Which Version?

clust3rfck

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Hi all, new member.
Being completely ignorant, I thought I could just download Linux and start messing around. But when I go to the download page I see there are 25 different programs, none called "Linux".
I want to build a cluster. I want to replicate Beowulf. This is an experiment and a learning exercise. I was on another forum asking questions and got not a single encouraging comment. That aside, I am using 4 Duo core computers, because what else are you going to do with them?
I have heard all about how impractical it is as a working thing, I know there are better options for hardware, I know, I know. I still don't care.
What should I download as a program that is easy to learn and will be useful in creating what I want to create?
My intention is to use this either for SETI or F@H, unless there is something even cooler than looking for little green men or finding a cure for cooties.
Thanks in Advance!
 


Welcome to linux.org and to you GNU/Linux journey! Just check distrowatch for a list of available GNU/Linux distributions available. Before going towards building a cluster, I would start with learning the basics and how the systems works since you are new to GNU/Linux.
 
none called "Linux".

That's because Linux is just the kernel. So, Ubuntu is Linux, but you won't see the word Linux in the downloadable file's name. You'll see Ubuntu, probably something about x86_64, a version number, and a .iso file extension.
 
I recommend.



Huge thanks. Looking at the installation instructions, I want to do this :


If you have more than one physical hard drive and want to dual-boot Windows and Linux Lite, with Linux Lite on its own dedicated physical drive, then we recommend you make a request for guidance in our Forum if you are unfamiliar with Linux based installations. Otherwise, general instructions for such an installation are listed below.


  • Create your partitions, choose appropriate file system types, and designate mount points.
  • Not sure I know how to do this. Windows does it for you when you install. I need specific instructions or a tutorial
  • Near bottom of the window, select a drive for the boot loader installation. (That will be something like /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, etc. - without a partition # after it. Not /dev/sda1, for instance.) It will be pre-filled for the MBR of the first hard drive.
  • I am not sure I understand this at all
  • If Windows is on the first drive, it's boot loader will be replaced with the Linux boot loader (grub2) unless you specify a different drive. That is fine, but an alternative is to install the boot loader to the Linux hard drive, then set the BIOS to boot from that drive. That will preserve the Windows boot loader on its own drive.
  • I don't understand the part about the boot loader but I do know I can't screw up my main machine.
  • Once installation is complete, reboot and the Linux boot loader will have automatically detected your Windows installation and added it to the boot menu choices.
  • I don't want Linux to take over my machine if I am just using it as a tool to download to a different disk. I don't want to end up with a program that isn't on my pc to ask me which O.S. to use.

It is my intention to load Linux to a separate drive that I will install in a different computer. The only reason I want to do it this way is I don't have a pen drive, but I do have a half dozen hard drives I swap in and out for different things. Currently, I have 6 hard drives and was wondering what on earth I was going to do with them all. Linux seems like the perfect thing for at least one of them. That being said, once I put a Linux hard drive in a second pc I can watch tutorials on one computer and follow along on another. Can someone help me understand these instructions a little better?



Welcome to linux.org and to you GNU/Linux journey! Just check distrowatch for a list of available GNU/Linux distributions available. Before going towards building a cluster, I would start with learning the basics and how the systems works since you are new to GNU/Linux.
Thank you so much. The equipment I have slated for this project isn't costing me a heck of a lot sitting in the closet, so no worries there. Plugging wires in together and hoping something cool happens isn't going to happen without an OS of some sort. So I better figure out how to program it before I start assembly in my mind.
 
