I have bit the bullet

Aye, don't beat yourself up sah, you're trying. If you have access to get online from another machine whilst you're installing a Linux distro then when you encounter a problem (like 'source code') look it up online, exercise patience and carry on. Whatever brick wall you may run up against, there will be an answer on how to get round it out there, the Linux community are a friendly and helpful bunch.

Yes, it's more problematic than Windows, but Windows costs about £85 whereas Mint, Zorin et al are free. And there's the rub, you pays your money, you takes your choice.

One huge advantage of using Linux, imo, is you won't have all your personal info permanently leeched from you, like both Apple and Microsoft do. I just been reading about latest Apple OS and it's every bit as liberty-taking as Win 10. I mean, if you wear an Apple watch then Apple will know what your heart rate is. That is just bad.
 
You will be glad to know I haven't given up. I have purchased a book from Amarzon called
Linux for Beginner's: Complete Guide for Linux Operating System and Command Line: Volume 1.
Hopefully this will (oops font size has gone wrong mucks edit: I fixed it for you) give me a chance to get to grips with Linux it should be delivered on Monday in the mean time I will reinstall Linux Mint on a spare drive and have to wait until the book arrives. I am determined to leave the Microsoft fold. Will you updated as things progress.
 
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Reinstalled Linux Mint 7.1 64 bit WCG is going have to wait but still the wife’s PC is running it 24/7, I will reinstall after I have mastered the basics of Linux.:rolleyes::nod:
 
http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/20

The above may be of use. :cool:

For a newcomer to linux dual booting can be daunting so here is my tip on how to do it safely.

You need two hdd/sdd. Place one hdd/sdd in the pc and do a Windows install then disconnect the hdd/sdd. No need to take the hdd out just disconnect the data cable.
Put the second hdd/sdd in the pc and install your linux.
Reconnect the Windows hdd.
Alter your bios to make one drive the first to boot.

If you need to boot the second os then you will need to press the appropriate F key to get to the boot menu when you start the pc.

If Windows blue screens and you need to do a fresh install ( you never will need to reinstall as Windows is perfect ) disconnect the penguin drive and follow the above again. Windows likes to be first and preferably the only os on a pc (and so it should be as it is perfect) which is why the farting about with the drives.

You can dual boot as many os's as your hdd/sdd will accommodate but it does take a bit of practice and you need a bit of experience to make it run smoothly.

You can dual boot Windows and Penguins on the same hdd/sdd. However a small slip up can bork the whole set up. My way above is bomb proof though does add a few seconds and a few mouse/keyboard clicks to access both os's, which for some sad folks is a huge problem.

lWbgQk9.png


http://community.linuxmint.com/

If you get stuck there are 1295 Tutorials specifically for Mint at the site above all you need are good reading glasses and patience.

:cool:
 
Abarbarian said:
If you get stuck there are 1295 Tutorials specifically for Mint at the site above all you need are good reading glasses and patience.

:cool:
Click to expand...

Presumably 1296 tutorials now ;)

Goood idea oh barbed one.

And if you're under 30 years of age it's very likely you won't need reading spectacles. I didn't need a pair of bins to help me read until I was 42. Now I have three different pairs and if I don't wear them I'm liable to bump into things, walk over the top of a cliff or misinterpret the detailed ignition instructions on a high powered firework. All of which are really not recommended.
 
Looked at your system specs and Mint should work out of the box for you. That Xonar DS sound card may be problematic if it is try with the onboard sound which should work just fine whilst you search for a solution.
There are new drivers for your graphics card, read here for install instructions in Mint,

Install the NVIDIA driver 355 on Linux Mint

:cool:
 
floppybootstomp said:
I didn't need a pair of bins to help me read until I was 42.
Click to expand...

I had almost perfect vision until I got a pc and became a gaming addict. :eek:

One program that may help with eye strain is REDSHIFT. I use it as a quick and easy way to take some of the glare of the screen whilst surfing. :cool:
 
Thanks Abarbarian and Mr Flops for the advice especially about the glasses flops. I have now done a clean install of Mint 7.1 64bit and the booklet I ordered from Amazon "Linux For Beginners" arrived this morning also now connected and now receiving all my email via Thunderbird. So it is now a steep learning curve so will be taking my time. I will be using the Linux Mint Community web site a lot over the coming weeks. Once again thank you both for your advice and support:thumb::thumb::user:
 
Just remembered I have an Asus Xonar DG sound card in my machine that I run Mint on and it works fine. I did have to go into the sound card setup and choose which output I wanted though - could the problem be as simple as that to solve?
 
