Linux Mint

Plain Nev

Plain Nev

Vincent Furnier
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Okay, I admit it. Having downloaded Linux Mint I am totally baffled. I've pretty much fallen at the first hurdle, and have no idea what they are talking about. Theoretically it should be a case of following the instructions. Except that nothing seems to work as they describe, or relies on a grasp of the theory to start with. I presume the ISO file is the download. But I've no idea how to use the sums to verify it. Let alone make a bootable drive. In the words of Catweazle, nothing works! What do I do?
 
I had the same problem when I tried it. Gave up and stuck with Apple.
 
Go on youtube and look for Explaining Computers, Chris Barnett has lots of videos showing how to do it easily, even I was able to do it.
 
JackBell said:
Go on youtube and look for Explaining Computers, Chris Barnett has lots of videos showing how to do it easily, even I was able to do it.
Click to expand...

I did find a video that pointed me in the direction of Rufus. And that will do it, apparently. It's just a question of downloading it on to a memory stick.
 
Plain Nev said:
I did find a video that pointed me in the direction of Rufus. And that will do it, apparently. It's just a question of downloading it on to a memory stick.
Click to expand...

You can use Rufus or BalenaEtcher (my preferred version, both good).

To make an install 'disk you must first download the Mint ISO file and store it somewhere you can find it.

Plug in a USB stick or pop a DVD in the writer.

Start the software to create your bootable stick/disc. Usually it will first ask for the location of the ISO file, then it will confirm where you want it written. There will be a warning pop up telling you that the volume will be erased - TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY and check you're not overwriting a fixed drive.

Click on the 'go' button and it will take just a couple of minutes.

To try your 'live' OS, restart your computer and tap the F12 key as it starts to post, before the OS boots. It will ask you which drive you wish to boot from, and you should select the one with new OS installed.

Easy. ;)

BTW for those trying different distros, I've recently tried CachyOS - based on Arch linux, this runs very fast even with a heavier desktop like KDE Plasma installed. Booting from an SSD plugged in through a USB port takes 20sec on 10 year old mid-spec hardware, and the system is very responsive when running.
 
Yeah, it's easy. Just google it a bit, then go through the steps. Do persist!

In the same context, I have trouble with Windows! It's so dense with inexplicable secrets. Or, indeed, anything that has menus or an interface. I hate mobile phones! And digital cameras, though I have a couple! Gimme something tactile anytime that sits in front of me, that I can turn upside down & figure out what to do. Like my robust, precision Startrite circular sawbench. Or the copy stand for film neg recording that I'm building from various bits.

I relish being in the vital present, but parts of me would quite like to retreat to the 1980's, if not the 1950's!

Keep at it!
 
ancient_mariner said:
You can use Rufus or BalenaEtcher (my preferred version, both good).

To make an install 'disk you must first download the Mint ISO file and store it somewhere you can find it.

Plug in a USB stick or pop a DVD in the writer.

Start the software to create your bootable stick/disc. Usually it will first ask for the location of the ISO file, then it will confirm where you want it written. There will be a warning pop up telling you that the volume will be erased - TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY and check you're not overwriting a fixed drive.

Click on the 'go' button and it will take just a couple of minutes.

To try your 'live' OS, restart your computer and tap the F12 key as it starts to post, before the OS boots. It will ask you which drive you wish to boot from, and you should select the one with new OS installed.

Easy. ;)

BTW for those trying different distros, I've recently tried CachyOS - based on Arch linux, this runs very fast even with a heavier desktop like KDE Plasma installed. Booting from an SSD plugged in through a USB port takes 20sec on 10 year old mid-spec hardware, and the system is very responsive when running.
Click to expand...

Do you download either Rufus or Balena Etcher directly onto your stick? Or download it to your hard drive and then use it to create a boot drive on your stick?
 
At the moment, my preferred Linux is Ubuntu.

In my experience, it just works.
 
You've discovered the puzzle of IT instruction/help files. To read the beginners guide, you need an experts knowledge :)

Look on youtube one thing at a time, ie look up Balena and fine what you wan to do first, ie get the files onto a USB device and make it bootable, then look up how to make the PC boot from a USB device if it is presently disabled, then look for an installation guide of the flavour you want to install etc, then look for videos showing how to install software etc
Things like adding programme to you desktop can be frustrating at first if you are used to old windows, though W11 has made it a longer process sometimes

Most (if not all now) distributions will allow you to install to a USB device and run from that without having to change your hard disk installation.

