28 replies to this topic

[.:Piper_2051:.]

So, Im thinking of swithcing to Linux and abolishing windows from my laptop (Dell XPS 1530), but I seem to find alot of info that doesnt really answer my questions. I want to know what Linux does as opposed to Vista, and if its easier/better... Also I want to start web designing, is it better with Linux? any insight will help...

also, I see there are plenty of versions/distributions... which one should I download? How can i switch clean over to Linux? How will certain programs of mine work with Linux?

HELP!

[weberk]

.:Piper_2051:., on Nov 6 2009, 01:40 PM, said:

So, Im thinking of swithcing to Linux and abolishing windows from my laptop (Dell XPS 1530), but I seem to find alot of info that doesnt really answer my questions. I want to know what Linux does as opposed to Vista, and if its easier/better... Also I want to start web designing, is it better with Linux? any insight will help...

also, I see there are plenty of versions/distributions... which one should I download? How can i switch clean over to Linux? How will certain programs of mine work with Linux?

HELP!

1. ) Linux as opposed to Vista is way more resource friendly. This means that Linux does not take as much CPU power, Virtual memory etc. in its processes. This also prevents the CPU from heating up. I believe that the reason for this is the numerous processes that Windows run on its background. When you open the task manager( Ctr+Alt+Del ), a long list of processes appear on Win but in Linux (my Ubuntu) shows only 5 processes and only 19% CPU usage.

2. ) Linux before was known to be a for-geeks only OS, but that is not true anymore today. Ubuntu pretty much does away with all those typing jobs and presents a nice GUI for almost all of its application. Even partitioning the hard disk can now be done drag and drop style with gParted. ( Linux users before the GUI era of course were afraid to do this manually ).

3. ) Vista does not come with an Office Suite. You have to purchase it for a fee. While almost all Linux apps are FREE (see www.sourceforge.net ). OpenOffice (MS Office's counterpart) is free and cross compatible to Windows counterparts. Ex. You can save .doc (Windows format) files to .odt (Linux format) format and vice versa.

4. ) You can use, surf the net, etc. w/ Linux without an anti-virus software ( like what I am doing right now ). 90+% of the world uses Windows thus hackers target their efforts towards this large number of victims. This is the reason why Windows get infected even if the world's best security experts work at MSFT. Also, the large number of Linux developers make the OS as loophole-less it can be. The linux kernel source code passes through a lot of eyes and thus, a security hole can be found faster than that of MSFT since only their company's programmers are able to see the code. Also, Linux does not know what an .exe file is and most viruses come from executing these executables, ergo having a virus on your Linux is synonymous to being the unluckiest man on earth.

5. ) Compiz Desktop Effects!!! Windows does not have this.



If you are looking for a Linux distro (distribution) for beginners, I suggest Linux Mint. Mint is and Ubuntu derivative. Ubuntu is nice too since all your technical and how-to questions are just one search away at the Ubuntu Forums.
Note, I only suggested it. I am sure that users of other Linux distros will claim that their distro is the best. ( Lets have peace brothers! W'ere one Linux family ).

You can install Linux in dual boot mode. This means you have the option to use your Windows OS or your Linux OS during the computer start-up. This is good especially if you need some functionality of your Windows OS.

For programs of yours that only run on Windows, you can use Wine emulator. Wine runs Windows on your Linux. ( Get it? OS opened in an OS? ). I've never really find WIne useful though since almost all Windows apps have a Linux counter part.
Example:
Firefox = Internet Explorer
OpenOffice = Microsoft Office
Pidgin = Yahoo Messenger
VLC = Windows Media Player
( again check www.sourceforge.net for everything you need )

For web designing concerns, I don't know which OS is better since I myself am a newbie web developer.

*Even though I am a Linux advocate, I can't deny that I am still more familiar with Windows. WIndows has been there since I was born and all my PC games come on a Windows installer CD.

