By: Solutions Are Obvious
Note : Much of this may be tedious for some people but vital to others. What’s provided isn’t 100% perfect in every detail as that would require a book; a never ending book. It should cover 95+% of cases.
Further, it’s wordy but for a reason. I’m trying to anticipate questions and answer them before they’re asked. I believe that the more demystified the process becomes, the easier it is for people to make an informed guess to answer their own questions because no one can answer all of them.
A suggestion – read the whole thing at least once before attempting anything.
Linux terminology & misc information.
Linux comes in various ‘distributions’. A vehicle analogy might offer some insight.
Every Linux Distribution (distro) is a Ford F150. The differences between distributions is if it’s a Ford F150 XL, a Ford F150 XLT, a Ford F150 Lariat, etc. Ubuntu is not a Corvette, Fedora is not a Hummer, Mint is not an airplane. They’re all Ford F150’s.
The differences between distros primarily amounts to how bloated it is with software you’ll never use and what the default GUI (Graphical User Interface) is. I said ‘primarily’.
Underneath, there’s only one engine, referred to as the ‘kernel’ that is the heart of the operating system. That kernel has options that can get turned on or off by whomever is ‘packaging’ the distro and the choices made there have a large influence on the ‘personality’ the operating system conveys. That might be somewhat analogous to choosing simple fuel injection versus a turbo; it doesn’t change a 6 cylinder into an 8 cylinder and it doesn’t turn a Ford F150 into a Porsche.
To interact with hardware from an untold number of vendors, ‘drivers’ offer the bridge between the kernel and any particular piece of hardware. Drivers extend the kernel’s reach into the real world and allow the kernel to identify the hardware present at install time and thereafter.
If the kernel can’t uniquely identify a piece of hardware, it may attempt to use a generic driver to attempt to communicate with the device. Not knowing the specific capabilities of a device means not getting the maximum utilization from it but it may be enough to get the system operational to the point where a newer driver can be installed after the fact.
New hardware comes into existence all the time. Any given kernel may not know about the latest video board, for example, but all video boards share the same low level capabilities to get the computer (box) to a login prompt. Thereafter, an appropriate driver can be installed to inform the kernel of capabilities. Can’t get passed some low monitor resolution? It’s probably a driver issue, for example.
At install time, a device may be completely invisible to the kernel / installation procedure. You did turn that USB connected printer on for the install, didn’t you? The installation offered by any Linux distribution may contain a kernel and default drivers that are months old and therefore ignorant of the latest whiz bang gadgetry. Typically this isn’t a long term issue as adding drivers once the system is up is the usual solution.
Relax – the odds are that a recent distribution will recognize all your computer based hardware. I mention the preceding only if you encounter an issue. External gadgets like printers, plotters, card readers, etc will probably get recognized assuming they’re turned on at install time. Sometimes the recognition process can be faulty, for printers especially, and it may be necessary to nuke a device definition and reinstall the device AFTER the most recent operating system patches (updates / upgrades) have been applied.
What you’re installing is, in many cases, an outdated version of a particular distribution. Yes, an outdated version. It becomes current when the latest patches are applied and then this smarter version can do a better job of recognizing things. More on that later. Even with all the official patches applied, sometimes it takes going directly to a vendors site to download their driver for a device to make it work properly. Some vendors don’t really cooperate much with the Linux community. They’ll have a driver but won’t tell anyone about it. You have to go looking for it if you believe you need to.
Installation prep.
You are required to get a particular distribution downloaded to your Windows or Apple box and then configured appropriately on to a bootable USB stick. I’ll ignore installing from DVD but there’s really not much difference.
Each Linux vendor has their own instructions for how to do this on a Windows box and most on an Apple box. Some support installing on all sorts of hardware like a Raspberry Pi, for example. Just follow their instructions to produce the needed USB.
Use a clean USB stick, not one you already have data on because your data is going to disappear. Instructions on formatting a stick to nuke its contents are usually also provided and starting off with a squeaky clean USB is a good idea. The format may tell you it’s junk.