Ubuntu Studio can be a good start if you want it for photography/DTP

You may find the Unity desktop awkward, KDE or Gnome are better options
 
ancient_mariner said:
and tap the F12 key
Click to expand...
Its not always F12, it might be Esc or another function key.

@Plain Nev in the days when computers had CD Rom drives you would get a CD, put it in, reboot the computer, set it to boot from the CD and you'd be up and running. If you still have a CD Drive you can still do this but most computers don't come with one hence having to create a bootable USB stick.
 
Personally I prefer a USB because it tends to be ore responsive, with fasterreading of data, but yes, CD/DVD woeks too (not sure CDs are big enough for some versions of Linux).

Plain Nev said:
Do you download either Rufus or Balena Etcher directly onto your stick? Or download it to your hard drive and then use it to create a boot drive on your stick?
Click to expand...

The bootable drive software -balena - needs to be installed on your computer. The memory stick can be blank, and will be formatted.
 
Thanks all. I have found Balena. Just waiting for a new memory stick, and I'll be in business. :cool:
 
No pun intended, but a quick update. Balena got me into trouble. I hadn't even attempted to download it and I was plagued by recurring pop ups for bloody MacAfee and Norton telling me my subscription was due for renewal. They were coming thick and fast and opening new windows all over the place. I don't have either. Thankfully I was wise enough not to click on any of them. There's a name for this sort of thing. Although, I'm not sure what it is, at the moment. I do wonder though if it's related to the ending of W10 support, and they are taking advantage of the renewed interest in Linux? I've discovered the culprit and blocked all notifications from it. Just got to find out how to get rid of it now. So, just a bit of a heads up, as they say. Be aware!
 
Interesting. Maybe my ad blockers are working well. Did you manage to download it?
 
Congrats, which one did you pick?
 
ancient_mariner said:
Congrats, which one did you pick?
Click to expand...

Mint. Although I also have Zorin on a flash drive, should I decide to try that. I've not experienced any problems. Although, I do miss Fastone. I don't know what it is with Open Source photo editors. They are all pretty much incomprehensible.
 
Mr Bump said:
linux is garbage just use W11 and spend your excess time being productive
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It's not garbage. It's not dissimilar to how Windows used to be. Some of us just want something that does what we want, and not worry about productivity. I mean really, what's that supposed to mean? It sounds you are chained to some ghastly machine. But, I'm sure Bill is grateful for everything you do. :D
 
It can really be daunting making the switch. Like other have suggested a little research on YouTube can bring some clarity.
I full ditched the spyware 5 years ago and haven't looked back, yes it comes with teething issues but long term the benefits out weight being a Microsoft bitch.

My advice is make a list of the software you ABSOLUTELY must have and see if there is a Open source alternative and if there isn't then research if people have managed to get your fav software working on Linux.
Take the new Affinity suite, that works great on Linux with some work or Winboat for the Satan's software, Adobe.

And remember just use whatever works for you, your choice is not wrong.
 
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Plain Nev said:
I do miss Fastone. I don't know what it is with Open Source photo editors. They are all pretty much incomprehensible.
Click to expand...
Part of the problem is that there are so many alternatives and its fair to say that since most of them are free open source they may not be around for ever. Try some of these - https://alternativeto.net/software/faststone-image-viewer/?platform=linux

Also Rawtherapee and Darktable. Pix comes with Mint and Pinta is a good basic, Paint 3D like, application.
 
Mr Bump said:
linux is garbage just use W11 and spend your excess time being productive
Click to expand...
You better not use this site then because it runs on garbage, as does the majority of the internet. Email? The vast majority of email servers are garbage, Android phone? That's garbage too...
 
TBH linux 'just works' in a way Apple can only envy, AND it works across a huge range of hardware. I wish apps written for windows or OSX ran natively on it, but they don't and I'm happy to keep a winbox or 2 going.
 