[The Simpleton]

I appreciate your decision to switch to Linux and strongly urge you to go ahead with it. You won't regret the decision once you make the switch. The biggest advantage of using Linux is of course, NO VIRUSES! Unless the user is very careless there's no chance of getting any virus/malware in Linux. You might confirm this by visiting known-infected sites using Windows and Linux, and you'll know the difference

Since you're still starting out, I'd strongly recommend Ubuntu as the first choice for trying out Linux. I'm not saying it's the best distro available but it's certainly the most friendly distro available. Once you get enough experience you may want to try out the other distros,but Ubuntu's a great way to begin. In your case I recommend that you get a Live CD of Ubuntu and try it out first without installing - it will help you to get a feel of things. Then if you want you can install it inside windows without worrying about any partitions, or you can install it in dual boot alongside Windows. Take a look at this link for more details.

[shadowx]

Certainly....

Vista is like a bulldozer sitting on your PC, it will idle at over 1gb of RAM even if you dont touch the keyboard and mouse. It is very insecure and laggy/buggy and not to mention expensive!

I too recommend Ubuntu, i run it on my machines at home and my brother, who is a complete anti-nerd recently was running XP on his laptop, he got the dreaded blue screen of death and his windows install was corrupt. In goes the Ubuntu installation DVD and within 40 minutes (yes, its extremely fast to install) he was up and running with Ubuntu and happy.

I wont pretend that linux is 100% perfect, its not. But its good. You might get some issues with strange hardware but in all honestly installing windows is a nightmare when it comes to drivers, Ubuntu has 99.999% of hardware covered (not an official figure, my estimate ) but windows is silly, i frequently get 5 or 6 unkown devices with XP installs at which point i have to actually use an Ubuntu live CD to access the network (the network, USB and card readers dont work in Xp...) to download drivers!!

The Simpleton touched on Ubuntu Live... If you download the Ubuntu ISO image, and burn it to a DVD/CD (you can even do this with 7zip which is a free download, just extract and copy/paste to the CD/DVD) you will have both an installer disk and a live disc.

Doing this will NOT change anything on your PC, you are NOT installing Ubuntu here and it will NOT damage Vista in anyway. But i dont take any responsibility if it does of course

Basically, put the DVD in the DVD drive (or CD, but i will say DVD from now on but if you use a CD then just do the same) and reboot the machine. When the machine starts up it will usually ask you to hit the keyboard to boot from the CD, do that.

Linux will now load up the CD menu. When shown select the "Try Ubuntu without making any changes" option and hit enter.

Select your language too... I cant remember if thats before or after the above step...

Now ubuntu will load up linux for you. It will take some time because all the data needs to be loaded from the CD which is slower than a hard drive, and put into RAM. If you choose to install Ubuntu it will generally load up just a little faster than Vista/XP does on your machine.

Once it is loaded you will see the desktop, and the two "task bars" top and bottom. It works very much like windows on the face of it. Your "all programs" menu is now "Applications" at the top left, then you have Places which is sorta like a "my Computer" menu ("Home" is "My Documents") and then the "System" menu is like "Control panel" but in a menu. it has all the settings basically.

If you use a wire to connect to the internet you should already be connected. If you use a modem though you will need to manually enter the details somewhere... Im not 100% sure where as i use wireless by try System>Administration>Network Connections (i think) if you use wireless you will need to select the network to use and enter the password. The clock and the icon tray from windows is in the top right hand corner and thats where the network indicators will be.

You can browse the web using firefox and you will have plenty of programs pre-installed to play with under "Applications" if you want to try out new programs go to Applications>Add/Remove (or in ubuntu 9.10: Applications>Software Center) and just type in something like "msn" if you want an msn client, "Aim" etc... Or if you want say...... a 3d drawing program just type in the search box "3d design" or "3d draw" and you will see loads of programs to install for free, safely. Just tick the box next to them and click apply. If you are asked for a password at any point it will likely be "root" or "password".

And that's it really. If you decide to install it i strongly suggest you follow an easy to understand online tutorial as doing it wrongly could damage your Vista operating system. This is assuming you want to run both, if you do then you get an option when you turn the machine on of which System to start. If you only want Ubuntu then it doesnt matter as you can just delete Vista.

[.:Piper_2051:.]

I appreciate all the help folks, but I cant seem to get Ubuntu to install on my PC... and after your feedback Im anxious to get my hands on some penguin power... I keep getting the same error about something not there or unreadable, and get refered to a log file I cant find

Quote

Doing this will NOT change anything on your PC, you are NOT installing Ubuntu here and it will NOT damage Vista in anyway. But i dont take any responsibility if it does of course tongue.gif

and as for damaging Vista... It was released damaged, so you couldnt be at fault, unless you work for Micrsoft...

