Real Talk: Operating System

[monk0nuggets]

So, I've been using Windows 7 on my Dell laptop for a few months now. Its been fine and dandy for the most part with a few random shut downs thrown in for fun. Last night it decided to shit the bed and I can't seem to get anything to work to make it boot up. I've tried lots different ways, and I'm in the process of downloading a new recovery disc right now to try again. That said, I'm about sick of this and I've downloaded a copy of Knoppix which is currently running off of a CD right now. I've never really had much experience with Linux, but so far I'm impressed by how much it is like windows. It also is quite a bit faster. I'm thinking I might just ditch everything and use Linux, but I'm not sure if that is the wisest thing to do. My question is, does anyone have advanced experience with Linux and have you had any major file type compatability issues?

[roadmonkey]

If you are considering Linux, Go with Ubuntu.

I haven't had anything but good times with it.

There shouldn't be any problem with file formats. Luckily, if you have an issue, just do a quick Google search and you can probably find something that will work for you.

If you are planning on using any drives from your old system though, see if you can make them fat32 formatted drives. Linux doesn't play well with Windows' NTFS drives.

[sgoodcore]

If you are considering Linux, Go with Ubuntu.

I haven't had anything but good times with it.

There shouldn't be any problem with file formats. Luckily, if you have an issue, just do a quick Google search and you can probably find something that will work for you.

If you are planning on using any drives from your old system though, see if you can make them fat32 formatted drives. Linux doesn't play well with Windows' NTFS drives.

This man knows his stuff. I was going to say the same thing. Ubuntu is tits. I'll tell you off the bat you'll need to do some work to get DVD playback working as it doesn't "ship" by default with it.

And Ubuntu is also about to release their version 10 product so its a good time to get started with it.

Download yourself XBMC and you have a nice media-center style piece of software to use for watching digital movies and the like. Good times.

[monk0nuggets]

There is a few things I'd like to dig up and save if possible from my harddrive, but if its a no go I think thats ok. Everything important is backed up (minus some school work, but fuck it, I'm graduating in a week!). Know of anything that can do such a thing with Linux, or will I have to reformat first? I don't even know if this is going to work. The reason I'm debating this is my computer won't recognize the main partition of the harddrive for some reason. It sees the recovery partition, but it can't fix anything without the main one. Shit is weird.

[thesupervillain]

You might have just lost your Master Boot Record. Not sure if it's something you have tried already, but it's worth checking out.

Also, if you are switching to Linux, I hope you don't do any gaming on your PC.

[Guest eriathomas]

You can run a bunch of older games in WINE.

Edit: Ubuntu also gets my vote for a good distro.

Edit 2: I believe Ubuntu has a file recovery CD, but any CD-based distro can probably recover your files for transfer to a usb drive.

[roadmonkey]

Personally, I like having a working computer that has access to the internet available whenever I'm installing or setting up any Linux box. Mainly in case I run into any issues where I need the internet to get a solution.

Again, when using Linux, Google is your friend.

I would consider getting a cheap like 20 GB hard drive to use as your main Linux partition. You are going to want to set it up so that your /home file system is not on that drive, but rather one of your other installed drives. That way if anything messes up you won't lose any of your files or music or shit, and all you'll have to do is reinstall the Operating System (Scarier said than done) and reinstall the Software. If you get really savvy you can just make snapshot backups of the main drive and use that.

[sgoodcore]

Taking the idea of Snapshots a bit further, you could look at something like Xen and actually run everything virtually. All kinds of back-up options there thought its a bit more "advanced."

[monk0nuggets]

You might have just lost your Master Boot Record. Not sure if it's something you have tried already, but it's worth checking out.

Also, if you are switching to Linux, I hope you don't do any gaming on your PC.

How do I check this?

[monk0nuggets]

As far as running Linux in a new partition, I didn't really think about that. If when I go to install linux, will it ask me what partition or to make a new one or to just start completely fresh? I wouldn't mind just starting fresh I think.

[roadmonkey]

As far as running Linux in a new partition, I didn't really think about that. If when I go to install linux, will it ask me what partition or to make a new one or to just start completely fresh? I wouldn't mind just starting fresh I think.

When installing Ubuntu, it will scan your set up and figure out a standard installation.

You will then be given the choice of sticking with it's decision or manually setting each partition.

I would read up on the partition stuff before starting a Linux install if you want to do a custom job.