It also helps to know if you want the 64 bit or 32 bit version of a distro. Unless you have a really old box, you’ll want 64 bit. Attempting to install a 64 bit version on a 32 bit box won’t work and the install will say so in no uncertain terms.
What distro do you want to try? You can ask around or use distrowatch.com for a list of the top 100 distributions. 100, really! Looking at the included statistics should quickly indicate that some distros are much more popular than others. The top 10 might be reasonable to consider. The rest are for folks like me – Poindexters – propeller heads – geeks.
Go to the indicated web site for the distro of choice and follow their instructions for creating the bootable USB stick.
Boot process.
To install Linux means getting your computer to cooperate in the effort. An existing operational machine knows to boot from the hard drive or SSD. Some machines offer no hint that its willing to entertain boot time requests. Others put up messages, usually at the bottom of the screen, that are ignored by most users because they’re written in tech speak and flash by so fast you can hardly read them, if at all. Without telling the box to boot from the install media, it will do what it always does and boot into whatever is already on the hard drive. It will most likely ignore the USB stick you plugged in prior to turning the box on.
To instruct the box to boot from an alternate location means informing the BIOS to do so. There are numerous keystrokes used for this and are totally dependent on what the hardware vendor decided to implement. If through some miracle you still have the manual that came with the box, it may explicitly state what key(s) to use. Some boxes will recognize an inserted USB stick as THE request to boot from it and you have to do nothing at all.
If necessary, here are some possible keystrokes to try immediately upon seeing the monitor show signs of connectivity with the computer:
Any Delete key.
The Delete key on the numeric pad.
The Escape key.
Simultaneous press of the Ctrl and S key.
The F2 function key.
The F10 function key.
Simultaneous press of the Ctrl. Alt, Escape keys.
Spacebar.
Any key at all.
You need to hold any of the above long enough for the low level boot sequence to gain enough ‘intelligence’ to listen to your selection. Just tapping the key or keys won’t do as you have no idea if the box is currently alive enough to be listening to your key press. Press and hold that press till something happens. You’ll know the result when you see a BIOS screen, boot selection menu, Linux install screen or when your box ignores you and boots normally.
If you hit a BIOS screen, you’ll recognize it by its complexity. You might need to navigate around whatever shows up to get to a ‘Boot’ menu. Don’t be in a hurry. Read what’s displayed carefully. Some BIOS screens allow for the use of a mouse, and some especially older ones ignore the mouse. Again, there’s no way to tell what shows up as different vendors implemented different ideas on what to show.
Be very careful here. Altering the BIOS could be catastrophic. All you need to do is get to a spot where a selectable option offers to boot from the USB stick you’ve prepared that holds the Linux install procedure and basic Linux operating system. Most of the time, the USB stick option also contains the name of the stick chosen at format time or the manufacturer’s name.
If the stick is shown twice, once with a UEFI option, pick the UEFI version. If that causes a problem, pick the non UEFI option next time. Don’t ask. Don’t count on a BIOS recognizing a stick that you plug in after the BIOS screen is already up. Plug the stick in and then turn the box on. Further note that there are many versions of USB and if a stick isn’t recognized in one USB port, try another. If one particular USB stick isn’t working as expected, set up another one hopefully from a different manufacturer.
If you get to a BIOS screen, here is where you can set the proper date and time for the machine’s internal clock, for example. Some BIOS also allow you to select a region of the world so the Linux install can already know where you are if it chooses to use that information.
Changing anything in the BIOS requires you to specifically save your changes. If you don’t save them they are ignored and the box reboots to start over. If you’re going to make BIOS changes besides wanting to install Linux, make the changes, save the changes and allow the reboot to use those changes for the Linux install. Be advised that the internal clock is usually ignored once an Internet connection is established and a service gets the local time to synchronize all the local boxes to the same clock.
Linux install shows up.
Now, you should be at the opening Linux install screen. Everything up to this point has been fairly generic and applicable to all Linux distro installs. Here’s where you’re going to get anxious. I can’t answer all the questions that need answers because the distro installs are different for different machines and different per distribution. What I can do is to help you get prepared for the questions that need answers.
