My Journey into the World of Linux

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I have recently come to the decision of moving toward Linux. Here is my experience.

I downloaded and installed Oracle VirtualBox, and I then installed Ubuntu Linux in the virtual box. (Windows 7 Pro is my host system.) Once I have gotten everything set up and working, I will then switch things around: I will install Linux on the computer as the host system, and Windows 7 in the virtual box.

I downloaded Virtual Box, the VB extensions, and Ubuntu Linux before installing anything. This was a good thing, because once I installed VB and then set up a new session, it asked me where the OS was that I wanted to install. The first time, I didn’t specify an OS; I then tried to go back later and install it, but I couldn’t find anywhere in the VB to initiate an install; so I deleted the session and created a new one, and this time I installed Linux when it prompted me to.

The first time I tried installing Linux, it failed; I did it again by clicking on the Linux icon in the VB, and this time it worked fine. (I told it to erase the drive and do a clean install.)

Everything worked once I got Linux fully installed, except for my printer. I have a wireless printer/scanner, so I’m not sure how that will work with Linux, because I’m not sure that Canon has a printer driver for Linux. I am also concerned about two other issue: Anti/Virus software, and a driver for my USB network adapter.

Once I have resolved these three issues, I will post the results back here.

I’m looking forward to proceeding further on my journey into the world of Linux.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Linux will make friends with your printer without a driver as such; it works a different way. Quite a good article here.

Edit: Well, ok, it does use a driver, but the process is unlike Windows.

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I used this Canon Drivers for Ubuntu and Linux Mint article 2 years ago to get my partner’s Canon printer/scanner installed on my laptop running Linux Mint.

However, the Ubuntu documentation has improved a lot since then so have a look at HardwareSupportComponentsPrinters/CanonPrinters.

Hope this helps…

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Thank you both for this information! I will get to it this weekend and will report back on how it went.

I am determined to move forward with this as quickly as possible. My goal is to get Ubuntu Linux working as well as Windows 7 has to meet my computing needs. At that point, I will have a legitimate alternative to Windows.

I remember when Windows 8 first came out. I got tired of making comments about Windows 8 without actually trying it out for myself, so I installed it on one of my computers. And I “toughed” it out for about a month, without any add-ins (e.g. StartIsBack), determined to make it work “as-is”. After about a month, I gave up and installed StartIsBack. Once I did that, I really grew to like Windows 8.

I am determined to make Linux work. But I am in it for the long haul, not just for a month. I believe that I will succeed if I stick with it. And once I achieve that, I will have a valid alternative to Windows. (That is my ultimate goal here.)

A humorous note: I told my wife that I had installed “Ubuntu Linux” on the computer, and she answered: “Huh?”

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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A humorous note: I told my wife that I had installed “Ubuntu Linux” on the computer, and she answered: “Huh?”

She probably thought that you should have just said that you had installed Ubuntu, since adding the word Linux was redundant…! (And maybe she would have preferred Mint Cinnamon?)

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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Just wanted to say, I’ve been using a Linux Mint 18 Cinnamon x64 USB key in ‘live’ mode for the last 4 days to access a rapidly failing HD in a 4 yr-old HP tower running Windows 7 Pro x64.

At first the PC would just slow in use then hang completely after about 30 minutes use (which is when I was called in). Although its owner had bought a portable hard disk for backup at the time, she had never backed up her personal data – 17 years of photos, writing, etc. By the time I got to it her profile folder showed as ’empty’ in Windows and she was distraught. I used every data recovery tool I had but with no success because of the time they took to scan… which meant the HD heated up then froze.

I ended up booting from my Linux Mint USB stick and using it to transfer her data, stopping every 20 minutes or so when the HD heated up and froze, allowing it to cool then starting again.

The owner was overjoyed that I managed to get all her data back – all 59 GB of it – then put it onto a replacement HD with a new install of Windows 7. I’m taking the PC back to her tomorrow to show her how to use her backup drive.

There are times when I’m still amazed how Linux can help out so easily when Windows doesn’t recognise a damaged NTFS file system. I also have a ‘Ubuntu’ USB stick but must admit I tend to find ‘Mint’ just easier and have it as a dual-boot on a laptop.

The only downside was a power cut broke the USB stick’s file system so I had to recreate it using Pendrivelinux.com‘s Universal USB Installer to put Linux Mint back on (with a 2 GB persistent file to store additional apps and data):

45494-mint-live
Click to enlarge

Hope this helps…

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Update:

I did some research and found that Sophos is likely the best free antivirus for Linux, so I tried to install it. I found quickly that there is no GUI installer for Sophos for Linux; you have to do it the old-fashioned way: download the program, unpack the “tarball” (Linux’s name for a compressed archive), and then run the install script, all from a command prompt (“terminal”). And even though I have an administrative account, it wouldn’t let me install the program unless I put “sudo” in front of the install command!

I finally got Sophos installed and running. And I found two very helpful documents on the Sophos website for installing and for configuring the program under Linux.

I’ve been dreaming of how wonderful things were in the DOS days. Well, with Linux, I’m back in that world, because much of what you do in terms of installing programs must be done from a command prompt. Fortunately there are similarities with DOS, such as “CD ..”. The “..” and “.” mean the same thing in Linux that they meant in DOS. And the slash means the same thing in a path, except that you use a forward slash rather than a back slash.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Have you looked at clamtk? It is a GUI for ClamAV. It is used by a lot of Linux users, is free and is available through the Ubuntu software installer.

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Have you looked at clamtk? It is a GUI for ClamAV. It is used by a lot of Linux users, is free and is available through the Ubuntu software installer.

Thanks for the info. I looked at how several Linux AV programs were rated, and ClamAV was rated poorly. Sophos was highly rated (and free), and that’s why I chose it.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Just out of curiosity (and not to start a which is better debate), why did you choose Ubuntu over the flavor-du-jour (which I believe is Mint).

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Just out of curiosity (and not to start a which is better debate), why did you choose Ubuntu over the flavor-du-jour (which I believe is Mint).

When I went to ubuntu.com, they had everything all laid out — a link to get updates, a link to get apps, etc. In other words, it appears to be well-supported at that site. I prefer that over having to hunt around for everything.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Sorry about my slow pace here, but life keeps me busy.

