Distro Hopping

[raymac46]

Ah yes - I remember the days when I had about 6 distros on one machine and chainloaded them as my mood dictated. Those days are mostly over. In fact I'd say that my distro hopping phase is also mostly over.

I've ended up in the Debian camp with Linux Mint - the equivalent of a 4 door Chevy sedan I guess. The main reason? Whether it's a memory challenged netbook, or my main Linux driver all my computers get used by others - mostly people who are familiar with Windows. Add to that the fact that I want to stay current with a distro that I can easily install for other folks in the 'hood - and I have to stay pretty mainstream.

LM is versatile enough since it offers a variety of dektops from Xfce and LDXE to Cinnamon, Mate, KDE. It gives a uniform look and feel so I can run it anywhere and nobody really notices a difference. It isn't the speediest distro but that's OK.

I can't help thinking how nice it would be to have Arch though....

[securitybreach]

Ah, yes.. I remember the days of distro hopping as well. I think most of us went through that stage until we found the distro that best fit us. I know that after Slackware, I went through dozens of distros until I found Archlinux.

 

Nowadays, I do not distro hop anymore but I do have about a dozen distros/OSs in virtualbox that I play with and I also try out others occasionally virtually. Granted it is not for the same reasons that I distro hopped (trying to find one that best fit my workflow/ideology) but I still play around some out of curiosity and so I can familiarize myself with them.

 

If you think it would be nice to have Archlinux, why not go for it (virtually or not)? Now granted, it will not be for the same reasons you listed for LinuxMint but I think you would appreciate it for other reasons. I do still suggest LinuxMint to new Linux users for all the same reasons you gave but for myself; I prefer the hands on, fully-controlled approach..

[raymac46]

_{I will try Arch in VirtualBox again. I had trouble with updates on a Linux host but I'm having better luck using Windows as a host these days.}

_{I haven't stopped distro hopping completely. I have installed LXLE on my totally unupgradable junker netbook. It has some lovely wallpapers and it worked right out of the box with the netbook's fiddly Broadcom wifi.}

Edited March 27, 2016 by raymac46

[securitybreach]

Well if you do try Archlinux in Virtualbox, you will have to tweak it a little to work: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/VirtualBox#Installation_steps_for_Arch_Linux_guests

[abarbarian]

I've sort of been forced into distro hopping lately. When, back in the good old days of running a stable Arch, I did enjoy trying out different distros.

Best of the latest bunch so for have been MX-15 and I know this will not suit some folks but Robolinux has been a star for me.

[securitybreach]

Best of the latest bunch so for have been MX-15 and I know this will not suit some folks but Robolinux has been a star for me.

 

Ummm, what? From the robolinux homepage:

Why is the Linux kernel so successful? Because Linus Torvalds is funded by the Linux foundation.

https://www.robolinu...rship/cinnamon/

 

Are you kidding me? This guy seriously has no idea about Linux and it's history, does he?

 

The Linux Foundation was founded on September 11, 2011 which was 20 years after the Linux kernel came. Redhat even made a billion dollars off of Linux in their 2012 revenue. Heck I have been using Linux since 2003 , which was 8 years before the Linux Foundation even came out.

 

That and you have to spend 3 bucks to join some made up foundation to even try the distro out. Yeah, I think I'll pass...

 

I am surprised no one has called this guy out on his facts.,

[lewmur]

_{I will try Arch in VirtualBox again. I had trouble with updates on a Linux host but I'm having better luck using Windows as a host these days.}

_{I haven't stopped distro hopping completely. I have installed LXLE on my totally unupgradable junker netbook. It has some lovely wallpapers and it worked right out of the box with the netbook's fiddly Broadcom wifi.}

I'd never had a problem with Linux Host with VirtualBox until recently. I had it setup on Mint 17.3 and working fine but a couple of months ago someone post a thread on how to upgrade to the latest Linux kernel. When I did that, Vbox quit work on that machine. I have it on other machines so I didn't bother re-installing Mint 17.3 to go back to the earlier kernel. I figure Vbox will eventually catch up to the kernel I'm using.

[securitybreach]

I figure Vbox will eventually catch up to the kernel I'm using.

 

What do you mean by that?

 

The reason I ask is because I am using the latest version of Vbox and the later stable kernel:

 

[lewmur]

I figure Vbox will eventually catch up to the kernel I'm using.

 

What do you mean by that?

 

The reason I ask is because I am using the latest version of Vbox and the later stable kernel:

 

I might be jumping to the wrong conclusion. It might just be a coincidence that Vbox quit work at the time I upgraded the kernel and that the error message I get is Kernel driver not installed (rc=-1908) and that the solution Vbox suggest '/etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup' doesn't help.

[securitybreach]

I figure Vbox will eventually catch up to the kernel I'm using.

 

What do you mean by that?