[shadowx]

Quote

and as for damaging Vista... It was released damaged, so you couldnt be at fault, unless you work for Micrsoft...

Too true....

If you arent worried about keeping vista then you can wipe the hard drive... But first, what file/area does it say is unreadable?

And do you have Vista set to encrypt the hard drive?

[.:Piper_2051:.]

shadowx, on Nov 6 2009, 07:18 AM, said:

Too true....

If you arent worried about keeping vista then you can wipe the hard drive... But first, what file/area does it say is unreadable?

And do you have Vista set to encrypt the hard drive?

It might be encrypting the HD.. as for what part idk atm... Im burning the image in a different way to see if it will work

[.:Piper_2051:.]

security settings in the F12 boot menu are not available due to an unknown password on those settings...

[shadowx]

IF vista is encrypting it then that could be your problem, you weill have to boot vista and go into security settings and disable that.

If not then tell us what file/area it cant read and someone might be able to help.

[shadowx]

ah.... WHat gives that error? The ubuntu installer or simply when you try to enter the BIOS?

If It is on the Ubuntu installer than you will need to enter the BIOS and fiddle with security settings (dont lock yourself out!! Just remove passwords, dont add them!) or the boot settings.

IF the BIOS gives that error then you need to find out your BIOS password.

[.:Piper_2051:.]

shadowx, on Nov 6 2009, 07:52 AM, said:

ah.... WHat gives that error? The ubuntu installer or simply when you try to enter the BIOS?

If It is on the Ubuntu installer than you will need to enter the BIOS and fiddle with security settings (dont lock yourself out!! Just remove passwords, dont add them!) or the boot settings.

IF the BIOS gives that error then you need to find out your BIOS password.

Ive been told there is no way to recover a BIOS password... I need a clean working copy of Ubuntu 9.10 and the way to wipe Vista off my drive... I have a feeling windows is screwing me over, or Dell... same difference

I downloaded the ISO, extracted it as instructed with 7 Zip and GNU zip, Ive tried C&P to disk, InfraRecord to disk, USB and Desktop... nothing has worked...

Edited by .:Piper_2051:., 06 November 2009 - 03:10 PM.

[shadowx]

That depends on the BIOS and how much you want to keep There is always a way to recover ANY password, no matter where it is

The first step is simply removing the BIOS battery, easy on a desktop PC, difficult on a laptop.

If you have a BIOS password that you cant remember and you have a desktop PC then just open the case, and look on the motherboard for a small round, silver battery that looks like a 10p coin (uk) or a 10c/25c coin in the US, something about .75 inches accross. You will see a small latch on it somewhere, just release the latch (by pulling it away from the battery gently) and the battery should spring upwards at an angle, then remove it carefully and keep it to one side for 5-10 minutes.

After that re-insert it the same way it came out, usually you will see that one side is completely flat with words/letters stamped on it and the other is layered, so you have a dark ring near the outside edge and a raised inner "disk". Keep the flat side up, and the raised side down. Insert it fully and power on the computer. The BIOS should now be password free.

However, you will loose ALL BIOS settings, basically that battery powers the BIOS memory, without it the BIOS forgets all your settings and goes back to factory settings. So you may need to fiddle with it to get it back to how it was but at least you can get into the BIOS now!

*WARNING* This shouldnt cause any damage at all, ive done it a few times with no adverse affects, but i take no responsibility if it goes horrible wrong and you burn the world down. (i might get that as a t-shirt...) Also remember to unplug the computer from the power socket and touch something metal first (a radiator is ideal!) just to take away any static electricity you might be carrying, giving a computer an electric shock is usually not good for the PC!

[.:Piper_2051:.]

shadowx, on Nov 6 2009, 08:09 AM, said:

*WARNING* This shouldnt cause any damage at all, ive done it a few times with no adverse affects, but i take no responsibility if it goes horrible wrong and you burn the world down. (i might get that as a t-shirt...) Also remember to unplug the computer from the power socket and touch something metal first (a radiator is ideal!) just to take away any static electricity you might be carrying, giving a computer an electric shock is usually not good for the PC!

i would never hold you responsible... I do it on my own free will...