Anyway, here’s another update. I have just ordered a SATA hard drive switchwhich I will install in my computer. I will then put two additional hard drives into my computer. I will put Linux on the 2nd drive, and my data will be on the 3rd drive. I will power on either the Windows or Linux hard drive before I power the computer on, with the other drive being powered off, while my data drive will always be powered on. In this way I can keep Windows and Linux totally separate from each other, while having my data accessible in both environments.

This approach will allow me to keep working on Linux until I get everything in good working order, while always having Windows to fall back on in the meantime. At some point I will permanently power down the Windows drive, only powering it up if I need Windows for some reason. I’m not sure if I want to go with Windows in a Virtual Machine, but I may at some point do that rather than have a separate hard drive for Windows.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Update: I now have three hard drives in my computer: one for Linux, one for Windows, and one for my data. I also installed the SATA hard drive switch which I referenced in my previous post. I have the Linux drive on button 1 and the Windows drive on button 2. I didn’t put the data drive on the switch, because it is always on, available in both environments. I feel that the way I have set up my hard drives is the smartest move I have made, because my data is always available, no matter which OS I am running. Also, it is easy to switch between drives; I just have to remember to power the computer down before making the switch.

A couple of things: There were no extra mounting rails for my additional hard drives, so I had to jury-rig them in the computer. Also, the SATA power cords stick straight out, rather than being L-shaped, which means that I can’t put the cover back on my computer. I will order additional mounting rails, and will try to find L-shaped adapters for the power cords. One other thing: It took over an hour to move my data from one drive to the other. If you decide to install Linux in the way I have, be prepared for these things before starting the install.

I was amazed at how well everything worked. Early in the install, Linux found my wifi and asked for the password. I thought that it would be a challenge to get the wifi working, but it was as easy as it is in Windows. Also, cut-and-paste works just like it does in Windows — you can cut or copy a file from one folder and then paste it into another folder. Or you can highlight some text and copy it, then paste it somewhere else.

One thing I haven’t figured out yet: when I’m in Terminal (a command window), I can’t figure out how to change from one drive to another. My antivirus — Sophos — was on my data drive rather than my Linux drive, and I had to do the install in Terminal, so my workaround was to copy it to the Linux drive and install it from there.

Next job – get my wireless printer / scanner working.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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One thing I haven’t figured out yet: when I’m in Terminal (a command window), I can’t figure out how to change from one drive to another. My antivirus — Sophos — was on my data drive rather than my Linux drive, and I had to do the install in Terminal, so my workaround was to copy it to the Linux drive and install it from there.

Next job – get my wireless printer / scanner working.

You still use cd but you don’t really change drives, per se. First ensure the drive is mounted then treat it as a directory. Have a look at post #3 in this LinuxQuestions.org article which explains it far better than I can.

(PS – I don’t know if it’s useful to you but I still find this command comparison helpful.)

Hope this helps…

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mrjimphelps, this is cool! I recently zapped Windows from my old laptop, with the intention of installing Ubuntu Linux (he-he).

Currently, I am running it from a USB key, which I used during the zap phase. I will be following along and learning!

Cheers,

Mitch

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I installed my printer – it could not have been easier! I went to settings / printers and added a network printer. It appeared in the list, so I added it and successfully printed a test page!

Now for scanning…

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Very helpful, Rick. I always think in DOS whenever I’m in a Linux Terminal, so the command comparison is especially helpful.

Now that I have Linux and Windows on two separate drives, and now that I must power down the computer to switch to the other OS, I am more motivated to learn Linux than I was originally. Previously, I had Linux in a VM, and it was easy to click back and forth, so I spent more time in Windows than in Linux.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Update: Try as I might, I have not been able to get my scanner working. Canon has no Linux driver on their website, so I had to hunt around for a driver. Fortunately, there is tons of information out there, easy to find, for Linux. I found excellent information about getting my specific scanner up and running (in network mode, not plugged directly into the computer) in Ubuntu Linux. But after about an hour of trying, I gave up on it for now.

Another thing: I needed a Youtube video downloader. I found some add-ins for Firefox (one of them had very specific info about how to get the add in working for Ubuntu Linux), but I couldn’t get any of them to work. But then I switched over to Windows and got two of them working immediately. Apparently there is a Windows component which won’t install successfully in Linux.

So I have discovered that there are tons of stuff out there for Windows, easy to install in Windows; but with Linux, you can’t always find what you need; or, if you find it, in some cases you need to really know what you are doing to get it to work in Linux.

On the positive side, the things which do work in Ubuntu Linux work very well. Everything is fast and very stable. For example, Libre Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, and various text editors come pre-installed with Ubuntu Linux, and they all work very well.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Update: Try as I might, I have not been able to get my scanner working. Canon has no Linux driver on their website, so I had to hunt around for a driver. Fortunately, there is tons of information out there, easy to find, for Linux. I found excellent information about getting my specific scanner up and running (in network mode, not plugged directly into the computer) in Ubuntu Linux. But after about an hour of trying, I gave up on it for now.

Another thing: I needed a Youtube video downloader. I found some add-ins for Firefox (one of them had very specific info about how to get the add in working for Ubuntu Linux), but I couldn’t get any of them to work. But then I switched over to Windows and got two of them working immediately. Apparently there is a Windows component which won’t install successfully in Linux.

So I have discovered that there are tons of stuff out there for Windows, easy to install in Windows; but with Linux, you can’t always find what you need; or, if you find it, in some cases you need to really know what you are doing to get it to work in Linux.

On the positive side, the things which do work in Ubuntu Linux work very well. Everything is fast and very stable. For example, Libre Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, and various text editors come pre-installed with Ubuntu Linux, and they all work very well.

This is another area where Ubuntu is much harder to configure than it needs to be. Gone are the old days of manually setting up CUPS for printers, although wireless printers like my Epson all in one are a real trip to set up.

Scanners use the outdated XSane back-end. That back-end is very obtuse and nearly opaque to the user. It must be set up in the Command Line for most scanners, and a list maintained by Canonical and their developer partners is frequently not very useful due to newer models coming on the market.

Epson and Brother are well supported. Canon is iffy, and HP scanners are a bear, to clean up my language quite a bit.

