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

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.

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...

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!)

for some people, $35 is easier than those 6 steps.

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.)

Linux is great for older PC's, Here is a link to save you $35

https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/burn.html

+10

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.

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.

Tell ya what, RC. Shoot me a PM and I'll mail you a stick ready to boot. NOT for $35.

It's also a good way to break into a Windows system you forgot the password to.

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.

Yep, 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.

Tag

I don't get it. why fool with Linuxat all? iMac does everything I can think of wanting in a computer.

I don't have a Mac and won't pay Apples outrageous prices to get one.

I call it the “Apple tax ”.

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-pcs

if you have a mac you know what to do.

It won’t run on new puters due to the fact it was originally a 98SE browser(DOS based). They started killing off the old DOS instructions in XP and the newer processors were not designed for backwards compatibility to understand it. Even now the processor manufacturers are killing off the backwards compatibility to Win7. IE5 will run in XP so if you have to go to a dual boot and you can try to load either 98SE or XP on as the dual boot and redownload IE5. Problem I think you are going to run into is that none of the machines made past XP are going to be able to run a mostly DOS based browser instructions.

I think that no matter what you do, your graphics program is dead. Finding a new one should be your first goal, not a new OS. If you can find an open source graphics program that does what you need, you can run it on any computer system.

Basic rule: figure out what you need to do, NOT what you do it with. In your case, that's some kind and degree of graphic manipulation/creation. Make a list of EXACTLY what tasks you do with graphics. That's Step #1. Now research programs that may do all or most of those things. That's step #2. Then and only then find an OS that will run it. Install that OS on a trial basis if possible or put it on a spare computer.

You are 100% right on this one Rocky.

google has an excellent tools for developing graphic tools https://developers.google.com/chart

I might have time to do what your program does , just need the details.

It's the old MS PictureIt 9.0. It was part of the old MS Works. I use it to make calendars because it does some stuff that no other program I've tried can do. IE5 only runs on 32 bit computers. A local print shop recommended that I try WinCalendar which is part of Office up through Office 2007. I found out that it's got the same problem. It won't run on a 64 bit computer so it's rapidly going obsolete, too.

Hmm, ya lost me at the bakery....

there is free version of it on MS store that works on windows 10 but i couldn't find , this site claims that you can download it

https://www.mediafire.com/file/3eyg993n3nh208s/Microsoft_Works_9.iso/file

do you trust them ?

I have a couple of linux distros that can do that. Puppy Linux and FatDog64 can both be ran from a USB drive and save the session to it.

That is not a true statement at all. It has absolutely nothing to do with 32 bit or 64. It’s the new Windows architecture, and outdated software.

But first, it’s helpful to understand what happens when you run an application under 64-bit Windows. Some applications and libraries (DLLs) are compiled in such a way that they can run either as native 64-bit or 32-bit mode. Other applications and DLLs, however, can only run as 32-bit.

Let’s say you have an application that easily runs as a 64-bit app under Windows 2008 R2 (which is a 64-bit OS). No problem, right? But what if that app makes a call to a Crystal Reports DLL that is compiled only as a 32-bit DLL? Trouble! That’s what happens! The application will not be able to find the DLL. As far as the app is concerned, the DLL doesn’t exist.

To understand why, we must understand how Windows separates 32 and 64-bit components. Windows x64 stores 32-bit DLLs in the Windows\SysWoW64 folder, while 64-bit DLLs go in the Windows\System32 folder. That seems backwards, doesn’t it? But it gets even more counter-intuitive. When a 32-bit mode application runs under Windows x64 and wants a DLL from “c:\windows\system32”, Windows will “lie” to the app and give it the DLL from C:\windows\syswow64!

The flipside of this redirection scheme is that 64-bit apps are affected as well. 64-bit applications cannot see or access the Windows\SysWoW64 folder. They can only see Windows\System32. If an application installer places a 32-bit DLL in Windows\SysWoW64, then later a 64-bit application tries to call that DLL, it will simply fail because, to the application, that DLL doesn’t exist.

The Solution
So what is the solution? We just have to get the 64-bit app to run as a 32-bit application. This will allow the app to see the 32-bit DLLs in the Windows\SysWoW64 folder and load them into its memory space. We will lose some of the benefits of 64-bit execution, but at least the app will work properly. And fortunately, we don’t have to get the vendor to send us a recompiled executable. We can force the app to run as a 32-bit app by changing the execution headers using the Microsoft CorFlags utility. All you have to do is install the Microsoft Windows SDK and grab CorFlags.exe from the Bin folder of the SDK program files directory.

Then all you have to do is run:

CorFlags /32BIT+ application.exe

where application.exe is the application you want to force to run as 32-bit. The next time you execute the application, Windows will see the new header and will execute it as a 32-bit application.

I haven't tried Lubuntu on a thumbdrive, but it's pretty small and should be able to do the same thing.

RC, peruse some of these and see if they can do what you need: LINK

Should have added that you will probably have to do that hack to both ie5 and MSWorks since they both have an exe. Unless ie5 will fire up MSWorks once running.

Sorry but I don't have a clue as to what you just said. I'm a reknown lover, not a computer expert. All I know is that I can't download IE5 on my 64 bit computer. It tells me it can only run on 32 bits.

This guy has some pretty good tutorials. I like that he has lots of pictures.

https://www.howtogeek.com/228689/how-to-make-old-programs-work-on-windows-10/

Don’t know exactly what you want to do but try here. I could probably find a fix but if you didn’t understand the last post, a new program is easier. Copy and paste the link.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/photo-calendar/9wzdncrdkbq2?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

RC, I do not know what I am doing different than you are.

I also purchased MS works way back when at the same time I purchased a Win 98 install disc.

Then, about six years ago, I built a new system and purchased XP pro for it. I installed Works, but Picture It was the only program that responded properly, but it was the only one that I used anyway.

I allowed MS to do a free upgrade to Win 10 on that XP pro system, and Picture It still works. I use it for editing pics of the grandkids, or down sizing photos to put on this forum.