Kitz Forum
Computer Software => Linux => Topic started by: Scottiesmum on April 03, 2014, 05:15:11 PM
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HELP ;D .... I have Windows XP3 and as everyone, I imagine, knows that the support is being pulled on the 8th April, I'm in a quandary about what to do. A new computer is out of the question at the moment..... I'm awaiting developments through my brother in the UK, but in the meantime I want to feel secure . I do not use Internet Explorer at all. I use Fire -fox and Opera depending upon which one is behaving ! In this case is it necessary, for security reasons, to change the OS ?
I have no intention of using Windows 8 and not keen on Windows 7. OR, because I don't use IE is the necessity less ? I have already replaced Microsoft Essentials, which to me was a pity because I have found it to be perfect for me, but because MS are withdrawing updates for that I felt that changing to another AV was a priority.
I have been reading about Linux in various articles and have had a look at the very comprehensive details that Eric has posted on here. I have to admit that I don't relish the idea, and wonder, if I did decided (depending on advice) to 'go for' Linux would I be better getting a CD (as mentioned in Tutorial one by Eric). In this event, which Linux version would be most suitable (most simple ;D ) ) for me ? I have read that Linux Mint 13 LTS Mate would be a good replacement for older XP systems ... although looking at Eric's link , it appears that this may have been superseded; because I am completely in the dark with this -I've no idea if that makes sense or not !!
IF I don't need to change I'd rather not. I know there are a few people on here who praise Linux, but in my current circumstances I can do without hassle. However, I don't want the hassle of my Windows system going 'belly up' due to end of support from MS. It's not a case of doing it for doing sake - more, needs must.
I would appreciate the Linux users unbiased advice please, and thank you in anticipation. :)
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Linux is probably not the scary operating system you think it is !! It's no more difficult to install than Windows, and apart from menu bars and icons looking different, I think these days the user experience is virtually the same, if you want it to be.
That said, there is no reason to swap from XP simply because Microsoft have dropped support for it. As long as you have a decent A/V scanner and updates to it's definitions are still forthcoming then your system should be reasonably secure. It's unlikely any 'belly up' issues will arise, although common sense tells me it will be more of a target for hackers when MS stop patching. As long as your antivirus is up to date then you shouldn't be any worse off than now.
If you want to try out Linux without affecting anything, then you could download a 'live cd'. Booting from that will let you experience Linux without actually making any changes to your PC. If I were to suggest a Linux version, I think in your case it would be Zorin-OS (http://), but I really wouldn't worry too much about the dropped support.
There, I have tried to be as unbiased as possible, in spite of the fact that none of the kit in my house runs Windows anymore (nor will it ever again!!) and my personal preference for Linux would be Ubuntu. That might be too big a change though which is why I suggest Zorin.
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I would suggest for the short term that you dont panic. If you have a good AV package installed and are very careful about opening Word documents or spreadsheets you may be sent, then at least for a while you should be fine. Keep Firefox and Opera up to date and make sure you update your AV regularly. I suspect you will be fine.
Now for Linux you can get versions which you can download and burn to a DVD which are called Live Versions, that is you can boot your PC from the DVD once created and try out various Linux editions without having to do anything with XP, it will still be there on your hard disk when you remove the DVD and power up or reboot as normal. That way you can see how well (or otherwise) you get on with Linux. As and XP user I would suggest you find a Linux version which uses a desktop called KDE (the other major desktop used by Linux is Gnome but there are quite a few). KDE looks very much like Windows XP in that you have a start Icon at the bottom left of the desktop screen which you use to access all the programs. Not sure which ones come with Firefox though as standard and most dont have Opera.
The other thing I would say is dont discount Windows 7 - its not that bad.... I still use it very occasionally for a couple of things which I cant currently do in Linux.
Stuart
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The articles which I wrote on the subject are a few years old now, and although the principles remain much the same, the details are a lot different. Mint 13 is certainly a bit long in the tooth now - it's currently at version 16.
I can understand that you don't want hassle, and there's no certainty that you won't get hassle with Linux. What you could do is get a live CD (or DVD) version of one of the popular distributions. This would enable you to play with its features, go on the internet, etc, without writing anything to your hard disk. (A Live CD boots directly to a working system without installing anything). A good one to try would be Mint 16 KDE (because the KDE desktop is very similar in appearance and function to Windows XP).
If you fancy trying that, we can guide you through the necessary steps to get it running.
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A good one to try would be Mint 16 KDE (because the KDE desktop is very similar in appearance and function to Windows XP).