Last edited:
It's actually GNU/Linux:
 
Hi all, new member.
Being completely ignorant, I thought I could just download Linux and start messing around. But when I go to the download page I see there are 25 different programs, none called "Linux".
I want to build a cluster. I want to replicate Beowulf. This is an experiment and a learning exercise. I was on another forum asking questions and got not a single encouraging comment. That aside, I am using 4 Duo core computers, because what else are you going to do with them?
I have heard all about how impractical it is as a working thing, I know there are better options for hardware, I know, I know. I still don't care.
What should I download as a program that is easy to learn and will be useful in creating what I want to create?
My intention is to use this either for SETI or F@H, unless there is something even cooler than looking for little green men or finding a cure for cooties.
Thanks in Advance!
Welcome @clust3rfck to the forum.
I would encourage you to follow @f33dm3bits advice in post #3.
On Distrowatch you will notice that Linux Mint is near the top of the list, number 3 the last time I looked. That's because it is very popular, and has been for a long time.
Give Linux Mint a try. It is very easy to learn and will get you up to Linux speed very quickly.
Once you are familiar with how Linux operates you can then go any direction you choose. That's the beauty of Linux - choice.
But first things first require some study and patience on your part to learn the basics. Then it is anywhere you want to go with it. It's a whole new computer world you are entering into. Enjoy the ride.
Once again - Welcome.
Old Geezer Tango Charlie
 
Welcome @clust3rfck to the forum.
I would encourage you to follow @f33dm3bits advice in post #3.
On Distrowatch you will notice that Linux Mint is near the top of the list, number 3 the last time I looked. That's because it is very popular, and has been for a long time.
Give Linux Mint a try. It is very easy to learn and will get you up to Linux speed very quickly.
Once you are familiar with how Linux operates you can then go any direction you choose. That's the beauty of Linux - choice.
But first things first require some study and patience on your part to learn the basics. Then it is anywhere you want to go with it. It's a whole new computer world you are entering into. Enjoy the ride.
Once again - Welcome.
Old Geezer Tango Charlie
Thank you so much!
Are you suggesting mint as a learning tool or can it be used to operate a cluster?
Am I going to have to create a program to operate a cluster or does one already exist?
 
G'day cluster, Welcome to Linux.org

A guy once said to me as he observed a guy doing burnouts/donuts etc etc on a high end motorbike (and he had NO experience)...."that is an accident looking for a place to happen"

In other words the guy on the bike took on too much at once.

How about downloading Linux Mint 20.1, "burn" it to a USB (or one of your hard drives)......and then install that on one of your machines.

Get to know it.....you can screw around with to your hearts content.....if you break it....reinstall it.

Learn as much as you can and then worry about the intricacies of a 'cluster'
 
Yes, LMint is a great distro to learn the basics on. What you do after the basics is up to you. Maybe clusters would work fine on Mint, as I don't know anything about clusters.
But, what I mentioned above "But first things first require some study and patience on your part to learn the basics." does hold true.
Learn the basics first then you can delve into other stuff, which is where I would put clusters, programming, and lots of other 'advanced' stuff.
OG TC
 
Yes, LMint is a great distro to learn the basics on. What you do after the basics is up to you. Maybe clusters would work fine on Mint, as I don't know anything about clusters.
But, what I mentioned above "But first things first require some study and patience on your part to learn the basics." does hold true.
Learn the basics first then you can delve into other stuff, which is where I would put clusters, programming, and lots of other 'advanced' stuff.
OG TC
I appreciate the advice. Learning Mint is clearly the first step.
 

Below is a long read...a bit tedious......but read it a couple of times and you will get the gist

First, you can -- __and should__ -- try Linux Mint before switching to it. Fortunately, unlike other operating systems, Linux distros like Mint make it easy to give them a test run before installing it.

First you'll need to download a copy of Linux Mint, which comes with three different desktops: MATE, Xfce, and its default desktop, Cinnamon. If you have a 2012-or-newer PC, I recommend you download the 64-bit version of Mint with Cinnamon and multi-media support.

If you don't have an __ISO burner program__, download one. I recommend freeware programs ImgBurn for optical drives and Yumi for Windows for USB sticks. Other good choices are LinuxLive USB Creator and UNetbootin. These are also free programs.**UPDATE.**....use [[https://www.balena.io/etcher/|Balena Etcher]] ....Also Free


**Giving Mint a try**

Once you've installed the burner program and have the latest Linux Mint ISO file in hand, use the burner to put the ISO image to your disc or USB stick. If you're using a DVD -- __Mint is too big to fit on a CD__ -- check your newly burned disc for errors. Over the years, I've had more __problems with running Linux and installing Linux from DVDs__ from bad discs than all other causes combined.