My Epson all in one has epson, epson2 and epkowa modules to choose from. Had to uncomment lines for each in turn, then recomment the ones which went nowhere. Then there were four configuration files to mess with, one line at a time. Until one evening, voila! it was just there when XSane fired up (or Simple Scan — still haven’t figured out the new scanner program which Ubuntu uses by default in v.16.04 LTS). No rhyme or reason about it. Lots of dead-ends in countless online forum posts, some dating back to 2009.

For the NUC, I eventually threw in the towel and wholesale copied and pasted the main configuration folder for XSane from the old (working) laptop configuration. Its exact name and location don’t usually vary, so I can post where the folder is in my two working Ubuntu installations. Just a moment…

/etc/sane.d I copied the entire folder, and it worked in the NUC for the exact same scanner.

So you are not alone in finding scanner configuration in Ubuntu Linux very arcane and more trouble than it needs to be. Ideally, auto-detect will find a wireless scanner (especially a multifunction device where the printer is already up and running), but as Rocky Squirrel said to Bullwinkle Moose in the cartoons: “But that trick never works!” (“Hmmm… I wear a seven and a half!”)

-- rc primak

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Ideally, auto-detect will find a wireless scanner (especially a multifunction device where the printer is already up and running)

Auto-detect instantly found my wireless printer, and it works perfectly. But even though it is a multifunction device, it didn’t find the scanner part. At least I have the IP address that the device is using; I’m sure that will help solve the puzzle, once I dive back in there and try again.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Update: I discovered an anomaly between Linux and Windows: Whenever I would boot into Linux, then exit Linux and boot into Windows, the time shown in Windows would be five hours off! I found that the cause of this is that Linux uses UTC (Universal Coordinated Time or Greenwich Mean Time) and converts from there to local time, whereas Windows uses local time. Consequently, every time I would go from Linux to Windows, I would see UTC rather than my local time.

Here’s how I fixed it: I did a registry edit in Windows.

I went into the Windows registry and navigated to here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTimeZoneInformation

I right-clicked in the right pane and selected New / DWORD (32-bit Value) — “RealTimeIsUniversal” (without the quotes).

I doubleclicked on RealTimeIsUniversal and changed the Value from 0 to 1.

I rebooted into Linux, and then rebooted into Windows. Problem solved!

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Update: I discovered an anomaly between Linux and Windows: Whenever I would boot into Linux, then exit Linux and boot into Windows, the time shown in Windows would be five hours off! I found that the cause of this is that Linux uses UTC (Universal Coordinated Time or Greenwich Mean Time) and converts from there to local time, whereas Windows uses local time. Consequently, every time I would go from Linux to Windows, I would see UTC rather than my local time.

Here’s how I fixed it: I did a registry edit in Windows.

I went into the Windows registry and navigated to here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTimeZoneInformation

I right-clicked in the right pane and selected New / DWORD (32-bit Value) — “RealTimeIsUniversal” (without the quotes).

I doubleclicked on RealTimeIsUniversal and changed the Value from 0 to 1.

I rebooted into Linux, and then rebooted into Windows. Problem solved!

Thank you for this explanation. I found the same time anomaly on my Win 7 laptop after booting Ubuntu from a USB thumb drive and then booting Win 7 from hdd.

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By the way, I have installed the new Brave browser in Linux. Brave (http://www.brave.com) was written by the guy who used to be the CEO of Mozilla. It was a very simple install, and it is a fast browser. I’ll share my experience with the Brave browser in another post, so as not to distract from the topic of Linux in this post.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Thank you for this explanation. I found the same time anomaly on my Win 7 laptop after booting Ubuntu from a USB thumb drive and then booting Win 7 from hdd.

You should change Linux time settings, not Windows or the BIOS. Linux defaults to UTC, so you need to change it to local time. Most Linuxes used to change /etc/default/rcS file so that it says UTC=no. I’m not sure if that’s the case these days, but the principle is the same however it’s done.

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Update: I discovered an anomaly between Linux and Windows: Whenever I would boot into Linux, then exit Linux and boot into Windows, the time shown in Windows would be five hours off! I found that the cause of this is that Linux uses UTC (Universal Coordinated Time or Greenwich Mean Time) and converts from there to local time, whereas Windows uses local time. Consequently, every time I would go from Linux to Windows, I would see UTC rather than my local time.

Here’s how I fixed it: I did a registry edit in Windows.

I went into the Windows registry and navigated to here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTimeZoneInformation

I right-clicked in the right pane and selected New / DWORD (32-bit Value) — “RealTimeIsUniversal” (without the quotes).

I doubleclicked on RealTimeIsUniversal and changed the Value from 0 to 1.

I rebooted into Linux, and then rebooted into Windows. Problem solved!

My gosh!! That was what was happening in my Intel NUC when I installed a Ubuntu-Windows 10 Pro dual-boot. I had no idea it was an interaction between the OSes!

Now the question is, do I need to fix the Windows Registry on a per-user basis (64-bits here) or is a single entry used for all users?

-- rc primak

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Update: I discovered an anomaly between Linux and Windows: Whenever I would boot into Linux, then exit Linux and boot into Windows, the time shown in Windows would be five hours off! I found that the cause of this is that Linux uses UTC (Universal Coordinated Time or Greenwich Mean Time) and converts from there to local time, whereas Windows uses local time. Consequently, every time I would go from Linux to Windows, I would see UTC rather than my local time.

Here’s how I fixed it: I did a registry edit in Windows.

I went into the Windows registry and navigated to here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTimeZoneInformation

I right-clicked in the right pane and selected New / DWORD (32-bit Value) — “RealTimeIsUniversal” (without the quotes).

I doubleclicked on RealTimeIsUniversal and changed the Value from 0 to 1.

I rebooted into Linux, and then rebooted into Windows. Problem solved!

Did you ever find how to make the change in windows instead of Linux? I had this problem for 2 years and never found an answer. ( OK I did a lot of ignoring)

OK found http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread//177367-My-Journey-into-the-World-of-Linux?p=1069184&viewfull=1#post1069184 a bit later in this thread. I have no clue as to why I have not seen this thread before.

