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So Far, So Good

rgandrgand Posts: 17
in Getting Started with Linux

I'm a rank newbie to Linux. I don't even know whether to pronounce it with a long or short 'i'.

The other day I downloaded Linux Lite to a folder. Then I installed Express Burn so I could burn the image to a DVD, which I did yesterday. Today I took my test laptop with Windows 7 on it and changed the BIOS to boot from the DVD drive first and gave it a go. It boots great and works slick as oiled ice. Disk out, my Win 7 boots up the way it should.

The only bugaboo so far is that when I shut down LL, the disk ejects and the process hangs up. I have to then unplug from power and remove the battery. It always boots up fine the next time so I can live with that for now.

After getting a little used to LL, I'll then install it with a dual boot so I can choose either OS. I still need W7 for some things but that's OK if I can get the dual boot done properly. Before I do the permanent install, though, I need to figure out how to extend on to two screens. Without that, this is all academic. So far, it runs duplicated on both but I think I just need to find where to change that.

So far, I like it and will proceed at a comfortable pace until I have a good feel for it. I can see why people like Linux.

Robert

Comments

  • mdaprixmdaprix Posts: 2
    Short "i", as in "Linux for dinner" :-)

    That being said, be prepared for the dual-boot project. I have installed quite a few Linux distros in a dual-boot environment with Win7, 8.1, and 10 (last weekend, actually, with CentOS). Sometimes, grub or lilo will see Windows just fine, but other times it will take some crafty Google searches to figure out why you don't have the option to boot to Windows.

    Have fun. Happy nixing!
  • rgandrgand Posts: 17
    Thanks. mdaprix. I feel that if you're going to do something, at least be able to pronounce it correctly. Also, thanks for the heads-up on the dual boot installation. I'll be prepared for some fiddling and pleased if it doesn't need any. That's why I'm doing this on a test machine. When I migrate over to my main computer, I'll probably keep the test one to try new installations and configurations. I wonder how many distros I can cram on one machine?

    I found the 'settings' panel. Yes, this does double screens easily. It does some things Windows can't and other things Windows does better but so far the benefits of LL are on the heavy side of the scale. I'll proceed with the installation and really find out how it works.

    Once that is done I'll run through the basics until I'm comfortable before venturing into how to run Windows programs through it (or remotely), which I gather is a possibility with some distros.
  • mdaprixmdaprix Posts: 2
    edited November 2015
    The cool thing about Linux is that if you set it up during install to have /home on its own partition, then each subsequent distribution can be configured in the same manner. So your /home directory will be the same across all distributions installed, saving disk space. Though I've never had more than one or two distros nor researched it out much, theoretically I would think you'd only be limited by the number of partitions the drive/BIOS will support (which with GPT is 127, if I'm not mistaken). You simply can't do that with Windows.
  • rgandrgand Posts: 17
    edited November 2015
    You mean I can't have more than 127 installations on one computer? Bummer.

    LOL. Thanks for the information on this. I'll remember to make /home on a separate partition.

    Edit LATER:00 I installed LL alongside Win 7. Everything works as expected and the dual boot seems flawless. I never got /home on a separate partition but otherwise, it's as I wanted. As expected the shutdown issue from before is gone now that it operates from the hard drive.

    Next: Fiddle with things and figure out the basics.
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