Re: Installing Linux on a windows hd

12 Feb 2014


      Yes....I'm sorry but the original poster mentioned Ubuntu....personally....I would install Fedora....but I'm just giving feedback.....sorry!
----- Reply message -----
From: "Pete Travis" lists@petetravis.com
To: "Community support for Fedora users" users@lists.fedoraproject.org
Subject: Installing Linux on a windows hd
Date: Wed, Feb 12, 2014 12:41 pm
On Feb 12, 2014 9:37 AM, "eoconnor25@gmail.com" eoconnor25@gmail.com wrote:
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I would just tell her to backup all her data that she wants saved to an external device.....then do a clean install of Ubuntu...and then she can transfer her data back.  ....ditch WinXP altogether.....makes for an easier time when its time to support it remotely.....
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Hi, do you realize this is a Fedora list?
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----- Reply message -----
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From: "Tim" ignored_mailbox@yahoo.com.au
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To: users@lists.fedoraproject.org
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Subject: Installing Linux on a windows hd
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Date: Wed, Feb 12, 2014 9:40 am
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Allegedly, on or about 12 February 2014, Roger sent:
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A friend who is not computer literate at all has a Dell 1520 laptop
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which when new, Dell required it have xp installed.
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As has already been said, XP support dies very soon.  It's not safe to
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use XP on the net after then.  It was never particularly safe when XP
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was being supported, anyway...
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Seen it fubared within seconds of going on-line, even saw it pop up a
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warning about being fubarred, but did nothing to prevent it, nor would
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anything succeed in unfubarring it.  Needed a reinstall.  How I laughed
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when I watched my friend go through that three times in a row, on one
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night.
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It's not just XP, itself, that becomes unsupported.  It software that
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can be run on XP, as *those* other coders abandon the abandoned Windows
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XP over time.  Though it's probably quite likely that some anti-virus
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vendors will continue to produce anti-virus software for an out-of-date
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XP for some time, long after Microsoft abandons XP.  That's been the
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trend with even older versions of Windows.  Some do recognise that users
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are stuck with using old OSs, for whatever reason (e.g. workplace
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computers might be un-upgradable).
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If they are going to continue using XP, go through all the Windows
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updates, now, let it update all the bug fixes that can be done, and
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that'll take care of internet explorer, at the same time.  Then stop
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using internet explorer, except for browsing the Microsoft site.  Use
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other, safer, browsers for the www.
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But it's not new, now, is it?  So the Dell *requirement* of having XP
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isn't really so concrete, and that requirement is surely going to have
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to change when XP is killed.  If they must use Windows, find out the
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latest version that can be installed on the hardware, then install it.
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Though you may have something so old that it can't support newer
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releases.
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I do not know if her xp is sp1, 2 or 3 and have no way of finding out
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as all contact is by phone, she doesn't  have a clue about finding
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out, me neither, and she lives some 120 km away.
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If you feel so inclined, and both of your internet is fast enough, you
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can take remote control of her PC, and fix it for her yourself, rather
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than play the telephone support game.  Alternatively, have the thing
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posted to you, sort it out, then send it back.
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There are tools that give you summaries of the installation, and the
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"about this computer" option can reveal the service pack installed, at
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least.  You'd need to try Windows update to see how many other things
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its out-of-date with.
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But I abandoned helping friends with Windows, long ago.  I tell them
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that I don't use it anymore, I'm not up to date with its foibles, and
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it'll take me much longer to sort it out than taking it to a computer
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shop.  It's saved me no end of grief.
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I would like to run her through installing one of the Linux systems on
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the second partition but am worried that on installing it may
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overwrite the windows MBR making her windows files, folders, etc
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useless, particularly Thunderbird and Firefox. She would not be able
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to reinstall windows without me spending a day on the phone. I no
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longer have the stamina for epic phone calls.
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I know that feeling.  I had one friend who would have something go wrong
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with his computer, then get stupidly drunk before phoning me for help.
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It was hard enough, normally, but that made it extremely painful.
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The last few times that I've installed Linux (including recent/current
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Fedora) on a machine with Windows already on it, it has sorted itself
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out, and the boot menu lets you pick whether to boot Linux or Windows.
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Depending on which distro was installed, Windows may actually appear as
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Windows in the menu, or simply be referred to as "Other."  And Linux is
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usually the default boot option.
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Yes, it takes over the MBR, but the grub bootloader takes care of
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booting up Linux or Windows, so that doesn't really matter.
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It might be worth you trying out doing a multi-boot install at your own
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end, to familiarise yourself with it.  It doesn't have to be a
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Linux/Windows dual-boot, if you don't have a Windows install to play
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with.  Make it two different Linux installations.
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This person has no confidence with computers. Over the years I have
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talked her through windows problems but now I am lost as to how to
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tackle this one.
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Explain carefully and strongly that XP will not be supported within
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about a month, that they really need to abandon it.
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I think the best linux option would be ubuntu 12.04LTS so she doesn't
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have to update the OS.
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Could be...  Or CentOS, if you're more familiar with solving problems
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similar to Fedora, than dealing with Ubuntu issues.
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I would have to set aside 3-4 hours on the phone to walk her through a
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basic install before the file system updates, which can also take
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hours.
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I know your pain.  But a clean Linux install shouldn't take that long.
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Only an update-install, which is based on what was previously installed
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(and has to churn through assessing it and all the updates that will be
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needed), should take that long to run.
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--
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[tim@localhost ~]$ uname -rsvp
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Linux 3.9.10-100.fc17.x86_64 #1 SMP Sun Jul 14 01:31:27 UTC 2013 x86_64
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All mail to my mailbox is automatically deleted, there is no point
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trying to privately email me, I will only read messages posted to the
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public lists.
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George Orwell's '1984' was supposed to be a warning against tyranny, not
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a set of instructions for supposedly democratic governments.
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Roger, if you decide to dual boot in any way, abandon the idea of the "second partition".  Partitions are used to segregate, yes, but it is the installer's job to create the partitioning scheme.  You can help it partition if you know how, but either way you should start with unallocated, unpartitioned space.
--Pete