1. Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by alrobnett Dec 30, 2018
- 1185 views
It was about 35 years ago that I stopped being intimately connected with the inner working of computer systems. As I result, it is not clear to me what may be involved in switching my partitioned computer from Ubuntu to Mint. The bios now lets me boot to either Ubuntu or Windows. Is Mint a language distribution which can run on the Ubuntu OS?
2. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by irv Dec 30, 2018
- 1201 views
It was about 35 years ago that I stopped being intimately connected with the inner working of computer systems. As I result, it is not clear to me what may be involved in switching my partitioned computer from Ubuntu to Mint. The bios now lets me boot to either Ubuntu or Windows. Is Mint a language distribution which can run on the Ubuntu OS?
Not exactly - Mint Linux https://linuxmint.com/ is a Linux distribution, Ubuntu is another, and there are actually hundreds of different Linux distributions available. Some are intentionally "minimal", designed to work on older computers without lots of memory, others are specifically designed for special uses, such as network servers, graphics or animation, entertainment (streaming Netflix and Amazon movies...), operating a PBX... and some are different just because someone wanted a different look and feel. Anybody can build a distribution if they try hard enough, by choosing bits and pieces that they like and packaging them together. A number of distributions - including Mint, utilize parts from Debian, Ubuntu, etc... Some others are based on Slackware, etc...
Unfortunately, it appears that some distros have been overly influenced by phones and tablet computers, and are trying to look like Google Play. And offer just as much useful stuff (that's a joke).
Mint, in my opinion, has tried to be an easy up-grade for people who liked Windows7, so it looks and works pretty much the way you expect computers to work. Plus it still respects us old computer geeks, by providing the tools we need to do stuff. I've been using Mint for years, and have had very few problems. As you can see from this screenshot, Mint has one-click access to worlds of programming tools and other useful stuff:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hxO2EXbOBz6HkHLz0ozoXS5W_tjLpFFx/view
http://distrowatch.org is a good place to go to see some of the different Linux distributions. It has a "popularity" listing on the right of the screen, where Mint regularly comes in near the top of the list (#2 today) while various versions of Ubuntu are further down (19 thru 32).
Now, assuming you have a new computer which will have plenty of disk space, there's no reason not to install Mint alongside Windows and Ubuntu. You can choose which to run when you reboot.
Visit http://linuxmint.com , look at the 3 editions available, and read the User Guide to see if you like what's offered. That user guide is very clear and well-written, with step-by-step instructions.
You can just put a Mint DVD or USB drive into your computer drive and reboot, and try Mint without installing, but bear in mind that it will necessarily load and run much more slowly - everything has to be read from the DVD.
Installing to the hard disk is normally safe and easy - there's an install icon right on the desktop. But you may want to get help from someone who's done this before, just in case (your luck hasn't been so good so far)
ADD: in case you want to know what Mint looks like, here's a screenshot from mine: https://sites.google.com/site/euphoriagtk/Screenshot%20from%202018-12-30%2014-16-11.png?attredirects=0&d=1
3. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by alrobnett Dec 30, 2018
- 1156 views
I have:
Installed utorrent for Windows
Downloaded linuxmint-19.1-mate-64bit.iso.torrent
Had torrent obtain the ISO file (1.98 GB)
Burned that ISO to a DVD, but did not know how to make it bootable
F1 and F2 do not interrupt the restart process for selection, so it is not clear to me that my Gateway SX2850-01 provides the option of booting from a DVD.
Also, I have not done a signature check for validity of the ISO file.
I see many possible pitfalls, not the least of which is knowing which sites to trust. I have both a Windows 10 and Ubuntu partition and could use either to do the burning.
Restarting the computer brings up a ten-second screen with five options. The first is Ubuntu. The fifth is Windows 10, which is the default is no other is selected. The other three are variations on Ubuntu recovery.
I would greatly appreciate a pointer on where to find trustable boot maker and general advice.
4. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by _tom (admin) Dec 31, 2018
- 1136 views
How did you get Ubuntu on your computer? The process for Mint is just about the same.
How did you get windows on your SSD?
Since you have Ubuntu, there is no big reason to change. (I use Mint Mate, but the choice comes down to preferences (sometimes small) in how the screen looks.)
If you want to get oE to compile programs you will need gcc. The Ubuntu "software boutique" will let you install "synaptic". From synaptic you can install gcc. But, no need to rush on compiling oE programs just yet.
Ubuntu has "Brasero" for burning an iso. Just click on the "burn iso" option (not the copy dvd or data options) when you make the DVD. The burn process makes the DVD bootable with no extra steps.
Your computer should give access to the bios with the F2 button. (sometimes it is a race to push F2 to get it to work, sometimes I power up and repeatedly push the button to "catch" it in the correct cycle.) Then, explore the bios to change the boot order.
I can expand a terminal across two monitors (by just dragging the window to make it bigger)--that should be big enough for you. The "video_config)" seems to be unable to cope with this oversize terminal and does not give the correct lines number.
Time is better spent exploring oE rather than installing operating systems.
_tom
5. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by ChrisB (moderator) Dec 31, 2018
- 1121 views
Hi
Did someone get distracted? 
Happy new year everyone.
Chris
6. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by alrobnett Dec 31, 2018
- 1127 views
Tom, I paid a service agent to upgrade my computer including moving to SSD, create partitions, install Windows and Ubuntu. It was worth $100 to me to have it done quickly by someone who knew what he was doing.
7. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by irv Dec 31, 2018
- 1121 views
Tom, I paid a service agent to upgrade my computer including moving to SSD, create partitions, install Windows and Ubuntu. It was worth $100 to me to have it done quickly by someone who knew what he was doing.