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Did you ever find how to make the change in windows instead of Linux? I had this problem for 2 years and never found an answer. ( OK I did a lot of ignoring)

OK found http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread//177367-My-Journey-into-the-World-of-Linux?p=1069184&viewfull=1#post1069184 a bit later in this thread. I have no clue as to why I have not seen this thread before.

I’m glad you found an answer.

As I recall, I have both Windows and Linux showing the correct time. My BIOS shows UTC time, but I can live with that, since I know what it is showing.

I fixed this issue while Daylight Savings Time was in effect. I’m curious to see if BIOS, Windows, and Linux are all still showing the correct current time. I’ll have to check that when I get home this evening.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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That was a good catch for the dual-boot situation!

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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How does Windows time/Linux time compare to the BIOS time now that you have changed one of them?

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I went into the BIOS and found that the BIOS time was set to UTC, so I moved it back 5 hours (I’m in USA Central Time, UTC-5). I then went into Windows and found that the Windows time had been moved back 5 hours (Hawaii time?)! So I corrected the time in Windows, rebooted, and went back into BIOS. BIOS is now showing UTC time. So apparently the Windows and BIOS times are tied together, BIOS being on UTC and Windows converting that time to my local time. And since the BIOS time has never been off in this way, apparently my registry edit caused Windows to reset the BIOS time to UTC, and Windows then converts it from there to my local time.

I rebooted a couple of times, going into Linux, BIOS, and Windows each a couple of times. Both Windows and Linux now show the correct local time, and the BIOS shows UTC time.

The changes to the BIOS time didn’t seem to have any affect on the time shown in Linux, so apparently Linux keeps track of its time in some way that is independent of the computer BIOS. Although, come to think of it, the Windows and BIOS time didn’t get thrown off till I set up the dual boot with Linux; so Linux was definitely the original cause of the problem.

I don’t know if this has any impact on any of this, but my dual-boot situation is a bit different than others — I have two separate hard drives, with a SATA power switch. So whenever I switch to the other OS, I first power down, then switch which drive is on / off, then power up. So the two OSs are on two separate drives, and they never have a chance to interact with each other in any way. Most dual boots are on the same drive, so there might possibly be a difference with mine.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Linux uses Network Time Protocol (NTP), just like Windows does, but maybe the time offset was defaulted wrongly on your box, and needed changing?

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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Thanks, I was wondering which one confused things!

I don’t think the dual boot setup will have any impact though.

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I’ve decided that I will just live with my BIOS having UTC time, since both Windows and Linux now show the correct time. The main thing is that I now understand what the situation is, and so I can deal with it. I don’t feel like again going through all of the reboots and registry edits that I had to go through to get to this point.

It was very interesting discovering this. At first I thought a Windows update had perhaps thrown Windows into UTC; but the time change happened when I installed Linux, so that made perfect sense.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Change the Linux time, not Windows or the BIOS. Linux defaults to UTC. Most Linuxes used to change this by changing the /etc/default/rcS file so it says UTC=no. It may be done differently these days, but the principle is the same. Might try “Linux UTC=no” as a search term.

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Linux defaults to UTC, so that’s what needs to be changed. It used to be you do this by changing the /etc/default/rcS file to read UTC=no. It may be different these days, but the principle is the same. Set Linux to local time. Might try “Linux UTC=no” as a Google term.

And changing Linux time from a GUI screen won’t work. It will only change your Windows time, too. Linux time needs to be changed in a configuration file, most likely from the command line.

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Linux defaults to UTC, so that’s what needs to be changed. It used to be you do this by changing the /etc/default/rcS file to read UTC=no. It may be different these days, but the principle is the same. Set Linux to local time. Might try “Linux UTC=no” as a Google term.

And changing Linux time from a GUI screen won’t work. It will only change your Windows time, too. Linux time needs to be changed in a configuration file, most likely from the command line.

Which Ubuntu 16.04 LTS config file is this? I need to know because I do dual-boot and I do have the time-reset issue in Windows 10 Pro 64-bits.

Otherwise, the Windows Registry Hack seems the best fix for now.

Meanwhile, I copied the post to a file on my Windows Desktop for future application in all my Windows 10 Pro 64-bits installations.

-- rc primak

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Make Windows use UTC

Note: This method was not initially supported on Windows Vista and Server 2008, but came back with Vista SP2, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 and Windows 8/8.1.

To make MS Windows calculate the time from the hardware clock as UTC.

Create a file named WindowsTimeFixUTC.reg with the following contents and then double click on it to merge the contents with the registry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTimeZoneInformation]
“RealTimeIsUniversal”=dword:00000001
Note: Windows Time service will still write local time to the RTC regardless of the registry setting above on shutdown, so it is handy to disable Windows Time service with this command (if time sync is still required while in Windows use any third-party time sync solution):

sc config w32time start= disabled

Reversing the change

You can create a file with the following contents and then double-click it to merge in the original changes, as above:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTimeZoneInformation]
“RealTimeIsUniversal”=-
If Windows Time service was disabled, enable it again with the command:

sc config w32time start= demand

Make Linux use ‘Local’ time

To tell your Ubuntu system that the hardware clock is set to ‘local’ time:

Pre-Ubuntu 15.04 systems (e.g. Ubuntu 14.04 LTS):
edit /etc/default/rcS
add or change the following section
# Set UTC=yes if your hardware clock is set to UTC (GMT)
UTC=no
Ubuntu 15.04 systems and above (e.g. Ubuntu 16.04 LTS):
open a terminal and execute the following command

(original: timedatectl set-local-rtc 1 )

EDIT: sudo timedatectl set-local-rtc 1 –adjust-system-clock

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuTime

==============================================

Thanks to all in this thread for prompting me to finally look up the official Ubuntu documentation of this vexing issue. To be safe, Linux commands should be run as Root (sudo). (That is timedatectl as in control.)

FWIW, I opted to make Ubuntu use Local Time, as this does not disrupt any possible future Windows updates regarding TZD patching. Which happens a lot more frequently in Windows than in Linux.

-- rc primak

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Which Ubuntu 16.04 LTS config file is this? I need to know because I do dual-boot and I do have the time-reset issue in Windows 10 Pro 64-bits.

