Linux

[gammaray]

hello,

Is there a version of linux out there we can use without having to type commands?

Only mouse clicks to update drivers and stuff?

Pretty much like windows ?

I know, i paid 100$ to get windows 7 home premium 64, so don't tell me to use it please.

BUT since linux is free, maybe that could be my next main OS

 

[mv2devnull]

I would expect most of them to provide that by now.

 

[gammaray]

I would expect most of them to provide that by now.

hearsay or you actually are using one?

there's like 100 different versions of linux, which one i could try?

 

[serpretetsky]

I haven't used ubuntu since 9.04, but it was pretty graphically oriented back then, I imagine it's more so now. I hear linux mint is pretty good; i've used peppermint, a variant of mint, and it's pretty easy.

Here's a rundown of a some i found:
http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

 

[Anteaus]

In my experienced even the ones most heavily automated through the gui will still require command line interaction on some level, especially if your hardware configuration isn't supported 100% at install. Linux is a viable alternative to Windows, but it comes saddled with a learning curve.

I would give Ubuntu a try. Out of all the distros I've tried, it was the most user friendly out the box without needing the command line. That being said, if you're planning on actually doing something worthwhile with linux you'll need to learn how to use it, including the command line.

 

[Steltek]

Can your machine run Virtualbox or VMWare player?

If so, install the application and create a virtual machine. Download a few different distros, install them in the VM, and give them a try.

Linux installation has gotten pretty simple and decently fast over the last few years - if you don't like the first distro you install, just wipe the VM and load another.

I'd recommend starting with Ubuntu or Linux Mint. I hear some really good things about Peppermint as well (have downloaded the ISO but haven't gotten around to trying it yet...).

 

[gammaray]

Can your machine run Virtualbox or VMWare player?

If so, install the application and create a virtual machine. Download a few different distros, install them in the VM, and give them a try.

Linux installation has gotten pretty simple and decently fast over the last few years - if you don't like the first distro you install, just wipe the VM and load another.

I'd recommend starting with Ubuntu or Linux Mint. I hear some really good things about Peppermint as well (have downloaded the ISO but haven't gotten around to trying it yet...).

ok i will try Mint ~lisa.

i'm gonna burn the ISO on a dvd.

Is there a nice procedure on how to dual boot mint/windows 7/windows 8
without the GRUB screwing up my windows boot loader?

 

[Infraction Jack]

I am also trying to get back into linux but unity makes me frown.

 

[lxskllr]

I am also trying to get back into linux but unity makes me frown.

Unity looks like it's shaping up pretty nicely, though it isn't to my taste either. Try Xubuntu. It's like a poor mans Gnome2. I'm using Xfce on Debian, and I'm pretty happy. Mate and cinnamon interest me, but I want to see what happens with them. I'm not keen on adopting a project, and having it go tits up on me. Xfce has been around awhile, and should continue to stay around in its current form, so I'm sticking with that for now.

 

[Bateluer]

Noob friend. Mint, Ubuntu, and Fedora. Full GUIs, widely supported, minimal cmd line use needed. Nearly all basic computer use covered on a normal install.

 

[Jodell88]

I am also trying to get back into linux but unity makes me frown.

Just don't use Ubuntu. You can also install Gnome 3.

 

[Jodell88]

To the OP. Never shy away from the commandline on any operating system.

 

[Kathi201]

Gnome 3 is best for you,,,,try this one

 

[kornphlake]

I haven't used every distro out there but I've used several versions of Ubuntu from 8.04 to 12.04 and all had automatic updates, I have less experience with Mint and Fedora but the versions of those distros I used both recommended updates automatically as well. I'm not sure how quickly the automatic update feature will recommend updates it seems like some updates were available for manual installation for several days or weeks before the automatic updater suggested installing them. It only takes two commands in terminal to keep Ubuntu or Mint up to date

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

If you were clever you could add those two commands to Cron and periodically run updates without ever thinking about it. Of course you'd have to muck around in terminal a little bit to get that configured, but it shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[JackMDS]

It really depends on what you are using the computer for.

If the applications/games that you use are not available on another OS then whats the point.

Otherwise, if you only do email surfing and other standard social activities. get yourself a Tablet, might be that you do not need a regular PC.

 

[gammaray]

so,

Is there a nice procedure on how to dual boot mint/windows 7/windows 8
without the GRUB screwing up my windows boot loader?

 

[mv2devnull]

Don't install the stage1 of GRUB into the MBR of the disk. Let the Windows equivalent be there. Install the GRUB stage1 into the beginning of the partition, where the rest of GRUB files and kernels are.

Naturally, you then have to add the Linux to the Windows boot menu.

 

[Jodell88]

Yeah, let grub be in charge of booting the operating systems.

 

[gammaray]

Don't install the stage1 of GRUB into the MBR of the disk. Let the Windows equivalent be there. Install the GRUB stage1 into the beginning of the partition, where the rest of GRUB files and kernels are.

Naturally, you then have to add the Linux to the Windows boot menu.

Great, i understand what you are saying, but where exactly in the installation process i tell linux to install the grub in the beginning of the partition?

do you have an example? or a picture perhaps?

 

[pauldun170]

Ubuntu, unless you have wacky hardware or wanna go beyond basic usage.

 

[mv2devnull]

Depends on the installer. In RedHat's Anaconda:
http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/13/html/Installation_Guide/s1-x86-bootloader.html

If you have done the installation already and have GRUB on the MBR, you could settle to using GRUB, like Jodell88 said, and just add the Windows to the GRUB menu. Alternatively, boot to the Linux and reinstall GRUB to appropriate location. Then "repair" MBR with Windows recovery and adjust MS boot menu.

Some of the operations above are different depending on whether your distro uses legacy grub or grub2. I do use the legacy version and command line.

 

[gammaray]

I haven't installed linux yet, as i am unsure how to dual boot it, keeping my windows boot loader safe.

i will not use grub to load my OSes, if i flush linux, how the hell am i supposed to load windows after that... i will have a black screen or something?

 

[repoman0]

Repair with Windows DVD, it will fix itself automatically..

Don't worry about overwriting the MBR with GRUB, it's super easy to fix it if you don't like Linux. Though if you're planning on not liking Linux, I don't know why you don't just load it up in Virtualbox, put it in full screen mode and pretend Windows isn't running in the background for a while.

 

[lxskllr]

GRUB is separate from GNU/Linux. It can be used to boot Windows is combination with other O/Ss, or by itself. As stated above though, it can be replaced by booting to a Windows DVD, and repairing the system.

 

[gammaray]

here is what i found:

SUMMARY (Advanced users): How to Dual-Boot Linux Mint 12 on a Windows 7 Computer without interfering with Windows 7

Backup.
Create sufficient Unallocated space for Linux Mint 12 at end of first hard disk or on a second disk.
Boot from the Gnome Linux Mint 12 Live DVD (1 GB) or CD (620 or 634 MB).
In "Allocate drive space", select Something else.
Create an EXT4 partition for Mint (it can be a Logical partition) - use / for Mount Point.
Create the Swap partition - use swap area for Mount Point.
Optionally, create another EXT4 partition for your data - use /home for Mount Point.
In "Device for boot loader installation", select the Mint EXT4 partition, like /dev/sda3 or /dev/sdb1.
Install Mint 12.
Only Windows boots for now.
Use the free EasyBCD 2.1 utility to add "Linux/BSD" (select GRUB2) to the Windows boot loader menu.
That's it! The Windows boot loader menu will boot either Linux Mint 12 or Windows 7.


from: http://thpc.info/dual/win7/dualboot_win7+mint12_bcd_on_win7.html