last used LINUX over 20 years ago

But wait... there's more! Late last night I found the Users Guide for your laptop, and I see that it has a "Novo" button like my Lenovo model. This tiny button is on the right side edge, near the front (next to a speaker jack). It is small so you don't press it by accident... it can actually be difficult to press. With the laptop powered off, press this Novo button instead of your normal power button... it should start up to a simple screen allowing you to access your BIOS settings or your Boot Menu. The Boot Menu should let you boot on a Linux DVD or USB stick (since we also know now that you probably have a DVD drive too). The Novo button may also let you disable Fast Boot, which is a good idea too.

At work on my phone, but can attach the Users Guide later tonight if needed.

Cheers
Charmers! Ok I know I messed up big time so I will erase was I did and try again this weekend!

In the meantime I will use open office. I have to set up a cis reference spreadsheet for a new business I am starting. Forgot how to do database files also, so Im using excel until I figure things out.

Thanks for all the positive feedback. Be back at it on Saturday. Ta Ta
 


Yep, I'll be 66 next month! Just too mean to kick off:D:D. Shields up, red alert! Fire a full spread of neurons!:p:p

Happy Trails,
Paul

P.S. 20% is a good start m'lady.;)
My first Computer was a TRS-80 -100 back around 1980. Programmed (haha) the settings for a 9’ satelite antenna here in Costa Rica. Everyone swore it had to be over 20 ft. Mine worked just fine. Then moved up to a clone in 1983ish. I leaned how to on that clone, but with windows improving every year, I forgot everything. Have to say though it is a fun challenge to figure my way around once again
 
Morning Susan, morning all :)

Just a heads up Susan, if you tread the "let's try Linux" path again, and want to 'port your Open Office.

Most of the major Linux players ship with LibreOffice pre-installed, and with LO having forked from OO, they are very similar and share a lot of the same dependencies. So on Linux, you can only have one or the other, because of conflicts.

But I would recommend you can use OO on your Windozey, try LO if you install Linux, see which one you prefer, and then we can cross the compatibility bridge when we come to it.

BTW documents written with one should be seamless with the other, so no dramas there, I believe.

Cheers all, off for more coffee :cool:

Wizard
 
Forgot how to do database files also, so Im using excel until I figure things out.

That may be for the best. Neither OpenOffice nor LibreOffice share compatibility (to my knowledge) with Microsoft Access. If you can stick with Word/Excel types you will probably have better success, and especially if you can stick with the older .doc and .xls formats (instead of the newer .docx and .xlsx file types).

If you want databases though, Linux can provide professional quality tools... but MS Access is kind of a world unto itself.
 
sounds way over my abilities to understand at this point.
Have to take things slow and learn from a-z.. Remembers MS is basically for dummies, and that is what I have become a computer dummy. Working on changing that.
I can relate. My wife and I both remember trying to get everything in the correct order in the config.sys in dos2 :eek:, while wearing out my copy of the dos manual. Every time we added something new to the mix, like a sound card, VESA local bus video card, cd rom, joystick, etc, it meant another driver, and getting them all to play well in the sand box was like herding cats!! We felt like we hit the jackpot when we finally got the CLUGE to work. ;) Those were the days, my friend!!

Happy trails,
Paul

Just for reference, a CLUGE is anything so big and heavy that when you throw over the side, it makes the sound "cluge" when it hits the water.:p:p:rolleyes:
 
I want to go to one spot download the office programs and start using it to decide to change away from MS Office.

Hi Susan, and all,

Re-reading this thread, I think some of us (like me) are following the title about Linux too literally... and it seems that you really are only interested in getting a different Office product (and maybe willing to go to Linux to achieve that). If changing your operating system away from Windows is not your goal, then don't let us nudge you too far that way unnecessarily.

Besides the Apache Open Office that you're checking out now, there have been a number of other Office products mentioned, all of which might be good alternatives to MS Office, and all of which are FREE. Some of these are LibreOffice (my own personal favorite), WPS Office (includes 1GB free cloud storage), ONLYOFFICE, and I don't think anyone yet suggested Google Docs as a possible option. There are even more, but one of these should be acceptable to you for documents and spreadsheets.

