muladhara | (no subject)

Currently I am redownloading Ubuntu so that I can actually make a boot disc, and what do you know, Firefox let me save it in somewhere that wasn't the temp folder!

HALLE-BLOODY-LUJAH.

I am also going to download Linux Mint so that I can make a boot disc from that and try it out.

Right now I'm using Windows, since that's what I'm familiar with, but it is SO SLOW compared to Ubuntu. Even my mouse pointer moves at a snail's pace. (Which is weird because Ubuntu is stressing the computer somewhat, but I think that is partly down to sharing the primary drive with Windows (which I discovered is taking up 20Gb of space, and I DON'T KNOW HOW. That's HALF THE FRIGGING DRIVE) ). I am definitely going to make the switch, I think. I've got used to Ubuntu now (for the most part - I still need to check that things like my scanner, printer, and camera will work when attached to the computer, but that's no biggie. I need to stop myself from installing stuff, though (how come I was up till 3:30 this morning - I decided to update the OS for the things it was missing, and there were 222 and I stupidly said yes, install them all RIGHT NOW!), because I'm just going to have to wipe the partition and start over (it's currently installed via Wubi, which last night was the only way I could get it to work, but working it is, so it's all OK).

By the way, I apologise for all this technobabble, but part of it is to remind myself what I'm doing/have done, and also an outlet because I say stuff to mum, and she just shrugs and says, "OK, dear". Which is fair enough. She's not technologically inclined.

Time to go burn that Ubuntu disc!

~*~

Edit from the future: I discovered what was taking up all that space on the C drive, by the way. It was all the stuff I'd saved on the drive thinking "Oh yeah, I've got plenty of stuff on here!" and then subsequently never deleted. So I backed it up, and then got rid of it, as I was doing that on the D drive anyway.

Hopefully that will make for a less complainy computer? *shrugs* [/eta]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

w00t! WE WILL ASSIMILATE YOUUUUU!

So glad you're enjoying it so far! :D

Definitely am!

I even evangelised to a technophobic friend today about how wonderful it was. In the centre of town. I think I may have got a bit shouty, lol (she was puzzled as to why it was all (or mostly) free, and all I could come up with was, "People like writing code??"). Apparently her brother (who is a massive tech geek) uses it, so she'd at least heard of it before.

Can I just ask, my fan's still running like RAM's being munched - is that because right now Ubuntu is essentially running from within Windows (and do I have to worry about stuff munching RAM once it's installed "properly"? I mean should I check the specs on programs before I install them?) I know I could google this but a) the fan is running as I type, and b) I was commenting to you anyway ;)

Yayyyyy! I do that to people sometimes... Often they've never even heard of it, so you know, score one for your friend! (Though honest, I tend not to evangelise with the intent of them actually *using* it if they're not at least gonna have fun learning a new OS because for a lot of people it's not worth it? Even if the thought of going back to Windows makes me, personally, feel a sense of rising panic? I don't understand people who use computer casually is what I'm saying! :p)

Also, "people like to code," is probably as good an answer as any... Though if she's curious, you could point out that Linux does have a commercial presence (it's generally the OS of choice for servers, for instance, I think?) it's often based around service contracts? And also really high level professional applications are sometimes charged for, even if they're still Open Source (i.e. their code is available for inspection and reuse and if you use it you're legally entitled to change anything you want, etc.) Like I think that happens sometimes too... *vague waving* People like writing code??

As to your question, actually I'm not sure - I never used the Wubi install for long and I had a computer that wasn't so tight for RAM.

My suspicion is that, if it doesn't actively use less RAM (and that may be part of the problem), another thing that could be going on here is the space you have allocated to your Swap partition. Now - this is shit that like...I understand, but I'm not super confident about correctly explaining, so take this with the understanding I'm not a computer professional. But basically when you install Linux as well as creating a partition for your Linux installation, you create a "swap" partition, which is allocated hard drive space that you basically block out of being able to use yourself, and instead gets used as sort of...fake free RAM.

So like on this machine I have 4GB of RAM and 3GB of Swap. Swap isn't as good as RAM but I think having it helps with RAM performance particularly on lower-level machines? And I also think that Wubi by default uses a very small amount of swap.

But...I'm sort of vaguely guessing here so, um, google might be a better source of info! GOOD LUCK!

Yeah, I was wary about explaining it at first because, while she would probably find use from it, she finds doing stuff in Windows hard (nine times out of ten, I am her tech support, and it's often for something I'd say was really simple), I don't know that she'd get on with Linux. So I said when I had it installed on my laptop properly, I'd bring it down to her house to show her so she could see how she gets on first.

I'm only using Wubi till I've worked out if my printer, scanner, and camera work with it (they should do, but I've been busy today, so haven't had a chance to check).

That makes sense, so thank you for trying to explain (sorry if I am being a pest!) but I shall also google it. Wubi using a small amount of swap makes sense, though (sooner I get this properly installed, the better!)

EDIT: I have found an answer to increase the amount of space allocated to Wubi's swap, but it is all console codes and, right now, that scares me! (I know there's really nothing to be afraid of, as all the code's right there for me but...I need to work up the courage and figure out what the heck I am doing first).

Edited (found an answer!) 2013-05-29 21:38 (UTC)

Cool beans. I think the main reason not to worry too much about swap is that you're going to be upgrading to the full installation soon anyway, but there really isn't much cause to be worried by console commands. I do understand it's scary - I felt/feel the same way, especially if you're not sure it's the right one because HOW TO UNDO o.O but I've never screwed my system by using fixes I've found (or at least, not knowingly so). Plus the other thing you can do (though I've always been too lazy to do it cus I'm...lazy) when you install is put your home directory on a separate partition. That means if you royally bork your system you can always reinstall without losing your stuff.

But like I said, I've never actually done that to my OS, and I'm kind of an idiot, so I think you're safe. ;)

Also good luck testing the peripherals! I think you'll probably be fine on that point, though. Ubuntu has recognised everything I've ever plugged into it no matter how obscure, without the need for any additional drivers. The only exception being my Nexus 7 which has something to do with the fact it's not just a USB hookup, it's...something else. So I had to install a program from the repository and then it worked fine. Which...since I'd've had to install a driver in Windows anyway, I wasn't too annoyed by. Though it was WEIRD to suddenly be thinking, wait, I can't just plug it in? It won't just magically work? WHAT WITCHERY IS THIS! :p

Raw code is just scary, isn't it? ;) My home directory will be on a different partition to my saved files anyway - when I first got this laptop, my brother partitioned it for me, as he said that was safer (and easier should I break Windows, which I consequently did, but that's a whole other story. Suffice to say, I'm a lot more careful with what I do/regarding my data now!)

I just posted to say the only thing it doesn't recognise is my scanner, but I'm sure I can sort that (Linux drivers exist for it, so it's just a matter of sorting them out). And I know exactly what you mean - I just had that disconnect myself! Although right now I'm of the opinion that it's magic anyway as it DOES recognise everything without shrieking at me that it NEEDS MOAR DRIVERS! :D