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Campfire Kahuna
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What are the chances of this thing actually working? It's USB gizmo the size of a thumb drive. They say you plug it in and it by passes your Windows or Mac OS and runs your computer on Linux. Can it be that simple? I suspect it isn't. $35 EXTRA-PC
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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I suspect the reason it says machines after 2004 (just a guess mind you) is that the standard bios in those machines had a boot from usb option
You can download the windows media tool that installs windows 10 on a usb drive you select , plug it in and then your machine will boot from the USB drive and install windows 10.
I'm not a linux guru but the concept would be the same - the machine would essentially use the usb drive as your boot drive and run linux from it, so yea in theory it could be that simple.
Maybe the only thing you'd have to do is go into your machines bios and change the boot order or do something like press the F12 key when the machine boots up to tell it to boot from the usb drive.
Last edited by KFWA; 01/30/20.
have you paid your dues, can you moan the blues, can you bend them guitar strings
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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yes, its that simple. Or you can just download a distribution of linux live and put it on a thumbdrive yourself.
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Campfire Outfitter
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yes, its that simple. Or you can just download a distribution of linux live and put it on a thumbdrive yourself. Beat me to it.... I have a thumb drive I downloaded Linux on, it's free for the download, I think I paid 1.99 for the thumb drive...
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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It's $35 wasted. You can do exactly the same thing yourself.
1- Download the Linux of your choice (I highly recommend Mint 19.3 Cinnamon)
2- Download a tiny program called Rufus
3- Plug in an empty USB stick 16 GB size
4- Run Rufus, which will automatically find the linux *.iso file and load onto the USB stick, also making it bootable
5 - reboot (You may have to change your boot sequence to start with the USB) and you'll see the option to run Linux from the USB stick as long and often as you like as a trial.
6- If you decide you like Linux. you can install it side-by-side with Windows and be able to boot either one.
(CAUTION! there's a check box that says install by wiping your hard drive. Unclick that option or you completely and unrecoverably lose everything on the Windows side!)
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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for some people, $35 is easier than those 6 steps.
have you paid your dues, can you moan the blues, can you bend them guitar strings
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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You'd still have to do steps 5 and 6 - the only tricky ones. The first four are duck soup with a piece of cake.
And you wouldn't get to pick which version of Linux you'd get. They might pick something obsolete like Ubuntu or one designed for expert Linux users. Make your own USB and you get to try a simpler, beginner and "Windows looking" version like Lite or Mint.
Linux comes in a gazillion versions called distribution or "distros" for short. Some are much friendlier than others, some are much more powerful than others - but also difficult to master. If you're now using Win 7, I'd recommend trying Lite 4.8. If you're using W10, try Mint 19.3 Cinnamon (what I'm using now.)
Last edited by RockyRaab; 01/30/20.
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
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"Life is tough, even tougher if your stupid" John Wayne
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Campfire Ranger
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It's $35 wasted. You can do exactly the same thing yourself.
1- Download the Linux of your choice (I highly recommend Mint 19.3 Cinnamon)
2- Download a tiny program called Rufus
3- Plug in an empty USB stick 16 GB size
4- Run Rufus, which will automatically find the linux *.iso file and load onto the USB stick, also making it bootable
5 - reboot (You may have to change your boot sequence to start with the USB) and you'll see the option to run Linux from the USB stick as long and often as you like as a trial.
6- If you decide you like Linux. you can install it side-by-side with Windows and be able to boot either one.
(CAUTION! there's a check box that says install by wiping your hard drive. Unclick that option or you completely and unrecoverably lose everything on the Windows side!) +10
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Norman's document uses Etcher, which does the same thing as the Rufus that I use. Both are dead simple and both take you to Step Five above.
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
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yes, its that simple. Or you can just download a distribution of linux live and put it on a thumbdrive yourself. This. If you use Linux live, you can install the linux image from an .iso file. To install, download the linux .iso image file to your PC and then follow Linux Live instructions when you start it. This is free and you don't need to pay for anything other than a USB storage stick. Just know that if secure UEFI boot is turned on and you don't know the password, you won't be able to boot from a Linux Live image.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Tell ya what, RC. Shoot me a PM and I'll mail you a stick ready to boot. NOT for $35.
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
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It's also a good way to break into a Windows system you forgot the password to.
Politics is War by Other Means
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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I have a graphics program that I use frequently. It requires IE5 which no long runs on newer computers. It's 32 bit. I have it installed on an older 32 bit computer and it's a pain having to switch back and forth. I might try Llnux on that computer along with Win10 to see how it works.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Campfire Ranger
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What are the chances of this thing actually working? It's USB gizmo the size of a thumb drive. They say you plug it in and it by passes your Windows or Mac OS and runs your computer on Linux. Can it be that simple? I suspect it isn't. $35 EXTRA-PCYep, it's that simple. My old laptop was on Windows Vista and stopped being supported. It still worked for a year or more, but finally quit. My brother plugged in what looked like a memory stick and presto, it was running on another system. I dont remember if it was Linux or not, but he was able to get my info off the laptop and onto a memory stick, so I didn't lose pics, reports, etc. RR's idea is best if you want to install it on your computer. If you just want to have it available and not installed on your computer, the stick is best.
Old Turd- Deplorable- Unrepentant Murderer- Domestic Violent Extremist
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This will be my last post! Flave 1/3/21
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
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If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Campfire Outfitter
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I don't get it. why fool with Linuxat all? iMac does everything I can think of wanting in a computer.
Don't blame me. I voted for Trump.
Democrats would burn this country to the ground, if they could rule over the ashes.
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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I don't have a Mac and won't pay Apples outrageous prices to get one.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
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I don't have a Mac and won't pay Apples outrageous prices to get one. I call it the “Apple tax ”.
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Campfire Outfitter
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I have a graphics program that I use frequently. It requires IE5 which no long runs on newer computers. It's 32 bit. I have it installed on an older 32 bit computer and it's a pain having to switch back and forth. I might try Llnux on that computer along with Win10 to see how it works. is the graphic programs publicly available ? would you give me the link. It is strange it requires IE5 ! to boot from usb on windows 10 , use this steps : https://store.hp.com/us/en/tech-takes/how-to-boot-from-usb-drive-on-windows-10-pcsif you have a mac you know what to do.
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