All of these Office products should work fine in your new Windows 10 laptop. But if you dislike the Windows 10 operating system itself, and if you want to replace it (or share up to about half the hard drive space with another operating system)... then Linux might be a good choice. Helping folks to migrate away from Microsoft Windows is kind of our core function here, and as you might can tell, we are very enthusiastic about it. But changing your operating system is quite a bit more involved than changing your Office program, as you've already begun to discover (since you didn't yet get the Linux thumb drive to boot up).

sounds way over my abilities to understand at this point.
Have to take things slow and learn from a-z.. Remembers MS is basically for dummies, and that is what I have become a computer dummy. Working on changing that.

No, you're no dummy! I'm just confused whether you really want Linux or not... and whether "MS" means Windows or Office (in this and also your earlier posts). I don't really think that either MS Windows or Office is for dummies... both are very complex and fully developed. Both are sometimes difficult and frustrating to use... so is Linux (and any of the other Office products)... in part because learning new stuff is difficult, and also because Linux and those other Office products are very complex and well developed too. But if you are indeed wanting to escape from the Microsoft universe and want to run Linux, we will do our best to take you through the a-z steps to get you there. That's what we're here for. And if you do, the first step is to learn to boot up Linux and run it in "live mode" on your USB. Running in "live mode" will not make any permanent changes to your computer and will let you give Linux a test drive to see what you think about it. If you don't like Ubuntu, then we'll steer you to some others to put on USB so you can test those out. You can re-use the USB sticks, but you may need a couple of them to cycle between testing environments... 4 GB to 8 GB is plenty, no need for super-sized thumb drives at this point, but later you may want a 32 GB thumb drive to store a Windows 10 Recovery system (which you should actually do anyway, whether you move towards Linux or not).

So, Susan, what do you think? Are you in? :D

Cheers
 
Hi Susan, and all,

Re-reading this thread, I think some of us (like me) are following the title about Linux too literally... and it seems that you really are only interested in getting a different Office product (and maybe willing to go to Linux to achieve that). If changing your operating system away from Windows is not your goal, then don't let us nudge you too far that way unnecessarily.

Besides the Apache Open Office that you're checking out now, there have been a number of other Office products mentioned, all of which might be good alternatives to MS Office, and all of which are FREE. Some of these are LibreOffice (my own personal favorite), WPS Office (includes 1GB free cloud storage), ONLYOFFICE, and I don't think anyone yet suggested Google Docs as a possible option. There are even more, but one of these should be acceptable to you for documents and spreadsheets.

All of these Office products should work fine in your new Windows 10 laptop. But if you dislike the Windows 10 operating system itself, and if you want to replace it (or share up to about half the hard drive space with another operating system)... then Linux might be a good choice. Helping folks to migrate away from Microsoft Windows is kind of our core function here, and as you might can tell, we are very enthusiastic about it. But changing your operating system is quite a bit more involved than changing your Office program, as you've already begun to discover (since you didn't yet get the Linux thumb drive to boot up).



No, you're no dummy! I'm just confused whether you really want Linux or not... and whether "MS" means Windows or Office (in this and also your earlier posts). I don't really think that either MS Windows or Office is for dummies... both are very complex and fully developed. Both are sometimes difficult and frustrating to use... so is Linux (and any of the other Office products)... in part because learning new stuff is difficult, and also because Linux and those other Office products are very complex and well developed too. But if you are indeed wanting to escape from the Microsoft universe and want to run Linux, we will do our best to take you through the a-z steps to get you there. That's what we're here for. And if you do, the first step is to learn to boot up Linux and run it in "live mode" on your USB. Running in "live mode" will not make any permanent changes to your computer and will let you give Linux a test drive to see what you think about it. If you don't like Ubuntu, then we'll steer you to some others to put on USB so you can test those out. You can re-use the USB sticks, but you may need a couple of them to cycle between testing environments... 4 GB to 8 GB is plenty, no need for super-sized thumb drives at this point, but later you may want a 32 GB thumb drive to store a Windows 10 Recovery system (which you should actually do anyway, whether you move towards Linux or not).

So, Susan, what do you think? Are you in? :D

Cheers
Yes! I din’t like the smoke around the Politics of MS the Company and founder. And dont want to contribute to it. So yes if I can learn to use another OS and other products, I am in.
First on the agenda is to work with Opn office a bit (next couple of days). This weekend lets work on the USB SET UP and trial run with UBANDU.

I worked on a MAC a couple of times and liked its flexability between office, internet, photos, etc. But know very little about it.

