We need a 'fixit' bot that fixes up abortion text like the aforementioned post. (I don't do grammar... )
That'd be no fun at all. Half the fun is trying to figure out what the other person said... The other half is trying to figure out what they really mean.
If I were to decide to throw caution to the wind and try a bit of Linux where would I go to get a safe download of Mint? And then is there anywhere to get instructions on how to dual boot it alongside W7? I only have one PC so I need to keep it functional without a major breakdown.
Fair enough. I'll keep looking. But its like asking which mobile phone is best. So many differences of opinion its impossible to pick between them. Even a simple tech question appears to have a lot of different answers. This is one more reason people continue with Windows.
This video has some very good info but the video itself is terrible. I noticed a few errors but they were of no real importance. It should be noted that when making the Linux partition you must create a primary partition. Grub has real problems when installed on a logical partition. I do not think this method is any better than the standard way of install grub in the MBR. I believe it needlessly complicates the install, takes longer to boot, and of course the MBR way of doing things is slowly fading away as most new systems use UEFI and GPT partitions, which have a completely different method of booting.
That's just incorrect. I have BIOS, MBR, dual boot (Win7 and Ubuntu) for donkey's years and it's fast and furious... Speed depends on HW - install on SSD and enjoy...
Recently myself and another guy both got great deals on very nice 17" notebook PCs. As one may expect, they both came with that abortion #10 pre-installed. Killed off the UEFI, ditched the GPT - and had Ubuntu Mate installed in just minutes with everything working fine. I always add an extra step in the OS install, having learned that it is a best practice; Before the OS a small, primary partition is created & the rest of the drive is allocated to extended space. When all is done, it has /boot (primary), / (root), and /home (all using EXT3) as well as a fixed swap space. This works well for cloning & backup purposes & keeps things neater as well. From what I can tell, all the newer booting & partition schemes do nothing of value for the users and really just exist to suit those 'other' OSes which I refuse to use - so they are the 1st things to go away all the time for me.
Impossible for me to use Linux, at least on my high end computer in 120Hz, not as smooth as Windows (tried all popular distros except Ubuntu which I'd never do because I simply hate their ecosystem (tar.gz packages and snap, wtf ?) Also, many people are paranoid about Microsoft spying people, but trust me, it's perhaps the least worst about it.And if you don't wanna be spied, just don't use Internet at all. Plus, I wouldn't recomment Ubuntu to a new comer but that's just me. Solus does (IN MY OPINION) a better job transition-wise. I still use Debian on my laptop though, and it's probably my favorite distro right now (with Solus) because it's damn stable even using testing repos. One thing to remember is "Always use mother distro and not a spin-off"
I am not sure if you a replying to my comment about speed. To clarify, I believe that installing grub in the root (not home partition as mentioned in the video) basically requires that you load Windows before you get the option to load linux. I have tried it both ways and prefer grub in the MBR.
Yea windows boot screen comes up first and you just select Linux and up comes grub. No big deal here for me. But the thing here is that it seems Aardvarkly wants to give Linux a try and he/she may not like it. With this method you can easily dual boot Windows and Linux. Linux will not change anything in Windows. So if the decision is made that he/she does not like it then all you need to do is delete that partition, done and its gone. Letting grub take over windows boot screen he/she is asking for a world of hurt if they don't know Linux to begin with. Trying to get rid of grub is not going to be easy!!
You just install another Linux distro over the old one and no problem... I use Grub Customiser and no problem whatsoever...
I have used linux in many ways since mid nineties as server, firewall, router etc., but I have to say I've never really got on with any of the Linux GUIs. It's steady as a rock as my AD domain controller and file server and rsync to a remote box makes a fantastic backup. I'd love to ditch micro$oft completely but despite several attempts at various distro's, including Mint, I end up giving in. Still on windows 7, can't stand 10.
Me, three... Except it's because of MS monopoly position on the market, more to do with drivers for Linux not being done, either at all or not properly...
Sorry I don't get your 'general conclusion'..... I assume with 120 Hz you mean the frame frequency. (I wonder what it should have to do with high end 'machine') anyway it's related to the GPU and the drivers and the used desktop.......not to 'Linux'...and could you elaborate what you mean saying not as smooth as windows? Actually any Linux distro uses LESS resources than windows. That is a fact...... You do not get what 'people' mean by that. They simply do not want that somebody (=M$) reads data from a personal PC AND encrypt the contents so people cannot even know what they read! It's about self-determination and privacy. It absolutely makes no sense using the mother-distro and the user cannot handle it / cannot have access to it. The rule is: Use the distro you feel comfortable with. And since most are coming from windows Linux Mint fits best to 'newcomers'...