The Marriage of Microsoft and Linux

[Skybird]

Moonlight,

I am a newbie to Linux myself.

Consider this.

There is not that much more than what others already have said in many places or in that tutorial that I linked above as an example. Some initial questions I could answer then, yes - if you would care to get to even that point. That tutorial I just linked for you, says right what I would tell you, but it does so with screenshots, and in a generally more profound way.

I searched links with a booting-USB software for you. I searched the link for downloading the Linux Mint 18 ISO for you. I read through that tutorial and checked that it is understandable, and I thibk it is - I did install my first Linux ten months ago with a far inferior German text I had found. I linked you the two main forums where any questions especially on Terminal questions could be answered that i could not answer.

And I have posted all this two or three times before, in various threads over the past months.

But you want me to just sit down and write another long twisted text that maybe would include some content errord or flawed info because I do not know it better myself, errors, and spending time on what already has been said more competently by many others in many places on Linux, not to mention that in german there are really some very good introductory books on Linux, and I assume there are in English as well, and I said over the past ten months several times that i recommend to get one "Linux for Dummies"-style of book and get some basic overview before you start. I did the same. It helped. Initially did not even read the whole book, just the first 40 pages or so.

Its not too much asked for. Some work, two or three hours of reading and preparing yourself will be needed if somebodyody wants to get into Linux while also getting some deeper basic understanding into what it is and why and how things are going. But in principle, you already get started by what is in that tutorial link I posted. I used some text in german, that was much less detailed. I think it was from some German PC magazine, but I do not know exactly anymore.

Really. I showed you the direction. I recommended you the pace to walk at. I gave you the initial advises for what to expect. A weather report. I gave you a map. And also a list with telephone numbers to call for help, including mine.

But walking the walk you must yourself. I will not carry you around.

Use the link for downloading the ISO file. Read the information on that site. Get the Cinnamon version you need: 32 or 64 Bit, I do not know your hardware, but most likely it is 64 Bit. You better be sure on the Bits.

Use the link for downloading the boot-software file. Read the information there, it is not that much at all. With many screenshots, you get talked through the procedure.

Create that disk, and/or stick. Some older systems may prefer the one over the other method so maybe create both, to have them ready.

And then

- either go through that installation tutorial, step by step. That is what I did, and even if I write whole night long, more than what is written in that tutorial I could not tell you, too;

- or set your BIOS to boot from stick, and then the system should launch from stick in Linux even without having installed Linux to HD. You can then check it out, look at things, it is fully functional. Get a first impression, whether it meets your taste or not. Check drivers onboard, play around. Learning by doing.

And when then you run into some problem, then precisely describe it and ask, and I will see whether I can help. Most likely I will not be able, then you have to ask the same question, as precisely, in the English main forum for Linux Mint that I linked, or Robbins or somebody else with better knowledge needs to answer instead of myself. You will get an answer there, and if those guys are like in the German forum, then you will get an answer within minutes. Or several answers. If the problem is difficult, they will talk you through. And different to me, those guys know Linux better than I ever will. I had to ask there myself severla times.

Just doing the working steps you must yourself. Those links are all you need to get you started.

Now get that booting stick/CD up with a Linux installation, and then boot your system from that one. And there you are.

P.S. Note, if you do not understand that from the tutorial: Linux gets always installed to HD via such a USB stick or CD that you created first via an ISO. Alternatively you can buy some book DVD with some Linux veriuson, but often, these versions are outdated. Ideal it nwould be if you get a Linux Mint 18 for Dummies book with an according installation CD/DVD. Else you MUST create such a stick or CD/DVD, but what software you use for that, is unimportant, I linked just the one I used myself, there are dozens of others. When you boot your target system via this stick or DVD, you then land on the Linux Mint Cinnamon desktop. From here you can - but must not - install to HD by pressing that huge button on desktop tellinmg you that it starts to install Linux - this time to HD. But do not be too fast with that, first check you system and the Linux Mint itself.