Otherwise, the Windows Registry Hack seems the best fix for now.

Meanwhile, I copied the post to a file on my Windows Desktop for future application in all my Windows 10 Pro 64-bits installations.

From the Multiple Boot Systems Time Conflicts section of UbuntuTime help page:

Make Linux use ‘Local’ time

To tell your Ubuntu system that the hardware clock is set to ‘local’ time:

Pre-Ubuntu 15.04 systems (e.g. Ubuntu 14.04 LTS):

edit /etc/default/rcS
add or change the following section

# Set UTC=yes if your hardware clock is set to UTC (GMT)
UTC=no

Ubuntu 15.04 systems and above (e.g. Ubuntu 16.04 LTS):

open a terminal and execute the following command

timedatectl set-local-rtc 1

Hope this helps…

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I am very encouraged to see more folks using Linux than before. My own journey into Ubuntu came with the Windows 8.0 interface changes. I could not stomach these, and have little interest in the modified Windows 10 versions. So I learned enough about Ubuntu Linux to get it up and running and keep things reasonably well-functioning.

Now on my second dual-booting PC (Intel NUC Swift Canyon) I can apply what I and others have learned to a whole new world of wireless connections and peripherals, and fast SSD with UEFI Fast Boot environments.

Two things which do not work well in my Linux. It won’t do Miracast at all, and this is known not to be supported in Ubuntu. Second, support in BlueZ 5.4 for Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Connect keyboards is really poor. I usually give up and use Wireless HDMI and a wired keyboard and mouse.

But for basic productivity and media watching, I say Linux is nearly on a par with Windows. Nearly, but not quite.

Good luck to all, and I hope to read more of our adventures as we progress.

-- rc primak

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I had my first real problem with Linux this morning. I hit CTRL-ALT-DEL to bring up the lock prompt. Normally this would instantly offer me the chance to lock the screen; but for some reason it took a long time to finally lock. (I quit waiting on it after about two minutes; when I came back 10 minutes later, the screen was locked.)

I guess it’s time for a Linux reboot. At least that is what my guess is as to what will clear up this issue.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I had my first real problem with Linux this morning. I hit CTRL-ALT-DEL to bring up the lock prompt. Normally this would instantly offer me the chance to lock the screen; but for some reason it took a long time to finally lock. (I quit waiting on it after about two minutes; when I came back 10 minutes later, the screen was locked.)

I guess it’s time for a Linux reboot. At least that is what my guess is as to what will clear up this issue.

Ubuntu does like to be restarted after a lot of changes or updates have happened. As Linux distros go, Ubuntu isn’t the most stable in operation. I recommend shutting Ubuntu down at night and firing it up the next day. That’s what I do. I also have to shut down weekly for runs of CloneZilla Live, if I’m building/rebuilding an installation.

On modern hardware, Ubuntu starts up so fast, it’s rarely a problem shutting it down.

Also in a dual boot environment, both sides need periodic resrarts to keep everything in sync. See the Time Issue above in this thread, which I am amending to include a missing Ubuntu Command Line parameter and to make the whole command sudo.

-- rc primak

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Also in a dual boot environment, both sides need periodic resrarts to keep everything in sync. See the Time Issue above in this thread, which I am amending to include a missing Ubuntu Command Line parameter and to make the whole command sudo.

My dual-boot is different; I have two separate hard drives, one for Linux and the other for Windows. Only one is on at a time; I power the other one off when I’m not in that OS. So since the two OSs have no way of seeing each other or interacting in any way (except for BIOS issues?), I don’t believe there is a need to keep anything in sync between the two sides (except for the time issue discussed previously).

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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My dual-boot is different; I have two separate hard drives, one for Linux and the other for Windows. Only one is on at a time; I power the other one off when I’m not in that OS. So since the two OSs have no way of seeing each other or interacting in any way (except for BIOS issues?), I don’t believe there is a need to keep anything in sync between the two sides (except for the time issue discussed previously).

Key phrase — “except for BIOS issues ?” — Yes! This is exactly what happens if you don’t power down Linux once in awhile on multi-drive multi-boot systems. EFI needs to update. EFI Boot Lists get longer and longer, and may need editing eventually (Yes, there is at least one tool to do this!).

It is in the pre-boot operations, as GRUB or the Windows Boot Manager or FreeBSD comes up, that the BIOS may need a totally quiescent system to get itself started correctly. Especially in a Fast-Boot/ Windows Fast Startup system, without the traditional BIOS Post routines. This is not your grandfather’s BIOS — it’s actually firmware in both Linux and Windows, and it needs from time to time to do some housekeeping, even on separate disks.

The two disks never see each other, but the EFI Boot firmware must see all, and get it right.

-- rc primak

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Video is an area where Linux actually has some powerful tools, but most Windows and Apple users have never heard of any of them. gStreamer is a great gtk-based player and screen recorder, with lots of add-ins and plugins. It does have a screen capture utility which alongside of Transmageddon, will take care of any format YouTube can throw at me. Good old VLC Player also can record a screen in stills or video, to capture the steps of a disaster or a solution to a problem for sharing with others. I have sound players and recorders as well, but these three are one powerful trio.

And there is Wireless HDMI for screen mirroring, which on suitable hardware works straight out of the box, no configuration required. Actiontec makes a reasonably priced transmitter and receiver if your TV is not a Smart TV. End point is one single HDMI In port on the HDTV or a switch. Again, unlike Miracast, there’s no peering (and possibly no WiFi security) and no configuration in most cases. The devices automatically scan the WiFi channels and select a little-used or unused 2.4 GHz channel. Direct device to device, unlike Chromecast which uses a router and must be configured.

Paid big professional level video editing programs like Handbrake and Lightroom are also represented in Linux. AVIDemux has failed yet to be ported to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, but it was also a good, simple video editing program for some systems with the right graphics hardware. There are many, many others out there. Just search and you will find them!

So video, coming and going, active and passive, is definitely supported in Linux.

PS — the YouTube downloaders and capture plugins in Linux operate with gStreamer or VLC Player, not with the web browsers. Firefox has a very outdated Flash Player module, but full-service Google Chrome or Chrome Beta has plugins which may work on some systems with YouTube.