I’m going to use Ubuntu 18.04 LTS as a sample. If you have no Linux experience, try this distro if for no other reason but to follow along with this write up. You can install another distro later along side Ubuntu or replace it. Another distro will have a different install procedure, but what will be discussed for the Ubuntu install will be relevant for other installs.
If you want to keep your existing Windows O/S on the box, then you’ll be installing Linux in a dual boot configuration and every boot of the box will allow selecting which O/S to bring up. Note – if you want dual boot with Windows, make sure the version of Windows you want is installed first. Windows installers have been known for nuking other operating systems. Linux will properly alter the boot record to coexist. e.g. If you’re thinking about upgrading to Windows 10, do it before installing Linux.
Note that the Ubuntu I have on my stick can possibly be different than the Ubuntu you download and prepare. The Ubuntu folks can change what’s downloaded at any time so there’s no way to tell if what you download is exactly equivalent to what I have. If there’s a difference it’s probably slight and shouldn’t cause an issue.
Till next time.
Thanks. Well done.
Already looking forward to ‘next time’
I use Linux and like it, but it isn’t a good alternative for most people.
One simple example: USB storage devices.
In Mac or Windows, you can plug them in and pull them out pretty much willy nilly.
In Linux, if you don’t umount, these devices can become unusable on Windows/Mac devices.
The Star Office and what not are also not very good.
Lastly, Linux self-updating is largely non-existent. This is a serious problem when it comes to patch management.
You really stepped in it.
When you arbitrarily pull out a USB device without giving the O/S a heads up, you always take the risk of data loss regardless of O/S. Linux is no better or worse that any other O/S as far as that’s concerned. If you understood what’s going on you’d realize that’s true.
LibreOffice has its warts, but I’ve been using it and its Star Office antecedents for, guessing, near 20 years. I’m no light weight in calc. Some of my spreadsheets are huge. The multi currency point of sale system I wrote utilizing calc macros has worked for nearly 15 years and contains 6000 lines of my code that just works. My wife’s business relies on that system. Without it, we’d be in serious trouble.
In 20 years, I have never had a Linux update issue. Never! Windows gets hosed almost on schedule – every major update release.
I’m calling bullshit on everything you said.
Agree that pulling out a USB drive without telling the O/S to properly disconnect is asking for problem under any O/S.
Disagree that Windows gets hosed on schedule. Personally have never actually had a Windows machine hose itself. Have had thousands of Windows based end-users and by far and away most have never had issues. Yes, occasionally something happens but usually its due to some conflict with some other software or hardware issue. Have set-up and managed many Windows based servers from Windows 2000 Server to 2018 and have never had a server be hosed by Windows update. Some have failed, sure, due to hardware but I’ve never had one get hosed by doing an update.
In addition, considering that there are in fact many, many millions of Windows computers out there, and the majority are set to automatic update, it is inconceivable that a significant number of them are being hosed by the update process on a regular basis. MSFT would fail as a business if this was true and Windows would not be able to succeed as an O/S for so many years.
Personally I also run several laptops with Windows 7 and 8 and after installing the O/S just switched off the Windows update (the service and scheduler) and have never bothered to run an update ever. Installed a personal firewall and AV and never had a problem that I can remember since the release of those O/S. But this I do just because I don’t know what the Windows update sends to MSFT rather than any fear of a Windows update failure problem.
The last two major Windows upgrades made newspaper headlines. They fix one thing and break something else.
I’ve worked with Windows since it was invented, and pure DOS before that. I started networking as an authorized installer with 3COM’s Ethershare quickly followed up by authorization with Novell’s S-Net in the early 80’s and all subsequent Novell O/S’s as Gold dealers. Had SCO authorization. We were authorized by Microsoft when they first introduced networking, so I’ve been around.
Windows is the most error prone O/S I’ve ever worked with. Their Blue Screen’s are infamous. They have gotten better over the years, but they can’t hold a candle to the reliability of a Linux box or Linux network of servers.
In 20+ years on Linux (started with Caldera Linux and Ray Noorda after he left Novell) I’ve never seen an update that caused an issue. There’s no way that Windows can claim the same.
