The Linux Thread

[ccit 10]

Yes, you are right Alex - the website said it was the first manufacturer installed Ubuntu available from a UK retailer. It is definitely not the first machine to come pre installed with Linux. Linux Emporium have been selling them for a long time. Dell used to do net books with Ubuntu installed and if my memory serves, some MSI Wind machines had it on too. However, they are not exactly thick on the ground so good on 'em to at least have a go.

Edited July 1, 2014 by ccit

[denomis 10]

The asus eee pc came with eeebuntu (now aurora) installed in 2007.

[swarfendor437 14]

2008 was the year Dell shipped with Ubuntu:

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/dell-linux-ubuntu-laptop,5932.html

 

So yes point taken on first retailer in UK - about time!

 

I'd still like to have a look at one of totall non-proprietary hardware:

 

http://www.lemote.com/en/

 

---------- Post added 06-07-2014 at 11:44 ----------

 

Information for dual-booters of Windows 8 and GNU/Linux:

 

 

The best way to do it!

 

---------- Post added 15-07-2014 at 20:50 ----------

 

Zorin 9 Core and Ultimate 32-bit and 64-bit are now available for download! ;D

 

http://zoringroup.com/blog/2014/07/15/zorin-os-9-core-and-ultimate-are-released/

[swarfendor437 14]

Well, after a long haul the complete video of how to prepare to dual-boot Windows 7 with Zorin 9 is here on my Vimeo account:

 

[stimpy 10]

Well, after a long haul the complete video of how to prepare to dual-boot Windows 7 with Zorin 9 is here on my Vimeo account:

 

 

Sorry bud, but what a god awful vid! Lose the silly robot voice! I am genuinly interested in dual booting but managed to last 5min before I had to turn it off.... sorry

[me-and-pippo 12]

Sorry bud, but what a god awful vid! Lose the silly robot voice! I am genuinly interested in dual booting but managed to last 5min before I had to turn it off.... sorry

 

Ever thought that swarfendor could have a speech disorder?

[stimpy 10]

Ever thought that swarfendor could have a speech disorder?

 

nope... as I dont know him, so why would I? The joys of the internet I guess.

[swarfendor437 14]

As a kid using a reel-to-reel I hated the sound of my voice - I used gespeaker to read the text - you can always mute the sound - and just watch - you should get the drift. I did post a 'text' version but not sure if on this thread. so here it is from the Zorin forum:

 

1. Prepare Windows first by going into Windows 7, and if you don't have 'Computer' on desktop, go to menu, right-click and 'manage'.

 

2. Select the partition with 'C:' on it, right-click and select 'Properties', then go to 'Tools' Tab. Select 'Check disk' and make sure both boxes in the next pop-up screen are checked and then click on start which then brings up another window to select 'Schedule a scan' - click on that.

 

3. Close all windows and reboot - you will get the cursory 10 second count-down to cancel Chkdsk - DON'T - you could end up with an unbootable system - I did this on a 200 Gb drive and it took a good half-hour.

 

4. After chkdsk has completed it will reboot, give a cursory report that it is clean (hopefully - just as mine did) and you may get a brief message that there is no signal (from graphics card) and then your login screen will appear.

 

5. Go to 'Manage' once more and do a defrag analysis of C drive - uisng the same procedure above [2.] but click on Defrag tool - mine was only 4% so not needed but like to do this anyway for dual-booting - analysis took quite a while and then I ran the defragment option - another good half-hour.

 

6. Re-boot to windows once more to see if Windows finds a change and requires a reboot - this used to happen on XP but does not appear to be needed for Windows 7.

 

7. Go to Manage once more, right click the C: drive, Properties and 'Shrink drive' - let Windows do all the calculation and just accept what it offers - this will eventually after 15-20 minutes a reduced drive with unallocated space to the right of it. - This is where we will install Zorin. Put the Zorin DVD into the drive and reboot - use your one-time boot option (if you have one) to boot from DVD - Dells = F12, HP = Esc, if you have a 'homebrew' like the one I built with an Asus Mobo then F8 might be the button to press. Select the Optical Drive - if your machine does not have this option it will mean pressing the 'Del' key to enter BIOS and go to 'Boot' section then 'Boot Order' or 'Disk Priority' - usually pressing the + key will change the first default option (the hard disk) - on older machines you should also change second option as this would have been the optical drive (I am disregarding machines with Floppy Disks which would be 1!) and change to hard drive or you will go round in a loop!). Press F10 to save changes and exit.

 

8. Booting from Zorin 9 will bring up a blue screen with the symbol of a keyboard and Accessibility logo - as soon as you see this press the spacebar.

You will be taken to the 'language' selection, which is 'English' by default - press the Escape key then press F3 for the Keyboard map and use your cursor up arrow to select UK (default is US - I wonder why!), then if you have a notebook, press F6 (you may need to choose one of the options for some desktops as this affects whether you get to see the desktop - try default of none first but if this fails, reboot and select 'acpi=off'

 

9. Then press Enter to select the first menu option of trying without installing.

The screen will change to a glowing/pulsating 'Z' on a blue background - then darkness for quite some time, then a mouse cursor, then the desktop - the menu applet (a Z) takes quite some time to load. Be sure at this point you have a wired connection to your router/internet connection - and click on 'Install to Hard Disk/drive' icon on the desktop. (Alternatively, Menu | System Tools | Administration | Install Zorin OS).