You can set it up a USB stick with persistent storage. With this, you can store your programs and files on the stick. This way you can carry Linux and use it as a walk-around operating system for hotel, conference, and library PCs. I've found this to be very handy and there's always at least one Linux stick in my laptop bag.

**Next, you place your disc or USB stick into your PC and reboot**. During the reboot, stop the boot-up process and get to your PC's UEFI or BIOS settings. How you do this varies according to the system.

Look for a message as the machine starts up that tells which key or keys you'll need to press in order to get to the BIOS or UEFI. Likely candidates are a function key or the "esc" or "delete" keys. __If you don't spot it the first time, don't worry about it. Just reboot and try again.__


Once you get to the BIOS or UEFI, look for a menu choice labeled "Boot," "Boot Options," or "Boot Order." If you don't see anything with the word "boot" in it, check other menu options such as "Advanced Options," "Advanced BIOS Features," or "Other Options." Once you find it, set the boot order so that instead of booting from the hard drive first, you boot from either the CD/DVD drive or from your USB drive.

Once your PC is set to try to boot first from the alternative drive, insert your DVD or USB stick and reboot. __Then, select "Start Linux Mint" from the first menu. And, from there, you'll be running Linux Mint.__


Some Nvidia graphics cards don't work well with Mint's open-source driver. If Linux Mint freezes during boot, use the "nomodeset" boot option. You set this to the Start Linux Mint option and press __'e'__ to modify the boot options. Then, replace "quiet splash" with "nomodeset" and press F10 to boot. On older PCs using BIOS, press 'tab' instead of 'e.'

__MINT WILL RUN SLOWER THIS WAY, BUT IT WILL BOOT AND RUN__. If you decide to install Mint, you can permanently fix the problem with the following steps:

Run the Driver Manager
Choose the NVIDIA drivers and wait for them to be installed
Reboot the computer

SO **FAR YOU HAVEN'T INSTALLED ANYTHING ON YOUR PC, BUT YOU WILL BE RUNNING LINUX MINT. USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY WITH IT TO SEE IF YOU LIKE IT..**

Using a DVD drive Mint will run slowly, but it will run quickly enough to give you an idea of what it's like to use Mint. With a USB stick, it runs fast enough to give you a good notion of what working with Mint is like.

PLEASE...play with it...explore everywhere....you CANNOT break it...remember it is on a thumb drive....if it goes up in smoke, just reboot and away you go again. No harm done. :)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The rest is for later reference....if you ultimately decide to Install Linux, you should read the rest of this tome

Advice : Have a look at **'Timeshift'** it is similar to windows system restore.....just MUCH better. It actually works.

A good tutorial can be found : https://www.linuxliteos.com/manual/tutorials.html#timeshift

While you are //playing with Linux// on a thumb drive //you will not need Timeshift//.....but after you have **actually INSTALLED Linux...then i HIGHLY recommend you give Timeshift a run**. If you have an __external hard drive as well, this is the ideal set up.__ You are able to send a 'snapshot' of your system to the external hard drive via Timeshift' ....it serves as a 'safe spot' which you can restore from with one click.
In the case of a (HIGHLY unlikely) bad update, where your normal __Linux__ would not boot.....simply boot the pc to the external hard drive...select the 'snapshot' you wish to run (usually the one made before the bad update)....click on 'restore'....go make coffee.
It will be done by the time you have made it. __Simple.__


=+==================================================================================================

 
Last edited:
Once you have the basics (and maybe a bit more because you certainly have some ambition).....then there is an Enormous world full of Linux and its derivatives just waiting for you.
 
Boy oh boy oh boy... a while back I really got into researching Beowulf clusters. When you are ready for that stage of the game ping me (in a new thread!) and I'll post a bunch of links that could be useful.
 