Ms over the years had some good tricks like MAC, but they dropped them. When I say they are for Dummies that is because you dont have to know much to use it. Plug and go. As per usual with MS they constantly upgrade before its really tested and there are little gliches. And their help section is lousy.

I want to see and try another system. Remember this is a new language so count me as one of those dummies.;)

Thank you all
 
Great! I'm glad that learning to use Linux is part of your agenda! I hope that you find that Linux has also become a "Plug and Play" system... or almost. Many steps may seem easy, but if we need to figure out problems it can be challenging.

So, to get ready for Step A. (booting Linux on USB)... you are almost there already. You have downloaded the Ubuntu .iso file, but you need a special program to put that .iso file on the USB... you can't just copy it over (because it won't be bootable). Your earlier failure may be because you didn't use the special program at this stage.

But there is even one more stage before making the USB. We strongly encourage you to use another special program to "verify" that the Linux .iso file you downloaded is complete and not corrupted. This is a rather boring task, but we think it is important to be sure that the USB you make with Linux will work as expected.

Both of these special Windows programs are free and quite small to download. To get ready for this weekend's adventure, please download and install them. Then when you're ready to begin we will step you through the process using each one.

To verify your download:
https://download.cnet.com/MD5-SHA-Checksum-Utility/3000-2092_4-10911445.html

To "burn" the Linux .iso to USB:
https://etcher.io/

There are actually many free programs to do these tasks, but these above are as good as any, and several of us are already familiar with them. If you would rather use DVD's for Linux instead of USB, then you would not need Etcher but you might need something else.

Let us know when you're ready, and remind us if we seem to jump ahead and you aren't following us, or if we use too much Linux lingo without explaining the terms. Remember to make Google your friend too... the answers to many questions are right at your fingertips.

Cheers
 
Great! I'm glad that learning to use Linux is part of your agenda! I hope that you find that Linux has also become a "Plug and Play" system... or almost. Many steps may seem easy, but if we need to figure out problems it can be challenging.

So, to get ready for Step A. (booting Linux on USB)... you are almost there already. You have downloaded the Ubuntu .iso file, but you need a special program to put that .iso file on the USB... you can't just copy it over (because it won't be bootable). Your earlier failure may be because you didn't use the special program at this stage.

But there is even one more stage before making the USB. We strongly encourage you to use another special program to "verify" that the Linux .iso file you downloaded is complete and not corrupted. This is a rather boring task, but we think it is important to be sure that the USB you make with Linux will work as expected.

Both of these special Windows programs are free and quite small to download. To get ready for this weekend's adventure, please download and install them. Then when you're ready to begin we will step you through the process using each one.

To verify your download:
https://download.cnet.com/MD5-SHA-Checksum-Utility/3000-2092_4-10911445.html

To "burn" the Linux .iso to USB:
https://etcher.io/

There are actually many free programs to do these tasks, but these above are as good as any, and several of us are already familiar with them. If you would rather use DVD's for Linux instead of USB, then you would not need Etcher but you might need something else.

Let us know when you're ready, and remind us if we seem to jump ahead and you aren't following us, or if we use too much Linux lingo without explaining the terms. Remember to make Google your friend too... the answers to many questions are right at your fingertips.

Cheers
Question: i have downloaded the teo links you sent. Verified and copied to flashdrive.

Do I delete the Ubantu file on my computer?
 
Do I delete the Ubantu file on my computer?

I'd say no, not yet, if you aren't hurting for the hard drive space. As you progress along, you may put a different Linux on the USB to try out, but then you might want to return to Ubuntu... so it could save you from having to download again. Eventually you will delete it though.

Were you okay using Etcher and the verify programs? You'll use them both for each new Linux that you want to try... so maybe only a little, or maybe a lot.

And I take it that you actually used the verify program... is that right? If so, then you have surprised me with your ability to find the Ubuntu sha256sums file that is needed for the verify to work!
 
I'd say no, not yet, if you aren't hurting for the hard drive space. As you progress along, you may put a different Linux on the USB to try out, but then you might want to return to Ubuntu... so it could save you from having to download again. Eventually you will delete it though.

Were you okay using Etcher and the verify programs? You'll use them both for each new Linux that you want to try... so maybe only a little, or maybe a lot.