 

9a. Can't remember at which point this screen appears but you get a check list that

 

a. you have enough space to install to

 

b. are connected to the internet

 

Be sure to check mark the bit about installing updates and other stuff during install - this is why it takes quite a bit of time to install!

 

10. Installation Options screen appears - choose the last option - 'Something Else' - this will launch the Partition Editor. Select the 'Free Space/Unallocated Space' then click on the '+' symbol, bottom left of the window that is open and a new interface opens - make it a Primary Partition with size 30000 Mibs (About 30 Gb) - you might get away with 15000 (15 Gb) but I like to play safe! - format to 'ext4' (ext2 if SSD) and mark as '/'. Next highlight the remaining unallocated space, '+' once more and this time create 'Extended Partition' - select this partition to add at the END the 'swap area' - I make this 4 Gb (4096) and then everything in front I create the last partition, '/home' where all your data and windows applications live at the 'BEGINNING' of the extended partition - make this 'logical'.

 

11. Crucial this bit - install GRUB on the partition marked '/' - this should be sda3 - remember the number - this is crucial for when you get to use Easy BCD 2.2 Community Edition.

 

12. The installer screen starts - begins with Language - default is English, click on 'next'

 

13. Memory is going - can't remember if Keyboard layout is next or 'where are you?' - anyways, because of what was chosen back at F3 on second screen that appeared it should pick up the fact it is English UK. clickk on 'next'.

 

14. Where are you - enter Sheffield and be amazed at the number of places around the world that share our great City name! - and of course, ours is at the top! so select that (obviously!). once done, click on 'next'

 

15. Username etc screen next - DON'T use capitals in username.

System - rename this - preferably in lower case - no hyphens, no underscores, no gaps. DON'T checkmark 'encrypt home folder' or the OS will not insall or boot correctly!!! Click on Next. This takes a VERY long time!

 

16. After eventually it has completed installation, either carry on playing in live environment or re-boot into Windows 7.

 

17. In Windows 7 - Download Easy BCD 2.2 Community Edition from Softpedia.com. After install it offers you option to launch - do so - it even offers language to launch in - nice touch. Now then we need to add a Linux Partition so we go to the Penguin tab - for the Boot, drop down to GRUB2, (if memory serves me right the default is 'neo-smart' or some such).

Next select the partition where GRUB is - now this latest edition is very cool - you should recognise the smallest of the two GNU/Linux partitions of '/' and '/home' and it will also be indicated by the size we chose earlier - highlight that ('/') partition to select it to boot from. Next we give a name to the bootloader entry - mine is 'ZorinOS 9 32-bit Ultimate' - and that is what shows up as the second entry in my Windows 7 Boot loader on boot - the other neat thing that Easy BCD does is it automatically captures your existing mbr settings at point of launch after install!

 

Save your Easy BCD settings, close the application and re-boot - you now have an uninterrupted mbr so your Windows will NEVER be affected!

 

This method will work with any distro - you just have to remember to stop the distro of choice wanting to put the Bootloader in the MBR.

 

I reported some issues with Windows 7 and reinstalled it - the MBR was intact so I could boot Zorin after reinstalling Windows - basically thanks to Matthew Moore and EasyBCD - my video differs as it shows how to make room for GNU/Linux - Matthew Moore's video is working with a 'blank canvas'.

[stimpy 10]

<<snip>>

 

No offense meant fella.

 

Will have a read through later. My laptop is currently running dual boot with Mint and I might have a play again.

[swarfendor437 14]

Hi Stimpy, the beauty of Easy BCD is that if you ever need to reinstall windows the mbr remains intact - GRUB is still present but only if you choose your Linux distro from the mbr.

Also if you wanted to change your Mint for something else regardless of what distro, you don't have that issue of not being able to boot into GRUB and can't get to Windows after removal - it is also a very customisable bootloader. And just a reminder if you were ever faced with a situation of a failing hard drive you can only do an 'as is' clone of your dual-boot setup, not a proportional one as that is down to limitations of GNU/Linux. I had difficulty with Clonezilla just doing a straight copy - I used something called Clone Copy 1.9.6 from Hiren's Boot CD Tools element - just had to create a new entry for Zorin as it was still pointing to the old drive.

Edited October 29, 2014 by swarfendor43

[swarfendor437 14]

OK, there is a new 'kid' on the block, and it's name is MakuluLinux (Makulu is Zulu word for "The Big Chief".) The main distro is a traditional GNU/Linux one using XFCE desktop. A recent spin-off is MakuluLinux 10 "Aero" requested by users to help Winodws users to Migrate, and I must say it is pretty, but still in Beta - I have it installed alongside Windows 10 Insider Preview!

 

 

I used EasyBCD as in my Vimeo vid and all is well - so far!

Edited June 28, 2015 by swarfendor43

[swarfendor437 14]

For anyone running Zorin 9, please note there is an unofficial manual now available, courtesy of a Zorin forum member who got inspired with my Zorin 6 manual (which I have now abandoned due to the glibc security error).

 

Get the manual from here (you need to download both 7-zip files:

 

https://app.box.com/s/jl6yw0bfgze28r71lt790yinspfgsjfr