[jlhaslip]

hey, have you tried a WUBI Live disk of Ubuntu?
Wubi will run Linux Ubuntu inside a Windows install as a live disk Operating System, so you can check it out before you crash your system.
Be careful though, don't "Install" the OS by mistake, or your Vista is gone...

*edit*

by the way, have you checked at the Dell site to see if there is a 'default' password?

[.:Piper_2051:.]

jlhaslip, on Nov 6 2009, 09:02 AM, said:

hey, have you tried a WUBI Live disk of Ubuntu?
Wubi will run Linux Ubuntu inside a Windows install as a live disk Operating System, so you can check it out before you crash your system.
Be careful though, don't "Install" the OS by mistake, or your Vista is gone...

*edit*

by the way, have you checked at the Dell site to see if there is a 'default' password?

WUBI is the installer option I have available when I unzip the file to a disk (DVD-RW), when I try the options it either fails or tells me to uninstall the version I already have on the cpu, then fails

As for the BIOS password, Last time I asked Dell about it noone had a clue what I was talking about

[.:Piper_2051:.]

I am officially Penguin Powered... Ubuntu is up and running, and Vista is still installed so I have all that junk I cant get rid of... lol Thank you all for your help, in the end I had to make a few minor adjustments to get it working but it seems well worth the wait... Ubuntu seems much clearer than windows, period... i just have to figure out how to add Apps... but Im sure I can get that with out to much bloodshed...

ShadowX: Thank you for all your help and patience, although what we worked on wasn't the problem afterall, I am in your debt for the kindness and tutelage you provided.

JL: As always, you were there to help. so thank you for your patience as well, you're right, it is a virtue...

Thank you to anyone/everyone else for their help in this matter...

Case closed.

Cheers!

[rob86]

This link might be helpful..check it out.

http://www.askvg.com/how-to-reset-remove-b...-cmos-password/

There are a few suggestions there.. one is to try the password "Dell". Hopefully something there can help... if not.. there seems to be some information on google about dell laptop bios password resetting I didn't read it all.


edit: ...never mind didn't know the case was closed

I recommend this website for learning the basics of Ubuntu, I found it very helpful when I switched. http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/index

Edited by rob86, 06 November 2009 - 06:21 PM.

[.:Piper_2051:.]

rob86, on Nov 6 2009, 11:18 AM, said:

This link might be helpful..check it out.

http://www.askvg.com/how-to-reset-remove-b...-cmos-password/

There are a few suggestions there.. one is to try the password "Dell". Hopefully something there can help... if not.. there seems to be some information on google about dell laptop bios password resetting I didn't read it all.


edit: ...never mind didn't know the case was closed

I recommend this website for learning the basics of Ubuntu, I found it very helpful when I switched. http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/index

No no, dont be sorry... I still have to find a way to reset the BIOS password... but Ubuntu works so im happier than a pig in, well you know...

[bluedragon]

Hey .:Piper_2051:. ,
While you are at it, Try getting a copy of Sabayon 5. I've used a lot of Linux distros and although I am not very good at it but I certainly know how difficult at times it can be while configuring an OS.

I am currently working on Ubuntu 9.10 but I think 9.04 was better. Dont know why but I keep getting that feeling. Anyways, as for Sabayon. It comes with very helpful tools out of the box. and Supports a lot more cooler effects like Ubuntu. Only in Ubuntu you have to enable them but in Sabayon it comes by default (atleast in my DVD they were by default turned on). One more good thing about sabayon was, when I booted into it, It automatically detected my Graphics card. I believe you are also having an Nvidia card on your system. In ubuntu you have to enable the drivers, they are not enabled by default.

also , The DVD I have has both KDE and GNOME. Ubuntu runs only GNOME by default

If you are switching from Vista, I'll say you should Try KDE version of a Linux -- Its cooler



While setting up any linux, Make sure to partition your drive in such a way that it has atleast one are as a swap and one as root file system and don't mess this up, Since if you set the boot flag wrong you might end up loosing all your data.





Other linux distros which are also easy to set up :-
1. Kubuntu (KDE version of Ubuntu)
2. OpenSUSE
3. Fedora
4. Mint

[k_nitin_r]

@bluedragon

Hi!