One great thing about Linux is that it does not respect restrictive DRM copy protections. And Windows security and Ownership are generally transparent to Linux. This opens up whole new worlds of possibilities, some bright and some very, very dark.

-- rc primak

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That’s very helpful information. It seems like I should have realized something like that, but in many ways I am stuck in the past when it comes to the computer’s BIOS, because there haven’t been many real changes until just a few years ago.

In fact, the only real change I can think of in the past few decades was when you no longer had to manually input your hard drive settings (and make sure you wrote them down in case of a battery failure!).

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Yesterday I was under a deadline to get something out. I was in Linux, and I needed to print out a directory listing. The way I would do that in Windows would be to open a command prompt, go to the folder in question, then enter the command dir > dirlist.txt. I would then print out dirlist.txt.

I tried to do the same thing in Linux — I opened a Terminal session, and then tried to change to the folder with the documents. But I couldn’t find the folder, no matter what I did.

My point: If you decide to go to Linux, keep Windows handy, because you might need to get something done fast, but you can’t figure out how to do it in Linux.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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It’s been very interesting and educational reading this thread mrjimphelps. I especially like the using of a hard drive switch. I will probably get one myself. I have in just the past few weeks been getting into Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon which I like so far. I put it on an older laptop and it works great. Although I’m pretty good with DOS, I haven’t gotten into the terminal as yet, but I will. I’m having fun again!

One thing I was wondering about is what is the best file compression software to use that would be equal to WinZip. It sounds like P7zip is pretty good but I thought I’d check here to see if there are any others that might be better for me. Many things are similar but I promise not to go any further into the Mint version on this thread.

Being 20 something in the 70's was so much better than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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One thing I was wondering about is what is the best file compression software to use that would be equal to WinZip.

That’s a difficult question to answer as it depends on what’s most important to you, e.g. speed vs compression size, GUI- or command-line based and also what type of files you want to compress.

Have a look at this recent Which Is The Best Compression Tool For Linux? article for comparisons and tests of 3 standard compression tools.

Another recent comparison article is Gzip vs Bzip2 vs XZ Performance Comparison. Although the target audience is Linux system admins, I thought this one was well-written and the images and graphs were very useful in showing clearly the differences between the 3 tools being compared, especially the difference in speeds as compression ratios increased.

Another recent article which discusses 7 different tools is 7 of the Best Free Linux Compression Tools.

Hope this helps…

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I have installed Sophos antivirus for Linux. The other day I inadvertently tried to open an email attachment (from “FEDEX”, and I was expecting a package, so I thought it was legitimate), and Sophos popped up a message telling me that the attachment was infected! In other words, my A/V product is working in Linux!

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I have installed Sophos antivirus for Linux. The other day I inadvertently tried to open an email attachment (from “FEDEX”, and I was expecting a package, so I thought it was legitimate), and Sophos popped up a message telling me that the attachment was infected! In other words, my A/V product is working in Linux!

I’m not sure whether this detection was Linux-specific malware, or Windows-specific malware being detected in an Attachment which could have harmed a Windows installation if transferred or forwarded.

Most Linux AV programs usually aren’t detecting Linux-specific threats. They usually detect Windows threats which reside within the Linux installation and could be harmful if transferred or transmitted to Windows users.

Sophos may be an exception, but Linux AV products from such vendors as Avast definitely are not looking for Linux-specific malware.

-- rc primak

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I’m not sure whether this detection was Linux-specific malware, or Windows-specific malware being detected in an Attachment which could have harmed a Windows installation if transferred or forwarded.

Most Linux AV programs usually aren’t detecting Linux-specific threats. They usually detect Windows threats which reside within the Linux installation and could be harmful if transferred or transmitted to Windows users.

Sophos may be an exception, but Linux AV products from such vendors as Avast definitely are not looking for Linux-specific malware.

The Sophos website says the following about their Linux version: “Protect your mission critical Linux servers and stops all threats—even those designed for Windows.” So my guess is that Sophos is checking both for Windows-specific threats and for Linux-specific threats.

My guess is that there aren’t that many Linux-specific threats, because not that many people are using Linux when you compare it to the number of people using Windows. But I hope that they are checking for whatever might be out there.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I have installed Sophos antivirus for Linux. The other day I inadvertently tried to open an email attachment (from “FEDEX”, and I was expecting a package, so I thought it was legitimate), and Sophos popped up a message telling me that the attachment was infected! In other words, my A/V product is working in Linux!

You are wise to have the Sophos antivirus especially since you have Wine that allows running Windows programs. I checked the Sophos site and it appears that it is not compatible with Linux Mint 17.3. I’m hoping that Sophos will come out with a version for Mint 17.3 or 18.1.

Also, as 2020 gets closer, more and more people will be using Linux. A good antivirus/antimalware will become necessary as malware is written targeting the Linux main distros. such as Ubuntu and Mint.

Sorry Rick, I’m not ignoring your link on Sophos. That info. may be true but I still think antivirus for Linux will eventually become necessary.

Being 20 something in the 70's was so much better than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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Also, as 2020 gets closer, more and more people will be using Linux.

I’d be interested in any evidence you have for that statement. What is special about 2020?

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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I’d be interested in any evidence you have for that statement. What is special about 2020?

EOL for Windows 7……..

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I’d be interested in any evidence you have for that statement. What is special about 2020?

toetra is sort of on the right track, but not “end of life” for Windows 7, but end of MS “support” (EOS). This will scare the crap out of most people and they will either go with the 200th “Beta” version of Win 10, or Win 11, or some other operating system like Linux if they are savvy enough.

I’ve always been relatively happy with MS products from DOS to Win 7. That ended with the release of Win 8 (didn’t like the new GUI). I must say that after driving Cadillacs all this time, Linux is like driving a modest Chevy (you actually have to manually turn on the headlights, windshield wipers, etc., and remember to turn them off. Good heavens!).

At this point in my life I pretty much only use a computer for email, web surfing, and playing some games. Linux will suffice for that and hopefully get better with time. My Win 7 computer will join my XP, 98SE, and 95B computers for doing certain things well (like playing old games).

Being 20 something in the 70's was so much better than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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toetra is sort of on the right track, but not “end of life” for Windows 7, but end of MS “support” (EOS).