I agree that KDE is a good choice if leaving WinXP, although my preference is for PCLinuxOS which I have been using since 2007.
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Thank you ALL so much. That has given me lots ot think about and look at. I shall report back once I've progressed.
:flower: Kate
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Hello again ...Well I quite fancy having a look at the Mint 16 KDE version, and I have downloaded it ready to burn to a CD. I see that the download size is 1.3 GB and my CD-R is only 700 MB :-X So I'm stuck at the first hurdle. DO I simply buy CD with a bigger capacity or is there some magic way to squeeze it all in ? ;D I have the download safe and sound and shan't do another thing until I hear from someone here. Many thanks. :flower: Kate
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I see that the download size is 1.3 GB and my CD-R is only 700 MB
That is sized for a DVD or 2GB+ thumb drive.
PCLinuxOS has a mini-me version that fits on a CD. This gets you installed and you then add your choice of software from the repository.
I don't know whether Mint offers something similar.
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Your CD/DVD writer should be able to write DVDs. You need to buy some DVD-R discs and write the .iso file to one of those. When you write the file, you must write it as an ISO image, not just copy it as a plain file. Depending on what software you're using to write the disc, this should be one of the options offered.
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Thank you both.
Eric, I spotted some DVD -R discs on our shelves :thumbs: but then saw they had some good films on them :'( ( I didn't know that the CD writer would do that !! I hope it does )
..... I'll get some tomorrow and then 'have a go ' following your instructions carefully - and no doubt I'll be asking for further instructions ;D Many thanks ...
:flower:
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If it's just a CD writer then it won't, but if it plays DVD's and writes then it will be a DVD writer to. Check on the front of your drive and see what it says.
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Ah ! It just says 'Compact Disc Rewritable' . I have just tried to play a DVD and nothing happens .... I think I'm on a non starter with that one.
Is there a way around it as per MartinGoose's post ?
For now, bonne nuit ! :)
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Is there a way around it as per MartinGoose's post ?
You can create a bootable USB thumb drive with unetbootin
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ (http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/)
I use the linux version but there is a windows version.
The potential problem is getting the PC to boot a thumb drive. If it is so old that it does not have a DVD rewriter then the BIOS may not support booting a USB thumb drive.
Either get a friend to create a bootable DVD for you or start small with PCLinuxOS MiniMe
<http://www.pclinuxos.com/get-pclinuxos/kde/>
After the initial installation you just install the additional software you want from the repository.
Try the 64 bit version first and if it complains that your CPU is only 32 bit then try again with the 32 bit version.
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At the moment, Martin, we don't want S*mum to actually install any version of a Linux kernel based OS on her system but just to try it out and see if it is something that she could use . . .
Hence the recommendation to use either a LiveCD or a LiveDVD. :)
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Thank you all the same Martin, but B*Cat is quite correct.
Thank you B*Cat - is it possible to buy a Live CD ? ( I know I am probably revealing how very little I understand all this ;D) If I can send for one I'm more than happy to do that .... :) If it's going to be over complicated I really can't cope with that and will continue with my XP; I keep my security up to date and for what I use the PC for is not as important as if it was for work. Stuart mentioned spreadsheets and word docs. I don't use spreadsheets or receive them ... and the amount of Word docs I receive are minimal and I can check those before opening. I'm really only tootling about on it, using the radio, shopping !!! coming on here, reading newspapers, and of course emails.
I will be backing up a lot of my stuff onto an external hard drive, which I do every so often anyway. I also have a back-up with my Chrome-book .....so for the time being I wouldn't be cut off from the world ;D but if I can 'try out' this Live CD, I would like to. :flower:
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Instead of buying Live CD why not buy a DVD writer? An internal SATA drive is about £12, if it's an IDE drive then they are more expensive, only one on ebuyer was £35 so might be better getting one off eBay. They are very easy to change.
If you take the side off your pc and you have a small thin cable going to the back of the CD drive and the plug is about 1 cm wide and the power cable plug looks similar then it's SATA. If the data cable is a big plug with loads of cables then it's IDE. Or just post some pictures and we'd make sure of the type and that it's not a slim or slot loading drive.
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In terms of the blind leasing the blind .....
I would recommend downloading the Universal USB Installer from pendrivelinux http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/ and downloading e.g. the latest 32bit KDE linux mint iso http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=153 . Then create a live usb with the installer and the iso. Best with at least an 8GB usb memory stick - cheap to buy if you don't have one handy. With an 8GB memory you can choose a persistence space of 4GB which makes for a very usable system. Works great with my 4 year old PC but just fails while starting on my 9 year old one however. The benefit of the USB is having a full system with enough memory to make it just like a real install but slower. The PC may need the setup changing to boot from a usb.