If there are hardware compatability issues you run into, espoecially with graohis, printers, then ask again. Moist likely you will need to try through various drivers, I then tell you how. But until then - step by step. No second step before the first.

[Skybird]

Somebody asked for Firefox.

I simply recommend to use the following addons, that you can download from within Firefox: Adblock Plus (please exclude Neal's site from its blacklist!), since many malware can come in form of windiows with adverts popping up. Better Privacy, it helps to delete flash cookies and LSO cookiesd, the latter cna be extrenely danmgerous if abused, and cannot be detected or deleted by ordinary methods. Check this and use it manually at times, when you think of it. Ghostery, it is a sofweatre that supresses software autmatically runnign when you open a site that tries to track you down and log your behaviour, loading pop ups and relocating you. Interesting to get rid of unwanted surveillance and auto-relocating by adware and the likes. NoScript, it is a bit more complex in optiosn and allows black- and white listing as well as many options to switch off critical auto-scripting, Flash, Java and the likes. Not everybody likes my very rigid settings there, I tend to have much stuff switched off than most people have "on". But auto scripting is dangerous and potentially very harmful stuff, one should not take any chances there.

Also, check the options that Firefox allows, settings. Here, especially the data-security tab and privacy relevant optiions should be checked. Use the oriuvate mode, swithc of chrnicles, do not allow passwords to be saved (what is stored on your HD can be retrieved). The options you find on those tabs mostly should be self-explanatory - be conservative. You trade a little luxury and comfortable handling with much better protection. The more you leave to the computer to do automatically, the less safe you are.

[BarracudaUAK]

I really don't have a whole lot of time to go into detail right now, but I had typed this up as part of another post that I didn't actually post due to lack of time.

Not detailed, but does give a basic rundown for installing Fedora with KDE.

If you are not intending to "game" on your new Linux install -initially-, I think that KDE is the better alternative.

I am running Fedora 23/KDE on a desktop with a AMD 5600x2 (dual core 2.8ghz) 8GB RAM (formerly ran Fedora 20 with 4GB RAM), and currently running a XFX 6750 1GB (2 of them in crossfire actually).

It runs fast. Not as fast as the 8 core I'm typing on, but this PC is easily 4X what the old one is.
If your PC has less than 2 GB RAM, then go with something else.

BE WARNED: The lower the system requirements for a Linux Desktop, The less "polish" and fewer "easier to use" tools it will have.


THIS IS NOT A WALKTHROUGH.

This is simply to give you an "idea" of what you should expect to encounter.



I've edited this slightly, but only to make it "make sense".
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First, some older BIOS versions will not boot from a USB stick...

I haven't tried Ubuntu 15.x or 16.x, but my installs of Fedora 20,23, and 24 all come as a LIVE DVD. (Download ISO, burn DVD, use.)
Similar to KNOPPIX (a LIVE CD/DVD, "forked" from (or based on) debian, like Ubuntu is), The OS is on the DVD and is loaded into a "ram drive" leaving your Hard Drives untouched.
You can view the drives, but the Distros that I have tried, set the drives to "read only", until you tell it otherwise, and you have to do that each time.
But only as long as you are running from the DVD. Keeps you from wiping out your installed linux/windows OS.

In Fedora, (has been 2 years since trying Ubuntu, so I'm not sure about it)
there is an "Install to Hard Drive" desktop icon in the top left corner of the desktop, you simply click that, and the installation starts.

Then you tell it which hard drive(s) you want to use, and then tell it how you want to use it (standard partition, Logical Volume, etc), click "automatically create partitions" (or something similar) and click "OK".
It will tell you what it is going to do, you click ok, then set time zone, and a few other simple things, and click install, and THEN it starts installing.
Then while that works, you set a "root" password and User account/password and let it finish.
Takes about 10-15 min on a dual-core 2.8 with a WD raptor HDD.

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The most you might have trouble with is the partitioning the HDD. If you are not sure, just go with the recommended and you should be ok.

Barracuda