Ubuntu (or my riddance of Windows)

[Mike Olbinski]

Mike,

Here's a steal on a 300GB HD

http://www.frys.com/product/4987821

It's a little big for my laptop

Thanks though...I picked up a 120gig drive for $99 from Fry's...I think I overpaid, but I was really anxious to get the laptop setup.

 

[arthurracoon]

Only downside is that my hard drive is 40gigs and I realize it's just a tad too small for two OS's and data storage...

So I need to get a new one and upgrade this thing...kind of sucks to have gone through all that work.

i just use a external hard drive for the space (i only have 40 Gbs on my laptop too) so that i can dual boot with Linux and Windows

 

[arthurracoon]

It's a little big for my laptop

Thanks though...I picked up a 120gig drive for $99 from Fry's...I think I overpaid, but I was really anxious to get the laptop setup.

well, i guess you got that covered

 

[arthurracoon]

Oh, and the linux/ubuntu forums are awesome - people will help you out (theyre helping my out now actually)

 

[abomb]

How about an update CM?

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Oh, it's going great. I just upgraded to the next version and it was a cakewalk.

The only thing I'm using my XP Virtual Machine for is Photoshop, other than that, I use Ubuntu for everything. OpenOffice has been great.

 

[abomb]

Oh, it's going great. I just upgraded to the next version and it was a cakewalk.

The only thing I'm using my XP Virtual Machine for is Photoshop, other than that, I use Ubuntu for everything. OpenOffice has been great.

C'mon, you need a blog update on this.

I am considering making the switch, at least on a backup machine.

My main WinXP laptop is suddenly running dogslow after 18 months and is likely in need to be reimaged. I've done everything Microsoft suggests to fix it. I dont know if I could Ubuntu my main box though.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

C'mon, you need a blog update on this.

I am considering making the switch, at least on a backup machine.

My main WinXP laptop is suddenly running dogslow after 18 months and is likely in need to be reimaged. I've done everything Microsoft suggests to fix it. I dont know if I could Ubuntu my main box though.

I will post a blog about it, sure...good idea!

But if your XP box is running slow, you probably just need to yeah, wipe the disk and reinstall it. That's what Ubuntu would do anyways.

I will say that Ubuntu is a lot faster with less overhead than Windows...

 

[carrrnuttt]

Here's an HD deal for you: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144423

 

[Mike Olbinski]

This guy gives an amazing overview of his switchover...

http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/88780/index.html

 

[arthurracoon]

well, I just switched over from Kubutu to Fedora

Kubuntu's make (or lack thereof of plain old make) forced me to switched for one of the programs I was trying to install (R - statistacal software package).

Fedora works pretty well too (both were the KDE version, so they look and feel the same - except for fedora's .rpm feature)

 

[arthurracoon]

Only downside is that my hard drive is 40gigs and I realize it's just a tad too small for two OS's and data storage...

So I need to get a new one and upgrade this thing...kind of sucks to have gone through all that work.

yea

I have Windows getting 30 GB and Linux getting 10 GB's. Then they both get to share my almost full 120 GB external (downloaded tv shows).

 

[Chaz]

So I got a fairly new hand-me-down computer and was inspired by this tread to load Ubuntu.

Pretty nice OS. I had worked with Linux a few years ago but hadn't done much with it. So far I upgraded to Gutsy, installed VMware player, and downloaded a FreeBSD VM. I managed to configure my multi-button mouse but could not get the right resolutions and sync rate to my 19" LCD so I am using a less troublesome screen.

I don't think I am ready to give up windows yet. For now my laptop stays running XP.

 

[Mathew81]

I just put Ubuntu on my computer last week. I set up a dual boot system (the other OS being Vista). So far I'm liking it a lot. I enjoy tinkering with my computer setups so the customization options alone have kept me preoccupied. The only 2 downsides so far are the lack of gaming (I knew this going in) and that Netflix doesn't stream.

 

[Southpaw]

So is step 1, just to download Ubuntu from it's site and see what happens? What is step 2?

