quick read too).

25. You are now at at Linux Mint desktop.... double-click on the Install Linux Mint icon.

26. From here on, this is also how you would install to your computer hard drive, instead of a virtual drive... so try to pay close attention if you think you will want to do a full installation later.

27. The first screen wants your language... choose and then click Continue

28. The next screen prompts to install third-party software. You can check this unless it then prompts to disable Secure Boot. If if wants to disable Secure Boot, then do not check this option. Click Continue.

29. The next screen defaults to "Erase disk and install Linux Mint". Yes, you want this! It is only referring to the virtual disk, not your whole hard drive. Click Install Now.

30. A final warning appears about writing changes to disk... click Continue.

31. The next screen is to choose your Time Zone. So pick the appropriate Time Zone and then Continue.

32. The next screen is to choose your keyboard layout. Pick the appropriate keyboard and then Continue.

33. The next step requires you to fill in several items:

a. Your name (First name, or First and Last, whatever is fine)

b. Your computer's name (this is mostly for home networking, a short name is best, like HP, or Dell, or something like that)

c. Pick a username (must be lowercase, it will probably default to the name you picked above, but you can change it)

d. Choose a password and Confirm your password (you have to enter it twice, and its case-sensitive.... DO NOT FORGET THIS PASSWORD!)

e. I recommend to "Log in automatically" and DO NOT Encrypt Home Folder. (This is an experiment and lesson in Linux and VirtualBox... not computer security. At some point later you will probably delete this virtual machine.)

f. Click Continue

34. It will now install Linux Mint into the virtual hard disk... takes about 10-15 minutes

35. When finished, choose Restart Now

36. It will prompt to remove the installation media... just hit Enter

On my computer, after it restarts... it comes up in full-screen. You can untick the box to "Show at startup" and then close the "Welcome Screen" that first appears. One of the very first things you should do is open a Terminal (the little black square box in the lower left of the panel (Linux name for taskbar). You may or may not have much need for the command line, but it is extremely helpful and folks on the forum will use it to give you assistance, if needed. You will notice the "command prompt" shows your username@computer-name ~ $ -- from there, type sudo ufw enable and hit Enter. It will prompt you for a password, but you will not see anything type, not even ****, so type carefully and hit Enter. It will then report that your Firewall is active and enabled. After that, if you are connected by ethernet you should already be on the internet... if not, you will need to look at the icons on the right side of the panel... one of them will show wireless connections and allow you to access your home WiFi.

Whew! I hope you're up and running! I installed Mint 18.3 MATE myself to create these instructions, so they should be fairly accurate. Installing other Linux distros will follow along about the same way, but you have to be able to adjust on the fly if something is a little different. Some distros may not run full screen, but you can still get an idea of how they work if/when you install any others.

To shut down Linux Mint, just choose the Menu button in the far left corner of the panel, and choose Quit. After that, you can then exit VirtualBox. If you want some help with Linux Mint, they have a User Manual that may help here: https://linuxmint.com/documentation/user-guide/MATE/english_17.3.pdf

Cheers
thanks. i shall follow your instructions bit by bit stsrting later today.
 
done steps 1 and 2 and 3 but cannot figure out how to do step 4. please include the instructions for verifying the checksum. is it the same utility MDS... but a different linuxmint?
 
done steps 1 and 2 and 3 but cannot figure out how to do step 4. please include the instructions for verifying the checksum. is it the same utility MDS... but a different linuxmint?

From post #21 above (with slight edits... yes, you should have downloaded a new Linux Mint file):

The checksum file has 8 different versions of Linux Mint 18.3 listed, but the only one you are interested in is for "linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso" if you followed my download link above. The utility should be pretty easy to figure out... run it, and first uncheck all the selections on the left except SHA-256 -- keep that checked. Then click the "Browse" button on the top line to locate the Linux Mint .iso file that you downloaded. When you click the .iso file, the utility will start generating the SHA-256 hash and it will only take a few moments to finish. Next, open the checksum text file and click-and-drag to highlight and copy the long string of gibberish characters that go with the "linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso" file. Stop highlighting at the end of the gibberish and do not get the ( * ) character that description that follows it. Copy your highlighted text and come back to the utility program and paste it into the bottom box marked "Hash:" and then click the Verify button below. The utility should pop up a small window telling your that the checksums match. If not, make sure you've followed all the steps and copied the correct string from the checksum file into the utility.

Cheers
 
By the way... it is a "MD5" utility (and SHA).... not "MDS". You might confuse folks with "MDS".
 
From post #21 above (with slight edits... yes, you should have downloaded a new Linux Mint file):

The checksum file has 8 different versions of Linux Mint 18.3 listed, but the only one you are interested in is for "linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso" if you followed my download link above. The utility should be pretty easy to figure out... run it, and first uncheck all the selections on the left except SHA-256 -- keep that checked. Then click the "Browse" button on the top line to locate the Linux Mint .iso file that you downloaded. When you click the .iso file, the utility will start generating the SHA-256 hash and it will only take a few moments to finish. Next, open the checksum text file and click-and-drag to highlight and copy the long string of gibberish characters that go with the "linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso" file. Stop highlighting at the end of the gibberish and do not get the ( * ) character that description that follows it. Copy your highlighted text and come back to the utility program and paste it into the bottom box marked "Hash:" and then click the Verify button below. The utility should pop up a small window telling your that the checksums match. If not, make sure you've followed all the steps and copied the correct string from the checksum file into the utility.

