Linux is trying to kill me. Really.

TheSchaft · 16 Apr 2010

loaba said:

valtonray said:

i have to say i like the theory of linux more than i actually like using it.

Nailed it, man. I feel exactly the same way. Linux is neat to install and play with, the potential seems endless. Then you run into the first hurdle (of many), and if you're not the type who likes a challenge, you'll quickly become discouraged.

I felt the same way for a long time, and tried (and re-tried) various distros looking to see if Linux had solved the "out-of-the-box" problem. No joy.

Now, I'm not so sure that is a valid assessment.

LinuxMint looks and feels like a Windows distro, and (so far) doesn't have any of the convoluted command line requirements that previous Linux versions have had. The same can probably be said for other Linux flavors.

If you use Firefox and Thunderbird instead of IE and Outlook/WLM, and OpenOffice instead of Office, on Windows, then something like LinuxMint will seem like old home week.

So far, I haven't run into any hurdles that would keep me from recommending LinuxMint to people who didn't want to invest in Windows.

At the same time, I have to admit to a certain comfort level with Windows that keeps me in the fold. How long will that last? Unclear at this point.

Dinesh · 21 Apr 2010

The topic of this thread is rather strange. I have recovered data out of many dead windows pc with the help of linux live cds. Linux doesnt kill, it saves lives.

hubris · 21 Apr 2010

Dinesh said:

The topic of this thread is rather strange. I have recovered data out of many dead windows pc with the help of linux live cds. Linux doesnt kill, it saves lives.

Agreed. That's why i can't wait to try out
pclinuxos 2010 released

tomorrow.

loaba · 21 Apr 2010

Dinesh said:

The topic of this thread is rather strange. I have recovered data out of many dead windows pc with the help of linux live cds. Linux doesnt kill, it saves lives.

I do like the fact that Linux can see my NTFS drives. In a recent example, I was perusing my D: volume and I spied a strange looking folder marked Updates. Inside was another strange folder, titled with a long string of seemingly random characters. As the folder was not on my C: drive, I had no problem making the decision to can it. I just couldn't seem to do it in Windows.

Exit Windows, enter Linux.

I booted to Ubuntu, mounted Dallas (heh, he said "mount"), and promptly made the nasty folder (and all of its contents) go buh-by. I was quite happy with myself.

fseal · 21 Apr 2010

For the previous two posts, you could have done the same thing hooking it up to another windows machine or using one of the many redily available file system tools made by third parties. Linux might have been immediately convenient for you at the time but not at all necessary to perform the tasks you mention.

loaba · 21 Apr 2010

fseal said:

For the previous two posts, you could have done the same thing hooking it up to another windows machine or using one of the many redily available file system tools made by third parties. Linux might have been immediately convenient for you at the time but not at all necessary to perform the tasks you mention.

3rd-party apps that needed DLing and perhaps even payment, no thank you. Linux' single biggest advantage, for me anyway, is it's ability to look at NTFS from the outside, and make changes or run utilities. All on the same machine no less.

fseal · 21 Apr 2010

Though in most cases you shouldn't do much other than delete a file or two because the linux NTFS driver will largely"ruin your ntfs permissions and a lot of the fancier file system stuff that it doesn't bother handling.

There are plenty of free file tools for windows and instead of keeping a linux boot cd around most people keep a windows boot CD with their choice of tools on it as well (BartPE etc).

Linux makes a VERY POOR NTFS partition tool.

Look I am a Linux programmer by trade and have been for over a decade now. I know more about Linux than 99.9% of it's most ardent users. And in my book, that's the very last tool I'd use to munge an NTFS partition in an emergency and only as a last resort.

loaba · 21 Apr 2010

I sincerely doubt that deleting a "locked" file on the my storage drive is going to break the file system. Ubuntu, which is conveniently installed on a HDD of its own, offered a quick and easy solution. I'm sure there are plenty of tools available that would do the same thing from within Windows. I don't have any of 'em, nor did I feel compelled to go and look for 'em. Again, I took the most convenient route and am quite happy with the outcome.

Once upon a time, when Windows wasn't so easy to repartition after install, you had to spend some bucks if you wanted a decent partition utility that would do the job. I don't know about you, but I've always been a bit of a budget (but I've always had an old drive or two hanging around.)

All I'm saying is, Linux can be quite useful for looking at NTFS drives outside of Windows. As the saying goes, YMMV.