Below is a long read...a bit tedious......but read it a couple of times and you will get the gist

First, you can -- __and should__ -- try Linux Mint before switching to it. Fortunately, unlike other operating systems, Linux distros like Mint make it easy to give them a test run before installing it.

First you'll need to download a copy of Linux Mint, which comes with three different desktops: MATE, Xfce, and its default desktop, Cinnamon. If you have a 2012-or-newer PC, I recommend you download the 64-bit version of Mint with Cinnamon and multi-media support.

If you don't have an __ISO burner program__, download one. I recommend freeware programs ImgBurn for optical drives and Yumi for Windows for USB sticks. Other good choices are LinuxLive USB Creator and UNetbootin. These are also free programs.**UPDATE.**....use [[https://www.balena.io/etcher/|Balena Etcher]] ....Also Free


**Giving Mint a try**

Once you've installed the burner program and have the latest Linux Mint ISO file in hand, use the burner to put the ISO image to your disc or USB stick. If you're using a DVD -- __Mint is too big to fit on a CD__ -- check your newly burned disc for errors. Over the years, I've had more __problems with running Linux and installing Linux from DVDs__ from bad discs than all other causes combined.

You can set it up a USB stick with persistent storage. With this, you can store your programs and files on the stick. This way you can carry Linux and use it as a walk-around operating system for hotel, conference, and library PCs. I've found this to be very handy and there's always at least one Linux stick in my laptop bag.

**Next, you place your disc or USB stick into your PC and reboot**. During the reboot, stop the boot-up process and get to your PC's UEFI or BIOS settings. How you do this varies according to the system.

Look for a message as the machine starts up that tells which key or keys you'll need to press in order to get to the BIOS or UEFI. Likely candidates are a function key or the "esc" or "delete" keys. __If you don't spot it the first time, don't worry about it. Just reboot and try again.__


Once you get to the BIOS or UEFI, look for a menu choice labeled "Boot," "Boot Options," or "Boot Order." If you don't see anything with the word "boot" in it, check other menu options such as "Advanced Options," "Advanced BIOS Features," or "Other Options." Once you find it, set the boot order so that instead of booting from the hard drive first, you boot from either the CD/DVD drive or from your USB drive.

Once your PC is set to try to boot first from the alternative drive, insert your DVD or USB stick and reboot. __Then, select "Start Linux Mint" from the first menu. And, from there, you'll be running Linux Mint.__


Some Nvidia graphics cards don't work well with Mint's open-source driver. If Linux Mint freezes during boot, use the "nomodeset" boot option. You set this to the Start Linux Mint option and press __'e'__ to modify the boot options. Then, replace "quiet splash" with "nomodeset" and press F10 to boot. On older PCs using BIOS, press 'tab' instead of 'e.'

__MINT WILL RUN SLOWER THIS WAY, BUT IT WILL BOOT AND RUN__. If you decide to install Mint, you can permanently fix the problem with the following steps:

Run the Driver Manager
Choose the NVIDIA drivers and wait for them to be installed
Reboot the computer

SO **FAR YOU HAVEN'T INSTALLED ANYTHING ON YOUR PC, BUT YOU WILL BE RUNNING LINUX MINT. USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY WITH IT TO SEE IF YOU LIKE IT..**

Using a DVD drive Mint will run slowly, but it will run quickly enough to give you an idea of what it's like to use Mint. With a USB stick, it runs fast enough to give you a good notion of what working with Mint is like.

PLEASE...play with it...explore everywhere....you CANNOT break it...remember it is on a thumb drive....if it goes up in smoke, just reboot and away you go again. No harm done. :)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The rest is for later reference....if you ultimately decide to Install Linux, you should read the rest of this tome

Advice : Have a look at **'Timeshift'** it is similar to windows system restore.....just MUCH better. It actually works.