I actually think Ubuntu 9.10 does a better job of power management than Ubuntu 9.04. With Ubuntu 9.04, my old Pentium-4 laptop had its fan running at full throttle even when idling. Ubuntu 9.10, however, only runs the fan when needed and although it does take slightly longer than Ubuntu 9.04 to start up, I'd think they just added features in the new version that will make up for the slightly increased boot up time. In either case, I never have to boot up the system as I keep it running all day long, so the day I do have to reboot the system, I probably wouldn't mind if it took a few seconds longer.

[The Simpleton]

Quote

I actually think Ubuntu 9.10 does a better job of power management than Ubuntu 9.04. With Ubuntu 9.04, my old Pentium-4 laptop had its fan running at full throttle even when idling. Ubuntu 9.10, however, only runs the fan when needed and although it does take slightly longer than Ubuntu 9.04 to start up, I'd think they just added features in the new version that will make up for the slightly increased boot up time. In either case, I never have to boot up the system as I keep it running all day long, so the day I do have to reboot the system, I probably wouldn't mind if it took a few seconds longer.

9.10 scores in the resource-handling category but it does have some bugs here and there that makes life irritating

For a beginner I would still recommend 9.04 or even 8.10 as they're pretty stable and not a bad place to start with the Linux experience. As for the booting time, I remember reading that the target boot time for Lucid Lynx (10.04) is just ten seconds!

[truefusion]

The Simpleton, on Nov 7 2009, 10:43 AM, said:

As for the booting time, I remember reading that the target boot time for Lucid Lynx (10.04) is just ten seconds!

10 seconds? The last time i saw something like that was on a Youtube video where this one person had a quad-core processor overclocked to 4.0ghz, and that was for a version below 9.04. Currently, my Ubuntu system takes 25 seconds to reach the desktop, and that was after installing Apache with a lot of modules, MySQL and other boot-time services. I'll be sure to try out 10.04 beta 1 on March 18, 2010 (never had any good experiences with the alpha releases).

[The Simpleton]

Quote

10 seconds? The last time i saw something like that was on a Youtube video where this one person had a quad-core processor overclocked to 4.0ghz, and that was for a version below 9.04. Currently, my Ubuntu system takes 25 seconds to reach the desktop, and that was after installing Apache with a lot of modules, MySQL and other boot-time services.

Yes it sounds insane but they're hoping to reach that target for an ordinary PC. It'll be interesting to see where they get to.

Quote

I'll be sure to try out 10.04 beta 1 on March 18, 2010 (never had any good experiences with the alpha releases).

I upgrade once every six months, so I think I'll stay out of the alpha, beta and RC releases - don't have that much bandwidth to spare!

[buxgoddess]

weberk, on Nov 6 2009, 01:26 PM, said:

1. ) Linux as opposed to Vista is way more resource friendly. This means that Linux does not take as much CPU power, Virtual memory etc. in its processes. This also prevents the CPU from heating up. I believe that the reason for this is the numerous processes that Windows run on its background. When you open the task manager( Ctr+Alt+Del ), a long list of processes appear on Win but in Linux (my Ubuntu) shows only 5 processes and only 19% CPU usage.

Linux with so many variants do not kill your system as Vista does. Due to graphic intensive requirements of Vista you tend to run out of memory in Vista, on the other hand the same ammount of detail or features are available in Linux flavours at less graphic memory requirements. Linux kernel is based on concept which separates program and essential OS portion, but in Vista you must run the loads of default apps simultaneously or else the Vista won't work.

Quote

2. ) Linux before was known to be a for-geeks only OS, but that is not true anymore today. Ubuntu pretty much does away with all those typing jobs and presents a nice GUI for almost all of its application. Even partitioning the hard disk can now be done drag and drop style with gParted. ( Linux users before the GUI era of course were afraid to do this manually ).

Just a decade ago, Linux was scary as you will have to configure and even run applications from a non GUI environment. Installing a program was a nightmare for the novice, but not now. There are the GUI of Genome and KDE with loads of applications and each one is growing continuously. Installation of Linux to installing its application has become a breeze. Even the vast array of GNU public applications has been expanding enormously.

Quote

3. ) Vista does not come with an Office Suite. You have to purchase it for a fee. While almost all Linux apps are FREE (see www.sourceforge.net ). OpenOffice (MS Office's counterpart) is free and cross compatible to Windows counterparts. Ex. You can save .doc (Windows format) files to .odt (Linux format) format and vice versa.