I too have been around, since the earliest days of CP/M, DOS, etc. so have been with Windows a long time too. I won’t debate which O/S is better or more secure or whatever but the claim that “Windows gets hosed almost on schedule – every major update release.” is not supported by reality. I have built and run several business all based on Windows software / applications and simply have not experienced anything like that claim. But maybe I’m just the exception.
What you said. No automatic updates! What a maroon.
You can call all you want – the reality is that I regularly pull USB devices from a Linux machine – which are then unrecognizable by Windows, Partition tools see the drive as unformatted even.
The devices work fine when put back on Linux, but clearly there are fundamental issues with USB device reliability when going from Linux to Windows.
Similarly, USB devices that have been used on Linux – when chkdsk on Windows, have a huge amount of cleanup that often needs to be done.
So while you may be an experienced Linux user – you clearly haven’t been going between Linux and other platforms. I have been using Linux for decades as well – and at least recognize the facts.
I’d also note that you clearly don’t understand what patch management means.
Patch management means that the OS will update itself regularly in order to fix problems – and also to improve security.
Yes, Windows patches have broken things. Is this fundamentally better than Linux – where patches don’t happen at all? Yes, there are tools you can set up, but the base Linux doesn’t do this.
And don’t even start with the nonsense that Linux doesn’t have vulnerabilities.
There are plenty – not as many numerically as Windows, but many are doozies.
In any case, you still didn’t address the primary point I made: which is that I do not see why Linux is a good idea for non-power users.
Particularly for the email and browser crowd.
But whatever – the level of discourse is exactly what I would expect from TBP.
Sigh. More from the “brain is a human organ” denier.
Just use Mint and have some fun. From my post yesterday: https://www.lifewire.com/beginners-guide-to-linux-4090233
Not sure why you are typing this all up when there are thousands of articles out there already that have pictures, go into more depth, and are better organized. That lifewire site has tons of well-written articles. Just search “linux” in their search bar and have at it. No, I have no financial interest, just a fan of their good content.
Off topic.
Only a dishonest person would keep making your statements. I have a rational and logical position on Psychiatry that you object to and you then invent and advertise things I’ve never said or intimated.
Maybe you should check out corbettreport.com and do a search on ‘psychiatry’ for several videos that back up my contention that psychiatry is outright fraud. That bogus profession is responsible for the bulk of mass murders via the prescription pad.
You may have the last word here because I’m not wasting my time on you.
This is where I’m number 1. I am a computer scientist – 47 years experience.
Linux is a piece of shit. Period.
It has many, many ‘clever’ named instructions, and a million pieces, there’s always a ‘broker’ for that. It in itself is a virus. The Windows O/S – platform may be bad – but Linux is horrible.
Linux is what ‘nerds’ are made of. Linux is the print-out with pizza grease stains on it. The Fiat of O/S’s.
Computer scientists are a dime a dozen, and we all have our religious beliefs. I’m a computer scientist, too, with 39 years experience, and I’m calling bullshit on this. A lot of those computer scientists disagree with your claim about it being a piece of shit. You like Android? That’s linux. You like OSX on a Mac? That’s BSD. There’s a reason that 99.8 percent of the supercomputers on the Top500 list run linux. There’s a reason that the Army is the single largest user of Red Hat linux — because it’s the best for mission critical operations. There’s a reason that Edward Snowden uses (and I use) QubesOS to protect security. There’s a reason that linux dominates the server markets, including 96.5 percent of the largest web domains, and 70 percent of the top 10 million domains. There’s a reason that 92 percent of the public cloud runs linux. The only thing that linux doesn’t dominate is the desktop/laptop market, and that’s mostly because of inertia and the fact that it comes installed by default.
https://www.wired.com/2016/08/linux-took-web-now-taking-world/
The bulk of the Internet, pretty near all the firmware that controls hardware routers, switches, etc use Linux.
I guess that’s because everyone is stupid except you.
I know for a fact that Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory is using Red Hat. Also, Bill Gates is a virus upon the earth.
I’ve been in IT for over 30 years and at work I can’t talk about Globalists or race-realism or Fed-bash or mock leftists or look at Friday Fail, so it really torques my nuts to see a Linux post on TBP. Keep TBP a non-IT zone, unless the topic is online anonymity.