I have used mint on my personal computer for around 7 years. I would recommend keeping proper data backups and taking a system timeshift snapshot before updating as updates have caused issues a couple of times resulting in reloading a snapshot or installing latest version and reloading the data.
 
sirch said:
You better not use this site then because it runs on garbage, as does the majority of the internet. Email? The vast majority of email servers are garbage, Android phone? That's garbage too...
Click to expand...

linux as a server software is fin don't have an issue with that but people trying to sell it as a desktop replacement to W11 are just making stuff up, hardly any of the apps will run and that is why we have desktop software for compatibility with apps and software, linux doesn't do that so quite frankly makes it a crap desktop os
 
ancient_mariner said:
TBH linux 'just works' in a way Apple can only envy,
Click to expand...
This is true now.

It wasn't always quite that simple and I remember spending a fair amount of time in the early 1990s, just getting an installation up and running. On the other hand, these days it's very stable.

Given Bill Gates's anti-open source attitude up until the end of the 20th century, there's a certain amusement to be taken from the bundling of Linux with Windows!
 
Mr Bump said:
linux as a server software is fin don't have an issue with that but people trying to sell it as a desktop replacement to W11 are just making stuff up, hardly any of the apps will run and that is why we have desktop software for compatibility with apps and software, linux doesn't do that so quite frankly makes it a crap desktop os
Click to expand...

Well, there are plenty of horrible things that W11 does too. It's horses for courses, isn't it? If you're happy with the concessions to AI and privacy, all well and good. But, don't tell me it's a crap OS, because I'm sat here looking at it, and it's looking pretty good for what I do.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
This is true now.

It wasn't always quite that simple and I remember spending a fair amount of time in the early 1990s, just getting an installation up and running. On the other hand, these days it's very stable.
Click to expand...

Yes, was "harder" then, but at the same time in many ways simpler.

I started on Slackware in about 94, was new to me, but not really hard at the time.
In the later 90s I was seconded to the City Hall to sort out their computers (they had everything including council agendas and minutes stored on local machines with 20-40MB discs, with only a few networked to a Novell server)
I set up a proxy server, mail server and file server using Linux, and an NT server for all the workstations, and I can't remember any real issues with any of them.
Things were far less complicated then :)

Linux has become less friendly to my mind now, but it is certainly more stable than windows and less nuisance surprises, the only issue being software.

It would only take a few to port their software to Linux, and it would have a huge knock on effect.

I see that some say they have got the new Affinity working through Lutris, which is something I would like to look into, then I would not need windows at all :)
 
Mr Bump said:
linux as a server software is fin don't have an issue with that but people trying to sell it as a desktop replacement to W11 are just making stuff up, hardly any of the apps will run and that is why we have desktop software for compatibility with apps and software, linux doesn't do that so quite frankly makes it a crap desktop os
Click to expand...
You're gonna be really angry if you hit the run button and type WSL.

Windows 11 - the OS so good that they built Linux into it.
 
I'm a relative newcomer then, only starting with Mandrake linux in 2002/3. My favourite was Pear linux, which looked a lot like OSX10 but was less frustrating to use when managing many documents and just felt so much nicer - it was my main home OS until the project eas closed.
 
Plain Nev said:
Well, there are plenty of horrible things that W11 does too. It's horses for courses, isn't it? If you're happy with the concessions to AI and privacy, all well and good. But, don't tell me it's a crap OS, because I'm sat here looking at it, and it's looking pretty good for what I do.
Click to expand...

looks are great but it doesn't run the popular packages so its pointless, does it run adobe and light room?
 
Just because it doesn't run those particular programmes doesn't make it pointless. There are alternatives. Perhaps not as sophisticated, but that's really not the point. Anyone taking up Linux will doubtless be aware of its limitations, and will have adopted it for different reasons other than the latest software. That's the choice they have made. You have made your choice. That's fine. But don't complain that it's pointless and rubbish because other people think differently to yourself.
 
I did start trying to install Mint a couple of years ago, but hit the same issues with Balena as described above, and didn't have the patience to spend time sorting them out. Maybe I'll have another go over the Xmas break - I have two old white MacBooks that I wanted to install it on, as they can't run any even remotely recent version of OSX now despite upgrading the memory.
I've never been very much into Linux but did pick )no pun intended) up some knowledge on a few =testing contracts years ago, using Red Hat Linux and previously IBM AIX. And of course OSX is based on a version of Unix, using X-Windows I think, at one time.
 
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