Bloody Vista

[MKG]

OK - I'm totally p****d off with Vista. It insists on changing my settings, re-arranging my desktop, reverting to default icons, refusing to run older programs despite having the correct compatibility settings (although it runs them if it's in a good mood), and refusing to allow me to move stuff from Program Files despite the fact that I run as an administrator. It has to go.

Has anyone successfully changed over from Vista to Linux? What will I lose if I do that? Any lurking pitfalls? Are my two rather large hard disks going to have to be reformatted?

Someone PLEASE tell me it's possible.

[Martin]

eminently possible...........go for the newer (7.10 version)
http://selfsufficientish.com/forum/view ... light=wubi
also-
http://selfsufficientish.com/forum/view ... ight=vista

[MKG]

Thanks, Martin. Ubuntu is, in fact, the thing I've been looking at. I can find loads of stuff telling me to make the change, but I can't find much on the consequences. I have a pile of stuff in MS Word format (and its Adobe equivalent) principally because that's what the outside world has. I cannot afford to lose that compatibility. If I make the change, can I still read and produce files in that format? I know that Open Office says I can, but I've heard that kind of thing before. These are heavily-formatted, loads of embedded piccies files, so I'm nervous about it all. Hmmm ... just thought about my ISP too. I wonder if BT know about Linux.

Maybe a dual-boot system is what I'm looking for. Any opinions?

[Martin]

that's what "wubi" is about - it enables you to try ubuntu alongside windoze without all the hassle of conventional partitioning!
As for Microsoft files - "Open Office" which is part of the package in Ubuntu will happily open, allow you to work on, and save Microsoft file types.
The Gimp imho knocks spots off Photoshop, and is similarly adept at using all sorts of file types.
Give it a twirl - you'll love it! since bunging Ubuntu on my 'puter alongside Windoze, I've only booted into Windoze about half a dozen times!

[MKG]

Well, the download's an odd one. It took 3.5 hours to get to 350 MB of 692 MB and then just hung there. I'll try again in the early hours when all the kiddywinkles are off line.

EDIT: It finished the download in record time when I restored the link ...then retried 3 times before I gave up. I keep getting the same checksum errors on 307.1 MB of the files. I'll have to find another way of doing this.

[Andy Hamilton]

Let me know how you get on with this, I was about to post about doing exactly the same thing.

As I have never changed operating systems on a computer I have one that is perhaps stupid question.

What happens to all the photos, documents etc on your hard drive? I take it they stay in the same place and you use open office or whatever to read them? Do you have to remake the folders and all that they go in?

MKG please do let me know if you have any problems. As I too am getting fed up with the vista.

Crap, this means Martin is right AGAIN.

[Martin]

I seem to remember I had one or two "false starts" on the download - it is a whopper (some 700mb)
All your "old files" will happily stay on the Windoze chunk of the hard drive - all I migrated were my bookmarks and address book

[Andy Hamilton]

So I can still read them?

Ah, just thought as well what about emails. Its very important that I can still access the outlook mails.

[Martin]

you can import them all into Thunderbird, no probs!

[MKG]

Well, as far as I'm concerned, the Wubi download is OK but the download of Ubuntu/Xubuntu it performs for you is a dead loss - it will NOT, after several attempts, let me past the checksum stage (and that means that I'm now WAY over my download limit for this month). Also, I've had an email back from BT - in no way will their services work with any Linux-based systems.

However, I'm now looking at the "OS on a pen drive" versions. I'll keep you informed as to how that goes.

[Martin]

-on further reflection - just do what I did, leave all the old emails in Windoze - save your addressbook file in Windoze, and attach it to an email to yourself.........then reboot into Ubuntu, fire up Thunderbird, download the email with it attached and import the addressbook, and away ye go.............
If you do need to refer to an old email, just fire up the dreaded Windoze
(does you good once in a while to go back to it, and faint at how long it takes to boot up, and then do something as opposed to the much zippier Ubuntu)
Hope that makes sense!
Can't remember if Ubuntu comes with Thunderbird ready loaded - if not, just go to Applications - Add/remove, click on it, and it'll install (all by itself) as will absolutely acres of free and groovy software........The Gimp is great too!

[wulf]

Thunderbird certainly was Ubuntu's default mail client.

Wulf

[AXJ]

I seem to remember I had one or two "false starts" on the download - it is a whopper (some 700mb)
All your "old files" will happily stay on the Windoze chunk of the hard drive - all I migrated were my bookmarks and address book

I'll have to try this, I have linux installed on a seperate hard drive, the installers (Fedora) were something like four or five CDs worth, so at 700mbs this version is very light.

Is it recommended?

[MKG]

Being an old grump, I hate to admit it - but yes. I've been running it (Ubuntu, that is) minus internet connection for a few days now and as an OS it's very impressive. I don't think it's as blindingly fast as people say (but strangely enough, my Vista has bucked up its ideas since I installed Ubuntu alongside it). OpenOffice running under Ubuntu does, though, beat the Windows version hands down. Scribus (DTP software) doesn't argue with Ubuntu, but it WILL NOT run on Vista, despite there being a special Windows version and lots of net advice saying it will.

I don't think it's a light version, as it contains the full Debian Linux package - maybe your distribution came with a lot of bundled software?

Oh - I gave up on the download and got hold of a CD distribution.