A Neowin Guide to Linux Distributions

[Kierax2016]

I tried to get Ubuntu and LinuxMINT to install via dvd-r.  I have no thumbdrives.  I am familiar with burning bootable drive disks, my drive boots just fine if I put my Windows disc in, yet on Linux nothing, I opted to permit Ubuntu to setup a boot option from within the Ubuntu disc menu.  This ends with an error, that the log opens as gibberish. 

It's maddening!

[TDT]

I tried to get Ubuntu and LinuxMINT to install via dvd-r.  I have no thumbdrives.  I am familiar with burning bootable drive disks, my drive boots just fine if I put my Windows disc in, yet on Linux nothing, I opted to permit Ubuntu to setup a boot option from within the Ubuntu disc menu.  This ends with an error, that the log opens as gibberish. 

It's maddening!

Try to burn the ISO with ImgBurn, for me it was the only one that could burn the image the right way.

[Kierax2016]

Try to burn the ISO with ImgBurn, for me it was the only one that could burn the image the right way.

I've used deepburner for so many things, are the Linux .iso that fragile? I even burned at x4 speed.

It seems Linux is geared to people having thumbdrives hanging around all over place, in chat rooms, and forums it seems the key way people are installing, even running.  Linux should spread out and get into more types of media.  I prefer to carry media on portable harddrives, I've two 2TB drives that contain all my stuff, and a few external desktop drives for backups.  I have absolutely zero requirement for tiny flash drives!

 

 

[simplezz]

I've used deepburner for so many things, are the Linux .iso that fragile? I even burned at x4 speed.

It seems Linux is geared to people having thumbdrives hanging around all over place, in chat rooms, and forums it seems the key way people are installing, even running.  Linux should spread out and get into more types of media.  I prefer to carry media on portable harddrives, I've two 2TB drives that contain all my stuff, and a few external desktop drives for backups.  I have absolutely zero requirement for tiny flash drives!

USB pen drives are so much more convenient than optical disks. I love being able to do:

$ dd if=linux.iso of=/dev/sdd bs=1M

And that's it for me, a single command later and I have a bootable live environment and an optional installer. No messing around with burning disks or anything. Just a fast bootable image.

If you're having problems with the iso you downloaded, I'd suggest you confirm its checksum to make sure it wasn't corrupted.

 

[Kierax2016]

I've downloaded so many things over so many years, and have never run into the odds of two .iso images failing on the same day, when burned at super slow speeds on a tested and reliable burner, the simple odds of such a thing must be staggering?

 

[simplezz]

I've downloaded so many things over so many years, and have never run into the odds of two .iso images failing on the same day, when burned at super slow speeds on a tested and reliable burner, the simple odds of such a thing must be staggering?

 

What error are you getting precisely? Are you saying that you successfully installed Ubuntu, but it fails when you try and reboot? It could be secureboot/UEFI related I suppose. Microsoft loves its monopoly lockin after all lol.

[Kierax2016]

What error are you getting precisely? Are you saying that you successfully installed Ubuntu, but it fails when you try and reboot? It could be secureboot/UEFI related I suppose. Microsoft loves its monopoly lockin after all lol.

Downloaded Linux Ubuntu, the .iso burns at x4 speed, autoruns and I reboot, disc fails to boot. 

Downloaded LInux Mint, exactly same issue, disc also refuses to autorun.  Both downloaded via the .torrent protocol.

 

 

[simplezz]

Downloaded Linux Ubuntu, the .iso burns at x4 speed, autoruns and I reboot, disc fails to boot. 

Downloaded LInux Mint, exactly same issue, disc also refuses to autorun.  Both downloaded via the .torrent protocol.

Have you tried manually selecting the optical drive as the default boot device? Usually, you can press F8 or another key during boot and the bios will prompt to select device. Either that or go into the bios and manually select the optical drive as the first boot device.

If that doesn't work then it's either 1) Something wrong with how you burnt the iso image to the cd/dvd. You did burn the image right? Don't copy the actual iso file to the disc (I've seen that happen a few times xD). Or 2) Some Secureboot/UEFI Voodoo is happening. In which case double check your bios settings.

[Kierax2016]

I've given up, going to focus on getting my EMC 2429 iMac 27inch i7 a new PSU, and hand this Windoze rig to my gf to upgrade her tired Q6660.  I've used this burner for years, I have the bios configured for dvd drive/hard drive boot.  All I can imagine is some weird Windows voodoo is going on to stop the boot option, or bugger the burning of the .iso.

 

[simplezz]

I've given up, going to focus on getting my EMC 2429 iMac 27inch i7 a new PSU, and hand this Windoze rig to my gf to upgrade her tired Q6660.  I've used this burner for years, I have the bios configured for dvd drive/hard drive boot.  All I can imagine is some weird Windows voodoo is going on to stop the boot option, or bugger the burning of the .iso.

There's one way to eliminate the media/iso as the problem. Install virtualbox and try and boot from the cd/dvd in it. Vbox and other virtual machines aren't subject to any secureboot nonsense

[TDT]

I've downloaded so many things over so many years, and have never run into the odds of two .iso images failing on the same day, when burned at super slow speeds on a tested and reliable burner, the simple odds of such a thing must be staggering?

 

I did. Many years ago I used to burn ISOs with Nero and many of them simply wouldn't boot, I really have no idea why. ImgBurn however seems to do the right job. Just try it once, maybe this is what you need  

[simplezz]

I did. Many years ago I used to burn ISOs with Nero and many of them simply wouldn't boot, I really have no idea why. ImgBurn however seems to do the right job. Just try it once, maybe this is what you need  

Yeah it's a bad idea using the same burning program if it keeps failing. As I said, if it won't boot in a VM like virtualbox, then the problem lies with the media/iso/burning software/method.

