Will Linux run on this computer?

Discussion in 'all things UNIX' started by bellgamin, Dec 8, 2020.

  1. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Gringo95,

    Clonezilla takes 10 times longer to create an image than IFL. To each his own.
     
  2. chrisretusn

    chrisretusn Registered Member

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    I tried KeePassXC, it is missing things I use in KeePass, in particular saved password profiles. So I didn't spend much time testing it out.
     
  3. chrisretusn

    chrisretusn Registered Member

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    Probably mono and it's runtime requirement libgdiplus. My mono package is 63.5 MiB, the libgdiplus package is 16.5 KiB.
     
  4. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    reasonablePrivacy,

    Thanks for the explanation. I just installed KeePassXC and it added 1837 MB of used space to the Mint partition. Another Keepass wasn't needed so I restored an image to regain my previous used space.
     
  5. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    KeePass evidently has an enormous footprint! Even so, I shall give it a try in the sweet by-&-by. Meantime -- is there no Password Manager specifically designed for Linux (as opposed to a "cross-over" from a Windows app)?
     
  6. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Only KeePassXC. Not Keepass2.
     
  7. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    I used Enpass in Mint, Kubuntu and Solus without issue. I still use it in Windows.

    Data is stored locally but you can set up sync if you want.
     
  8. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    @Krusty & @Brian K -- Good-o! I shall give Enpass & KeePass2 a trial soon. :thumb:
     
  9. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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  10. Gringo95

    Gringo95 Registered Member

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    I use Clonezilla because it's never failed me - ever, so why change? I'd also struggle to know what to do with the extra few minutes a month I might save.
     
  11. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Made me laugh. Nice.
     
  12. reasonablePrivacy

    reasonablePrivacy Registered Member

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    KeePassXC needs QT libraries, but they may be used by many other programs. QT is quite popular among GUI programs for Gnu/Linux. Only GTK is more popular. KDE Desktop Environment is based on QT, so KDE Neon you mentioned probably has most of QT dependencies already installed.
     
  13. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    I wonder if Mint Cinnamon uses QT or GTK or ... neither?
     
  14. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

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  15. Stupendous Man

    Stupendous Man Registered Member

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    Apart from Clonezilla and the also mentioned IFl (and IFD and IFU), there are also Rescuezilla (fully interoperable with Clonezilla) and Redo Rescue. I haven't tried those, I use Clonezilla, but those are also options.
     
  16. Joxx

    Joxx Registered Member

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    Thanks :)
     
  17. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    Linux can be imaged from the command line with the dd command. The usual way to do it is to use a compound command where dd pipes into tar and then into gzip. You need to boot another linux system to do this which could be done with a USB stick. That is the advanced command line way to do it but the Disks program that comes with Mint Cinnamon can image disks and partitions and I think it is just a shell that runs dd. I haven't tried it yet, I've been using Aomei backupper on a USB stick to image linux partitions and gparted in Linux for cloning and resizing Linux partitions but Aomei, like a lot of Windows software is on the way out. It's more just force of habit than the lack of Linux alternatives that keeps me using it for Linux partitions.

    One thing about Linux is that it isn't so necessary to use imaging for reliable backups. You can do a file system level backup, basically just tar and gzip the whole root file system and then restore by reformatting the drive, copying the gzip archive to it, unpacking it and then installing grub to the drive and the system will be restored or transferred to another drive. This sort of backup and restoration is done all the time in the server world. If you rent a Linux VPS, the OS templates are all done this way.

    There is a really handy boot utility called "Supergrub" that I use to boot any Linux systems that I have boot issues with, usually when I've cloned a system. It can boot just about any Linux or Windows system that's bootable and once I boot into the system, I reinstall grub and do an update-grub command and I'm good to go. Linux Mint is very clonable and I do just one installation and clone it to multiple computers with almost no issues. Windows 7 can be cloned sometimes but never without reboots and activation issues. Mint just works the first time it boots with no reboots.

    The other thing to remember is that ransom ware and other nasty malware isn't as common in Linux, especially if you keep to your distro's repository.

    The other thing I'd recommend if you're coming from Windows is to install Wine. I'm surprised how much Windows software works with it, albeit somewhat more slowly than native linux apps.
     
  18. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    I installed Mint Cinnamon alongside Win7. Installation went smooth as silk. I have KeePass 2.0 running just fine, with all my passwords easily moved over from Windows. I am making this post using Linux. Thanks everyone for your help & encouragement!!! :thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:

    My next goals are (a) find a hot keys app, & (b) find a way to make everything open by single click.

    So far, I'm loving Linux. :-*
     
  19. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    Nice! Enjoy, B. :thumb: :cool:
     
  20. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    bellgamin,

    I'm interested to hear how your computer clock is performing. Assuming the time is ok in Mint and you then boot into Windows. Is the time correct?
     
  21. reasonablePrivacy

    reasonablePrivacy Registered Member

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    https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/System_time#UTC_in_Windows
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2020
  22. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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    By "a hot keys app" do you mean something to allow you to launch programs using keyboard shortcuts rather than negotiating a cascading menu system?

    Re. single click to open stuff, your desktop environment (or file manager) probably comes with a settings panel to control that. (I prefer the double-click route.)
     
  23. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    @ anyone & everyone -- I have often read that Linux needs no antivirus nor firewall. Yet ESET (for one) offers an AV for Linux. Also, Linux Mint includes a firewall app that Mint suggests should be set at In-DenyAll Out-AllowAll. So... AV or not? FW or not?

    Linux's clock shows accurate real-time. When I go from Linux to Windows, my Windows clock is exactly 2 hours earlier than real-time.

    @vasa1 -- I use hot keys mainly for automatic typing of text such as frequently used email addresses, URLs, etc. However, I am ALSO seeking a cascading menu launcher for apps. Any ideas for hot keys &/or launcher will be greatly appreciated.

    @reasonablePrivacy -- good grief, that Arch stuff is confusing to me. THIS explanation & fix seem much simpler.

    I have no problem with the Windows clock being 2 hours early BUT -- is it going to have a bad effect on anything computer-wise?
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2020
  24. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    bellgamin,

    Check your date. Is your Windows clock out by 2 hours or 22 hours.

    I've always done this with Linux...

    Code:
    timedatectl set-local-rtc 1
    Then both Linux and Windows clocks show Local Time. I've never seen a problem. Even when we switch to Daylight Saving Time and back to Standard time.
     
  25. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    Same here on Debian 10. It does warn though...

    Code:
    @debian:~$ timedatectl
                   Local time: Sat 2020-12-19 13:29:45 MST
               Universal time: Sat 2020-12-19 20:29:45 UTC
                     RTC time: Sat 2020-12-19 13:29:45
                    Time zone: America/Denver (MST, -0700)
    System clock synchronized: yes
                  NTP service: inactive
              RTC in local TZ: yes
    
    Warning: The system is configured to read the RTC time in the local time zone.
             This mode cannot be fully supported. It will create various problems
             with time zone changes and daylight saving time adjustments. The RTC
             time is never updated, it relies on external facilities to maintain it.
    Maybe @reasonablePrivacy suggestion a couple posts above is the better method? I never knew about it 'til now.
     
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