Check out

http://www.linuxclues.com/articles/02.htm

[jcamps]

I would consider getting a cheap like 20 GB hard drive to use as your main Linux partition. You are going to want to set it up so that your /home file system is not on that drive, but rather one of your other installed drives. That way if anything messes up you won't lose any of your files or music or shit, and all you'll have to do is reinstall the Operating System (Scarier said than done) and reinstall the Software. If you get really savvy you can just make snapshot backups of the main drive and use that.

real talk: this is a great idea.

[monk0nuggets]

Alright, getting closer to going ahead with this. Random questions. What makes Ubuntu better than other versions? What are your complaints about Linux in general? Do you think I'd be able to run Microsoft Photodraw with Wine?

[sgoodcore]

Alright, getting closer to going ahead with this. Random questions. What makes Ubuntu better than other versions? What are your complaints about Linux in general? Do you think I'd be able to run Microsoft Photodraw with Wine?

To me, Ubuntu seems more polished than any other distro I've used to this point. It installs like Mac OS X or Windows. You go right in to a GUI and its got an active community supporting it.

The major hassle I found was finding support for either bleeding edge stuff or older stuff. I tried installing successfully Ubuntu 9.10 on an ancient Dell Dimension desktop and had to go through some interesting loops to get wireless working. Still haven't got DVDs to play correctly.

[impact]

if you absolutely want windows still, just partition your HD and dual boot ubuntu/windows

[roadmonkey]

Agreed with Sammy,

Ubuntu is right now one of the most popular Linux distributions around because it is the easiest one for users of Windows to migrate to.

If you want the most powerful version, I would go with SusE or CentOS.

CentOS is Redhat without the expensive licensing fees.

This may help you choose

http://polishlinux.org/choose/quiz/

There's a new distribution, called Linux Mint, that appears to be making some waves lately.

http://www.linuxmint.com/

It's built from Ubuntu, so it's still easy. It does have additional features that has made it competitive against Ubuntu, such as right out of the box Wi-Fi drivers and multimedia support.

Since it is build from Ubuntu, it can use all of ubuntu's software repositories and there is a big online support.

I haven't had time to mess with it, but I will once I get a second to.

[roadmonkey]

Also http://distrowatch.com/ is a great resource for all the information on all the various Linux distributions out there

[imaxcowboyx]

Alright, getting closer to going ahead with this. Random questions. What makes Ubuntu better than other versions? What are your complaints about Linux in general? Do you think I'd be able to run Microsoft Photodraw with Wine?

through my linux experience, its been the most user-friendly, seems to have the largest support community, and the documentation is super-easy to follow:

https://help.ubuntu.com/

Currently though I have a multiple-boot setup with Windows 7, Ubuntu, and another stripped down version of Linux called G-OS.

If you're not looking to do anything but what the everyday user does on their computer, it could be a good alternative too.

http://www.thinkgos.com/gos/index.html

I'm not sure about the photodraw though (isn't that the old thing from Office?); here are some linux alternatives however.

http://linuxappfinder.com/alternatives?search_text=Microsoft%20PhotoDraw

[monk0nuggets]

Haha, yeah, Photodraw is definitely the old thing from Office. I still use it constantly. It does everything I need, and I'm comfortable with it.

[sgoodcore]

Haha, yeah, Photodraw is definitely the old thing from Office. I still use it constantly. It does everything I need, and I'm comfortable with it.

If its older its likely Wine will do it. However, you're far better off finding something Linux geared that does the same thing. It'll work better and more reliably. Something like GIMP.

[monk0nuggets]

I actually have used Inkscape before, but it wasn't doing exactly what I wanted. I'll have to do some poking around I suppose.

[imaxcowboyx]

Haha, yeah, Photodraw is definitely the old thing from Office. I still use it constantly. It does everything I need, and I'm comfortable with it.

thats cool though. I think i may be the last person that uses winamp 2.blahblah to play music instead of the resource-hog known as iTunes.

but yeah, wine will most likely run something like Photodraw.

[monk0nuggets]

Is there any file recovery programs for linux? I can't seem to find any for some reason.

[monk0nuggets]

Currently posting from my laptop running Ubuntu. Just got my network drivers back up and running.

[roadmonkey]

Is there any file recovery programs for linux? I can't seem to find any for some reason.

What do you mean recovery programs?

Generally you can make a LiveCD version of Ubuntu and boot into that to run any diagnostic stuff or help fix your system.

Also congrats on getting your laptop running.

You've taken your first steps into a bigger universe