A good tutorial can be found : https://www.linuxliteos.com/manual/tutorials.html#timeshift

While you are //playing with Linux// on a thumb drive //you will not need Timeshift//.....but after you have **actually INSTALLED Linux...then i HIGHLY recommend you give Timeshift a run**. If you have an __external hard drive as well, this is the ideal set up.__ You are able to send a 'snapshot' of your system to the external hard drive via Timeshift' ....it serves as a 'safe spot' which you can restore from with one click.
In the case of a (HIGHLY unlikely) bad update, where your normal __Linux__ would not boot.....simply boot the pc to the external hard drive...select the 'snapshot' you wish to run (usually the one made before the bad update)....click on 'restore'....go make coffee.
It will be done by the time you have made it. __Simple.__


=+==================================================================================================

I got the Gist the first time thru. I am hoping to try Mint. I can't get it to download without a thumbdrive apparently. I can't install it, I can't figure out how to install directly to an internal or external secondary hard drive. I have spent all freaking day just trying to get the program to install and I am a little bent right now.
I shouldn't have to go buy yet another pendrive to get a single program to download. Isn't Linux supposed to be the best open source free ware in the universe? Then why hasn't someone come up with a way to download and install this directly onto a hard drive with out replacing your current OS or installing along side it? Having a brand new os does me absolutely no good if I don't have some way to follow along on tutorials and stuff. I wouldn't even know how to get on the internet and to youtube...
Sorry, rant over. It has been a very long and frustrating day of getting absolutely nowhere on a task that should have taken 20 minutes
 
Unlike Windows, Linux has many OS variations, known as distros. What you've downloded is probably the kernel and not the OS. In case you are looking for a Linux OS, here's the download link:
Ubuntu: https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
Linux Mint: https://linuxmint.com/download.php
Manjaro: https://manjaro.org/get-manjaro/
Debian: https://www.debian.org/distrib/
Arch Linux: https://archlinux.org/download/
I went to the distrowatch and downloaded Mint from there, I think.
Once you have the basics (and maybe a bit more because you certainly have some ambition).....then there is an Enormous world full of Linux and its derivatives just waiting for you.
Never ever going to get there at this rate if I can't get the stupid thing to install. Much more of this crap and I will turn that cluster into targets and find something else to do. I am super pissed off and highly disappointed. I have been thinking about learning Linux for years.
 
Boy oh boy oh boy... a while back I really got into researching Beowulf clusters. When you are ready for that stage of the game ping me (in a new thread!) and I'll post a bunch of links that could be useful.
Can you start with some real simple instructions on how to install mint onto a hard drive without a thumbdrive? I mean real damn simple....
 
Does that hard drive connect to a USB port ?
 
Read (long and a bit boring, but read it twice.

First, you can -- __and should__ -- try Linux Mint before switching to it. Fortunately, unlike other operating systems, Linux distros like Mint make it easy to give them a test run before installing it.

First you'll need to download a copy of Linux Mint, which comes with three different desktops: MATE, Xfce, and its default desktop, Cinnamon. If you have a 2012-or-newer PC, I recommend you download the 64-bit version of Mint with Cinnamon and multi-media support.

If you don't have an __ISO burner program__, download one. I recommend freeware programs ImgBurn for optical drives and Yumi for Windows for USB sticks. Other good choices are LinuxLive USB Creator and UNetbootin. These are also free programs.**UPDATE.**....use [[https://www.balena.io/etcher/|Balena Etcher]] ....Also Free


**Giving Mint a try**

Once you've installed the burner program and have the latest Linux Mint ISO file in hand, use the burner to put the ISO image to your disc or USB stick. If you're using a DVD -- __Mint is too big to fit on a CD__ -- check your newly burned disc for errors. Over the years, I've had more __problems with running Linux and installing Linux from DVDs__ from bad discs than all other causes combined.

You can set it up a USB stick with persistent storage. With this, you can store your programs and files on the stick. This way you can carry Linux and use it as a walk-around operating system for hotel, conference, and library PCs. I've found this to be very handy and there's always at least one Linux stick in my laptop bag.