This is to any of the moderators perhaps this conversation should placed in the Linux forum as this information may be of help to anyone who is thinking of switching from Microsoft to a Linux distro.
 
Just to report having no problems(famous last words)with Mint I even think the graphics and 3D effect is better than windows, main problem is that I will have to re-download all my music again but slowly getting used to the distro, I think I was expecting it to work like Windows but this time I am taking it more slowly. I would like for all the support and advice from all of you. As things stand I like this distro, but I reckon in the future I will get stuck again and asking for help again. The one thing I have to get my head around is this thing called "command line" once I manage that I do not see me going back to Microsoft. Once again thanks all for the assistance and support you have given me.:bow::bow::bow::nod::nod::nod::user:
 
bootneck02 said:
Thanks Abarbarian and Mr Flops for the advice especially about the glasses flops. I have now done a clean install of Mint 7.1 64bit and the booklet I ordered from Amazon "Linux For Beginners" arrived this morning also now connected and now receiving all my email via Thunderbird. So it is now a steep learning curve so will be taking my time. I will be using the Linux Mint Community web site a lot over the coming weeks. Once again thank you both for your advice and support:thumb::thumb::user:
Click to expand...

Well done, hurrrah. :thumb:

Now before you get carried away and start fiddling your next step would be to make a full backup of your nice fresh clean install. Clonezilla is a very good program to use.

Why a backup ?

Well think about how long it took to install and get the first bit of setting up done.

Ok now a full backup should not take more than ten or fifteen minutes to set up and a couple of hours to run. Now you can scratch yer bum or read a book etc etc whilst the backup is being made.

When you do successfully bork your nice clean fresh install you could if you made a backup spend ten or fifteen minutes setting up the backup restore and a couple of hours to run. Then as the program runs you can scratch etc etc etc. An you will have a nice clean fresh install to bork again.

Times above are dependent on your hdd/ssd's. I do a almost 120 GB backup in less than an hour on a ssd and a F3 hdd.

You could of course ignore all the above. :cool:

Flop's I think I have a Xonar DS and it would not play in W7 and then it developed some glitch on me Arch and there are quite a few posts regarding problems in linux. They may have been resolved by now as it was quite a while ago that I had problems. I may have another play as you have a working DS in Mint. Thinking about it my Xonar has a swapable amp and I have an upgrade amp but never got around to fitting it, now might be a good time. :nod:
 
Flop's I think I have a Xonar DS and it would not play in W7 and then it developed some glitch on me Arch and there are quite a few posts regarding problems in linux. They may have been resolved by now as it was quite a while ago that I had problems. I may have another play as you have a working DS in Mint. Thinking about it my Xonar has a swapable amp and I have an upgrade amp but never got around to fitting it, now might be a good time. :nod:

The only problem I have with Xonar DS now is I am running a Microlab 2.1 speaker system and since I changed to Mint there is no sound coming from the base unit but the normal speakers are fine.
 
Seems that Mint uses Pulse Audio wheras I am using Alsa so afraid I can not offer any help as I am unfamiliar with Pulse Audio.These might help,

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=204218&p=1061790



Set Sound Preferences
If you use a PC with an integrated audio device and it has no sound when playing a media file on a player, try these simple steps to set Sound Preferences for your PC. It works for me for the audio device I have.

  1. Go to Menu > Applications > Preferences > Sound to bring up the Sound Preferences window.
  2. Under the Hardware tab, change Profile to Analog Stereo Duplex from the drop-down menu.
  3. Click "Test Speakers" to check if it works.
As the items available from the drop-down menus might differ depending on the hardware devices detected by the system, you might want to try other items in the menus to see if they work for your devices.
Click to expand...

As to " command line " you access that through a " terminal " here is a screen shot of two terminals running on my Arch.

kScihP9.jpg


Have you made a BACKUP ?

breakfast.gif
 
:user:No not yet but intend to follow your advice Abarbarian as soon as I have downloaded my music library, photos etc which will take a little time, but after that I will do a backup, promise. At the moment I am finding my way around the distro and it is quite an adventure. I have to admit that I am finding that Mint is far better than the only other linux distro I have tried Zorin which I found clunky and slow.:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
Royal i'm counting on you to complete this mission and to get finished in time for tea & medals!!:wave:
 
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