The thing is that linux is the closest you can get to being “off the grid” and “self-sufficient” on a computer, both of which are values for a lot of conservatives. My concern is primarily security, and, yes anonymity. Accordingly it’s important from a libertarian and conservative point of view for people to be aware of options other than the surveillance offered by Microsoft/Google/Apple.
If you look at Microsoft, Google, and Apple, you can see how they have all used their IT dominance for political purposes. The very act of using and supporting these devices is a political act. Linux is also under assault and is converging, but at least it still pretends to the idea of individual independence.
I suggest you take this up with whom ever forced you to come to this topic.
That person is your problem.
Burn it to a DVD or USB stick and try it before you install it. It will run somewhat slower but you haven’t done anything permanent-ish. If you like it you can install it as a dual-boot system and it will run faster but still not kill anything you currently have on your computer.
I ran it from a USB on my work laptop for years. I could surf the web and do lots of things without having big brother watch. Now that they’ve gone to an inhouse bootloader arrangement that is no longer a good idea.
Fuck it. I will stick with an abacus.
If you are interested in Linux, use an old computer you don’t need or pick up a used one – just for this purpose. Don’t try a dual boot install on your main system.
Dual boot can be a problem. I would place Linux
on a separate HDD.
Used Ubuntu for years and this is the first time I’ve understood alot of what I’ve been doing. (or it’s doing to me)
Operation Talpiot is the back door data pipeline from your computer/cell phone to Israel. Everything you communicate electronically is stored and analyzed by Israel. This includes all computers, business and military, as well as the power grids in all countries.
?x95525
When the State shuts down the internet pipelines vis prohibiting the providers such as ATT, Verizon, Spectrum, etc, the individual Operating System (OS) will be rendered moot. At that point it doesn’t matter if your computer/smart device is running Windows, Apple or Linux based hardware. Once denial to the pipelines occurs, nobody gets “out”. Hasn’t the author of the to-date two part series realized that reality? Observe China for real-time example.
With millions, hundreds of million of individual users across a huge land mass, what mechanism besides an individual switch per O/S can be employed to at once turn off all infected boxes and then later selectively allow some to regain connectivity?
The most likely mechanism is as I’ve described it. Linux would be immune assuming it has no such embedded control code and since it’s open source, that’s a fairly safe bet. Any other mechanism, and there are numerous, would require far more distributed activity by third parties at much higher cost. The infected O/S mechanism can be controlled by a single individual from a single PC nation wide and can be blamed on just another Windows roll out mistake that will be corrected shortly; a plausible ruse given Microsoft’s history.
The playing for time allows those malicious actors to maneuver while the country’s ability to communicate is down. The same mechanism can then be used to selectively restore connectivity, again from a single control point or multiple control points as TPTsB see fit.
I suspect that in such a scenario whether my PC is working or not is not going to be a prime concern for me. In such a scenario, switching back on a few permitted computers is not going to appease the masses.
For normal “desktop” use by those who are not “techie” and has the friendliest forum for getting help it,s hard to beat MX 19 Linux, a debian based distro. Can be set to auto upgrade for peeps like c1ue. SoftMaker Free Office and WPS Office are more compatible with MS Office than LibreOffice. Paid versions are available for those who need more bells and whistles.
Can you partition the USB stick and place the Linux system on the clean partition? I would assume so but wanted to ask.
Yes, Linux can do this. You can purchase thumb
drives with them pre-loaded.
https://www.distrowatch.com/
Mr Softie, will not allow for any of their
OS to be used from a USB drive.
Thanks for this very helpful tutorial. I am transitioning from Mac and Windows as fast as I can. I am a researcher, writer and teacher. Once upon a time DOS was great. As upgrades, updates, hardware advancements, etc. came and went I found myself spending ever more time dealing with the machine at the expense of the work at hand. I have bought a mint box and it is my great hope that I will be able to get more work done. Also, I have had it with proprietary data formats. If open data format and Linux are very much trouble at all, I am returning to pencil & paper. I also still have my old slide rule and I know how to build an abacus.