**Next, you place your disc or USB stick into your PC and reboot**. During the reboot, stop the boot-up process and get to your PC's UEFI or BIOS settings. How you do this varies according to the system.

Look for a message as the machine starts up that tells which key or keys you'll need to press in order to get to the BIOS or UEFI. Likely candidates are a function key or the "esc" or "delete" keys. __If you don't spot it the first time, don't worry about it. Just reboot and try again.__


Once you get to the BIOS or UEFI, look for a menu choice labeled "Boot," "Boot Options," or "Boot Order." If you don't see anything with the word "boot" in it, check other menu options such as "Advanced Options," "Advanced BIOS Features," or "Other Options." Once you find it, set the boot order so that instead of booting from the hard drive first, you boot from either the CD/DVD drive or from your USB drive.

Once your PC is set to try to boot first from the alternative drive, insert your DVD or USB stick and reboot. __Then, select "Start Linux Mint" from the first menu. And, from there, you'll be running Linux Mint.__


Some Nvidia graphics cards don't work well with Mint's open-source driver. If Linux Mint freezes during boot, use the "nomodeset" boot option. You set this to the Start Linux Mint option and press __'e'__ to modify the boot options. Then, replace "quiet splash" with "nomodeset" and press F10 to boot. On older PCs using BIOS, press 'tab' instead of 'e.'

__MINT WILL RUN SLOWER THIS WAY, BUT IT WILL BOOT AND RUN__. If you decide to install Mint, you can permanently fix the problem with the following steps:

Run the Driver Manager
Choose the NVIDIA drivers and wait for them to be installed
Reboot the computer

SO **FAR YOU HAVEN'T INSTALLED ANYTHING ON YOUR PC, BUT YOU WILL BE RUNNING LINUX MINT. USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY WITH IT TO SEE IF YOU LIKE IT..**

Using a DVD drive Mint will run slowly, but it will run quickly enough to give you an idea of what it's like to use Mint. With a USB stick, it runs fast enough to give you a good notion of what working with Mint is like.

PLEASE...play with it...explore everywhere....you CANNOT break it...remember it is on a thumb drive....if it goes up in smoke, just reboot and away you go again. No harm done. :)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The rest is for later reference....if you ultimately decide to Install Linux, you should read the rest of this tome

Advice : Have a look at **'Timeshift'** it is similar to windows system restore.....just MUCH better. It actually works.

A good tutorial can be found : https://www.linuxliteos.com/manual/tutorials.html#timeshift

While you are //playing with Linux// on a thumb drive //you will not need Timeshift//.....but after you have **actually INSTALLED Linux...then i HIGHLY recommend you give Timeshift a run**. If you have an __external hard drive as well, this is the ideal set up.__ You are able to send a 'snapshot' of your system to the external hard drive via Timeshift' ....it serves as a 'safe spot' which you can restore from with one click.
In the case of a (HIGHLY unlikely) bad update, where your normal __Linux__ would not boot.....simply boot the pc to the external hard drive...select the 'snapshot' you wish to run (usually the one made before the bad update)....click on 'restore'....go make coffee.
It will be done by the time you have made it. __Simple.__


=+==================================================================================================

 
If it is not possible to connect that hard drive as a USB....via a USB cord to a USB port.....

Have a look at this

Unetbootin : https://unetbootin.github.io/

Be EXTRA careful where you download it to......to the desktop is good....or downloads is fine also

THEN......after you have elected which distribution to use...see screenshot below...

Hard Disk.png


Linux Mint 20 is a good starting place.....

Then in the bottom of that screenshot you can see Hard Disk....and the space beside is blank ....click on that little arrow to open it and it will show a list of all hard drives/disks on the pc.....CHOOSE CAREFULLY....Make sure it is the SPARE hard drive....otherwise, you will wipe out the operating system on your PC (Windows)

I have NOT used this to install to a hard drive before....so proceed with caution.


(If the worst happened and you wiped windows, all would not be lost.....you would simply need to acquire a USB stick and 'burn' Linux Mint to that USB stick and then Install it. )
 

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