From: nospam@needed.invalid   
      
   On Mon, 12/15/2025 12:20 PM, Graham J wrote:   
   > I would like to learn about Linux and install it on an old PC.  Can anybody   
   here recommend the best newsgroup for me to read?   
   >   
   > TIA   
   >   
      
   One of the unfortunate aspects of the Year Of The Linux Desktop, is   
   PeakInstallQuality for Linux was five to seven years ago. If they had   
   continued to use the installers they had and not messed with them,   
   the introduction to Linux would go a lot smoother. The installer   
   then could do UEFI/GPT or Legacy/MSDOS with equal ease. I wouldn't   
   even have needed to write this post, if you were booting one   
   of those.   
      
   The reason we need articles like this, is some machine   
   configurations need "a little help" before the install starts.   
   I am not recommending a GPT partition + BIOS_partition mentioned   
   here, because I don't know what percentage of machines are   
   flawless while chewing on that option.   
      
      https://fitzcarraldoblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/partitionin   
   -hard-disk-drives-for-bios-mbr-bios-gpt-and-uefi-gpt-in-linux/   
      
   *******   
      
   I recently did a little project, where I installed some materials   
   for an Optiplex 780 (Core2 E8400 processor 3GHz) which represents   
   the legacy computer, and a 5950X about two years old or so,   
   as a not-very-representative example of a modern computer.   
   THis was mostly for some graphics benchmarking, to see Wayland   
   cut the graphics performance in half.   
      
   I have a little trick for the legacy machines. I install   
   two Linux OSes. I install an OS closer to the PeakInstallQuality era,   
   for the Just Works aspect, then I install the actual OS I want   
   to test (that really wants to install on a UEFI Secure Boot   
   machine, but they will not say that out loud).   
      
   In this example, Linux Mint 2.1.3 was installed first, and an   
   MSDOS partitioning is used with a Legacy BIOS boot setup. This   
   forces the second OS, the "elite" OS that would not dabble   
   in MSDOS, to shut its trap and install. Whether it adds   
   itself to the boot menu or not during the install does not   
   matter... because we have the perfectly good first OS to   
   get us booted. We can run   
      
      sudo update-grub   
      
   to get the second OS picked up and added to the boot menu.   
   As long as the first OS boots, the second OS can be   
   all the snob it wants, and it will still get a seat on the bus.   
      
   This is what the disk setup looks like. This isn't a "perfect"   
   example, as I would prefer to not have a swap partition and   
   use a /swapfile on the install partition. (If you make it   
   start the install without a swap partition, it will quietly   
   and without telling you, place a "swapfile" file on the   
   install partition.)   
      
       [Picture]   Legacy-Computer-Layout.gif   
      
        https://imgur.com/a/yc5NYwf   
      
   For an older machine, I'd just prepare a couple DVDs, which may   
   be less of a nuisance than digging up USB sticks. An older   
   machine may still have a DVD drive.   
      
       "Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon" (2.9GB)       Landing craft, to prep the disk   
      
          https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=311   
      
       "Linux Mint 22.2 Cinnamon" (3.0GB)       Supported until 2029 (bug updates   
   etc)   
      
          https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=322   
      
   You can use a mirror from the bottom of their web page, for the download.   
      
   A Ubuntu download is 6GB and it does not have all the utilities   
   you would expect. This is one reason we're starting with the   
   more economical ones.   
      
   That should get you started. Since everything is perfection   
   there, now you won't have any questions at all :-)   
      
   By the way, your machine should have 3GB of RAM, and a decent video card will   
   help.   
      
        HD 6450  13W  video card  <==== Gutless, can't tell it is accelerated   
   (cost me $40 !)   
        GT 1030  35W? video card  <==== At least some acceleration was measurable   
   in the   
                                        Optiplex 780 by using this one. Cost $100   
   a couple   
                                        weeks ago. My computer store buys batches   
   of   
                                        new old stock, which is appreciated.   
   Cheaper than   
                                        some $300 video card.   
      
   The GT1030 is going out of support, but I knew that when buying it. Drivers   
   will still be available for a while yet (Driver Manager in the programs menu).   
   Both of those cards are good enough for Win10 22H2.   
      
   The Boot-Repair DVD is here. 2.6 GB. This is handy when the machine won't   
   boot on the Linux disk. You should only have the Linux disk in the machine,   
   when booting the Boot-Repair DVD and it scans storage and builds a solution   
   for reinstalling GRUB. In some cases, you will copy/paste some "sudo"   
   commands into the provided Terminal, to chroot in and do the repair.   
      
   https://sourceforge.net/projects/boot-repair-cd/files/   
      
   Have fun,   
      Paul   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)