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How to get Linux Inside the Box


raymac46

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Over the years I have been convinced that the reason Linux has a relatively low desktop market share is because you have to think outside the box to get Linux in the box.

It's not as if you can go to Best Buy and come home with a working system. The problem is even more difficult in Canada where we don't have respected Linux vendors like ZaReason or System76. Dell sells a few developer editions of XPS laptops but that is about it. So what to do if you want to get started with Linux? Here are a few of the ways I've tried since I first got interested in a Linux system.

  • Repurpose an old PC that runs an obsolete version of Windows. This was how I got started - with an old Dell that ran Windows Me. Today I'd be looking at something that ran Vista I guess. This used to be a good way to go but with YouTube, Spotify and Twitch today you probably don't want a tired old system even if it runs a lot better with Linux.
  • Repurpose a gently (or not gently) used PC that runs a still useful version of Windows. I have been doing this more and more lately - especially with laptops. I fixed up a netbook that used to run Windows 7 Starter - no big loss there. I also recycled my daughters 2012 laptop (Windows 7) that she dropped off the bed a couple of times. Finally I got a good deal on a Thinkpad T430 that had been refurbed to run Windows 10 - not supported by Lenovo by the way. In every case I blew Windows away. This may seem like a waste - especially with the Thinkpad - but it is the price you have to pay sometimes to get decent hardware.
  • Buy a working Linux system new. I have tried this with a couple of netbooks back in the day. One was OK (Acer) and one was a disaster (Dell.) Both had crappy versions of Linux pre-installed. The Acer at least had decent hardware. The Dell was awful - really convinced me Dell would never have a serious Linux commitment.
  • Buy (or build) a PC that never will run anything but Linux.I have done this with two desktops. One was screwed together by a local clone maker (they thought I was nuts) and after it POSTed OK they handed it over. That machine still runs fairly well although it's nine years old now. The other I built myself in 2013 and it's been upgraded over the years. It is a really good machine and my primary Linux driver.

So my recommendations right now to get Linux in the box? Build your own desktop or buy a used commercial grade laptop off lease - then wipe Windows and install Linux. The days for repurposing a really old desktop - or even worse an old laptop - are largely over.

Edited by raymac46
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You appear to be ahead of me in coming to the right decision set.

My daughter's old laptop is an interesting one. Normally she would still be using it but after smashing the screen on the first fall (I fixed it for her) and then crashing the hinges with the second she was tired of it and got a new laptop last year. She asked me to wipe the hard disk and send it off to the recycler.

This machine was never a speed burner but it has lots of RAM, a Trinity dual core APU. I've got it stuck together with Gorilla tape and I don't open or close it so it works well enough as a workbench PC. I guess it's sort of a Cluttermaster special.

https://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c03381893

Edited by raymac46
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I'm still using a Lenovo laptop circa 2009 that came with win xp. When I got a newer machine for my mother, I wiped windows from the older Lenovo and loaded it with OpenSUSE. It still runs pretty well, although it's a bit slow. Suits my limited needs though.

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securitybreach

You appear to be ahead of me in coming to the right decision set.

My daughter's old laptop is an interesting one. Normally she would still be using it but after smashing the screen on the first fall (I fixed it for her) and then crashing the hinges with the second she was tired of it and got a new laptop last year. She asked me to wipe the hard disk and send it off to the recycler.

This machine was never a speed burner but it has lots of RAM, a Trinity dual core APU. I've got it stuck together with Gorilla tape and I don't open or close it so it works well enough as a workbench PC. I guess it's sort of a Cluttermaster special.

https://support.hp.c...ument/c03381893

 

Unfortunately, the problem with that laptop is the AMD A6 processor. At work they tried using the HP Probook 645 as the standard laptop but we ended up having to replace all of them as the A6 is a huge bottleneck in the set up. They would be solid machines if it were not for the processors. The would frequently lock up on simple things like excel spreadsheets and with various tests and such, it turned out that it was the process that was causing all the issue. Intel and AMD make low end and high end processors but this is a horribly chip set.

