Linux on a Lap Top

[Diver Fred]

Just format the USB stick to FAT. Use Rufus to create the Linux Operating System in the stick.
Check/change boot sequence to 'look' at USB before HDD then restart the computer with the USB stick in the computer. Linux will load and ask if you wish live or load (maybe 'write') - you want live.
you can now look around the computer - the desktop will be familiar but not identical to Windoze.
Once you are happy you will have a chance to load the Linux OS (probably without losing data (not completely sure, it's a long time since I did it)).

 

[JP_]

Dont delete any win os, you should be able to set bios to boot from usb. Or if you hit an F key on boot up, you might get an option. Not sure if f key, it varies . Sometimes F8

 

[Captain Nemesis]

Have now downloaded the ISO mage (and it sum checks)

Good, so you know the image is sound.

It says copy it onto a bootable USB - would it work on a SD card or maybe an SD card plugged into a USB stick, or does it have to be a special type of USB thing ?

No reason why an SD card won't work fine - as long as your BIOS/UEFI sees it as a USB mass storage device it should boot. If you've got a card with nohing on that you care about you have absolutely nothing to lose by giving it a try.

Do I have to delete the current (win10) operating system first

Absolutely not - do not do that.

It will boot entirely from the operating system image installed on your USB device, be that a memory stick or an SD card.

Once running that OS (in this case the Peppermint Linux distribution) will see your existing HDD as a device, and see the file system and all the files on it. No need to delete W10. In fact a huge need not to until you are sure that you never want to run it again.

I dont know how far back your experience of Windows goes, but if its "not far" then youll probably struggle a bit at first to tie up the actual file system structure on C:\ with what Microsoft in their benighted "wisdom" think ought to be exposed to you vis-a-vis where things are. For example This PC -> Documents is actually C:\Users\<youruserid>\Documents.

But your Linux isnt going to change/delete/move a single thing (unless you tell it to). When you reboot W10 everything will be exactly as it was, unless you decide to change/delete/move things.

Your existing HDD has all of your files (music, photos, videos, PDFs, whatevers) and all the programs youve installed or which come with Windows (media players, image viewers, PDF readers, web browsers, whatevers) and all the components of Windows 10. None of them are used by Linux. You could remove your HDD and still be able to boot Linux from your USB device.

, or does this just run along side of it. ?

It runs totally instead of.

I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing... lol

You will. Theres a massive amount of info and help and people able to help out there.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=basic+linux+concepts+for+windows+users

A couple of questions:

Do you ever use Command Prompt or Powershell in Windows?

What do you use your laptop for? Do you run Office, for example?

 

[Munroast]

I dont know how far back your experience of Windows goes, but if its "not far" then youll probably struggle a bit at first to tie up the actual file system structure on C:\ with what Microsoft in their benighted "wisdom" think ought to be exposed to you vis-a-vis where things are. For example This PC -> Documents is actually C:\Users\<youruserid>\Documents.

But your Linux isnt going to change/delete/move a single thing (unless you tell it to). When you reboot W10 everything will be exactly as it was, unless you decide to change/delete/move things.

Your existing HDD has all of your files (music, photos, videos, PDFs, whatevers) and all the programs youve installed or which come with Windows (media players, image viewers, PDF readers, web browsers, whatevers) and all the components of Windows 10. None of them are used by Linux. You could remove your HDD and still be able to boot Linux from your USB device.



It runs totally instead of.



You will. Theres a massive amount of info and help and people able to help out there.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=basic+linux+concepts+for+windows+users

A couple of questions:

Do you ever use Command Prompt or Powershell in Windows?

What do you use your laptop for? Do you run Office, for example?

Was a bit of a whizz with computers back in the 90s, quite the expert in w95, w96 & XP - lost all interest and now find it all a bit over whelming

I'm sure I can get back into "Command Prompt" - heck, I remember using DOS.

What do you use your laptop for?
Have no idea, found it in a cupboard last week and was going to bin it off - it was a hideous purchase 6 or 7 years ago, just horrible to use, like wading about in deep mud. CPU rarely falls below 90%, it is always bogged down in pointless tasks, often when I type it takes 2 or 3 seconds for the text to appear. I try to switch processes off but it restarts at next boot. I have w10 on my desktop that has been faultless, best OS ever, CPU rarely goes above 2%

My first thoughts with this lap top is whack the fxxx out of it with the sledge hammer, cut it in half with the angle grinder then urinate on it - but then I thought, wonder ow it would run with an entirely different OS

Anyway - I have found the bios and am thinking I need to set it to this one, plug the sd card in with the ISO on and start it up - what happens next ?

 

[Captain Nemesis]

Was a bit of a whizz with computers back in the 90s, quite the expert in w95, w96 & XP - lost all interest and now find it all a bit over whelming

Things have changed, but a lot remains familiar enough.

I'm sure I can get back into "Command Prompt" - heck, I remember using DOS.

I asked because using Linux shell commands can be very handy.

What do you use your laptop for?
Have no idea, found it in a cupboard last week and was going to bin it off - it was a hideous purchase 6 or 7 years ago, just horrible to use, like wading about in deep mud.

I asked about that because if you use MS Office, for example, thats going to be a problem on Linux. But if you arent tied to any particular applications which are not available on Linux, not a problem.

I have w10 on my desktop that has been faultless, best OS ever,

You only say that because W7 is not in your list above....

W10 isnt bad. Its not as good as 7, but its definitely the best since 7...

My first thoughts with this lap top is whack the fxxx out of it with the sledge hammer, cut it in half with the angle grinder then urinate on it

Blowtorch after angle-grinding.

Make sure you stand upwind for the final process after that.

but then I thought, wonder ow it would run with an entirely different OS

Quite possibly a lot better.

Anyway - I have found the bios and am thinking I need to set it to this one, plug the sd card in with the ISO on and start it up -

Yes - you need to move that device to the top of the list. Might as well move the OS boot manager down to #3, in case you ever want to boot off a CD/DVD.

If you want to return to booting from your HDD just dont have any USB stick or optical media plugged in.

what happens next ?

Peppermint boots - youll probably see a bunch of scripts run, and then (I assume) a desktop will appear.

What will be on it IHNI. Icons for a file manager, shell prompt, text editor,...? Web browser?