The Linux Distro Thread (maybe)

[ej-solutions]

Thought I'd start this one off, rather than continue on another thread.

As a quick catch up for others:

Have a look at Unetbootin, as a means to try out different versions of Linux, without producing numerous coasters (unwanted CDs).
I haven't tried the method of installing to hard drive, only the USB flash drive method (so far).

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Just skimming the surface

Opinions/guidance expressed are intended to benefit the reader (mostly) but no responsibility should be assumed for the accuracy and no warranty is implied/expressed or given - so eBay may pull this post

[grumpy-cook]

This is really just a bump, as the thread had disappeared off to page 3.

However, this article made interesting reading -

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/05/cloudlinux/

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[ej-solutions]

Interesting. :-)

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[grumpy-cook]

Of possible interest to OE - there's a new release of Minix out (3.1.6). They've bunged more drivers on it mostly.

http://wiki.minix3.org/en/MinixReleases

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[otherego]

Thanks, g-c - it's now on the list!

[grumpy-cook]

OE said this on another thread -

Just installed Mint 8 on the old Thinkpad - simple install with just one restart, 95 updates in about ten minutes with no restart, minimal malware worries. I'm wondering whether Linux might not actually be overtaking Windows in terms of user-friendliness!

(I brought it here because the OP in that thread is confused enough already).

IMO we are not nearly there yet OE. When you have to jump through hoops to do something as basic as installing the right Java version, there's still a bit of a gap to be closed.

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[ej-solutions]

"When you have to jump through hoops to do something as basic as installing the right Java version, there's still a bit of a gap to be closed."
Sorry, don't get that one. In Windoze you still have to do this. In Ubuntu derivatives, it auto-updates, when released to the repos.
Mint 8 Fluxbox could bring new life to old machines. :-)

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[grumpy-cook]

This may be true of Mint 8 EJ, but it is certainly not in Mandriva. On Windows you need do nothing more than visit a website, or if you have the updater it automates it. In Mandriva, I have to find the right release, download it, sudo this and that and put bits of it here and there, following a guide written for another distro. The package updater does zip for me. This is one of the reasons that I'm looking into a different distro.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very pro Linux and very rarely stray into Windoze these days, but it isn't there yet for the average punter, especially where installing software is concerned if it falls outside that which is in the repos.

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[ej-solutions]

That's why I clarified with Ubuntu derivatives 😉
Just look at the mess that people get into with Windoze (witness this very forum) and the divide has to be getting considerably smaller. Though some are still unable to read but can click. ]:)

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[*scyllabub*]

I think that EJ advised (not necessarily me personally) to install Ubuntu on my Advent 4211 (MSI Wind U100 clone) netbook. I downloaded it but have been procrastinating. Given my recent malware scare, here is my hard drive for y'all to advise on how to re-partition and on which partition to install Ubuntu (if that's still what I should install).

I have ubuntu-9.10-netbook-remix-i396.iso saved to my D:\ drive.

[ej-solutions]

Ample room to split c: up. Give Ubuntu 8-10Gb to 'play' with and it'll last with that for eons (well, a long time ;-)).
You could also create a home partition of a few Gb in what's left of C: - in case of a rebuild etc. (optional)
The guided install may also suggest a swap partition and possibly a temp partition.
If the swap partition is made the same size as the amount of RAM, then hibernation will be possible.
The temp partition (if suggested) won't need to be large 512Mb, for example.

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[grumpy-cook]

Scylla, you may find this of use. I have always found HotToForge's guides very useful. This is a little old but the general principles apply. You start at page 3 which covers creating partitions etc. where Windows is already installed and then go back to page 1 for the install of Ubuntu.

http://www.howtoforge.com/dual_boot_windows_xp_vista_ubuntu_feisty_p3

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[otherego]

A couple more considerations, if I might.

If you plan to shrink your C: partition, it's probably worth thoroughly defragmenting it first - even if the Windows defrag tool tells you this is unnecessary. Not sure that the Sourceforge guide mentions that. I murdered an XP partition by shrinking it substantially, without first defragging.

Could easily have been something else, of course.

My old nemesis, the limited number of primary partitions possible, rears its head here. You can only have four primary partitions on one drive. (I used to think this applied across drives - luckily I was wrong - as wa pointed out here.)

If you plan to use a swap partition, then you're looking at adding at least two partitions to your present arrangement - /root and swap - giving a total of five partitions.

Fortunately, it would be a simple matter to create one extended partition in the space you plan to allocate Linux (guides available on line), and to create your root, home, swap and whatever else you want within that extended partition as individual logical partitions.

One of the few things I dislike about the Ubuntu series is the partitioning tool. Just the way my mind is wired, but I find it anything but intuitive - even when I've prepared partitions in advance with GParted.

Which I personally find simplifies installations.

