The change-over to Linux operating systems is now complete.
As I mentioned earlier, I now have a Dell PC dual-booting Windows XP and Ubuntu 9.10, aka Karmic Koala. Karmic is still in Beta, however I have found the Beta release to be steady as a rock and I’m not seeing constant update. That leaves me to believe the Gold Release is just a matter of waiting until 29 October.
If you’re nervous about running a Beta operating system, then it is a simple enough matter to download Ubuntu 9.04, aka Jaunty Jackalope. After the 29th, you will then be able to upgrade to Karmic via the Update Manager.
I’ve now updated the dual boot on my iMac to Karmic Koala, as well. I’m still looking for ways to get Airport and sound working properly, but everything else is working 100%.
This morning, I decided to install another flavor of Linux on an old Sony VAIO that refuses to die. I really like the Ubuntu foundation, but I went with Linux Mint 7, aka Gloria, on this system. If you are a Windows user wanting to make the switch, I recommend Mint to you. Mint is based on Ubuntu, with Mint 7 actually being Ubuntu 9.04, albeit with a very pretty face. Mint has a ‘feel’ much like Windows, with the task bar located at the bottom of the screen. The Windows Start Button is more intuitively called Menu in Mint. Once you learn that trick, you will feel right at home.
Remember, both Ubuntu and Mint are free for you to use and you can download Mint right here. Burn the LiveCD ISO to a CD and then boot your computer up from the CD drive. You can explore either operating system from the CD to see if you can get online, use your printer, etc.
If you want to use Linux, there are two different ways to go about doing it. You can simply use the Installer on the CD to install Linux right over the top of the Windows install. If you have a lot of Windows programs you don’t want to lose, then use step number two and set up Linux as a dual boot. The LiveCD has a partition editor on it that makes the dual-boot a snap.
The procedure is simple. Close Linux and remove the CD from your machine. Boot into Windows and run the Windows Defrag tool. Or better yet, download a copy of Defraggler and run it. If you’ve been running a defrag on a regular basis, the process won’t take too long. Once you’ve defragged the drive, visit the Ubuntu Screencasts site and watch two videos — Ubuntu Partitioning and Ubuntu Dual Boot Install.
Here’s a secret to dual-booting. You need a minimum of 5 gig for Ubuntu’s files (use 10 gig if you have the room). You want a Swap partition that is about twice the size of your machine’s installed memory. If you have a gig of RAM, then set up a 2 gig swap partition. Then use all the free space to set up a /home partition. That is where all your files (documents, pictures, etc.) are going to go.
On this VAIO system, I split the drive in half. I let the Windows XP installation have half of the drive. With the remaining 50 gig, I allocated it like this -
10 gig formatted as ext3 for the / partition (the root partition is known as simply /)
38 gig formatted as ext3 for the /home partition (where all my personal files are located)
2 gig formatted as swap
So, it’s time to plop that LiveCD back in the CD drive and restart the machine. Press F12 or whatever it takes to boot from the CD drive and let your flavor of Linux load up. Click on install. Select your language choice, select your time zone and your keyboard layout. Now the Partitioning Editor will open and you can set up the partitioning for your new Linux install. Then fill in the details about your install (username and password). Tell the installer to import your Windows files, click on Forward and relax for a while. It may take some time, as the partitioning tool has to scoot the Windows partition into it’s tighter quarters and install some filesystem files on your new partitions. Just let it do it’s thing.
Once the install is done, you will need to reboot the computer. Follow the instructions and remove the CD when prompted. And then watch the magic. Your computer will start to boot up, but you will then see a GRUB window appear, asking you what operating system you want to use. Use your cursor keys to highlight the new Linux install and hit Enter. Things will happen much faster this time, since you are using the hard drive to load Linux. Enter your username and password when prompted and welcome to Linux.
See how easy that was? And you were worried, weren’t you? ‘S OK, so was I, the first time I tried it.
It will depend on what Linux distro you installed, but play around with things until you find you Home folder. (Look in Menu » Home Folder in Mint or Places » Home Folder in Ubuntu.) There you will find all of your pictures and documents from the Windows side of things. If you have Word documents, don’t fret. Open up the Open Office Word Processor and your Word documents are right there for you. The Firefox Web browser is there, which should be familiar to you. Mozilla Thunderbird is my e-mail client of choice and you can install it with a single click of the mouse. Before long, you will realize things really do seem familiar to you.
Ubuntu doesn’t open any incoming ports on your machine, so there is no need for a firewall. If you decide to set up a server, you will then need to start setting up rules for a firewall, but if this is just a personal computer installation, forget about firewalls. There are no Linux viruses in the wild, so you don’t need an anti-virus running. Set your browser up wisely and you’ll never end up with any malicious scripts on your machine. Even if you do get a virus transmitted to your machine, it won’t hurt your machine at all. You could easily transfer the virus to one of your Windows-based friends, but your machine is safe. I run a virus scanner on my machines about once a week, to make sure I don’t have any malicious files on board that could be passed on.
If you want to learn about how to use your Linux install more efficiently, there is a great resource known as the Ubuntu Forums. If you have a question, hit the forums and do a quick search. You will probably discover someone has already asked your question.
Let me leave you alone with your new toy. We’ll look at some other Linux tips and tricks in subsequent posts. Enjoy the freedom of Linux!
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