And I take it that you actually used the verify program... is that right? If so, then you have surprised me with yourability to find the Ubuntu sha256sums file that is needed for the verify to work!

Uhmm, didnt know about that. I copied and verified the 5 sums. However when I passed it over to the USB I only got the "efi" file with 2 docs in the boot file.

Next, I will erase that file and do it over again. Missed something in the process.:oops:
 
Uhmm, didnt know about that. I copied and verified the 5 sums. However when I passed it over to the USB I only got the "efi" file with 2 docs in the boot file.

Ah, okay... you did not verify the download file (one reason I didn't want you to delete it). This stuff is new to you, so no blame that you do not understand what this is about. New terminology coming at you: the "sha256sum" is a unique identifier. Unique meaning that the file created by Ubuntu has a peculiar "signature" (other names are "hash" or "hashsum" or "checksum")... and if the download to your computer dropped even a single "bit" or "byte".... then this unique signature will not match when you compare the sha256sum of your download to the sha256sum that Ubuntu says it should be. Do you understand this? If your checksum DOES match that which Ubuntu supplies as accurate, then you are assured that you got a good copy! With operating systems, this is quite important.

So the program you downloaded (and installed, I hope).... this is made to "verify" that your "checksum" matches Ubuntu's "checksum".... and it must match exactly. If you did not delete the Ubuntu .iso file.... then let's step through how this verify program works:

1. Run the program. (It's official name is: MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility 2.1 ... but I will probably just call it the "verify program".)

2. Note the 4 check boxes on the left and uncheck all of them except SHA-256.

3. In the top line (File), click on the Browse button on the right and navigate to the Ubuntu .iso file. It is critical to know exactly which file you downloaded because all the different Ubuntu versions will have a different "checksum" value. If you downloaded the standard Ubuntu edition, the file name that you will browse to is exactly named: ubuntu-18.04-desktop-amd64.iso (please report back to us if you have a different file!). Double-click on it... or single-click and then click the Open button... and it will show up on the File line of the verify program.

4. Now... WAIT for it. This takes a few minutes. After a bit, the SHA-256 line will show a long string of text and numbers. This is the "checksum" or "hash" value. In this step, the program has evaluated your download copy.... the next step is to compare it against what Ubuntu says it should be.

5. I could give you the Ubuntu hash value, but you need to learn that all Linux distros provide these... and the steps are similar to verify all of them (sometimes md5sum instead of sha256sum). For this particular version of Ubuntu, version 18.04, the standard edition (not one of its many derivatives)... you can download a simple text file from Ubuntu here. This file only contains the standard desktop version and the standard server version.... of course you should be using the desktop version. You will see in this text file a similar long string of characters and text that make up the "hash" value.... this is what Ubuntu says is the real deal. While looking at this text file, drag your mouse across all of the hash value for the desktop edition to highlight it.... only get the characters and numbers.... do not also highlight the name of the edition at the end. You can CTRL-C or right-click on the highlighted text to "COPY" the hash value into memory.

6. Go back to the verify program now. Click your mouse into the empty box at the bottom that says Hash: and then click the Paste button on the right. The value you copied from the Ubuntu text file should now show up in that box. A quick glance at the beginning and end of the string will probably show you that those few characters match, but to test the entire string, now click on the Verify button below. With success, a small new window will open reporting that the SHA-256 Hash matched. That is what we are looking for... and it is a positive confirmation that your download is an exact match to the file that Ubuntu sent to you, without any corruption or faults.

OK, that's it.... I said above that this is a rather boring task. But operating systems are so important that we really think it is worth this bit of trouble. And like anything, it gets easier and quicker as you become more accustomed to using it.

However when I passed it over to the USB I only got the "efi" file with 2 docs in the boot file.
So, while it seems that you did not properly do the "verify" procedure.... it does sound like you got Etcher working. Right? We have learned that Windows only shows you the efi folder and the couple of files that you see.... but really there are more. Not important at this stage, just a bit of info for you. I used Windows last night to create an Ubuntu USB with Etcher and saw the same as you.... and this USB booted up my computer just fine.

So, whether we wait for the weekend or keep moving ahead is up to you. We would like for you to "verify" the .iso file, but since you have already "burned it to USB" it is very likely okay to use.... at least for our initial testing. Don't try to install it yet! Before installing Linux we will want to cover some options that you should consider. But if you decide to try to boot on the USB, and if you get that far, remember to only choose the "Try Ubuntu". A mistake at this point could cause you to erase your Windows... so be careful here.