 

[Mathew81]

So is step 1, just to download Ubuntu from it's site and see what happens? What is step 2?

Depends. Do you want to completely replace your current operating system (Windows I'm assuming) or do you want to set up a dual boot system?

 

[Chaz]

So is step 1, just to download Ubuntu from it's site and see what happens? What is step 2?

You download it and put it on a cd/dvd or flash drive.
In the case of the .iso image it needs to be imaged to the disk.
You will need a program to do this. Burning the .iso to the disk as a data file will not work.
A good free iso recorder for windows is available here: http://alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm



Boot computer from that disk.

You can then try out the OS running from the disk.

More permanently you can install the OS to the computers internal hard drive.
*This last step will remove or overwrite any existing OS on that hard drive.

 

[Southpaw]

After all these years, I took the plunge and bought an Ubuntu/Linux bundle including Open Office for a grand total of $6.00 from

www.ShopLinuxOnline.com

I am in the process now of reading the 223 page tutorial that was included. I am installing it on a seldom used PC at my shop. I have 2 PCs set up with KVM switch that allows me to toggle between the 2 sets using 1 monitor ( you know the drill so no need to explain how that works).

I assume that I can either install the 32 bit Linux OS on my hard drive and I may be able to have the option of booting off of XP or Linox at startup or boot off of the CD. Is that valid?

 

[puckhead]

After all these years, I took the plunge and bought an Ubuntu/Linux bundle including Open Office for a grand total of $6.00 from

www.ShopLinuxOnline.com

I am in the process now of reading the 223 page tutorial that was included. I am installing it on a seldom used PC at my shop. I have 2 PCs set up with KVM switch that allows me to toggle between the 2 sets using 1 monitor ( you know the drill so no need to explain how that works).

I assume that I can either install the 32 bit Linux OS on my hard drive and I may be able to have the option of booting off of XP or Linox at startup or boot off of the CD. Is that valid?

I've never tried it but I would guess you would want to partition the drive first.

 

[Southpaw]

I've never tried it but I would guess you would want to partition the drive first.

I'll let you know. I am up to page 14 of 223 so far. This sounds too simple to be true. I would love to escape the Windows trap.

 

[puckhead]

I'll let you know. I am up to page 14 of 223 so far. This sounds too simple to be true. I would love to escape the Windows trap.

There's always the Mac trap if this goes south.

 

[Southpaw]

Just had another thought. Since SSD hard drives are the rage now, the old style spindrives are very cheap. I can pick one up stick it in a portable case and run the UNIX/Linux OS through a USB port and boot off of that. On to page 24.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I may be able to have the option of booting off of XP or Linux at startup or boot off of the CD. Is that valid?

XP ?!

 

[Southpaw]

XP ?!

I dug it out of mothballs for experimentation purposes.

 

[JS22]

After all these years, I took the plunge and bought an Ubuntu/Linux bundle including Open Office for a grand total of $6.00 from

www.ShopLinuxOnline.com

I am in the process now of reading the 223 page tutorial that was included. I am installing it on a seldom used PC at my shop. I have 2 PCs set up with KVM switch that allows me to toggle between the 2 sets using 1 monitor ( you know the drill so no need to explain how that works).

I assume that I can either install the 32 bit Linux OS on my hard drive and I may be able to have the option of booting off of XP or Linox at startup or boot off of the CD. Is that valid?

Linux is free (As are Open Office and Libre Office), no need to buy a distro. You can check out http://www.distrowatch.com to see which distros are the most popular at the moment. Although I guess they simplify it a bit by mailing a DVD?

My favorite, and the one I use daily on my laptop, is Elementary OS. It's super simple and clean. I've even installed it for family members who only browse the web and check email, but somehow end up with all sorts of malware. Total success so far. If you can live outside of the Windows ecosystem, and don't NEED to run anything that requires Windows, then there is absolutely no reason to be running it. The biggest plus with Linux is freeing yourself of all the garbage and security issues that plague Windows.