You were probably right to do that. Windows - especially Windows 10 - installation can take hours, and isn't exactly user-friendly.
My advice, if you can live with Ubuntu for a while, do so, and later, when you feel more secure about changing the OS, try others such as Mint. Normally, installing a Linux os is very simple and quick (only about 15 minutes, unless it also has to relocate some files that Windows has scattered around the disk). When that happens, the relocation (and defrag) takes a while.
I install a new Linux version every few months, and have never had the installation process damage Windows. On the other hand, re-installing Windows will wipe out everything on your computer.
First thing you should find out - and remember - is which key you press while rebooting to access the boot menu. On mine, it is F11. You will someday need to know this - regardless of what OS you decide to use. If you watch the screen carefully when you reboot, you may see a message telling you which key that is. Or ask the person who installed it.
If you hold that key down and press the power button on the computer, a nice screen will open with a list of disk drives, DVD drives, and other options. You can edit the order that the disk drives are listed so that the disk you want to boot from is at the top of the list. If you put the DVD drive there, then when you reboot, the computer will look at the DVD first. If there's not a bootable disk there, it will go on to the next item down the list. That should be your hard drive. Therefore, this doesn't interfere with the start up in any significant way, and can remain set that way in the event you may wish to boot from the DVD sometime.
8. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by alrobnett Dec 31, 2018
- 1089 views
I understand and appreciate the advice to experiment using Ubuntu. I am doing that and have made great progress with the binary tree project.
I am also experimenting with trying Mint. I created the bootable DVD with the required ISO. The magic key to interrupt the boot process turned out to be not F1 nor F2, nor even F11, but F12. The Bios on my Gateway apparently does not record changes made to the boot sequence. It booted from the DVD immediately after I made the change, but then reverted back to the old sequence on the next restart. I rebooted from the DVD. Somewhere in the process there were notations about three things that were missing. I did not write them down.
After a long time an icon appeared at the center of a dark screen. It was probably the Linux Mint logo (LM). Five dots appeared under ít, changing from white to green and back again, over and over. Though this lasted several minutes, the changing dots seemed to imply that something productive was happening.
Finally, the screen went completely dark. Since then, for over an hour, a single underscore cursor has flashed in the extreme upper left corner for about 30 seconds, then totally off for a period of between 30 and 70 seconds, then repeat. Nothing that I have done on the keyboard has any effect. It looks like I will just have to turn the power off.
9. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by irv Jan 01, 2019
- 1067 views
Yes, the key to the bios has been different on every computer I've owned. Seems like that would be the easiest thing to standardize, so you gotta wonder why it's never been done.
Somewhere on the boot menu is probably an option to save your changes.
Anyway, the color-changing dots appear when Mint is loading. When Mint is installed to the hard drive, they'll show up for some seconds, then it's ready to run. From a DVD, it will take longer. How much longer depends upon the speed of the DVD. There's also the possibility that the DVD has a defect or wasn't burned successfully, which would make it impossible to read completely, so it would never finish.
So I can't answer your question, except to say that, on my computer, booting Mint 19 from DVD takes exactly 4 minutes. From the hard drive, it's < 2 min., and booting Ubuntu (which I put on the SSD) is about 1 min.
Also, it would seem logical that since booting from DVD/USB means trying to load as much of the OS into memory as possible, so as to get quick response, then the amount of memory available would affect things. If not enough can be found, then there's going to be continuous need to swap things in and out of memory.
It would be helpful to know the specifics of your new computer (memory, processor, etc)
In addition, I do note that when I use F11 to access the boot menu, I can see 2 different "boot from DVD" options, but I only have one DVD drive. One of those options is "UEFI boot from removable drive". The other doesn't mention UEFI, just "removable drive".
So, what is UEFI? https://www.linux.com/learn/how-install-linux-windows-machine-uefi-secure-boot https://www.itsmarttricks.com/how-to-create-a-bootable-uefi-linux-mint-usb-drive/
Anyway, my computer seems happy to boot Linux from either option. Perhaps yours is different, and some setting is preventing it from working.
10. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by _tom (admin) Jan 01, 2019
- 1063 views
Things that go wrong include: bad download, bad DVD, and UEFI.
UEFI is "microsoft anti boot", a feature designed to keep Linux from booting on Microsoft computers.
You can turn UEFI "off" in the bios (which should then make Windows unbootable). My solution is to turn UEFI off and remove Windows from my computer--then loading any Linux is easy. There is a workaround, it is possible to install a UEFI enabled Linux distribution (like Ubuntu) and multi-boot with windows. (Since I have no Windows, I have not learned how to do this.)
Sorry you are having trouble with your operating systems. Since you have Ubuntu working then just leave things as they are. Ubuntu is not going to limit what you can do with your computer.
It is possible to install Virtualbox on either Windows or Linux. This lets you run a "virtual" operating system as an extra window inside whatever OS you are currently using. I can boot Linux and run a copy of Windows. Virtualbox is the best way to work around "microsoft anti boot".
Happy New Year,
_tom
11. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by irv Jan 01, 2019
- 1039 views
This is one of the problems with this computer business. We can't see what is actually going on, and the person with the problem may have no idea what to look for. If we were there sitting in front of the computer, chances are that within a few seconds or minutes we'd have figured out what was going wrong.
Have patience!
12. Re: Switch from Ubuntu to Mint
- Posted by alrobnett Jan 01, 2019
- 1043 views
Thanks Tom and Irv. From my position of ignorance, it seems that the fact that my SSD is partitioned should make it impossible for dear old Microsoft to prevent booting the hard drive into whatever OS is available. I'll stick with Ubuntu for now. I am able to do everything I need to do. In the future, I may take the computer back to the outfit that did the original installation last month and talk to them about the possibility of taking care of the change to Mint.