Step A. - Boot the Linux USB in "live mode" (and not install it yet)

Step B. - Evaluate your installation options. Test the USB in "live mode" to make sure your sound works, and video, and wireless networking. Try to determine if you like this version of Ubuntu.... maybe you will hate it and would rather try something else first before installing to your computer's hard drive.

Okay, enough for this round. G'nite. :D
 
So Stan is likely catching zzz's now (& well-earned, I might add, that Post above is great:)). And of course, at time of writing, it is 11:39 PM Costa Rica time, so you may be too?

Susan by the sheerest of coincidences, another lady joined almost coincident in time with you, goes by the name of @Deckwench ... her story is here

https://www.linux.org/threads/trouble-booting-up-ubuntu.17846/

... and is worth the read, for you. She is contemporary in age and experience, was looking for an alternative Productivity (Office) suite, and is now travelling down the same sort of road as you. :)

It's like you are two travellers walking down a path on either side of a fence or hedge, your paths are converging, eventually the hedge finishes, and you meet and find what you have in common. Curious.

I, for one, being a 60-plusser, find it quite gratifying the number of Members we have taken on last 12 months since I joined, aged 55 to 85 (yes, 85). Many of them are people whom had been using another OS since its inception, and they are finding Linux to be like a breath of fresh air. Hope you do too :D

On Stan's writings above -
  1. Step B - printers/scanners is another good one to try, it just depends on how much work you want to do before install, or take your chances after install. We can help with drivers, if they are available.
Cheers

Wizard
 
So Stan is likely catching zzz's now (& well-earned, I might add, that Post above is great:)). And of course, at time of writing, it is 11:39 PM Costa Rica time, so you may be too?

Susan by the sheerest of coincidences, another lady joined almost coincident in time with you, goes by the name of @Deckwench ... her story is here

https://www.linux.org/threads/trouble-booting-up-ubuntu.17846/

... and is worth the read, for you. She is contemporary in age and experience, was looking for an alternative Productivity (Office) suite, and is now travelling down the same sort of road as you. :)

It's like you are two travellers walking down a path on either side of a fence or hedge, your paths are converging, eventually the hedge finishes, and you meet and find what you have in common. Curious.

I, for one, being a 60-plusser, find it quite gratifying the number of Members we have taken on last 12 months since I joined, aged 55 to 85 (yes, 85). Many of them are people whom had been using another OS since its inception, and they are finding Linux to be like a breath of fresh air. Hope you do too :D

On Stan's writings above -
  1. Step B - printers/scanners is another good one to try, it just depends on how much work you want to do before install, or take your chances after install. We can help with drivers, if they are available.
Cheers

Wizard
Coincidence? I think our generation is just not wanting to deal with or support businesses that are all intrusive (?). Trying to state it nicely. I will check her out and if I manage to get it right, will see if you alls help can help her too.

I got the confirmation that the sums were compatible. Will review it all later, after work. Thanks for the help
 
:rolleyes::rolleyes:
Ah, okay... you did not verify the download file (one reason I didn't want you to delete it). This stuff is new to you, so no blame that you do not understand what this is about. New terminology coming at you: the "sha256sum" is a unique identifier. Unique meaning that the file created by Ubuntu has a peculiar "signature" (other names are "hash" or "hashsum" or "checksum")... and if the download to your computer dropped even a single "bit" or "byte".... then this unique signature will not match when you compare the sha256sum of your download to the sha256sum that Ubuntu says it should be. Do you understand this? If your checksum DOES match that which Ubuntu supplies as accurate, then you are assured that you got a good copy! With operating systems, this is quite important.

So the program you downloaded (and installed, I hope).... this is made to "verify" that your "checksum" matches Ubuntu's "checksum".... and it must match exactly. If you did not delete the Ubuntu .iso file.... then let's step through how this verify program works:

1. Run the program. (It's official name is: MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility 2.1 ... but I will probably just call it the "verify program".)