 

The reason I ask is because I am using the latest version of Vbox and the later stable kernel:

 

I might be jumping to the wrong conclusion. It might just be a coincidence that Vbox quit work at the time I upgraded the kernel and that the error message I get is Kernel driver not installed (rc=-1908) and that the solution Vbox suggest '/etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup' doesn't help.

 

What distro are you using? The reason I ask is because that command is specific to init, not systemd.

[securitybreach]

You should only have to load the module:

# modprobe -r vboxdrv
# modprobe vboxdrv

[lewmur]

You should only have to load the module:

# modprobe -r vboxdrv
# modprobe vboxdrv

As I said in my earlier post, I'm running Mint 17.3 but with an upgrade to a much later kernel. It worked with the original Mint 17.3 kernel which I believe is somewhere back around 3.36

Edited March 27, 2016 by lewmur

[securitybreach]

Ah, ok. I forgot..

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I called it distro farming, a term coined by friend Urmas, I believe. At one time, I had 17 linux distributions on my main machine + a working Windows XP Pro/SP3. I did not chainload, though. I scripted Grub or LILO to directly boot each distribution and the Windows. It was more complicated to do it that way, but I was an aspiring Linux geek back then, so the more pain the better.

 

I've most retired from distro farming. I do have a fully updated Debian and Ubuntu on my shop system; the Debian because I just love Debian (pre-Systemd), the Ubuntu is there so I can keep abreast of that OS and help folks whom I have converted to that OS to troubleshoot their issues while on the phone. Fortunately, I rarely have to help any of my converts. I'm like the Maytag repairman when it comes to that.

 

 

Now if I could just figure out why my WIn 7 won't update anymore. That Windows stuff is all to me.

[Hedon James]

Now if I could just figure out why my WIn 7 won't update anymore. That Windows stuff is all to me.

 

If you think in terms of "if we stop updating the old 'supported' system, they'll have to switch to the new 'supported' system....right? RIGHT?!" I believe you will find your answer...

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Now if I could just figure out why my WIn 7 won't update anymore. That Windows stuff is all to me.

 

If you think in terms of "if we stop updating the old 'supported' system, they'll have to switch to the new 'supported' system....right? RIGHT?!" I believe you will find your answer...

 

Very off-topic (Sorry, Ray), but funny you should mention that...

 

The Windows Update Takes FOREVER @ Ask Woody

[raymac46]

I suppose moving from Win 7 to Win 10 is a form of distro hopping.

[raymac46]

LXLE seems to be an excellent choice for my unupgradeable Dell Mini 12 netbook. LXDE is pretty lightweight for only 1GB of RAM and an old Atom CPU. The great selection of wallpapers looks fine on the Mini 12's larger display. The software selection is excellent plus you can get just about anything from Ubuntu's repos. Best of all the wireless worked out of the box with the Mini 12's recalcitrant Broadcom adapter.

With the other netbooks (1.5 and 2 GB of RAM) Xfce is possible so I'm using Linux Mint 17 with them.

[Dr. J]

I suppose moving from Win 7 to Win 10 is a form of distro hopping.

The way I see it, that's just the 'one step process' for loosing all your files, Installing a boatload of doodoo you don't need, and putting a bigger titanium padlock on the thing...

 

[steel]

I don't know about most here but i still have 6 distros installed.

 

debian - sid - everyday comp

debian - jessie - server

archlinux - love it

kali - just because

opensuse 13.2 - always had problems with rpm distro based so i have one installed.

LFS 7.3 -

 

i also have about 8 viirtual OS including windows,

last time i had a windows on my comp was windows xp

not sure when win7 came out but never installed it.

[securitybreach]

I don't know about most here but i still have 6 distros installed.

 

debian - sid - everyday comp

debian - jessie - server

archlinux - love it

kali - just because

opensuse 13.2 - always had problems with rpm distro based so i have one installed.

LFS 7.3 -

 

i also have about 8 viirtual OS including windows,

last time i had a windows on my comp was windows xp

not sure when win7 came out but never installed it.

 

Hiya Steel, nice to see you again!!

[raymac46]

if I'm honest with myself I have to admit I'm still distro hopping, although my focus has shifted.

When I was first learning about Linux I had one pretty good machine where I installed a bunch of distros to test the look and feel of each. Now I have a collection of machines of varying capability so I want to get the "right" distro for a given machine. I guess I've moved my focus from software to hardware.

On my most powerful machines I still test distros but not by installing on the rails - virtual machines do the trick.

And with apologies to the Fedora fans here - I don't think I'll install an RPM based distro ever again. Debian and Arch look to be the way forward for me. You can't be good at everything.

[Hedon James]

if I'm honest with myself I have to admit I'm still distro hopping, although my focus has shifted.

When I was first learning about Linux I had one pretty good machine where I installed a bunch of distros to test the look and feel of each. Now I have a collection of machines of varying capability so I want to get the "right" distro for a given machine. I guess I've moved my focus from software to hardware.

