[AT] OT- Computer help please
Mike M
meulenms at gmx.com
Tue Feb 18 12:06:46 PST 2020
Thanks Steve and cgs, I'm going to try it.
Mike M
On 2/18/2020 2:34 PM, Stephen Offiler wrote:
> The one I had laying around is a 4GB, and I seem to recall the file I
> downloaded was 1.9GB. Here's what I did:
>
> 1. Google brought me to this download site:
> https://linuxmint.com/download.php
>
> 2. Choose 32 or 64 bit (mine is 32) and choose one of the GUI's aka
> "desktop". Mate was recommended, so I took that one.
>
> 3. Save the download to the hard drive of the machine that's doing
> the downloading (in my case, it's my Win 10 machine at work... NOT the
> laptop in question)
>
> 4. Next, download and install Etcher on the machine that's doing the
> downloading: https://www.balena.io/etcher/
>
> 5. Etcher is extremely simple. You point it to the Linux file, then
> you point it to the thumb drive, then hit Flash!
>
> 6. When done, you now have a Linux bootable thumb drive.
>
> As others have pointed out, some older machines can't boot from USB;
> some can, but you have to hit F12 on power-up; some will go
> automatically to the USB if it has a bootable OS. The latter is how
> mine worked. Stick the thumb drive into the laptop, turn it on, and a
> mere few seconds later, you are running Linux.
>
> SO
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 2:21 PM Mike M <meulenms at gmx.com
> <mailto:meulenms at gmx.com>> wrote:
>
> Steve, unless I missed it, what size thumb drive did you need?
>
> Thanks,
> Mike M
>
> On 2/18/2020 9:09 AM, Stephen Offiler wrote:
>> And... it worked! Just about as simple as it sounded. Laptop
>> just boots straight off USB, automatically, no fuss, no F12 or
>> anything else needed. And fast!
>>
>> One detail, the "USB Image Writer" runs under Linux. The
>> equivalent that runs under Windows is "Etcher"
>>
>> SO
>>
>> On Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 7:20 AM Stephen Offiler
>> <soffiler at gmail.com <mailto:soffiler at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> THANKS! Will check that out!
>>
>> SO
>>
>> On Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 6:58 AM cgs <oxygenfarm at gmail.com
>> <mailto:oxygenfarm at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> Linux Mint has an accessory named 'USB Image Writer'
>> which will put the downloaded image of your new operating
>> system onto your USB. A good instruction for Mint is at
>> _https://www.linuxmint.com/documentation/user-guide/Cinnamon/english_18.0.pdf_
>> I use its Mate version whose latest is 19.3 on older
>> computers.
>>
>> On 2/18/20 5:13 AM, Stephen Offiler wrote:
>>> Yes, I have one SATA connector on the old laptop. I am
>>> hearing several votes in favor of Mint/Mate. Since I
>>> don't have a ton of free time, hoping maybe someone can
>>> provide a decent overview of the process. I'd like to
>>> ignore the hard drive on the laptop and try to boot off
>>> a thumb drive as we've been discussing. Basically treat
>>> the laptop as if it were already dead. I have a fully
>>> modern, fully functional desktop workstation running Win
>>> 10 for downloads and manipulations of the thumb drive.
>>> So what are the basic steps? Download to the
>>> workstation and then send files over to the thumb, or
>>> download straight to the thumb? In either case, how do
>>> I make the thumb bootable?
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance...
>>> SO
>>>
>>> On Mon, Feb 17, 2020 at 9:53 AM cgs
>>> <oxygenfarm at gmail.com <mailto:oxygenfarm at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Most versions of Linux are free and legal to
>>> download; some charge for a prepared thumb drive
>>> and/or a phone help service.
>>> I have several computers that age which will run the
>>> lighter Linux versions. A new solid state drive (120
>>> GB) can be found online or at MicroCenter for $25
>>> (be sure your old iron has SATA connectors!)
>>>
>>> On 2/17/20 5:20 AM, Stephen Offiler wrote:
>>>> Hi Phil:
>>>>
>>>> I've got a Dell from about 2009 or so, perhaps a
>>>> 3000-series (?), running XP. At the time it was a
>>>> workstation-class laptop, capable of running 3D CAD
>>>> software. I don't use it much anymore, but it
>>>> definitely comes in handy sometimes. Nothing
>>>> important is stored on it. Hard drive has given me
>>>> a few scares over the last several years, but it
>>>> comes back every time (on it's own; I have not done
>>>> anything heroic). This bootable thumb drive thing
>>>> is intriguing because you don't need any hard drive
>>>> at all with it. In your scenario, with the hidden
>>>> partition, you still need a functional hard drive.