2. Note the 4 check boxes on the left and uncheck all of them except SHA-256.

3. In the top line (File), click on the Browse button on the right and navigate to the Ubuntu .iso file. It is critical to know exactly which file you downloaded because all the different Ubuntu versions will have a different "checksum" value. If you downloaded the standard Ubuntu edition, the file name that you will browse to is exactly named: ubuntu-18.04-desktop-amd64.iso (please report back to us if you have a different file!). Double-click on it... or single-click and then click the Open button... and it will show up on the File line of the verify program.

4. Now... WAIT for it. This takes a few minutes. After a bit, the SHA-256 line will show a long string of text and numbers. This is the "checksum" or "hash" value. In this step, the program has evaluated your download copy.... the next step is to compare it against what Ubuntu says it should be.

5. I could give you the Ubuntu hash value, but you need to learn that all Linux distros provide these... and the steps are similar to verify all of them (sometimes md5sum instead of sha256sum). For this particular version of Ubuntu, version 18.04, the standard edition (not one of its many derivatives)... you can download a simple text file from Ubuntu here. This file only contains the standard desktop version and the standard server version.... of course you should be using the desktop version. You will see in this text file a similar long string of characters and text that make up the "hash" value.... this is what Ubuntu says is the real deal. While looking at this text file, drag your mouse across all of the hash value for the desktop edition to highlight it.... only get the characters and numbers.... do not also highlight the name of the edition at the end. You can CTRL-C or right-click on the highlighted text to "COPY" the hash value into memory.

6. Go back to the verify program now. Click your mouse into the empty box at the bottom that says Hash: and then click the Paste button on the right. The value you copied from the Ubuntu text file should now show up in that box. A quick glance at the beginning and end of the string will probably show you that those few characters match, but to test the entire string, now click on the Verify button below. With success, a small new window will open reporting that the SHA-256 Hash matched. That is what we are looking for... and it is a positive confirmation that your download is an exact match to the file that Ubuntu sent to you, without any corruption or faults.

OK, that's it.... I said above that this is a rather boring task. But operating systems are so important that we really think it is worth this bit of trouble. And like anything, it gets easier and quicker as you become more accustomed to using it.


So, while it seems that you did not properly do the "verify" procedure.... it does sound like you got Etcher working. Right? We have learned that Windows only shows you the efi folder and the couple of files that you see.... but really there are more. Not important at this stage, just a bit of info for you. I used Windows last night to create an Ubuntu USB with Etcher and saw the same as you.... and this USB booted up my computer just fine.

So, whether we wait for the weekend or keep moving ahead is up to you. We would like for you to "verify" the .iso file, but since you have already "burned it to USB" it is very likely okay to use.... at least for our initial testing. Don't try to install it yet! Before installing Linux we will want to cover some options that you should consider. But if you decide to try to boot on the USB, and if you get that far, remember to only choose the "Try Ubuntu". A mistake at this point could cause you to erase your Windows... so be careful here.

Step A. - Boot the Linux USB in "live mode" (and not install it yet)

Step B. - Evaluate your installation options. Test the USB in "live mode" to make sure your sound works, and video, and wireless networking. Try to determine if you like this version of Ubuntu.... maybe you will hate it and would rather try something else first before installing to your computer's hard drive.

Okay, enough for this round. G'nite. :D
Good morning,
The Ubuntu downloaded to my Laptop and the colored Icon is there. All the files are there. I did like you said, after a few trys. Because at the first go around I used the copy all bittons and it said it was not compatable. Then I tried copying one at a time and each one said it was compatible.

Then I followed the 3 stages on etcher and it copied to the flash drive. I restarted the compu and opened the flash drive . But did not verify the flash drive. I hit the boot button and got zilch. Except the 2 doc files. So I will erase the flash drive and do the process over again later today, after work.

Q: I do not recall hitting the install Ubantu on the laptop. Should I go to the file and hit install or is it installed with the Icon in my directory? Will it hurt to reinstall if already installed?

Going for a cup of coffee.

By the way, this info you gave me is for newbies and should be published! It is simple to understand and complete! :):rolleyes:
 
So Stan is likely catching zzz's now (& well-earned, I might add, that Post above is great:)). And of course, at time of writing, it is 11:39 PM Costa Rica time, so you may be too?

Susan by the sheerest of coincidences, another lady joined almost coincident in time with you, goes by the name of @Deckwench ... her story is here

https://www.linux.org/threads/trouble-booting-up-ubuntu.17846/

... and is worth the read, for you. She is contemporary in age and experience, was looking for an alternative Productivity (Office) suite, and is now travelling down the same sort of road as you. :)

It's like you are two travellers walking down a path on either side of a fence or hedge, your paths are converging, eventually the hedge finishes, and you meet and find what you have in common. Curious.

