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| Thread ID: 142764 | 2016-09-05 19:20:00 | Linux Systems | B.M. (505) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1425446 | 2016-09-06 22:37:00 | I have used Kubuntu Linux as my everyday OS for the last six years or so. I don't use Windows at all. Mint (with Cinnamon) is OK but I prefer the KDE desktop (Kubuntu is Ubuntu with KDE rather than the Unity desktop). I have bought several ex-lease business grade laptops and put Kubuntu or Xubuntu on them for people who are not that into computers and they are quite happy with them. So, I don't believe you need to be a computer whizz to run Linux and do basic stuff. Most people don't have to resort to the Terminal (command line) nowadays. If you're an old DOS head like me the terminal isn't such a problem anyway. LibreOffice is fine for me but I don't really need macro compatibility. Of course, LibreOffice has it's own macro language but converting MS Office macros to LibreOffice might be fiddly. There are also other Office suites available that are more MS Office compatible (SoftMaker Office (www.softmaker.com) for example, but the full version is not free). I have Skype (native Linux version). Valve's Steam for games, and Wine (Windows compatibility layer) run a few Windows apps I use extremely well. Here is a screenshot of my current Kubuntu 14.04 system to give you an idea what it looks like: 7405 Thanks for that Rod. I’d forgotten all about Skype which raises another question. What’s the position on browsers? Do you have a choice, or are they part of the OS you choose? |
B.M. (505) | ||
| 1425447 | 2016-09-06 22:54:00 | B.M. I recommend Linux Mint Cinnamon, you will get more help if needed with this one. I however like the look of KDE myself. I also suggest, just running it from live media to try it out before you commit to installing. Just dont base it on speed but top end systems run smoothly usually. Not sure why you aren't doing it now so you can get a feel of the OS. I have not ran Windows fully since XP and have ran Linux for around 20 years. I was into terminal/command line methods but over the years, I needed to spend less time configuring. Linux Mint saved me more time by just working straight from the get go. With dual booting, I usually recommend seperate hard drives, one to hold Windows the other to hold Linux. If you rather resize your hard drive then your minimal size is 30GB and you may need to rely on your Windows partition for your personal storage. Which introduces risks (never experienced it myself, but have to believe it may happen). The bootloader for Linux will take over all your booting needs, it will replace Windows one and allow you to boot either OS. I remember the winmodem days, they eventually created a wrapper that allowed you to use windows drivers to run your modem. I just bought an external modem at that time and had better reliability than the internal soft modems anyways and when broadband was mainstream, softmodems were a thing of the past. However, if you keep at it. You can do away with Windows. I am not sure what level you are at with MS Excel and VBA macros but translating it for LibreOffice Calc may require some work or may not. It has VBA support and compatibility and its trial and error really to see if it just works or requires fixing. Just saw the browser question, comes with Firefox but you can choose others. I am using chromium (open source chrome) because of better Flash support and chrome is bloated. |
Kame (312) | ||
| 1425448 | 2016-09-06 23:37:00 | 1: Should I make a separate Partition to install Linux in? Yes and no. It's best if you just shrink your windows partition and leave some "Free space" on the drive that's unallocated. There's a Linux Live CD (Or bootable USB) that you can use to do this non-destructively, it's "safest" to do it pre-install. GParted Live CD. 2: Does a boot loader come with Linux or does that become a separate issue? Yep, you always wanna install Windows first (Which you've already got), and then install Linux. The Linux bootloader will overwrite the Windows one and allow you to boot both Windows and Linux (It'll give you the options, usually with a 30 second timeout). Also, browsers, I ran Chrome last time I was using Mint, zero issues. Firefox etc all naturally work just fine :) Kames advice of trying the Live CD is good advice, you don't have to go balls deep right from the get-go if you don't want to. Finally, don't forget that you can always grab yourself Crossover Office and run full-blown MS Office inside of Linux if you _really_ don't feel like rebooting in to Windows to run your Office. |
Chilling_Silence (9) | ||
| 1425449 | 2016-09-06 23:38:00 | Thanks Kame. I like your thinking of using two different Hard Drives. :thumbs: I'll start on a desktop machine so have plenty of room for an additional HDD and avoid any Partition adjustment dramas. So now I'll go and dig out a HDD just for Linux. :) |
B.M. (505) | ||
| 1425450 | 2016-09-07 20:33:00 | Thanks Chill. :thumbs: Update: I’ve Taken the advice of the majority and downloaded Mint - Ver 18 – Cinnamon – 64bit iso and burnt it to a disk. Found, formatted and installed 40gig Hard Disk. So now it is just a matter of installing Mint on the blank HDD. Is there any tricks or traps I should be aware of before proceeding? Win7 already exists on C: Drive and Mint will hopefully go on the blank F: drive. |
B.M. (505) | ||
| 1425451 | 2016-09-07 21:23:00 | Before you jump in the deep end, why not firstly boot your computer from the disk and see if you like it. | Bryan (147) | ||
| 1425452 | 2016-09-08 00:11:00 | Thanks Chill. :thumbs: Is there any tricks or traps I should be aware of before proceeding? Win7 already exists on C: Drive and Mint will hopefully go on the blank F: drive. Suggest you disconnect the C drive with W7, as Linux will still see it, and more than likely create a dual boot, which should you decide to remove Linux later will cause problems. I got a PC here that had Linux on one drive W8.1 on another, was simply a case of changing over the sata cable, ok took a few moments longer but worked, keep in mind none of my workshop PC's have one side on, they are all open. |
wainuitech (129) | ||
| 1425453 | 2016-09-08 00:29:00 | Only suggestion I'd make is to wipe that disk / delete the partition inside of Windows (Not just formatted, but actually nuke the partition with Windows Disk Management), so that you don't accidentally do it later during Mint install. If there's "Free space" that's not partitioned / allocated, Mint will notice that and go "Oooooh is this for me?! THANKS!" and it'll leave your Windows stuff alone. Nice and easy :) If you ever wanna pull the linux HDD out, you'll need to boot from your Windows installation medium, bring up the command line and run: bootrec /fixmbr bootrec /fixboot And that'll restore the Windows bootloader and you're back to linux-free (Worst-case scenario here of course) |
Chilling_Silence (9) | ||
| 1425454 | 2016-09-08 01:47:00 | Well running Mint from the CD is far too slow. So moved onto install, but I can’t see for the life of me how to install on the formatted empty drive whilst still being able to have the choice of Windows on the C drive. It seems hell bent on placing it on the same disk as Windows, just in a separate Partition. Must be lunch time. |
B.M. (505) | ||
| 1425455 | 2016-09-08 03:37:00 | Did you try the "Something else" option in the "Installation Type" dialog? I'm looking through the installation wiki here: www.wikihow.com to see how it works. It looks similar to most Ubuntu based installs. I have a VirtualBox virtual machine of Mint 17.2 installed some time ago. | Rod J (451) | ||
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