>>>> Plus, there's been enough discussion of Linux here
>>>> on ATIS (and elsewhere) that I'm curious.
>>>>
>>>> SO
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Feb 17, 2020 at 5:08 AM Phil Auten
>>>> <pga2 at basicisp.net <mailto:pga2 at basicisp.net>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi, Stephen,
>>>>
>>>> I don't remember what brand of PC you have, but
>>>> several manufacturers provide a "hidden
>>>> partition" on the hard drive that can be used
>>>> to restore the PC back to factory settings. On
>>>> both of my Acer laptops the <Alt-F10> keys are
>>>> pressed together during boot. This enables the
>>>> restore function. That would, however, wipe
>>>> out your files. But if there is no other
>>>> alternative it would be worth a try. The laptop
>>>> I am using to type this suffered a hard drive
>>>> crash a couple of years ago. The hard drive was
>>>> no longer recognized. Using the Acer part
>>>> number, I was able to find the exact same hard
>>>> drive on eBay. I had to completely rebuild my
>>>> setup, but still much less expensive than a new
>>>> laptop.
>>>>
>>>> If that $35 thumb drive is bootable, that would
>>>> still be a good option for me.
>>>>
>>>> My 2¢
>>>>
>>>> Phil in TX
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 2/16/2020 5:44 AM, Stephen Offiler wrote:
>>>>> Hi farmer: When you say no reason to buy
>>>>> anything, I assume you refer to that $35 thumb
>>>>> drive device I mentioned. As I understand it,
>>>>> the thumb drive is bootable, circumventing the
>>>>> hard drive and whatever OS is on the machine.
>>>>> The sales pitch is that it will take a machine
>>>>> that's bricked and bring it back to life. Do
>>>>> you have a way to accomplish that for free?
>>>>>
>>>>> SO
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, Feb 15, 2020 at 10:39 PM Indiana
>>>>> Robinson <robinson46176 at gmail.com
>>>>> <mailto:robinson46176 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> No reason to buy anything, Most
>>>>> distributions of Linux will read Windows
>>>>> files. You can copy, paste move etc. and
>>>>> you can download anything for free. I
>>>>> don't putter with old stuff as much as I
>>>>> used to but I've used Knoppix for such
>>>>> things for many years. I don't know if
>>>>> Windows 10 can read Linux files yet or not
>>>>> but I once read that it was soon to be an
>>>>> option. If you install Linux as a dual
>>>>> boot with Windows you can just access your
>>>>> Windows files without having to reboot
>>>>> back into Windows to find them or work
>>>>> with them.
>>>>> Half of the Linux learning curve is
>>>>> terminology... If you have become
>>>>> comfortable using Android you are half way
>>>>> there. Android is just a mobile (and
>>>>> tablet) version of Linux. Android is built
>>>>> on and running the Linux Kernel but your
>>>>> desktop box won't run Android.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> .
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, Feb 15, 2020 at 9:33 AM cgs
>>>>> <oxygenfarm at gmail.com
>>>>> <mailto:oxygenfarm at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Look at
>>>>> _http://www.linuxandubuntu.com/home/5-best-data-recovery-tools-for-linux-to-recover-data-or-deleted-partitions_
>>>>>
>>>>> On 2/15/20 7:12 AM, Stephen Offiler wrote:
>>>>>> Good to hear it's all set. I've been
>>>>>> seeing ad's for a device called
>>>>>> "XtraPC" which, it turns out, is some
>>>>>> flavor of Linux burned onto a thumb
>>>>>> drive for something like $35. You
>>>>>> can bring back most troublesome old
>>>>>> machines from the grave (assuming the
>>>>>> problem is hard drive/boot software,
>>>>>> not some hardware failure of
>>>>>> course). What I do not know is
>>>>>> whether you can access your Windows
>>>>>> files under Linux. Curious about that.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> SO
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Charlie
>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> --
>>>>>
>>>>> Francis Robinson
>>>>> aka "farmer"
>>>>> Central Indiana USA
>>>>> robinson46176 at gmail.com
>>>>> <mailto:robinson46176 at gmail.com>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>> --
>>> Charlie
>>>
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>> --
>> Charlie
>>
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