 

Now I have not installed Linux on that model so I can't say for sure but that was determined to be what was causing all the performance issues on them. Luckily there are various models depending on what you do so I never had to actually use one but I did work on a lot of them.

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My daughter never had a major problem with that laptop - well aside from smashing it a couple of times. :smashcomp:

It appears to run OK with MX-16 Linux. I haven't tried any intensive office work but it does OK with videos and web browsing.It is slow to boot but that is because it has a 5400 RPM mechanical drive.

The Trinity A8 APUs such as I have in my desktop are a much more robust and powerful design. Much more power hungry but faster and stronger.

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securitybreach

My daughter never had a major problem with that laptop - well aside from smashing it a couple of times. :smashcomp:

It appears to run OK with MX-16 Linux. I haven't tried any intensive office work but it does OK with videos and web browsing.It is slow to boot but that is because it has a 5400 RPM mechanical drive.

The Trinity A8 APUs such as I have in my desktop are a much more robust and powerful design. Much more power hungry but faster and stronger.

 

You may want to try a cheap ssd to compensate for the processor.

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I have thought about it but frankly I don't use it enough. I have my Thinkpad which already has an SSD for serious Linux laptopping. The HP is a real bear to take apart and since it is already falling apart I wonder if I could ever put it back the way it was if I disassembled it.

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The only pc I have bought ready built was my first pc a Athlon Thunderbird bought secondhand of E-Bay in 2003. It had a intermittent fan problem which made it overheat and it also had a pirated copy of XP on it which had glitches. SO I was thrown in at the deep end for problem solving as I had no computer experience at all.

As I could not make any real hardware upgrades and wanted to play games I decided to build my own pc as I could not afford to buy a ready made. This started me on my computing journey and I have always built my own pc's ever since.

Guess I am lucky as I have had no problems with installing linux on any of my builds. I do tend to use pretty popular mainstream parts and apart from my latest Skylake build they had all been in production for a couple of years when I used them.

As to distros they have all given me problems from when I first started to play with them in 2006. That is until I installed MX-15 in 2015 which ran with no problems for 18 months till I swapped over to MX-16. I have had no problems with Arch since I started to use it in 2012 not even with the change over to systemd. Well no problems with Arch itself as I have had problems but they were all operator related. :thudna5:

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securitybreach
I have had no problems with Arch since I started to use it in 2012 not even with the change over to systemd. Well no problems with Arch itself as I have had problems but they were all operator related. :thudna5:

 

It happens to us all... B)

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V.T. Eric Layton

Yeah, we've all had to learn and re-learn, and cook this, toast that, accidentally wipe the boot-loaders a few times, have mechanical and electronic failures, even dance Irish jigs on our desktop machines after we've yanked them off the desks and slammed them to the floor.... er, well... maybe I'm the only one who's had that last experience. ;)

 

I persevered, though. I learned what I needed to learn. I'm no guru by any stretch, but I can work my way around most any problem in Linux these days, and hardware issues were never a problem for me with my electronics background. Sadly, though, I still can't see what people find so thrilling about Facebook and Twitter. :hmm:

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Sadly, though, I still can't see what people find so thrilling about Facebook and Twitter. :hmm:

 

You are probably too intelligent to understand. Let me try to help out. Twitter can be broken down into two words twit and err if you look at the origins of these words all becomes clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

noun

British

informal


  •  
    A silly or foolish person.

twit3

 

noun

informal


  •  
    A state of agitation or nervous excitement.
     
    ‘we're in a twit about your visit’

Origin

 

 

Probably from twitter.

 

 


  •  

 

 

verb

 

[no object]formal

  • 1Be mistaken or incorrect; make a mistake.

  • to err is human, to forgive divine

  • proverb It is human nature to make mistakes oneself while finding it hard to forgive others.



    •  

Origin

 

 

Middle English (in the sense ‘wander, go astray’): from Old French errer, from Latin errare ‘to stray’.

Pronunciation

 

 

err

/əː/

 

 

http://youtu.be/MqObJtGrKaA

 

:breakfast:

Edited by abarbarian
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