Yes, you are correct. I hadn’t had enuf coffee when I responded…..:)

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as 2020 gets closer, more and more people will be using Linux.

I hope that they are beginning to make the move already, or that they soon will start. It’s very possible that not everything you are accustomed to doing in Windows will work in Linux. You need time to figure out a way to get those things done in Linux, or find substitutes for getting your tasks done.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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That’s a difficult question to answer as it depends on what’s most important to you, e.g. speed vs compression size, GUI- or command-line based and also what type of files you want to compress.

Thank you Rick for that info. My main concern is compatibility with Windows. I have zip files on my Windows computer that would like to put on my Linux computer. If the compression program that comes with my Linux will handle the zip files from Winzip, and vice versa, then it will suffice for my needs. If it doesn’t then I’ll look for a program that does. I’ve only been getting my feet wet in Linux for a short while, so I’ll eventually find the answers to this and some other things. Thanks again.

Being 20 something in the 70's was so much better than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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I recently installed Wine in Linux. In this way, I should be able to run some Windows programs in Linux.

I will soon install Oracle Virtual Box in Linux, and put Windows 8 (with Classic Shell) in the virtual box. I will keep the virtual box isolated from the internet. My reason for doing this is because (1) I have a retail copy of Windows 8 available, and (2) In case I can’t do something in Linux, I can instantly click over to the virtual box and run Windows-based software.

Actually, I have mixed emotions about keeping the virtual box isolated from the internet. On the one hand, it would be handy to be able to access the internet from Windows 8, so that I can download and save YouTube videos (I haven’t yet got that working in Linux); on the other hand, it will be a major hassle to keep up with security patches, with Microsoft being so intrusive these days. On the other hand, it is really easy to back up and restore a virtual box session; therefore, if I leave automatic updates on, and do regular backups of the virtual box, I can easily go to a previous session if an update hoses my virtual machine.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I recently installed Wine in Linux. In this way, I should be able to run some Windows programs in Linux.

I will soon install Oracle Virtual Box in Linux, and put Windows 8 (with Classic Shell) in the virtual box..

May I ask what you use to make the Windows install a VM?

& from a closed thread: The Bridge pictured is from an actual photo of the Tacoma Narrows IIRC bridge that just did not stand the test of time ( a couple of months IIRC) and a bit of wind. and of course it WAS all ready built…

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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May I ask what you use to make the Windows install a VM?

& from a closed thread: The Bridge pictured is from an actual photo of the Tacoma Narrows IIRC bridge that just did not stand the test of time ( a couple of months IIRC) and a bit of wind. and of course it WAS all ready built…

It was easy to install a VM in Windows. As I recall, I went to oracle.com, downloaded Virtual Box, then installed it. Through trial and error, I found that the easiest way to get Ubuntu Linux to then install in the VM was to have it on a DVD, in the drive, ready to install, when I installed the VM, because the VM looked for an OS on a DVD immediately after the VM was finished installing; I never could get it to go back after finishing (and closing) the install of the VM to look at the DVD (or some other location) where Linux was, to then install Linux.

As far as the bridge, the reason I posted that was that I was trying to lighten up the conversation in that thread, because it looked like a political food fight could break out at any time, causing a lot of bad feelings between posters of different political views.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I haven’t the DOS knowledge to move to Linux yet, although I want to. In Win7 I save all youtube videos using the Firefox addon called Video DownloadHelper. Is that available for Linux?

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I haven’t the DOS knowledge to move to Linux yet, although I want to. In Win7 I save all youtube videos using the Firefox addon called Video DownloadHelper. Is that available for Linux?

I’ll need to check if that one is available for Linux. I found one that was available; it was listed in the Firefox available add-ons. (I can’t recall the name of it.) It even gave detailed instructions about how to get it installed and correctly set up in Ubuntu Linux (my distro). But I never could get it to work.

I wouldn’t worry about a lack of DOS knowledge. The main benefit you get from a good knowledge of DOS is that you are accustomed to operating in a text-only, command-line environment. If you have any experience with a text-only command-line environment, then you have a good start. And there’s no better way to learn than to jump right in and get started. And if you install a VM (Virtual Machine) (such as Oracle Virtual Box) in Windows, you could install Linux in the VM. You will be able to easily click back and forth between Windows and Linux, so as to get familiar with Linux.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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My main concern is compatibility with Windows. I have zip files on my Windows computer that would like to put on my Linux computer. If the compression program that comes with my Linux will handle the zip files from Winzip, and vice versa, then it will suffice for my needs. If it doesn’t then I’ll look for a program that does.

‘ZIP’ is a standard compression format and support is built-in to Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon. Just click on Menu and select Archive Manager.

46000-zip01
Click to enlarge

Click on the Create new archive button (left-most on the menubar) then change the compression format to .zip. This setting should be remembered, so any new archives will be in .zip format automatically.

46002-zip02
Click to enlarge

Once the new .zip archive has been created you can then add whatever files you want to it.

I use 7-Zip in Windows and don’t have any experience of WinZip. Provided WinZip creates ‘standard’ .zip files then you shouldn’t have any problems.

Hope this helps…

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’ZIP’ is a standard compression format and support is built-in to Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon. Just click on Menu and select Archive Manager.

Thanks again Rick for that. That’s exactly what I saw. I just had to know to go to Archive Manager. I really need to spend more time getting to know what everything is. Yes, this was very helpful.

Being 20 something in the 70's was so much better than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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Ok thanks Jim. I was thinking you meant you make an existing installation into a VM.

:cheers:

BTW I was feeling like I was standing on that bridge last week

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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I just installed Ubuntu Linux on an old computer (2008) — the computer maxes out at 2 GB of RAM. It seemed sluggish, so I found Lubuntu — “Lite Ubuntu”. I installed that, and it seems to be running at a satisfactory speed. The advantage of Lubuntu over other light versions of Linux is that you can install Ubuntu software (there’s a lot of Ubuntu software).

When I was installing it, I was given the option of running it off of the DVD or installing it on the hard drive. In other words, you can easily check it out before you install it.

If you are interested in checking out Lubuntu, go to lubuntu.net.

