Computer Crashed... Linux?

Off Topic
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Ok so my home computer has crashed once again, I swear it wasn’t the porn sites. Anyways, I am sick of microsoft. Has anyone tried a Linux OS? I am thinking about trying something like Ubuntu. Do you have to have a windows based system to start off? Can I just format my computer, download ubuntu to a disc and turn the computer on with the disk in the drive?

I can fenangle my way around a computer but I’m no expert. Any help would be appreciated in this scenario. BTW When I try to boot my computer into safe made I get the blue screen of death, so it’s way past any diagnostic capabilities I have at my disposal. And I don’t know if I can locate my Windows XP home disk.

V

2

No need to format. Just start your computer with an Ubuntu disc (9.10 should be the latest). You may have to tweak the startup order preference in the BIOS for it to start with the CD-ROM. It will take a while for Ubuntu to load. Once boot-up is finished, you can hopefully save your, ahem, “art collection” to a back-up drive. Do this regardless of if you want to keep XP or go to Linux. Afterwards you can install Ubuntu and reimport your data.

TQB

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Linux is great. I personally like Fedora. Just throw in the disk and it will walk you through the setup. If you need any help send me a pm.

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If you were able to find your XP home disc, it’s repairable. You can boot of the disk and run a few commands to repair it. It’s not as hard as you probably think and is just like 3 commands that you type. If you can’t find your XP home DVD, there are many torrents of it available on the internet.

I’ve used Linux alot at work and even though alot of tech guys like it, I don’t. It always end up being a pain in the ass when I do something like a add a printer, scanner or install software that ends up only being compatible with Windows. If a guy like me that works with technology for a living hates it, there is no surprise to me that the general public hasn’t taken to it.

That being said, you can format your hard drive and start fresh with Ubuntu. You do not need windows already installed on your computer. If you fix your computer and want to dabble with Linux, you can run both at the same time and see if you like it. It’s called dual boot. Everytime your computer starts you’ll have the option of choosing Linux or Windows.

Also, many times the blue screen is caused by a piece of hardware failing. If this is the case, installing Ubuntu wouldn’t help.

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Thanks, So it really is easy then? I mean I will eventually want to wipe the whole Windows bullshit right off my PC. I’m so sick of the viruses all the time. I employ 3 different virus scanners and spybot cleaners also. Cryptik would you mind expanding on why you like fedora better? I am a complete noob when it comes to linux OS. I basically know they are mainly free and open source. Which means anyone can write modules or whatever you call them. But if there are certain functions that are better I wouldn’t mind hearing about them before I do it.

Thanks again

V

6

[quote]sam_sneed wrote:
If you were able to find your XP home disc, it’s repairable. You can boot of the disk and run a few commands to repair it. It’s not as hard as you probably think and is just like 3 commands that you type. If you can’t find your XP home DVD, there are many torrents of it available on the internet.

I’ve used Linux alot at work and even though alot of tech guys like it, I don’t. It always end up being a pain in the ass when I do something like a add a printer, scanner or install software that ends up only being compatible with Windows. If a guy like me that works with technology for a living hates it, there is no surprise to me that the general public hasn’t taken to it.

That being said, you can format your hard drive and start fresh with Ubuntu. You do not need windows already installed on your computer. If you fix your computer and want to dabble with Linux, you can run both at the same time and see if you like it. It’s called dual boot. Everytime your computer starts you’ll have the option of choosing Linux or Windows.

Also, many times the blue screen is caused by a piece of hardware failing. If this is the case, installing Ubuntu wouldn’t help.[/quote]

I am familiar with fixing a crashed computer if I have a disc. I just can’t find mine at the moment. I’m sure it’s in a box somewhere. Lets just say this wouldn’t be the first, or secodn, or 10th time I have revived a crashed PC.

V

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I have/occasionally use ubuntu (as a dual boot) and I think it’s a lot less user friendly than windows. I’m personally a huge fan of windows 7 and have had 0 problems with it.

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Do you have a second computer running Windows? It is much easier to look things up than rebooting back and forth when you have a problem.

If you have any special hardware that requires custom software in Windows, you’ll need Windows.

You can also try Linux without installing. Basically you boot and run off the CD. Any changes you make will not be saved. They are called Live CDs. Check Knoppix.

If you want to try Linux without a Live CD, but you do not want to erase the data on your computer, you can use Windows as a host and Linux as a Virtual Machine (virtualbox.org). As the name implies, a Virtual Machine allows you to basically have a software PC inside of your host.

When you do give it a shot, give it some time. You’ll be using different programs: firefox or konquerer instead of IE; Open Office instead of MS Office; Vim instead of notepad; etc.

9

[quote]chimera182 wrote:
I have/occasionally use ubuntu (as a dual boot) and I think it’s a lot less user friendly than windows. I’m personally a huge fan of windows 7 and have had 0 problems with it.[/quote]

We’re testing Windows 7 at the college I work at. So far everyone loves it.

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[quote]johnnytang24 wrote:
Do you have a second computer running Windows? It is much easier to look things up than rebooting back and forth when you have a problem.

If you have any special hardware that requires custom software in Windows, you’ll need Windows.

You can also try Linux without installing. Basically you boot and run off the CD. Any changes you make will not be saved. They are called Live CDs. Check Knoppix.

If you want to try Linux without a Live CD, but you do not want to erase the data on your computer, you can use Windows as a host and Linux as a Virtual Machine (virtualbox.org). As the name implies, a Virtual Machine allows you to basically have a software PC inside of your host.

