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I have been thinking of trying Linux for a long time. Are you using Ubuntu or Mint? Something else?

Been using Macs for the last 10 years or so. I'm not a power user by any stretch...
 
Originally Posted By: frankbee3
I have been thinking of trying Linux for a long time. Are you using Ubuntu or Mint? Something else?

...


Yes, me too, been computing for decades here on Windows, maybe have owned 2 dozen desktops and laptops over the years, currently 3 (one is my wifes Dell home office workstation) solid Windows10 PCs and 2 laptops running.

But have 3 REALLY not to old computers around, hate to throw one of them out, actually its a Dell Business machine (maybe 2/3 years old), and a bit older Lenovo A4 and an 8 year old HP Pent 4 ... anyway,

I NEVER EVER knew/know where to start with LINUX! I guess it wasnt at the top of my list, all I need to do is research it I assume.

I guess I could google Linux for Dummies! I just want to download a copy of some variation of Linux and magically have it work, just like Windows!

Someone, someplace, must have some solid advice on the very best Linux to install that will be hassle free to set up.
I have a "disposable" HP Windows XP professional computer I can start with to try out and see if I can get the hang of it until moving onto a better computer.
Lately I have heard of security flaws in Linux.
 
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I had an old Dell machine that had 8.1 Windows that drove me to try Mint Mate. I have not looked back. I have tried Ubuntu but just not for me. Of the Mint versions I like Xfce the best, but Mint Mate is mostly recommended here. There are a lot of good current threads on Mint here. I have two with Mint Mate, two with Mint Xfce, and Peppermint on that old Dell machine. All computers are around 10 years old and have plenty of speed and stability.

Just download a version to try and burn an ISO. You can try before installing.

Linux Mint Download

Speed up your Mint
 
Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: frankbee3
I have been thinking of trying Linux for a long time. Are you using Ubuntu or Mint? Something else?

...


Yes, me too, been computing for decades here on Windows, maybe have owned 2 dozen desktops and laptops over the years, currently 3 (one is my wifes Dell home office workstation) solid Windows10 PCs and 2 laptops running.

But have 3 REALLY not to old computers around, hate to throw one of them out, actually its a Dell Business machine (maybe 2/3 years old), and a bit older Lenovo A4 and an 8 year old HP Pent 4 ... anyway,

I NEVER EVER knew/know where to start with LINUX! I guess it wasnt at the top of my list, all I need to do is research it I assume.

I guess I could google Linux for Dummies! I just want to download a copy of some variation of Linux and magically have it work, just like Windows!

Someone, someplace, must have some solid advice on the very best Linux to install that will be hassle free to set up.
I have a "disposable" HP Windows XP professional computer I can start with to try out and see if I can get the hang of it until moving onto a better computer.
Lately I have heard of security flaws in Linux.


When the partition of my HDD that contained the OS was corrupted a couple of years ago, resulting in BSOD (luckily the rest of the disk, where my data was, was fine), I was able to boot the PC from a USB drive, using Linux Mint.

I used my laptop to load the necessary files onto my USB drive (YouTube helped me with this), plugged the drive into my PC, selected to boot from USB drive in BIOS, and away I went. We hadn't backed up a lot of photos and videos, so I was ecstatic when I was able to use Mint to view and verify that all of my data was intact!

I could have used a SATA-to-USB adapter to pull the files, but I didn't have one at the time. I did have a USB drive and was able to figure out how to work with Mint within an evening of research - super easy!
 
Originally Posted By: hyperscion
thanks to the tax cuts I have a new pc. then put on linux,,,fastest pc i have ever seen.


What is the make and model of this new computer? What OS did it come with, one that you disregarded / dispersed with?
 
Had good luck with Linux Mint but I'll be switching to Ubuntu Mate 16.04 when it's released month. Not my analogy but I've heard it called the Swiss Army Knife of distributions. You can literally (easily) make it look like just about anything-- much easier to get a new look without installing a new distro.
 
FYI: Since I posted info on Mint...

Used for years with no major problem. Did an update of computer I leave at work. Got an error message and could not boot. I think update was for virtual machine. Did the same update on laptop at home. After restart lost my volume control and other programs not loading. Free does not mean perfect.
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All is good. I had two other Thinkpads and swapped drives. The Mint Mate and Xfce downloaded as 18.3 version are fine. Ones I updated from earlier versions will get a fresh install. Linux is difficult to troubleshoot unless you have some technical ability are time to invest.

This is the end of the public service announcement...
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Originally Posted By: alarmguy
I have a "disposable" HP Windows XP professional computer I can start with to try out and see if I can get the hang of it until moving onto a better computer. Lately I have heard of security flaws in Linux.

Don't worry about theoretical security flaws that only apply if you're running a server under various obscure conditions.

Generally a basic Ubuntu or Mint package, using the correct 32 bit or 64 bit package as the case may be, will work very easily. Download an image and put it on DVD (or CD for an older version for even older hardware) and run it live to try it without installing it. If you find a version and flavour you like, you can install it.
 
All is good again. I decided to even read some of the info on Mint to better understand the basics. So now I have a 10 year old computer that is booting faster and running better than the Windows 10 Dell computer at work. The thing about Mint/Linux it keeps getting better with room to configure it the way you like it. It just takes time and the cost of a DVD with ISO to try.
 
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