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   publius (publius@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Saturday, 17-Jan-2026 09:50:58 JST publius

   • Kermode
   • Brian Sullivan

   @gemlog @briansullivan

   And of course, having said that, guess what I'm getting ready to do!

   This laptop has a pathetically tiny 250 GB SSD (gee, I can remember when that was a big size for a spinning platter!), and I'm going to replace it with a 2 TB I got on sale (thanks, MicroCenter). So I have to do a new OS install. Should go easier this time than back in November.

   • Embed this notice
     rsp (rspfau@ecoevo.social)'s status on Monday, 12-Jan-2026 11:10:10 JST rsp

     in reply to

     • Brian Sullivan

     @briansullivan https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

   • Embed this notice
     Brian Sullivan (briansullivan@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Monday, 12-Jan-2026 11:10:11 JST Brian Sullivan

     in reply to

     • Parade du Grotesque 💀

     @ParadeGrotesque The machine is an old desktop currently running Windows 10 — I haven’t really used it (except to use its many USB ports to power and change various random devices) for 4 to 5 years. I really don’t need anything currently on the machine (including Windows itself) so I am happy just to wipe the existing Windows disk.

     Should I start by downloading one of the distributions to the Windows machine or another machine and attempt to boot from a USB drive?

   • Embed this notice
     Brian Sullivan (briansullivan@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Monday, 12-Jan-2026 11:10:12 JST Brian Sullivan

     I have an old unused Windows PC that I would like to wipe and replace the OS with some sort of Linux. I need something that will be relatively easy and quick to get running (and hopefully have graphic interface of some kind)

     My purpose is just to play. I have 0 Linux experience but a whole life/career in software/technology.

     Looking for recommendations, urls and instructions.

     #linux

   • Embed this notice
     Parade du Grotesque 💀 (paradegrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Monday, 12-Jan-2026 11:10:12 JST Parade du Grotesque 💀

     in reply to

     • Brian Sullivan

     @briansullivan

     First of all: make a backup of all the Windows file on the computer.

     Easiest answer: try Linux Mint on it and see if you like it.

     If you are a bit more technically oriented, try OpenSUSE.

     If you are a lot more technically oriented, try Debian.

     Finally, if the computer is a bit old, you can always try a BSD.

     Remember that you can run Windows, and its applications, on the Linux machine by installing VirtualBox and installing Windows in a virtual machine.

   • Embed this notice
     publius (publius@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Wednesday, 14-Jan-2026 15:10:39 JST publius

     in reply to

     • Brian Sullivan

     @briansullivan

     Honestly, I am running Slackware 15 (the oldest Linux distro still around) with XFCE, and liking it just fine. I didn't have any difficulty getting it installed and set up, that I didn't cause myself by forgetting how to partition my disk. Unlike some people, I don't install a new Linux version every weekend as a hobby.

     http://www.slackware.com/releasenotes/packages15.0.php

     https://www.therockgarden.ca/aolsfaq.txt

   • Embed this notice
     Brian Sullivan (briansullivan@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Saturday, 17-Jan-2026 09:50:58 JST Brian Sullivan

     in reply to

     @publius Well I can vaguely recall main frame disks in the 20mb range so life (and technology) always changes.