[imort]

Great job!

 

It's a good post to show someone when asked about 'which Linux should I try'

Will definitely use it for that kind of questions in the future

 

Thank you for your hard job!

[Greg Zeng]

> "Here are two big lists of these CD-based distros:
> "http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php
> "http://www.distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=cd

 

Need serious re-writing & updating now.  Generally I sometimes update Wikipedia entries.  Perhaps I'll try this one day?

I think that I must be one of the very few people who have tried to run every Windows & every Linux operating system that exists, on a microcomputer.  Most Linux systems have great trouble with generalist microcomputers.  So trialling these were very easy.  Most of them could not work.

That is one of my "luxuries", being so severely crippled (Traumatic Brain Injury, so very spastic now, 1984 to the present).

Edited August 10, 2020 by Greg Zeng

[spacelordmaster]

This guy has some pretty cool Linux instructional videos as well as various reviews of some of the most popular Linux distros. He is an old nerd but he is quite cool and his videos are awesome. His latest video shows how to install Mac OS on a Linux virtual machine!!!. Quite impressive.

 

Jack Keifer Linux Trainings

 

 

[devHead]

I recently started using Zorin OS 16, which is still in Beta. It is a slick and easy to use distro, based on Ubuntu, but you can configure in such a way that you would barely notice it.  Because it uses the Gnome shell, you can install the Gnome Tweaks tool and Gnome Extensions. 

 

It is a great distribution to use for folks just coming over to Linux from Windows. 

 

https://zorinos.com/

[Nick H. Supervisor]

11 hours ago, devHead said:

I recently started using Zorin OS 16, which is still in Beta. It is a slick and easy to use distro, based on Ubuntu, but you can configure in such a way that you would barely notice it.  Because it uses the Gnome shell, you can install the Gnome Tweaks tool and Gnome Extensions. 

 

It is a great distribution to use for folks just coming over to Linux from Windows. 

 

https://zorinos.com/

A few years back a friend had an old netbook that was knackered on the software front, bogged down beyond belief. I offered to clean it up for him, but even with a clean install of Windows it still chugged. Looking around I decided to install Zorin for him - it seemed the closest alternative to Windows for someone who wasn't technically proficient. The last time I checked he was still very happy with it.

[+Good Bot, Bad Bot Subscriber¹]

12 hours ago, devHead said:

I recently started using Zorin OS 16, which is still in Beta. It is a slick and easy to use distro, based on Ubuntu, but you can configure in such a way that you would barely notice it.  Because it uses the Gnome shell, you can install the Gnome Tweaks tool and Gnome Extensions. 

 

It is a great distribution to use for folks just coming over to Linux from Windows. 

 

https://zorinos.com/

 

1 hour ago, Nick H. said:

A few years back a friend had an old netbook that was knackered on the software front, bogged down beyond belief. I offered to clean it up for him, but even with a clean install of Windows it still chugged. Looking around I decided to install Zorin for him - it seemed the closest alternative to Windows for someone who wasn't technically proficient. The last time I checked he was still very happy with it.

I never really understood twisting Gnome to be something it's not. I usually suggest Kubuntu for people coming from Windows. If it really must be Gnome I have liked Linux Mint (Cinnamon edition)  in the past.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

IMO, Cinnamon/XFCE looks more like Windows. GNOME looks like OSX...

[FateTrap]

Which system I prefer depends very much on how often I will use the system and what the specific hardware is.

Easy and for AMD/Intel/Nvidia users: mageia, Nobara Project, Mint, ROSA Fresh, Neptune, openKylin, siduction, ALT Sisyphus, EndeavourOS

Average and for AMD/Intel users: Devuan, Void Linux, Clear Linux, openSUSE, Alpine Linux

Average and for Nvidia users: Void Linux, openSUSE, Artix Linux

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 18/08/2023 at 06:43, FateTrap said:

Which system I prefer depends very much on how often I will use the system and what the specific hardware is.

Easy and for AMD/Intel/Nvidia users: mageia, Nobara Project, Mint, ROSA Fresh, Neptune, openKylin, siduction, ALT Sisyphus, EndeavourOS

Average and for AMD/Intel users: Devuan, Void Linux, Clear Linux, openSUSE, Alpine Linux

Average and for Nvidia users: Void Linux, openSUSE, Artix Linux

Actually, you can use any distro for any hardware. It depends what software you need, too..

And also the DE you want, as well. As some distros don't fully support certain DE/WMs

[Arceles]

On 30/07/2015 at 14:20, Kierax2016 said:

Hi all, I'm a total rookie to Linux, I'm also a bit of a gamer, quite into Elder Scrolls Online, and TF2.  Quite fancy the move to a more privacy focused open sourced environment.  What distro is the best for me? for just out of the box go, and gaming capabilities?

Pc is in my signature.

I would go Debian, is much more stable and runs out of the box with your signature pc.

[adrynalyne]

On 18/08/2023 at 17:34, Arceles said:

I would go Debian, is much more stable and runs out of the box with your signature pc.

Im sure this poster is still debating which distros to use 8 years after posting, just waiting for the perfect reply on Neowin. 

[Arceles]

On 18/08/2023 at 18:41, adrynalyne said:

Im sure this poster is still debating which distros to use 8 years after posting, just waiting for the perfect reply on Neowin. 

Heh... well, either way I'm sure he has his answer now indeed.