A final suggestion. As a serial buyer of ancient laptops to mess around with, I get the impression that laptop manufacturers tend to bow and scrape to Microsoft, to the extent that their support for Linux is incredibly and disgracefully poor. (Just my own opinion, of course.)

I find it worthwhile burning a variety of CDs, and if one distro doesn't work on a particular computer, and can usually, with patience, find one that does cope with the hardware concerned. (One can usually find the necessary drivers eventually, but this only worth while if you find this sort of thing fun - which it can in fact be.)

Although Mint remains my preferred distro, I've found that a couple of laptops cope better with Mandriva and with Mepis. Ubuntu's commendable adherence to the avoidance of non-free drivers etc can involve a little more work than one might like, but at least there are perfectly legit ways and means, and lots of information available - just involves a little more work.

Mepis, incidentally, has the most unfriendly user-agreement I've seen in a Linux distro, but more than atones for this in its incredibly friendly and helpful forums. Wireless seems to be its weakness - if it doesn't work straight away, a certain amount of Colourful Language will ensue by the time it does - but it's a splendid distro, otherwise, and greatly overlooked.

Have fun, anyway. I find I feel more relaxed surfing from a Linux partition - although I do occasionally worry that I might have become a little complacent - so still use all the Firefox add-ons, and try to remember to think occasionally before clicking...

[otherego]

Definitely intellectually challenged today - Scylla's using EaseUs to shrink her XP partition.

Scylla, I don't know whether you need worry about the defrag thing if you're using EaseUs. I even managed to shrink a Vista partition without having to repair the boot process thanks to EaseUs - and absolutely no thanks to the built-in Vista partitioner.

XP's a little better-natured in these matters, I suspect.

GParted remains my favourite for partitioning the new unallocated space, though.

Are you planning to add Linux within the space now occupied by C:, then to use 😧 for both Linux and XP's data?

Obviously being particularly dense today - I can't figure out whether you already have an extended partition in that scheme - looks as if your logical partition (D:) might also be contained within an unlabelled extended partition. Probably missing something obvious.

Must be siesta time.

[*scyllabub*]

Quote=OE "I can't figure out whether you already have an extended partition in that scheme - looks as if your logical partition (D might also be contained within an unlabelled extended partition. Probably missing something obvious."

I don't understand anything about logicals and extendeds. D:\ was created with Easeus, I think it just shrank C:\, I made it so's to keep my data separate so's C:\ could be formatted in the event of trouble without affecting data files.

I may not be the oldest among us (although I probably am), but I am definitely the most seniorly momentous, so I'm off to defrag my hard drive, have a nap, and start reading again :)

[otherego]

Hmmm. Never try one last chore with a computer late on a Friday evening?

I decided to treat the old Thinkpad, a T23, to a larger hard drive. The elderly drive which arrived is a touch iffy - Hitachi drive test and windoze checkdisk both agree it has corrupted bits - but probably OK for experimenting for a bit.

Reinstalled windoze (W2K, using the IBM CDs. These for some reason give one a FAT 32 partition. They also refuse to install drivers etc unless you allow the installation of a recovery partition, which lives right at the end of the drive.

Shrunk W2K's partition. Installed Mint 8 between W2K and the recovery partition at the end of the drive. So far, so good.

Decide I'd rather have NTFS for the Windows partition. Do the conversion. Restart.

GRUB - "error:no such device:3f3f-14fo" - when I tried to boot W2K.

Groovy. It obviously doesn't recognise the NTFS bit - something to do with changed UUID, perhaps?

I still haven't quite (or even remotely?) got to grips with GRUB - looks like I'll have to learn something about GRUB2, which I assume is what Mint 8 installed. Apart from anything else, it no longer has a menu.lst file.

MEPIS has a simple GRUB reinstallation facility. So far, I can find nothing similar in Mint - which boots perfectly happily.

*Sigh* All part of the fun.

Scylla - if you're reading this - don't be put off! I have a talent for this sort of thing, but most folk simply use Linux with no hassles. If you're tempted to experiment - it's definitely worth investing in a couple of old and cheap machines on eBay (but try to work on a minimum of 512mb RAM and 1 GHz processor).

Bed time, now that tomorrow's (later's) project has been defined...)

[otherego]

One last google solved the problem:

sudo update-grub

Job done. Perhaps GRUB 2 is not such a bad thing, after all.

[*scyllabub*]

I won't let it put me off, OE, but XP is running better currently - I need to be right up against it before I take the plunge.

[ej-solutions]

Och go on - you know you want to... ;-)

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[otherego]

Echoes #617...

I use my computer mainly for browsing the internet, and I really feel so much more relaxed using Linux for this.

Sure, Linux is not totally immune to attack - just a lot closer to that ideal than more popular software.

[otherego]

And when I said "I have a talent for this sort of thing" - I meant my talent for interesting blunders.

Generally correctable, with a little help ...