Cheers
hashtag does not match.
 
So, don't install in VirtualBox unless it verifies.... you may have a corrupt download. Be sure you downloaded the correctt Linux Mint (using my link) and the correct checksum.txt file (using my link). I'd also suggest going through the procedure to verity again, being very careful with it. When you copy/paste the string from the checksum file, be sure you are getting the right string (for the mate 64-bit version) and be sure you are not including the .iso filename.... just the long string of gibberish characters to match the SHA-256 above.

If it truly fails, then you need to download the Linux Mint .iso again.
 
You also have to wait long enough for the program to generate the SHA256 hash.... it takes a few minutes. It should look like this after it generates the hash, and after you paste in the hash from the checksum text file.... after this you press the Verify button.

verify1.jpg


Then, with a successful verify, it will look like this:

verify2.jpg



You could compare these numbers manually yourself, but you see how hard that is to keep them straight. The program makes this task easy for you.
 
this is the linux mint i downloaded (copied your link) http://mirrors.kernel.org/linuxmint/stable/18.3/linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso

and rhis is the checksum i downloaded (copied your link) https://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/linuxmint.com/stable/18.3/sha256sum.txt

this is what the "MDS" utility (and SHA) ... browsed to as iso file Unconfirmed 231688.crdownload
my computer has Open when done as an option. i have not opened it but it is downloaded as you told me to download it. 9213823CBDBA2C4D0DA2ED1D7262FFE9691467C1D3E64E99B4509EC89C784ED5

this is the gibberish (/before *linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso) i used to verify 1ec518ec70d76d9634e22bb9e083546d812f869878a3262fc7ae47ecc5b23e40

what did i do wrong?
 
browsed to as iso file Unconfirmed 231688.crdownload

This you show above is NOT a file. I'm not sure what it is really.... maybe a placeholder for the download in progress.

The Linux Mint .iso file is very large... about 1.2 GB or so. The SHA256 hash you show is NOT correct, so that indicates that your download was incomplete, or corrupt. You need to download it again, and be sure that it finishes.

After the download completes, when you go into your Downloads folder (assuming you put it there)... the filename will look exactly like what was shown: linuxmint-18.3-mate-64bit.iso --- if it doesn't look like that, then you are not getting it downloaded correctly. (Windows might not show the .iso part, but at least all the rest should be there exactly as shown.)
 
The hash you show from the checksum text file IS correct. So the programs needs to generate a hash from the .iso file that matches what you show there from the text file. When you get this right, and click the Verify button, it will tell you that they match. Then you can proceed to install VirtualBox and follow the rest of the instructions.

Leaving shortly for lunch.... so may not reply for awhile.

Cheers
 
downloading the iso file takes a long time i suppose. i forgot that. so the download was not complete. on my computer i see now that it says 0.1/1.8 GB, 5 hours left. i am unsure what that means. perhaps 0.1 GB downloaded of the full 1.8 GB iso file.
 
downloading the iso file takes a long time i suppose. i forgot that. so the download was not complete. on my computer i see now that it says 0.1/1.8 GB, 5 hours left. i am unsure what that means. perhaps 0.1 GB downloaded of the full 1.8 GB iso file.

I had not realized Mint had grown from 1.2 up to 1.8 GB, but you are correct and that is the size of the file. Sorry that it will take you so long to get it, and that long time also increases the chances of having a glitch in the transfer... so it is very important that the verify operation works correctly. Then you will know that you have a good and complete file.

VirtualBox might have been forgiving and just crashed trying to install a corrupt file. But if/when you install Linux to be your computer's full operating system, the dangers there are greater.... and you could end up with a system that would not boot. This is good training for you, I suppose, but learning new things can be difficult.

I've been off work and able to spend extra time here, but tomorrow I go back for 12-hour shifts... so I won't be able to reply so frequently. Others may jump in too, if you get stuck, or I will also try to check in during the evening to see if you get up and running. Once you have Mint running, I'd just suggest playing with it, exploring it, seeing what applications it has pre-installed (like LibreOffice), surfing the web with it.... just learning it and getting comfortable with it. If you need it to get on a home wireless network, that will probably be your first task (which I briefly mentioned above in post #26).

Good luck!
 
now successvfully verified. being a dummy and having a memory capacity that could do with an updated version i did not wait long enough for the download to get done before.

i have installed the Virtualbox but found no prompt to install 3 helper support apps to install "it will prompt to install 3 more helper support apps: USB, Network adaptors, and Network service... install these too." how do i get them? could they be the unnamed "registries"? i had no idea they were. or do i get them after i press the blue button? if i have done it wrong by unchecking the option for "registries" do i have to redo it all or can i get them some other way?
 
now successvfully verified. being a dummy and having a memory capacity that could do with an updated version i did not wait long enough for the download to get done before.

i have installed the Virtualbox but found no prompt to install 3 helper support apps to install "it will prompt to install 3 more helper support apps: USB, Network adaptors, and Network service... install these too." how do i get them? could they be the unnamed "registries"? i had no idea they were. or do i get them after i press the blue button? if i have done it wrong by unchecking the option for "registries" do i have to redo it all or can i get them some other way?

The only way I know is during the VirtualBox install.... it paused three times to ask to install each of those apps. We might find more on Google about installing them after-the-fact, or you might un-install VirtualBox and re-install it again. I think you will want/need those apps to get online, and to use USB memory sticks to transfer info in and out of Linux Mint.
 


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