Offcourse MS Office is a product that one finds at home when working with documents or spreadsheets, but just compare to the features that you get for products like OpenOffice and that too for free. The support for almost all International languages in OpenOffice is a great feature that MS Office is yet to master and that too will cost you much for that as well. All the native files of OpenOffice are platform independent which makes it easy for you to use the document in a Mac or a Windows OS seamlessly. The ability to open and work on MS Office native formats in Linux is an added boost to the feature list of Open Source products like OpenOffice.

Quote

4. ) You can use, surf the net, etc. w/ Linux without an anti-virus software ( like what I am doing right now ). 90+% of the world uses Windows thus hackers target their efforts towards this large number of victims. This is the reason why Windows get infected even if the world's best security experts work at MSFT. Also, the large number of Linux developers make the OS as loophole-less it can be. The linux kernel source code passes through a lot of eyes and thus, a security hole can be found faster than that of MSFT since only their company's programmers are able to see the code. Also, Linux does not know what an .exe file is and most viruses come from executing these executables, ergo having a virus on your Linux is synonymous to being the unluckiest man on earth.

Linux is developed by people all arround the world as compared to a limited talent pool hired by Microsoft. Linux thus has a variety of people using and testing the applications and products and as a result of which the applications are robust and stable and does not need frequent patches and updates as a WinOS product needs. Since there are people all arround the world working together to improve a product there are less chances of loopholes and hence the concept of malicious use and infection is minimal. This is thus true that there are almost no virus in the Linux environment and you do not ned to bother about you Operating system or application safety as it is already taken care of and so no virus is ever successful. Also the file type in Vista is understood by the extension but in the case of Linux it is the content or MIME type that decides the file type, changing a file name or changing its extension is meaningless, but in case of Vista a file can be completely change its behaviour just by changing the file extension. Its horrible as an executable file .exe can be renamed as a .doc and still behave as a document file misinterpreting the actual content and purpose.

Quote

5. ) Compiz Desktop Effects!!! Windows does not have this.



If you are looking for a Linux distro (distribution) for beginners, I suggest Linux Mint. Mint is and Ubuntu derivative. Ubuntu is nice too since all your technical and how-to questions are just one search away at the Ubuntu Forums.

As for the Aero theme of Windows Vista and Windows 7, they are excellent but then in Linux you already have them since long.

Quote

Note, I only suggested it. I am sure that users of other Linux distros will claim that their distro is the best. ( Lets have peace brothers! W'ere one Linux family ).

You can install Linux in dual boot mode. This means you have the option to use your Windows OS or your Linux OS during the computer start-up. This is good especially if you need some functionality of your Windows OS.

For programs of yours that only run on Windows, you can use Wine emulator. Wine runs Windows on your Linux. ( Get it? OS opened in an OS? ). I've never really find WIne useful though since almost all Windows apps have a Linux counter part.
Example:
Firefox = Internet Explorer<br>OpenOffice = Microsoft Office
Pidgin = Yahoo Messenger
VLC = Windows Media Player
( again check www.sourceforge.net for everything you need )

And yes you have all the comparable programs that you use in Vista available in the Linux distributions and most ofcourse are free. However there may be nostalgia that a product is better in Windows Vista but that is the way you use the OS and are accustomed to. So there are more secure and better apps and tools in Linux than that in Vista even after paying enough.

Quote

For web designing concerns, I don't know which OS is better since I myself am a newbie web developer.

*Even though I am a Linux advocate, I can't deny that I am still more familiar with Windows. WIndows has been there since I was born and all my PC games come on a Windows installer CD.

But then one area that Windows will always lead is the gaming range available. Since Linux was developed keeping in mind the security and robustness of the system so not much is done about the Games in Linux. In case of the Windows the development revolved on user friendliness and hence more home user and games available.
There is no reason why we should stick with Windows but then more is happening in the Windows worlds than the Linux world that comes to light.

[-Sky-]

Well to be honest, Linux is not all that great..I mean, say you wanted to use MSN on Linux...you'd have to download and compile it..it's just so stressing and too much, otherthan like Windows, we just download and install straight away. I prefer Windows.