I, for one, being a 60-plusser, find it quite gratifying the number of Members we have taken on last 12 months since I joined, aged 55 to 85 (yes, 85). Many of them are people whom had been using another OS since its inception, and they are finding Linux to be like a breath of fresh air. Hope you do too :D

On Stan's writings above -
  1. Step B - printers/scanners is another good one to try, it just depends on how much work you want to do before install, or take your chances after install. We can help with drivers, if they are available.
Cheers

Wizard
I ckd out Deckwench. That is a whole nother problem. I thought all older windows crashed and died after 2 upgrades. My computer did, years ago, then the replacement laptop died on this last upgrade to windows 10. Hence the new laptop.

There is nothing I could add to her help line. She sounds a lot more astute at computers than I.

What I learned along the years working with programmers was to make thing work for newbies. The user friendly and cks and balance side.

Example: managed a fishing company and exporter with plants in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, exporting fish all over the US. We needed a program that would work in 3 currencies and 2 weights.The programmers in CR could not build what we needed. I bought Quickbooks. My bookkeeper and I adapted it to work for us with their helpline. And saved the company $19,900.

The compamy I work with now had an on staff programmer building a program, I made the excel controls for the different departments and he made the programs from those. In CR the words I dont know how is never used. instead they use It doesnt exist. My early days taught me some lingo and function codes, ( if/then and equal to or greater than...)so It doesnt exist was never the right response for me.

Now I am treking the other side and you folks are super at guiding me.

Off to work. Chat later today. Habe a good day.
 
I got the confirmation that the sums were compatible.
Okay, good. I know that is a tedious and boring step, but it is worth taking the time to do it.

Then I followed the 3 stages on etcher and it copied to the flash drive. I restarted the compu and opened the flash drive . But did not verify the flash drive. I hit the boot button and got zilch. Except the 2 doc files. So I will erase the flash drive and do the process over again later today, after work.
I think that your flash drive is ready to use, no need to do the Etcher process again. When you opened it in Windows and see those two doc files (inside the efi folder)... that is how it looks in Windows to me too. The Etcher process does a "validating" process at the end of the 3rd step, and you may have noticed this if you were watching it. It is kind of like it's own built in "verify." As long as Etcher didn't report errors, I think everything is ready to boot up on the flash drive now. But you don't boot the computer by clicking or double-clicking on those doc files... it is a more involved process than that.

Booting your Lenovo laptop may have it's own little trick. I mentioned the "Novo" button some posts back. If you are ready to try to boot on the Linux flash drive, then we will go into details now about how to boot it... and hopefully your Lenovo behaves as mine does, but mine is a different model. OK, here goes:

1. Power down the computer completely. Plug the Linux flash drive into one of the USB ports.

2. Locate the "Novo" button on the right side edge of the laptop, close to you (not close to the screen). It should be beside a small hole to plug in speakers. This is a very small button. Use a fingernail (or ball point pen, or something... but be careful not to damage it) and press and hold this button in until you see the Lenovo logo appear, then release the button.

3. You should now see a screen with several options. Please tell us all the things you see here in case we miss something. If there is an option to disable Fast Boot, then arrow down to highlight that option first and press Enter to make it work. I don't have that, but I've head that it may be there. You then need to come back to the option screen, and you want to select Boot Menu.... arrow to it so it is highlighted and hit Enter. (If necessary to reboot after disabling Fast Boot, you will have to use the Novo button again to get back to this step.)

4. If all is good so far, you are now at a screen that may say Boot Manager at the top. There should be at least 2 selections, and there may be more. Look for the one that says something like, "EFI USB Device". It may also have (USB Brand Name) in parentheses beside it. Arrow to that selection to highlight it, and hit Enter.

5. OK, you have to be careful next. The screen will go black or mostly black... do not hit any keys. You may see some small (VERY SMALL) text at the top, but it may be too small to read. I say to be careful because if you just leave it alone, it will start Ubuntu in "live mode" after about 10 seconds. But that small text will let you change from "Try Ubuntu" to "Install Ubuntu".... and we don't want to do that yet. If this goes properly, you will soon be at a brand new desktop... the Ubuntu GNOME desktop. And you will see a column of icons on the left edge of the screen (these are actually in their own space with a slight highlight behind them). To the right, on the proper desktop, you will see just one icon to Install Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. Again, do not double-click on this as it is a bit too soon for you to install... there are some other things we want you to consider about doing a full installation.