When you do give it a shot, give it some time. You’ll be using different programs: firefox or konquerer instead of IE; Open Office instead of MS Office; Vim instead of notepad; etc.[/quote]

6 months ago this would have been a good way to try Linux; however now there are two much simpler ways to see if it will work for you.

First, Ubuntu (and I think Fedora as well) now both have options to run live from the CD once you burn it. Note that this will be slow by the nature of running an operating system from a CD; expect performance once installed to be much faster.

The other way is by using Wubi, which is located here: http://wubi-installer.org/ This basically lets you install Ubuntu like a program on your hard drive and run it in Windows to get a feel for it.

Like was mentioned, Windows programs DO NOT INSTALL on Linux machines. There’s a project called WINE that is working towards that end, but right now it’s not 100%. This means that some Windows programs will install and run very well, others not so much. They should have a compatibility list on the WINE website if you want to check it out before hand. Also, there are free and open source alternatives to most commercial Windows programs that work perfectly for 99% of home users. Once in a while there’s a deal-breaker though, so if there’s any weird or custom file types you work with, check on those first. It’s also very easy to get programs installed on Ubuntu from a trusted central repository, so you don’t have to go looking all over the net for downloads.

*side note for Linux users, I’m not an Ubuntu fanboy or anything, but it is the easiest to try out for a first timer.

Good luck Vegita.

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[quote]sam_sneed wrote:

[quote]chimera182 wrote:
I have/occasionally use ubuntu (as a dual boot) and I think it’s a lot less user friendly than windows. I’m personally a huge fan of windows 7 and have had 0 problems with it.[/quote]

We’re testing Windows 7 at the college I work at. So far everyone loves it.[/quote]

I’m a big fan too. If Veg is having problems with viruses and the like though, aside from becoming a responsible Windows user, Linux is probably the way to go.

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I like fedora because I was a redhat admin for 12 years so I know the system very well. Fedora is the cutting edge test bed for redhat. Really most linux distros will work fine for you. But Ubuntu is touted as easier for a windows person to navigate.

I run windows 7 as well and love it to. I do do all my banking and important stuff on linux though. And any gaming I want to do I do it on windows. It really all depends what you want to do with the computer.

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Cool guys thanks. My home PC is really just a means to surf the web. I don’t run any extravegant programs or game on it. It’s not all that new of a computer anyways, just a web browser to my wife and I. As long as I can still browse the web and buy junk I dont’ need from websites and surf porn I’ll be fine. I use firefox anyways. IE sucks my balls.

V

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[quote]johnnytang24 wrote:
Vim instead of notepad[/quote]

Also, VIM is a great operating system, it just needs a good text editor.

15

I am a tech guy. I do it for a living. I can tell you Linux is shit for a desktop. I know cause when you work for a company these days cutting costs can make the difference if you have a pink slip or not. We explored this. Here are the user inputed reasons for not switching. And we tryed.

  1. Firefox works in Linux but you will have a hard time with multimedia files that are in sites.
    Yes you can dl the linux ver’s and install them but you will eventually run across some that don’t run on linux.

  2. Linux is better as a server then a desktop.

  3. If you are employing 3 different virus scanners I think you are your own worst enemy if you still infecting yourself.

  4. MS Office doesn’t run on Linux as far as I know. You can use environment emulators but who whats to bother?? Yes you can use open office etc. But nothing replaces Outlook(so far). Its like crack in the office world.

  5. Software in general. Good luck finding popular applicationX for your Linux machine. Yeah you might find one eventually. When the coders of the world decide to make one 2 years later. But if you run into issues enjoy trouble shooting.

  6. Just because its Linux does not mean its bullet proof. Actually real crackers/hackers will look for your box online cause its a challenge to break/break into. And unless you really know how to secure it. I would stay with your Windows system cause you can get a nice GUI application to help you do that.

But if you like nit picking and trouble shooting a system to get it running. Using old ass programs that are buggy and a gamble to work with. Go ahead. Welcome to the *NIX Revolution.

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[quote]dirtbag wrote:

But if you like nit picking and trouble shooting a system to get it running. Using old ass programs that are buggy and a gamble to work with. Go ahead. Welcome to the *NIX Revolution.[/quote]

lol this has been my experience as well

I’m a net admin that ‘babysits’ PCs and Macs. I would suggest getting a Mac, but that (unfortunately) requires laying down some serious cash.

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Linux is completely pointless for your needs… you’re going to hate yourself if you switch. Don’t do stupid shit and your computer won’t crash.

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Knoppix, centos have live disks as well and I personally prefer knoppix over unbuntu for speed and also for security tools, but if you are unfamiliar with *nix in general, go with ubuntu. The desktop is configured similar to win-doze. On second thought, and if you can, grab a copy of puppy linux or damn small linux (DSL)and make an image on a flash drive and boot from that. Puppy, I know has a desktop(Gnome)you can get around in real easy. Boot up, copy your files somewhere, then nuke windoze.

19

[quote]Amiright wrote:
Linux is completely pointless for your needs… you’re going to hate yourself if you switch. Don’t do stupid shit and your computer won’t crash. [/quote]

I like doing stupid shit.

I also don’t mind a challenge. I’m downloading Ubuntu as we speak. I’ll load it when I get home. If I can’t do what I want after a couple weeks of messing with it. I’ll find my XP disk and re-load it. No big deal.

V

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[quote]Amiright wrote:
Linux is completely pointless for your needs… you’re going to hate yourself if you switch. Don’t do stupid shit and your computer won’t crash. [/quote]

I like doing stupid shit on my windows PC and watching all the preventative measures I take on PC’s come alive and block everything thrown at it. Its fun.

There will never be a time to not have a live *nix distro somewhere around your windows PC. When windows dies, *nix can recover it.