On my most powerful machines I still test distros but not by installing on the rails - virtual machines do the trick.

And with apologies to the Fedora fans here - I don't think I'll install an RPM based distro ever again. Debian and Arch look to be the way forward for me. You can't be good at everything.

 

I'm firmly in the DEB camps also, but I think that's just the way it unfolded based on what caught my attentions during my early distro-hopping activities trying to figure out what I liked. I never got on with Fedora either, but 2 RPM distros that were really polished, user-friendly, and seriously tempted me were OpenSUSE and PC Linux OS (PCLOS). Ironically, PCLOS is a Mandriva-based RPM distro that uses synaptic from the Debian package management ecosystem; probably the ONLY distro with that combination (certainly the only one I'm aware of). If I had discovered either of these 2 sooner in the process (before my tastes had started to "set in"), I might be an RPM guy instead of a Debian guy!

 

I don't have an OpenSUSE VM anymore so I really need to do something about that, but I still keep my PCLOS VM up to date to stay informed. In addition to being a Debian guy, I've also found myself gravitating to Openbox/LXDE-based distros, as I see that DE as the sweet spot of UX polish, configurability, and modularity of productivity applications. Depending on how the shift to LXQT comes about, I may become more interested in XFCE, or I may shift more toward the Openbox end. But for the time being, Debian-based LXDE is my sweet spot for distros! JMO...

[Dr. J]

As far as RPM based distros go, I've never had much luck, even though I actually started with an early version of Red Hat when I was about twelve (but back then all I did was play Kfoul Eggs - I'm not even sure if that still exists, I think it evolved into Klickety - so it was all fun and games). More recently, I spent some time using OpenSuSE, first 13.2, after swapping Slackware 14.0 for it - probably not such a good idea, as it ran into some problem after a couple of weeks, I don't exactly remember what. So I switched to Leap 42.1. On that, some dependencies for totem, Gnome's video player, broke while I was installing multimedia codecs ... Irony in the flesh when you think about it...

After that, I went to Debian, then Manjaro, and finally Arch (which I now have dual booted with Slackware).

As far as my own personal needs are concerned I'm sorted now, but over the last couple of days I've been looking into Fedora Scientific, perhaps as something I might recommend to someone in my (or any) area of scientific research. However, Virtualbox guest additions wouldn't configure properly as it uses a 'pre release' version of Xorg, according to the error message, and the first thing that hit me was a 2 GB barrage of updates, that insisted on downloading rather slowly. Having said that, I like it to an extent, as pretty much everything needed for statistical analysis, scientific programming, etc. is provided out of the box.

(I'll stick with Arch and Slackware though - my distro hopping days seem to be at an end.)

[raymac46]

I did install and use Mandriva back when Bruno was here and available to get me out of trouble. My problem was that by then I was pretty much a GNOME-ie and Mandriva worked best with KDE. I tried Mageia but its version of GNOME 3 was really buggy. By then I didn't like either KDE or GNOME 3 so I switched over to Cinnamon on Linux Mint. With Arch I use Xfce - my default desktop on resource challenged machines. LXDE is pretty good too.

I never did get PCLOS working to my satisfaction. There were a couple of massive updates during my time trying it out that totally borked the system.

[ebrke]

I never got on with Fedora either, but 2 RPM distros that were really polished, user-friendly, and seriously tempted me were OpenSUSE and PC Linux OS (PCLOS).

I'm probably the only one here who's never hopped. I installed suSe (as it was then) back in 2003, and we've been together ever since. I used KDE for years, then switched to xfce when my hardware got older, and that's the only change I've made.

[sunrat]

I just switched to MX-15 for my daily driver and am very impressed. It installed easily, is very responsive, and only took minor tweaking to get it working nicely. The main issues were related to using a 4k monitor and GTX 970 video card. Installing nvidia proprietary driver helped although nouveau surprised me and almost worked satisfactorily. Some rare programs still don't play nice with HiDPI though mainly because of hard coded font/window sizes.

I miss some of the nifty features in siduction with KDE Plasma 5 but can live with them for now. Actually the main reason for the change was having a pathetically inconsistent ADSL internet service (which we are cancelling because of the terrible service) and trying to reduce updates, which siduction needs regularly and in large portions. It was getting expensive to download those using my phone hotspot.

I use and recommend this product!

[raymac46]

MX-15 looks like a keeper.

It was one of the fastest installs ever in Virtual Box. The Guest Additions perform perfectly.

I had to install the Webkit and get Midori from the Web as a .deb file but it works now.

It looks as if the MEPIS distro is now dormant but the community has worked with the AntiX developer to make MX-15.

Edited April 1, 2016 by raymac46

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I run Slackware.

[BarryB]

I retired from farming too, I run the same basic group I have for years now..Mageia, Opensuse, and Manjaro ( with a few other as side kicks). I still tend to lean towards RPM distros and KDE on most machines(guess that is more because they are what I "grew up with").