6. Caution... you may need a strong magnifying glass handy at this point. Many of these newer Linux distros will open up in "live mode" with the maximum screen resolution possible, but that makes everything too small to read! I am going through these steps on my Lenovo right now, and it has done this to me before... but this version of Ubuntu has thankfully started up on a desktop that I am able to read and use (except for the tiny text I mentioned in #5 above). So if you can see everything clearly, then go on to Step 7. But if things are too small... then do this first (use the magnifying glass to help you):

a. Hit your Windows key on the laptop keypad... this will open a search box at the top center of the screen. Type the word "displays" (without quotes) and hit Enter.

b. It will show the resolution, for example, 3200 x 1800 (16:9) on mine, and below that it will show 3 buttons to change the Scale. If your screen is tiny, it is probably set for 100%.

c. Click on the 200% button, and then click the Apply button that appears in the upper right corner of this window. From 100% to 200% is a pretty noticeable improvement. And you can also click the 300% button (and Apply) to go for the maximum Scale if you like it better. Once you have a setting that is acceptable, then continue on to Step 7.

7. So, if at the desktop, you can begin to play and test out this new system. You will see the Firefox icon near the top left corner, but you will need to get into your home wireless network first (unless you have connected a wired ethernet cable). To connect to your wireless network, click on the small down-arrow in the upper right corner... there are several things about this screen you need, but first click the small right-arrow next to "Wi-Fi Not Connected" and follow along to choose your network and enter your password. On this windows you'll also see battery life, which user is logged on (Live session user right now), slider controls at the top for volume and screen brightness, and 3 round buttons on the bottom of this window. The left round button will access the complete settings menu for Ubuntu... when you need to change things, this is probably the place. I'm not sure about the middle round button. The right round button is used to Shut Down or Restart the computer.... so you need to know this!

8. OK, I'm almost done. But let me also tell you how to access all your programs on Ubuntu. If you click on "Activities" in the top left corner of the screen, it opens a Search Menu... so you can type in the app you want to start... if you start typing Libre you will see all the LibreOffice apps appear that you can click and select. Click on "Activities" again to return to the desktop. In the lower left corner of the screen, you'll see a grid pattern of 9 dots... clicking that will show you all the programs that are installed by default. There are 3 screens of these apps, and you can click on the small round circles on the right edge of the screen to select each screen, or you can use the PageUP and PageDOWN keys on the keyboard to get around here. Clicking the 9-dots grid again will close the applications... but if it doesn't return you to the desktop, then just click on the desktop. The Windows key on your laptop keyboard also opens up the Search Menu, just like the "Activities" button... in fact, they seem to toggle each other as if they are the same key.

9. Look around some of the other icons on the left edge of the screen. Linux Lingo lesson: that area is called a "panel" and it is basically the same as the "taskbar" in Windows. In this version of Ubuntu, they call the panel a "dock" instead. In different Linux distros, you may find the panel on the bottom or the top of the screen, and you can even have more than one... so maybe top and bottom both. These things are adjustable to your liking. If you want the panel on the bottom, like in Windows, click the small down-arrow in the top right corner (like when setting up networking)... click on the left round button at the bottom to access the Settings.... click on "Dock" on the left side settings selections... and change the "Position on screen" to Bottom. (I see they don't let you use the top, oh well.)

10. When done testing for now, go back to that small down-arrow again, click the right round button on the bottom, and choose Power Off. Wait a bit for it (not long, maybe 10-20 seconds at the most), and it should tell you that you can now "Remove the installation media, then press Enter" but it may be hard to read again. You don't really have to remove it, you can just hit Enter and the computer will power off. But the important thing is that you do not remove the flash drive too early before this point, or else the flash drive could be corrupted and possibly make it unusable.

Whew, okay... try this when you're ready. I just did these steps myself, so I hope that they work for you in the same manner. But you will have to follow along carefully, and I hope that I didn't miss something myself. If it doesn't work, try to note exactly what step is failing, and write down any errors that you might see.

Cheers
 

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