I would see what the actual linux experts here say before doing this though.
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As a fairly simple solution you could download Ubuntu and burn to a CD and try that without changing your computer at all, as per:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/precise/
Cheers,Peter
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At the moment, Martin, we don't want S*mum to actually install any version of a Linux kernel based OS on her system but just to try it out and see if it is something that she could use . . .
Hence the recommendation to use either a LiveCD or a LiveDVD. :)
You will get a better appreciation of the performance of Linux if you actually install it. As the HD has WinXP on it now and that is 'dead in the water', it will have to be wiped at some stage so why not do it now (after backing up any documents etc)? If Linux is no-go, you have not lost anything as you just wipe the HD again when you install something else.
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Martin, I do appreciate your help ... but if I can explain quickly ... from other posts (you might not have seen) some other members are aware that I'm not too well at the moment .. having a rest from 12 months of chemo treatment, which could be ongoing .... and to be honest I can't cope with anything complicated .. I'm a WUSS ;D What appears straight forward to anyone techy is complicated to me !! so please don't think I'm disregarding your help out of hand.
les_70 ... Oh my goodness that scared me !!! but thank you .... and Ronski .. thank you but :o I can't cope with that. Peter now that sounds straightforward - and I like straightforward ;D thank you....
(I could strangle Microsoft :lol: )
PS .... Is this the one I would download ?? (from list at the bottom of Peter's link)
ubuntu-12.04.4-desktop-i386.iso 04-Feb-2014 12:12 731M Desktop CD for PC (Intel x86) computers (standard download)
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Sorry to scare but it really is easy to try if you have a usb. It won't touch the xp system and gives you a real system to try that will save things and boot up when ever you plug the usb in and power up.
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Have a look here Kate....Not shoes so don't get too excited... :D :flower:
http://www.thelinuxshop.co.uk/catalog/index.php
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:lol: @ Unc ... you know me don't you !!
Oh my goodness what a choice - I've looked purely at CD's 32 bit and come up with these 4 choices. I like the Puppy one ::) it's the oldest but perhaps I should start with that ....in fact for that price I would do what I do (sometimes) with shoes !!! buy a few !!
http://www.thelinuxshop.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=219
http://www.thelinuxshop.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=200
http://www.thelinuxshop.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=92
http://www.thelinuxshop.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=283
Is there any I should avoid ? :)
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You don't need to buy anything to try puppy linux. You can very easily install it in XP and equally easily uninstall it if you don't get on with it. You just install the exe http://www.mediafire.com/download/2dqndyd8fdc8fdc/Slacko_Puppy_Linux_Non-PAE_5.7.0.exe i.e. download and click on it! and it will install. You can't do anything with it while xp is running but when you reboot you will see an extra linux option. The option and the associated files install and un-install just like any windows application. It just adds a folder and a few files to the windows system and the extra boot option. It does not meddle with XP or disk partitions.
I fear the first day or so of any linux may be trouble for you but this is really easy to at least try and I recommend the windows installer approach. See towards the bottom of the page http://puppylinux.org/main/Download%20Latest%20Release.htm.
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PS .... Is this the one I would download ?? (from list at the bottom of Peter's link)
ubuntu-12.04.4-desktop-i386.iso 04-Feb-2014 12:12 731M Desktop CD for PC (Intel x86) computers (standard download)
Yes.
And I also use Puppy Linux - it's pretty straightforward too.
Cheers,
Peter
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I'd like to thank you all for your replies and help. Being a WUSS ;D I have opted to buy the Live CD .... in fact I have bought three ....
I know that I could download and install and I thank you les_70 for your clear instructions .... but to be honest, at the moment, I prefer to be able just to put in a CD and have a play, but once again many thanks.
I have chosen, because they are CD's 32 bit ... Bodhi Linux 2.4.0 Puppy Linux 5.2.8 Knoppix 7.2.0 They all seem to offer different options, and from what I can gather are perfect for 'first timers ' . They should be here early next week.. I will keep you all informed as to how I get on - I know you'll be waiting with baited breath :D
Peter I'm looking forward to the new puppy ;D
and .... Unc thanks for the link - it was the shoes connection that did it ;D :flower:
Many thanks, I appreciate all the comments. :flower:
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Good luck :)