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In Lubuntu, I tried to run Netflix, but it told me that my version of Firefox was too old; so I tried to do an update on Firefox; but it wasn’t completely automatic. I’m sure that there are some steps I have missed. I can’t figure out how to check the version number in Firefox for Lubuntu. Still no success with Netflix.

I tried installing the Brave browser (brave.com), but I never could get it completed. Says you have to go through a manual process, and I didn’t have time to fool with it yesterday. (In Ubuntu, Brave installed automatically, when I clicked the Install button.) I like Brave, because it doesn’t allow all of the background junk to run; consequently, it is fast. I figured that maybe Netflix would work with Brave, but I haven’t been able to test that theory.

Netflix also allows Opera and Chrome, so I will try those, if I can’t get it done with Firefox or Brave.

If that doesn’t work, then I’ll try another distro of Linux. I’m looking for a lean, fast version of Linux, because I have an old, slow computer.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
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In Lubuntu, I tried to run Netflix, but it told me that my version of Firefox was too old; so I tried to do an update on Firefox; but it wasn’t completely automatic. I’m sure that there are some steps I have missed. I can’t figure out how to check the version number in Firefox for Lubuntu.

Jim, which version of Lubuntu? 16.04 LTS or 16.10 Yakkety-Yak (or another)? 32-bit or 64-bit? Desktop or Alternate?

I doubt there’s all that much difference between the Lubuntu versions so usually all you have to get the Firefox version is:

1. Right-click in the area to the left of the first tab:

46305-Lubuntu-Firefox-ver1

2. Select the Menu Bar option to add the Menu toolbar:

46306-Lubuntu-Firefox-ver2

3. In the new Menu toolbar that appears, select Help > About Firefox:

46307-Lubuntu-Firefox-ver3

Hope this helps…

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I tried to do an update on Firefox; but it wasn’t completely automatic. I’m sure that there are some steps I have missed.

Did you use the Synaptics Package Manager? I’ve just checked and it shows the latest version of Firefox (50.1.0) as available.

1. Click Menu button > System Tools > Synaptic Package Manager.

[INDENT]46324-lubuntu-synaptic01
Click to enlarge[/INDENT]

2. Enter your password to authenticate.

3. Click on the Search button in the menu bar.

4. Enter firefox in the Search dialog then change the Look in: dropdown to Name and click on the Search button.

[INDENT]46325-lubuntu-synaptic02
Click to enlarge[/INDENT]

5. When Firefox is found, compare the Installed Version to Latest Version columns.

[INDENT]46326-lubuntu-synaptic03
Click to enlarge[/INDENT]

Hope this helps…

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The latest Firefox “offline” installer (Windows, Mac, Linux – language specific) can be downloaded from: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/

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If Chrome Dev edition is available (I’m an Arch man, haven’t used Ubuntu for years) then that will play Netflix with no problems. Latest Firefox can be coaxed but you need to ensure that DRM is enabled and change the user agent.

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For those who use Linux Mint, 18.1 ‘Serena’ (based on Ubuntu 16.04) was released on 16th December in both Cinnamon and Mate versions. This is an LTS (Long-Term Support) edition.

You should be able to update using the Update Manager.

1. Open Update Manager.
2. Click on Edit in the menu.
3. Select the Upgrade to “Linux Mint 18.1 Serena” option.

46327-linux_mint_upgrade
Click to enlarge

Hope this helps…

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I’m considering trying Mint. Ubuntu runs a little slow on my old computer, and Lubuntu had a few rough spots. Perhaps Mint is lighter than Ubuntu and therefore faster.

Since it is based on Ubuntu, I can likely install Sophos A/V.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I’m considering trying Mint. Ubuntu runs a little slow on my old computer, and Lubuntu had a few rough spots. Perhaps Mint is lighter than Ubuntu and therefore faster.

Since it is based on Ubuntu, I can likely install Sophos A/V.

Linux Mint has the same hardware requirements (processor, video, RAM) as Ubuntu (which it’s based on) so should run the same but needs more storage (5 GB of hard-drive space for Ubuntu vs 9 GB for Linux Mint, but 20GB recommended), especially if you install the additional support (media codecs, Flash support, etc.) during the installation.

As for Sophos, perhaps have a look at this article for background info?

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Linux Mint has the same hardware requirements (processor, video, RAM) as Ubuntu (which it’s based on) so should run the same but needs more storage (5 GB of hard-drive space for Ubuntu vs 9 GB for Linux Mint, but 20GB recommended), especially if you install the additional support (media codecs, Flash support, etc.) during the installation.

My computer maxes out at 2 GB of RAM, and my processor is slow; however, I have plenty of free hard drive space. I need distro that doesn’t need much memory or processor speed.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
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My computer maxes out at 2 GB of RAM, and my processor is slow; however, I have plenty of free hard drive space. I need distro that doesn’t need much memory or processor speed.

Have you had the chance to try Linux Mint yet (which you were considering in post #65)? It has similar hardware requirements to Ubuntu but needs more storage space, especially if you include additional support (media codecs, Flash support, etc.) during the installation.

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Have you had the chance to try Linux Mint yet (which you were considering in post #65)? It has similar hardware requirements to Ubuntu but needs more storage space, especially if you include additional support (media codecs, Flash support, etc.) during the installation.

I have not yet tried Linux Mint. This is on my list of things to try.

Hopefully it will cause my old computer to work at a reasonable speed.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I have not yet tried Linux Mint. This is on my list of things to try.

Hopefully it will cause my old computer to work at a reasonable speed.

It has similar hardware requirements to Ubuntu, so should work at a similar speed…

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As for Sophos, perhaps have a look at this article for background info?

Interesting article. Lots of very good information. I’m not sure I fully agree with him on everything. For example, he advises not to install antivirus software. On my other Linux computer I have installed Sophos Antivirus. A few weeks ago, it detected a virus or some malware. Perhaps I would have gotten hit if I would not have had Sophos. On the other hand, perhaps there are exploitable weaknesses in Sophos. My gut tells me that it’s better to have it than not.

Also, I’m not sure how someone can totally avoid the Windows world (and therefore avoid Windows vulnerabilities) when running Linux. It seems that almost everything out there is Windows based.

Thanks for the info.

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Ah, I see…

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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