Linux Chat

[OldSchool]

For a continuation of discussions in other threads....

I'll start the thread with my typical procedures for installing Linux Distros on an up and running desktop PC. It's pretty simple and basic, at least after knowing the basics of installing an operating system.

The target PC is an older Dell bought used from a community college when it was phased out of service. I've used two others (with windows 7) for a few years and they've proven to be reliable. This one I haven't used, has Windows 10 on it. Setting it up today and will run through a few paces working the old style disk hard drive, getting it good and warmed up and check cooling fans, then blow the dust out with compressed air. I still have one of these with Win7 set up and running since I retired it from internet service when support with security updates ended. I have all my favorite windows only software on it that are related to burning CD's and DVD's, and programs for checking hard drives, wiping them, proportioning, etc. I'll use that computer for some phases, but could be done without it.

Stay tuned to see how simple it is with basic knowledge. I'm still a rookie with Linux though, far from a guru. The basic installation procedures is about the extent of my knowledge. Others here will be able to provide more extensive knowledge. I'll even be looking for some advice/help from them.

 

[OldSchool]

Okay.... Target PC is set up and running, and where I want it for the programing stage.

Turns out it has Win7 on it. Don't know why I thought it was Win10, I mean this thing is old. I'd call ready to program if it hasn't been sitting on a shelf for about 10 years. Being that it has an old mechanical hard drive I want to 'exercise' it and use some software to check it's integrity, looking for errors. Then I'll wipe it clean and reformat it. The wiping and reformatting isn't really necessary, they're just extra steps I like to take and have good luck with long trouble free service after doing so.

 

[OldSchool]

With the age of this computer and limited resources compared to a modern computer (relatively speaking) I'll install Linux lubuntu.
https://lubuntu.me/noble-released/

It's a stripped down version of the more popular distro, ubuntu. It's what I've been using on a laptop since I retired my Win7 system from daily internet use so I'm familiar with it and it has everything, program wise, I need for daily basic use.

I've downloaded the iso file that's necessary for installation and will burn to a DVD using my Win7 computer. Another 'not necessary' step because I could simply transfer the file to a thumb drive and use that to install the operating system. I just like having the physical OS disk and labeled accordingly to have for future use.

 

[OldSchool]

As I continue with my 'one-man' documentary thread...

I ran a pre-boot system assessment that's built into the bios. Took about an hour to test the cpu and system memory - all good.

The hard drive is checking out fine, at least as far as I can without installing programs for further testing. At this point I'm gonna remove the hard drive, install in an external enclosure and connect to my Win7 machine. Then the hard drive will get a through testing and workout. If it survives, and all indications are that it will, it should provide a few years of trouble free daily use. That's gonna take some time though. I'll be back in a few hours, maybe this evening or tomorrow morning.

 

[Haertig]

My favorite way to run Linux on old, backup, computers is not to install Linux on them, but to load Linux from a thumbdrive at boot time.

This requires: A computer that can boot off of a thumbdrive, the computer needs to have a USB3 port (USB2 is too slow), and you of course need a USB3 thumbdrive. Really old computers may not have USB3 (you can install a cheap add-in card to provide it though). Also, on the really old computers, booting from a USB device may be more magic than anything else. Moderately old computers usually boot from USB easily.

USB3 thumbdrives read and write speeds are on par or better than physical HDD read/write speeds so you won't experience a slowdown (like when booting Linux from a CD/DVD.

The best Linux distro to boot from a thumbdrive is "MX Linux". It's thumbdrive boot setup is second to none. For even older and less powerful computers, "AntiX Linux" is more lightweight than MX and shares the same phenomenal thumbdrive boot capabilities. However, I have noticed a few glitches in AntiX at boot time. They happen randomly and only on occasion in my experience. I have not seen any of the booting anomalies with MX however. I would choose MX over Antix unless you have a really old computer. Either of these distros can be loaded totally into RAM during boot (you can remove the thumbdrive after boot to free up the USB port) if your computer has enough memory. You probably want 16Gb of RAM for this. You could do it with 8Gb, but that could get tight if you're the kind of person who fires up a web browser and then opens two dozen tabs at the same time.

Do a Google search for "YouTube Run With The Dolphin" to find videos of help in MX/AntiX. It's important to learn about boot parameters, persistence, and remastering when running MX/AntiX from a thumbdrive.

 

[DrHenley]

My wife wanted me to get her a Chromebook. Walmart had them at an absurdly low price (100 bucks and change) so I got one for me too. Full size laptop, with full numeric keypad and everything.
Turns out, these new Chromebooks come with an almost fully functional Debian Linux subsystem (Ubuntu and Mint are Debian). I am using it right now with Brave Browser for Linux,
It's more of a thing for Geeks right now bacause you need some Linux experience to install software. (apt get)
So you can run Chrome apps (limited number of apps), Android apps, and Linux apps.
So far I have been able to install every Linux app I use.

When I get time I will try to install VirtualBox and see if I can run a virtual Windows on it. The big problem will be disk space.

My Unix/Linux resume:
SCO Xenix
Sun OS (Unix)
Posix (Windows Server Unix subsystem)
Red Hat
Ubuntu
Mint
Chrome OS

 

[OldSchool]

Here's one for ya @Haertig

You know your computer is old when it has a CR2032 bios battery that's dead.
This thing is from the days of the Intel Duo 2 core running at 3GHz and a whopping 4 gigs of ram.

Anyway, I opened up the case and this thing is so damn clean it literally looks new. I'll skip pulling the hard drive to run it through the works. That'll save some time, but I still have to find a new CR2032. I know I have a couple here somewhere. That and I have to dig out an unwritten DVD from a box in a storage room. I don't want to skip that stage of the game. I'm not exactly set up for programing, it's been a while.